Moon Rising

Chapter 28

Edited by Higashi

THE FOUL TASTE OF BILE had been accompanying Julián the whole day. The blizzard that for the past hours had been relentlessly hitting the car was too much for his nerves. He still couldn't understand how Orion could drive under such conditions, or how he was able to see through the dense snowfall. Despite the warmth inside the car, Julián was terrified that her niece would be affected by the bitter cold outside.

“We are home,” Orion spoke for the first time in several hours as he stopped the car in front of a mountain of snow.

Julián looked at him incredulously. They were in the middle of nowhere! Literally.

Reunion

Chapter 27

Edited by Higashi

WHEN JULIÁN TURNED TWELVE YEARS old and the nightmare of his middle school years was raging at its fullest, the boy had found a battered copy of The Adventures of Nils Holgersson. He began then to dream of running away from his home and seeing all the north of Europe on the back of a goose—to see everything from the skies, like the birds did.

The years passed—ran over him—and he forgot his dream, but never his desire of being free and becoming somebody else. Looking back, he had never aspired to be anything more than a clerk at a bank, perhaps an assistant at a law firm or a salesman in a department store. He had wanted to earn a nice salary, have a clean flat of his own and a boyfriend who didn't hit him or cheat on him.

Nothing else.

Questions and Answers

Chapter 26

Edited by Higashi

TRAVELLING WITH A SOON TO be toddler was a nightmare. Julián had waited for news from his brother for another two weeks, but none had come. And in the end, he had had to give up on the idea that he would return and take Esperanza back.

News about the strange new disease began to appear more and more frequently on TV and other media. Many people began to turn to the saving faith of vegetarianism. But, although the number of sick people kept increasing steadily, social alarm was almost non existent.

People had no problems with a prion because, after all, the thing was not even a virus, and if one or two idiots had had too much red meat in their diets, it was entirely their fault.

Julián was appalled by the reactions of the ordinary people he would drag into conversation. The subject was none of their concern, as if their minds were fogged or clouded.

Well, in fact they are. The sisters with the opulent arses are back at 9 p.m.

Nobody cared about something in the news, and no talk-show dedicated even a single program to the growing number of patients who were turning into drooling slugs.

Understandable. I would be doing the same if I was in their place. I should be glad everybody is willing to look the other way.

The many history books he had read had made him reach the conclusion that masses, no matter how supple they looked, had a turbulent and mean core, well-hidden under the surface of civility, and Julián feared the day they guessed that there was no salvation for them.

The growing fears about their own safety pushed Julián to the road. He had no idea how to drive a car, and travelling by train or bus with the baby drove him very nervous. What if someone asked him about Esperanza? True, he had a written authorization from his brother to take her around, but he didn't want to push his luck too far.

Swallowing his pride, and getting himself ready to flash the money to the twerp, Julián spoke with one of his brother's former friends—one who had quit the glorious nationalist movement to dedicate himself to the world of lorries.

The Forgotten Ones

The Book Is Here! At Last!

The adventures of Julián and Orion will be available as ebook in Amazon, Lulu and the Apple Store (Julián would never forgive me if he wasn't there) and a paperback version for the traditional readers like Orion.

Why this change of heart in my policy of no-ebooks? Because reality is a bitch. Lulu takes about 3 weeks to print a single copy of the book and if we add to that our own postmen enthusiasm for his/her job, the waiting time to get your book might be about a month. A horrible customer experience, if you ask me. I really can't ask people to suffer it.

As usual, this is the paragraph where I beg you, gentle and kind reader, not to copy the book or to upload it to all those places we know it's wrong to visit. It would be very nice if you can rate the novel or leave a comment; that always make the writers' lives better.

We will continue to publish the remaining chapters here.

Two Brothers

Chapter 25

Edited by Higashi 

WHAT HAD BEEN INTENDED TO be a two-week stay became a month, then two months, and then the brothers lost track of time, content to be in each other’s company.

Julián loved her niece too much to go away, and the IKEA sofa wasn't as bad as he had thought. Carlos, on the other hand, was glad to have someone to look after Esperanza. He didn't trust the day care centre, and his little brother didn't look anymore like a manga ghoul or whatever he had been called at the time.

On the third month, Julián began to teach English at home, and Carlos let go of the day care centre and let the uncle look after his daughter when he was busy working. High season was back and young tourists had a penchant for attacking bulbs and sockets, driving Carlos up the wall at the many repairs that awaited him every morning.

Despite the increased stress of their new life together, the brothers didn’t fight. Of course, they would quarrel over the food or about who should pay the electricity bill, but it was nothing like before. In fact, they had started to like each other.

Nevertheless, Carlos thought that something did not fit into the equation. In theory, Julián was Koiranos' boyfriend, with all the privileges that entailed (like the money he didn't touch or the lawyers that would address him with the utmost respect), but the elder ‘lovebird’ himself never phoned or came visit, and his brother didn't seem to be worried about it.

‘Bizarre’ was the perfect word to describe his brother's love life.

Lýkos; The Video

Our favourite Wolfdog wants to share something with you, 

All credit (and my eternal thanks) belongs to Higashi.

Moving on

Chapter 24

Six weeks after that frightful night, Julián knew that Orion was not coming back any time soon. He had left the house with Lýkos without saying where he was going or when he would return. Everything was fully paid in advance and there was even a black credit card with Julián's name written on it.

Seeing one of your wet dreams come true wasn't as exciting as Julián had believed it would be. For him, the money, the house or his studies meant nothing. Finding out from where or who Koiranos might have been in the past was meaningless now.

Knowing the truth wouldn't change his situation. He knew more than he had ever wanted to know and he hated it.

With the passing days, the hatred melted into fear and despair; he started to dream about the future and the dreams became darker and darker.

Lulu Coupon

Shameless Self-Promotion

Enjoy LULU

Disagreements and Misunderstandings

Chapter 23

Christmas and the New Year passed by and Julián's life was much better. Happy even.

He and Percy had developed a strong friendship that had turned into something more, unspoken but ever present. For Julián, sleeping together was out of the question because he feared Orion's reaction and for Percy, the bedroom issue never crossed his mind.

Once again, the parade of rich and important people began. Julián fell into a sullen silence each time he saw any of VIPs and preferred to walk away with Lýkos while Percy stayed in the house to shake his tail to everyone who might had been useful for his future.

Had Orion no forbade him to curse anyone or anything, Julián would have been very happy to tell people his true thoughts about their manners. His petty revenge on Orion was to acquire the Ipad of his dreams -on his account- and use it every night in the bedroom to read for school.

A New Life

Chapter 22

Julián had no idea how much he could hate a moving until he suffered one. Orion had given him no hints about his plans when they were in Madrid; only a “we leave for London in three days”. In all his innocence, Julián thought that it was just a tourist visit.

How wrong he had been.

Again.

Everything had played against him in the same way like when Julián thought that Orion's idea of sending him to school was a bluff.

One morning he was woken up at an ungodly hour to be hurried to the airport, nearly pushed inside a private jet and flown to London, cursing all the way because of the stench caused by the fried sausages and beans the stewardess had served, totally convinced that Orion was a highborn British gentleman because of his accent.

Even Lýkos seemed to have growth a bowler hat on his head by the way he walked down the streets.

All his life Julián had felt a deep hatred to any kind of discipline or control over him and here he was; Julián Santos Koiranos, adopted son of Orion Koiranos.