He finished bandaging both her ankle and her hand, then sat down beside her again, his expression calm and attentive. Lara looked at him for a moment and took a deep breath, still feeling the throbbing pain in her foot, but also a certain peace washing over her after such a careful gesture. The silence between them was comfortable, almost sacred, while he reached for his own glass of water and took a slow sip.?

  At last, he broke the silence and introduced himself.

  ?“Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Gabriel, and yours?” he asked, offering a genuine smile that contrasted with the otherwise serious look on his face.?

  She looked at him as he straightened up on the sofa beside her, feeling a hint of shyness mixed with curiosity.?

  “My name is Lara,” she replied, her voice still shaky but carrying a spark of determination.

  ?“And thank you for all your kindness, Gabriel, even after I invaded your house…”

  ?He smiled, an honest expression that eased the tension of the moment.

  ?“No problem, I just ask that you don’t do it again… there’s a doorbell outside,” he said with a laugh, his lightheartedness contagious.?

  “I imagine you must be full of questions. Do you have anything you want to ask?”

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  ?She lowered her gaze, watching the flames in the fireplace that seemed to dance, and when she finally gathered her courage, she answered honestly.

  ?“I have many. But the main one is… who are you really? And why are you here, in this place, hidden away from everyone?”?

  He sighed, a thoughtful expression settling over his face.

  ?“Lara,” he began, his voice low and measured, as if each word had to be weighed, “there are things about me that you wouldn’t understand, and perhaps never fully will. But I assure you, my existence is not a curse, even though it may feel like a prison at times.”?

  She tilted her head slightly, searching his words for a thread of hope or understanding.

  ?“The world is not ready to accept me,” he went on, sorrow surfacing gently in his voice. “I have lived in seclusion; I prefer it that way.”?

  Lara furrowed her brow, still suspicious, yet increasingly intrigued.

  ?“So everything I’ve heard… is nothing but stories? There are no monsters, no vampires?”

  ?He met her gaze with a sincerity that slowly won her trust.

  ?“There are no monsters, Lara. There are only people with fears. And I… am just someone trying to survive.”?

  A chill ran down her spine, yet she also felt a strange sense of comfort. Perhaps, in that moment, she began to understand that the mystery did not lie solely in that particular man, but in an entire story that needed to be uncovered.?

  “Do you live alone?” she asked, trying to understand him better.

  ?“Yes, I do,” he answered, his gaze sincere, and she realized she had never expected to be this surprised by this man.?

  His reply made her reflect on everything she had seen and heard. After all, he had no family and no one around him, yet he was clearly well-off, surely coming from a wealthy family, and even so there were still many mysteries surrounding his condition. Why did people think he was a vampire? To Lara, it was something that simply did not make sense.?