At the end of August, 20 years ago, in a small village in Bretagne, Tristan, 6 years old, and his family (his parents and his 4 years old sister) had newly moved in his late grandma's house.
They inherited it as she passed away last spring, and in spite of the loss they were grateful to live in this big family house with a garden and a shack meant for kids, old but solid: a place Tristan turned into his shelter, his personal and safe place, as soon as he stepped in.
One week after moving in, and when he was entering in his shack with a bunch of treasures found here and there, he had the surprise to find a little girl hiding behind his small kid chair. She was barely clothed, crying, her long brown hair covering her face. Tristan was about to call his parents but her trembling shoulders and gentle voice touched his heart and instead he sat slowly in front of her.
He glanced at her discreetly, noticing that she looked to be younger than him. With her little hands she was holding a tiny Teddy Bear, his gaze went from her wrists to her shoulders and he saw plenty of bruises on her arms, some very recent and others almost gone. While he was about to ask how she ended like this she lift up her head, suddenly facing him, her big green eyes piercing a hole in his heart. At this very moment he decided to protect her at all costs, and opened his arms in a welcome gesture. She slowly slid her frail body into this cocoon and felt kindness for the first time in her life.
They were cuddling for maybe 10 minutes when they suddenly heard a woman shouting from the neighbor's yard : "Kim! Kim! Come here! You have to put your dress!". At these words the little girl, Kim, started trembling and sobbing again. She put a finger in front of her mouth,requesting silence. He nodded, wraped his arms tighter around her, giving her the safety she was begging for.
Two more minutes later they heard her mother calling her again with an angrier voice: "Kim! If you don't come here right now I'm gonna leave without you to uncle Pierrick's wedding!". Her tone was so terrifying that the two kids were unable to move a finger. They stayed hidden in this tiny shack without knowing that this moment was the very first of a long series...
As soon as they were slowly getting up they heard a car leaving the neighbor's alley: Kim's mother was really leaving without her! Tristan held the little girl's hand and guided her to his house. They went upstairs to his room where he gave her one of his t-shirts (the one with the Scotland's thistle, his favorite). It was too long for her, but she immediately fell in love with it: the smell of fresh softener and the sweetness of the fabric gave her the protection she was looking for.
Bastian still has it today, cherishing it more than everything else, falling asleep every night with smelling the faint fabric softener, remembering each time how Tristan saved his life that day...
