A suspended moment
A little further on, an old rusty wheelbarrow was abandoned. Lucas approached her, wiped the dust as best he could, and gently placed the child inside, making sure it was stable before moving it.
He pushed gently.
The baby burst out laughing.
A clear, frank, contagious laugh.
Lucas froze, surprised. Then he laughs too.
For a few seconds, he was no longer invisible. He was no longer the boy who was rejected.
He was simply a child making another child laugh — a moment suspended out of the world.
The arrival of the adult world
"My son!"
The voice echoed in the alley.
Guards appeared. Boots hit the ground. Hands grabbed Lucas and pinned him to the ground.
"What have you done?"
"Nothing! He was alone! he shouted.
A deeper voice cut short the tumult.
"Stop."
A man stepped forward. Tall, elegant despite its restlessness. The worried look.
It was Alexandre Delcourt, a renowned business leader whose face often appeared in the economic press.
He lifted his son.
But the child immediately turned to Lucas, stretching out his arms towards him.
Silence fell.
