It took a while to walk uphill to the last place Nora wanted to show Rafe.
He huffed. "I thought we left hiking for the summer. My back is killing me from the last match," he grumbled the rest under his breath, cursing the opposing team for playing so dirty. He knew that Nora, with her determined nutcracker-style marching, wasn't listening to him.
Past the shops and the market, and the narrow cobblestone streets and old buildings, they entered a small park, its gate wide open. The park looked abandoned.
"It's so quiet here. It's unnerving. Like a setting for a horror movie..." he said. "London is teeming with life."
"It's peaceful here," Nora answered.
"Why don't you tell me about your life in London?" Rafe asked. "You mentioned you lived there. Don't you miss it?"
"Yeah, but I prefer not to talk about it. I prefer it here, let's just leave it at that," she said with a small smile.
"It's very different here," Rafe muttered, swallowing the disappointment of her once again shutting him down. Perhaps her parent's divorce bothered her more than she let on. She always hoarded her emotions which made her hard to figure out. Or, maybe she just didn't trust him as much as he'd thought.
Nora shrugged. "I like it this way. I yearned for peace and quiet."
"Are you still in touch with your dad?"
"Yeah, from time to time..."
"And your mum?"
"We speak on the phone all the time. I'm quite happy to be with my grandmother. She's all the family I need right now. It was... turbulent around my parents."
Rafe stayed quiet, giving her time to say more. Nora shrugged but he could tell the topic made her uneasy. It was still too personal.
The heart of the park had a moss-covered fountain and a few benches around it.
"Please tell me this isn't it," Rafe said. After that wonderful feast, all he could do with was a nice glass of wine or a great nap. Not be out in a dank, cold park.
"Come on," Nora said with a sigh as she tugged on his sleeve. She led him up a hill. The pathway had faded, and dirt stuck to their shoes, which made Rafe scowl deeper.
Through the trees, Rafe spotted a small, barely visible gap. Gently pushing away the branches, Nora led him into a small clearing. They came to a stop, both out of breath from the steep climb.
It was a hideout sheltered by endlessly tall trees. There was a bench carved out of marble and a lush, panoramic view of the whole town. The rooftops of the houses, neat in rows, and endless green fields made it a peaceful, pastoral scene. You could barely make out the shapes of the farm animals that nibbled on the grass. A few houses and pubs had smoke coming out the chimneys, and the market looked like a small city of lights and music. Rafe let out a low whistle.
"Are we trespassing in a rich man's garden?"
Nora smirked. "Well, a dead, rich man's garden. This place used to be the estate of Lord Pemberly and this was part of his secret garden. But the main estate is much further up, and this place is open to the public, but not many people visit. A journalist reviewed this little gem in the local paper a couple of months ago. I have a feeling it will soon be flooded with tourists."
Rafe took a seat on the marble bench once Nora gave it a good, hearty wipe.
"This is my secret hideout. I come here to think," she said.
"You're always in your thoughts. What the hell do you think about all the time?" Rafe asked, sliding over to make space for her.
"Just stuff. The past, the future, existentialism, postmodernism."
"Make some room for me in there. My future depends on you," he said, poking her head.
"You already monopolise enough of my time," she said with a light slap on his hand.
"So you're saying I'm in your thoughts all the time?" Rafe said with a smirk, poking her on the side. He had to admit that he couldn't keep his hands to himself. The pervy, tipsy side of him did want to give her butt a squeeze just to get a reaction out of her, but he wasn't raised that way, and also, he wouldn't see the light of another day if he actually went through with it.
She smacked his hand away with a shy smile. "No. Why are you so self-centred?"
"Can't believe you would come here to think. This entire town is so quiet; you don't need a secret spot. You need this kind of stuff in a city that never has a quiet moment. Like London."
"Would you just shut up about London, city boy and enjoy the view? I'm never taking you out anywhere again."
Rafe laughed. He put his hands behind his head as he relaxed on the bench and witnessed the light disappearing fast beyond the horizon, dipping the town into twilight. "I guess this is kind of nice," he said.
"I used to come here and just scream out my worries and stresses."
"Excuse me?"
"When I'd get frustrated, I'd just scream it out onto the field, and the echo of my voice would just get swallowed up into nothingness."
"So, you just screamed here...alone...like a madwoman?"
"Yep."
Rafe shook his head. "I knew it. You are crazy."
"No, it's just that therapy is expensive."
Rafe snorted. "I can't imagine you screaming to be honest. You always sound so...dead."
"Here, I'll show you." Without warning, she jumped up, inhaled a lungful of air and belted out.
"I HATE P.E.!"
Rafe almost fell off the bench. Her clear and piercingly loud voice cut through the silence. It caught him by surprise.
He began swearing in Italian, calling her a lunatic. "Fuck me. Remind me not to piss you off," he said, sliding away from her ever so slightly.
"I remind you of that every day. It's your turn," she prompted as if inviting him onto centre stage.
"No. No way."
"I'm telling you; you'll feel better. Think of something that really pisses you off and just shout it out. For the world to hear. It's therapeutic."
"It's weird."
"Just trust me."
Rafe thought about it for a moment. "I wanna go home!" He shouted half-heartedly. Nora crossed her arms.
"Is that seriously the best you can do?"
Ferreiras never backed away from a challenge. So, he stood up, cleared his throat, and dipped his head to the right and then left until he heard the satisfying crack in his neck.
He inhaled. "MY DAD IS AN ASSHOLE. I HATE SCHOOL. I HAVEN'T HAD SEX IN THREE MONTHS," he shouted so hard he almost stumbled backwards. Nora clapped in glee.
The echo of Rafe's deep baritone voice disappeared.
"Shut UP! You scared all the goddamn sheep!" A gruff voice shouted back from one of the farms down the hill.
Nora and Rafe looked at each other and burst out laughing. It took them a minute to settle back down. It had been a while since Rafe laughed this much. Shouting did fill him with satisfaction. It was like coming down after an adrenaline rush. That feeling of wholesomeness. He used to let out his anger by fighting. Screaming, he realised, had a similar effect.
"I feel like the village is probably looking for torches and pitchforks to come after us," Rafe said, trying to see the source of the voice that shouted back at him, but it was too dark to see anything.
"We'll be fine," Nora said with a chuckle.
He looked at her. She was reliving something or recalling a memory. Her gaze seemed distant, but there was a small, content smile on her lips.
"Do you have any more stuff to let out of your chest?" Rafe said, motioning to the 'centre stage' he'd just been on.
She smirked. "I'm all shouted out. I have nothing more to give," she said, and Rafe felt those words carried more weight than they should've.
"Then let's get some warm cider. My turn to treat," Rafe said. He didn't want this day to end.