The next morning, once the storm had passed, she accompanied Lucas back to the school group from which he had wandered off during the hike.
Before leaving, he made her a promise.
One day, he would return the favor.
Claire didn't really believe it.
Life went back to normal, the years passed, and the hikes became less frequent.
But she never forgot that little boy lost in the storm.
Twenty years later, a visitor knocks on the door
One winter evening, as a snowstorm hit the region, Claire heard a knock at her door.
A young man stood on the threshold.
Tall, his coat covered in snow, an envelope under his arm.
When he said her name, Claire immediately recognized his eyes.
It was Lucas .
After two decades.
Still in shock, she let him in and served him tea.
But Lucas hadn't come just to say thank you.
The envelope that changed everything
Lucas placed the envelope on the table and explained why he had come back.
Inside were some unexpected documents.
Among them was a deed of ownership for a plot of land near the mountain where they had met.
But it wasn't just a simple gift.
While going through the papers, Claire discovered an old report related to the school hike from that day.
A disturbing detail emerged: another student had also disappeared during the storm for several minutes.
The incident was quickly hushed up at the time.
