Sign a contract with the devil

go to madrid

The apartment that Michael and Gabriel first rented was only [-] square meters, one room with one bathroom.There are two single beds side by side in the room, a writing desk with a bookshelf, the window sill is just enough for one person to lie on, and there are two large closets for clothes in the entrance. Just close it.

A month ago, Gabriel sold his boat and moved here, and Michael naturally followed him into this apartment.There are four distinct seasons here, the climate is warm and humid, there is no severe cold in winter, and no severe heat in summer, especially the place they chose, next to the villa area in the new urban area, the environment is elegant, tree-lined, and very pleasant to live in.There are very few people living here, and the villas are almost empty, and you often don't meet a single person when you walk on the street for a long time.There is an open-air swimming pool in the center of the community, which is filled with water no matter whether it is winter or summer. Gabriel likes water very much. He often changes his clothes and goes swimming below. Michael will occasionally accompany him to swim.

Gabriel found a job in a newspaper office and went to do interviews on the streets. The newspaper office also gave him a camera. Gabriel brought it back the same day he got it, and took several photos of Michael.Michael jumped on Gabriel, snatched the camera, and pointed the lens at Gabriel for several consecutive shots.Beryl was also very interested in the camera, and they took pictures of each other for so long that they used up the camera's memory.Gabriel got busy after he went to work, and Beryl ran around behind him. The two of them often went out during the day and came back at night. Michael was bored at home alone, so he also found a job.

Michael works as a waiter in a milk tea bar. He is responsible for brewing milk tea and serving tea to guests.On his first day at work, a Swede accosted him. Michael politely replied and served him a cup of hot black tea.The next day the Swede came again, this time with a bouquet of bright red roses in his hand, and he went to the counter and handed the roses to Michael, and confessed his love to him.

"Michael, I like you, please date me. I have a house in Sweden and a house here. This is just my fixed asset. I also have two other shops in other places. You marry me , you live with me for the rest of your life, and I will protect you. As my partner, you will have everything, and when I die, you will inherit all my property.” The Swede said sincerely.

"I don't think I need it, thank you, sir." Michael returned the rose to him, rejecting him bluntly.

The Swede came again several times, each time with a large bouquet of fiery red roses, and ordered a cup of black tea while sitting by the window. He appointed Michael to bring him the tea, and the tea was delivered. , It must be another heart-to-heart confession.Michael wanted to avoid him, but the shop manager couldn’t refuse him to deliver tea, so he had to tell the Swedes every time that they were not suitable, and asked him not to bring flowers next time.Even so, the Swedes persisted for a month, and they were really emotional.

Once the store manager asked Michael to talk about something after get off work. He took Michael to a high-end western restaurant and ordered steak and drank a glass of red wine. They chatted for a while, but the store manager did not see anything about the store.

After the meal, the store manager drove Michael back, but he drove the car directly to the lake where the famous lover was dating.After parking the car and turning on the stereo, his hands naturally circled Michael.

Michael opened the car window, turned off the music, looked at him naturally and said, "I'm sorry, I think you found the wrong person."

The store manager was a little embarrassed to come down, he said, "Aren't you going to try it?"

"I'm not that kind of person." Michael said coldly.

"Okay, I'm wrong, I'll take you back." He also calmed down, and drove Michael home.

It was not easy to continue the work, and Michael came to resign the next day. Seeing his resignation letter, the store manager agreed without saying anything.After paying half a month's wages, Michael went to the flea market to buy a stone-carved bird as a gift for Gabriel and a Calcutta tapestry for Beryl.Gabriel was very happy when he received the gift. He invited Michael and Beryl to watch a movie at a nearby cinema. The movie tickets were booked for the evening. After watching the movie, there was no sound on the street except for the lights. .Walking on the street, surrounded by silence, Gabriel became excited and told ghost stories.Halfway through his story, he arrived home. When he got home, he still wanted to continue telling the story, so he took Michael to sit in the living room and listened to him tell the story.

Not long after this incident, Michael found another job in a western restaurant. This time he was working as a welcome guest outside, just standing outside the gate and smiling at the guests. hand.After several hours of work, you can take a break of 10 minutes every four hours. Michael's feet are swollen, but he doesn't have a word of complaint.

The hard work is worth it, especially when it comes to receiving the salary, the salary of the western restaurant is not bad, when Michael received the check for 600 US dollars, he felt that everything was worth it.

Michael was surprised that he received a letter from Raphael again. Raphael seemed to know where he lived every time, but this was not the main thing. Michael, I would like you to come in person, alone, and with this letter is a ticket dated a week from now, I hope to see you at the address I gave you in a week You. No need to reply, I don’t have a fixed address.” Sure enough, there was a train ticket in the envelope, a train ticket from here to Madrid, and a white post-it note with an address written on it.

Raphael is really mysterious. He is Michael's high school classmate. He has been mysterious since high school. He often asks for leave and doesn't come to school, but he can keep up with his academic progress, so the teacher doesn't care about him.He often reads with a book in math class. He sits by the window, and he plants some flowers by the window sill.At that time, several girls in the class liked him and gave him chocolates and candies. He took the candies and went out with the girl for a tour. When the girl came back with tears in her eyes, he handed him a tissue.The boys were jealous of him, but he had good grades and a good personality, so they never made trouble for him.

A week later, Michael got on the train bound for Spain. The train was green. Michael got on the hard-seat car, and there were people sitting next to and opposite to his seat.Next to him was a middle-aged woman in her 40s, wearing a mink coat and heavily made up.Sitting opposite was a pair of mother and son. The mother had brown curly hair and didn't look well dressed. The son was only a few years old and was eating a piece of candy, with saliva dripping from his little hands and chin.As soon as Michael sat down, the child started crying, and his mother immediately held him in her arms, patted his chest, patted his back, and coaxed him nicely.The middle-aged woman next to Michael snorted with dissatisfaction on her face.The baby's cries were loud and high-pitched, and he cried like he had boundless strength for almost an hour. When he finally stopped and fell asleep in his mother's arms, Michael breathed a sigh of relief.

There is a place for hot water on the train, right in the middle of the two carriages, when Michael went to pick up the water, the mother and child sitting opposite him were also there to pick up the water.Mother smiled at Michael and said, "I'm sorry to bother you just now. It's his first time taking a train and he's not very used to it yet."

"It's okay." With her like this, Michael of course couldn't complain anymore.

Michael returned to his seat, and the middle-aged woman had already got out of the car, so Michael took the seat by the window.He was reading a collection of novels when a shadow appeared in his peripheral vision.

"Is this seat occupied?"

A gray cashmere coat with a blue plaid shirt inside, the same gray trousers, a pair of tasseled cowhide boots, and a blue tie with gold spots.It was a man of about 50, with long, blond-brown hair draped tightly over his head.He has a pair of dark brown eyes, which he thought were black if he didn't pay attention.His facial features are flat and his appearance is average, but he is well-dressed, which makes people feel a lot better about him.

He raised his eyebrows, and looked straight at Michael with his big dark eyes, as if trying to convey his friendliness.He sat down next to Michael, and he said, "What are you reading?"

Michael raised his hand to reveal the outermost cover of the book.

"O'Henry—is it his collection of short stories? I still remember one of his short stories in the high school text called "The Gift of the Magi". I was very impressed, because when I read that article, my Chinese teacher Died of cancer," he said.

"Yes." Michael looked down at his book.

"Where are you going?"

"Madrid."

"Me too. From here to Madrid, you have to cross the whole country. But you can also see a lot of scenery along the way. The next train will stop for half an hour. Do you want to go out and have a look?"

"kindness."

He sat so close to Michael that Michael could smell the cologne on him.Michael looked like he didn't want to be disturbed, but he didn't want to let go.

"What are you doing in Madrid?"

"Meet a friend."

"My home is there, in Madrid. I know every place there very well. If possible, I can take you to some of the most beautiful places in Madrid. If I guide you, you will definitely be able to visit them all. Great view of Madrid."

"No need." Michael said, reading his book again, he made up his mind that he would never answer what this man said.As if sensing that he didn't want to talk, the man didn't bother him anymore.The man was almost sitting close to his body, looking over him at the scenery outside the window, the smell of cologne was getting stronger and stronger, Michael sat inside again and again, but the man kept clinging to him.