The stranger had taken Antina away for a long time.
The light in the basement was still on. Raphael sat in the warm yellow glow, silent for a long while.
Eventually, he rose, pulled open a drawer, and took out a mirror.
Staring at the ferocious, terrifying face in the glass, Raphael could not help but close his eyes and turn away.
The basement was as quiet as ever, and in that silence, Raphael lost all sense of how much time had passed.
Bored, he flipped through the picture books in the room, read those fairy tales he already knew by heart, or fiddled with the little trinkets he had carved himself.
The sky darkened quickly, the lawn shrouded in darkness.
Raphael felt a pang of hunger, so he crawled out of the basement.
His brother still hadn't brought him food, nor had his parents come to see him.
Raphael thought his family was still angry with him, so he continued to wait.
