Was the fourth time this week that she found Piper once again in her room. Despite her efforts to avoid the little girl, Arisu repeatedly told her she couldn't stay there. Yet she persisted. When returned to her makeshift resting place, it was cluttered with cleaning tools: fabric softeners, soap, and an old broom. Amidst this disarray, she encountered the girl once more.
"What brings you here? Have you come to annoy me again?" Her voice remained calm, devoid of any raised tones.
"If that were the case, what difference does it make?" Piper pouted a bit.
"Look, I'll let you stay here. When those kids get on your nerves. But don't touch anything, none of this is mine." she said while gesturing that she was watching the girl's every move.
"Right, ma'am." His pace slowed and then, after hesitating, he let out an annoyed snort as he walked along pushing his equipment trolley.
As the hours passed, each teacher moved in and out of classrooms. It reminded Arisu of her school days, when she and her friends would skip class to avoid the teacher's lectures. Deep down, she felt proud of it, unconcerned about others' opinions, even though it had become a significant stigma in her life.
At the beginning of dusk, the children packed their backpacks to be picked up by the bus or by their relatives. The dirt left on the floor frustrated the woman, who had to scrub the floor with a broom while only one girl had stayed at the school, as if she wanted to avoid staying there.
"Your eyes... why are your eyes so...red?" the child asked.
Piper observed a distinct quality in the woman, who avoided eye contact and seemed visibly stressed when Piper made her statement.
"And since when is that any of your business?" the woman retorted.
"It's...beautiful!" Those three simple words were enough to paralyze the woman. She didn't know how to respond. She had always considered this trait an anomaly—no beauty in her eyes, only a defect. Just like his hair, clothes, and mannerisms.
She gulped.
"Thanks..." She didn't know what to say, but observed that no one had come to Piper. Arisu waited, yet there was no sign of an older relative coming to her pick her up. As she settled on the entrance steps just like the child, clinging to her legs. Together, they waited, but dusk was approaching, and still no one arrived. The campus became emptier and quieter, as if only the souls who were once there were left chatting.
"Why do you think my eyes were beautiful?" she asked as her eyes looked at the child's short, wavy hair.
"Because I saw the ocean on your eyes." The enigmatic yet good-hearted girl evoked sympathy in her. She took time to sit down near her, and both of them waited. And waited, until her eyelids couldn't endure any longer by the tiredness and she blackout.
YOU ARE READING
Spiderman From the Ashes : Volume One
FanfictionWho am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart. If somebody told you it was a happy little tale, if somebody told you I was just your average ordinary woman, not a care in the world... somebody lied. This is...
