Areum, despite the week and a half she had spent with Irene, was not anticipating the words that escaped from her lips. As the pit pat of the rain tapped in the windows of the airport, Irene's voice stood out like a bright rose in a thorn filled garden.
"Will you be coming back soon?"
The musician sighed as she grabbed a hold of her luggage. "I sure hope so."
"Will we...?" she started shyly, staring at the cold marble floor.
"Still be able to talk? Of course! You have my phone number, so we'll be able to have phone calls, text, all that jazz!" Areum reassured.
"I pinky-promise that I'll be back as soon as I can!" Areum held out her pinky finger for Irene.
She held onto her pinky with her own, smiling faintly. "And I'll be waiting for you until then."
The two girls waved their final goodbyes as Areum disappeared into the hallways and boarded her plane. From the windows, Irene watched, and despite the harsh rainfall, Areum's figure glowed like sunshine. Finally, she boarded her plane, with Irene's gloved fingers softly touching the glass, wishing to hold Areum's hand just one last time.
"I know this is tough for you," Casper began, lightly patting Irene's back. "But I trust that she'll be back soon."
"I agree," Mari added. "But it's for the best. Such an injury to the head is no minor thing. Poor girl wasn't supposed to be taking on so many things at once anyways."
Irene forced herself to pull away from the window. "Let's go back home now. I'm hungry."
...
The smell of smoked salmon filled the kitchen as Irene sat in the living room, painting a turtle shell pattern on a large box Mari had gifted her.
"I knew that you would like it," Mari commented, as she passed Casper the seasonings for the salmon. "You grew out of your old one. It's about time that you make a new turtle shell."
The young girl continued to paint her box, with green paint staining her fingertips. "Absolutely. I've also gotten better at painting, so now I'll have an even more realistic shell."
Irene set down her paintbrush and smiled at her finished masterpiece.
"Can you fit?" Mari asked.
Irene placed the large box over her body and crawled underneath it, fitting perfectly inside, just like an actual turtle.
"Now I'm protected," Irene said, her voice muffled underneath the box. She stuck her head out, silently watching Casper and Mari finish dinner. The carpeted floor rasped the scars on her neck, but she was too happy with her turtle shell to care.
"Dinner's ready, Irene. You can continue hiding in your turtle shell later," Casper laughed, setting down the plates on the table.
"I don't want to," Irene complained. "I can eat later."
"Weren't you just complaining about being hungry a few minutes ago? We even made your favorite," Mari mentioned.
Welp, she couldn't really deny that.
After an unintelligible murmur and a bit of shuffling, Irene crawled away from her turtle shell.
"Will you be staying up late?" Casper asked, slicing into his salmon.
"Of course," Irene replied blankly.
Casper smiled. "Would you like some coffee for your insomnia?"
Mari slapped his arm, causing him to wince. "Casper, I already told you, don't encourage bad habits."
"Sorry mom-I mean Mari!" Casper stuttered. "I'm just happy she has a friend, that's all."
YOU ARE READING
Daffodil's Sunshine
Romance(GXG) Time is the ruler of everyone. It pushes everyone forward against their will and prevents them from ever turning back. That is why Irene hated it. She wanted a chance to go back in time and prevent the Carnation from destroying their lives...b...
