befall

:

“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The boy and the girl had a routine to follow every Friday.

 To meet up after school in the abandoned building, which the boy had discovered a few months ago.

The abandoned building held no beauty but there was a warmth that both of them found in the lonesome building.

The boy taught the girl to brush up her drawing skills in silence and the girl listened to his silence patiently.

They didn’t need words to communicate with; silence was enough for the both of them.

But there was a time when the girl had accidentally slipped her medication pills and inhaler from her pocket.

Before she could pick it up, the boy had gotten hold of the pills and inhaler. He examined carefully, his eyebrows straining together in curiosity. He looked up at the girl, his silence questioning her about the pills and the inhaler.

The girl stood in silence, her lips forming into a smile, “I have problems with my lungs.”

The eyes of the boy’s widened in surprise, making the girl chuckle at his facial expression,” Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I’m going to die.”

The word ‘die’ triggered the boy heavily as his expression suddenly became hostile towards the amused girl, “Don’t say that.”

The girl dropped her amused expression, “Um sorry.”

But the boy had already his back turned on her, his concentration now on the half-finished sketch.

The entire time, they stayed beside each other in a tensed atmosphere.

 Both of them were drowning in guilt. The boy had been guilty of being harsh on the poor girl while the girl had been guilty of ruining the day with her insensitive words.     

The awkward silence filled them for an hour.

And they had enough of it.

The boy finally stopped at his drawing and turned around to face the girl.

Coincidentally, the girl had stopped in whatever she had been doing and had her face turned to the boy.

There was a small gap between the two of them, their faces only a few centimeters apart, considering that they were sitting beside each other.

There was a moment that both of them couldn’t figure out. A moment that caused the boy’s hand to reach out to touch the awe-struck girl without the constant worry of fear. The girl sat frozen in her place, captivated by the boy in front of her.

But something snapped in the boy that caused him to realize his actions. He immediately moved away from her, his eyes blinking in surprise.  

 The girl was left speechless, feeling as if she had imagined it all.