HIM AND I

1;"Why did you leave..."

I skated quietly, letting the music guide me on the ice. My mind, my body had given in, they didn't respond anymore. No noise, no sound, just the music, the ice and me. I was in my world, in my bubble. Suddenly strange noises interfered with my world, dragging me out of it.

 When I came to my senses I realized that it was none other than the voice of my coach who was shouting my name. I saw him. As he spoke to me, nothing he said interested me, so I continued to look at him pretending to listen.

"Byeol, I know you're not interested in what I'm saying and as usual you're acting like you are but please for this time listen to me. What's going on? Why don't you ever hear anything when I'm screaming? I understand that music takes you away and you've always been like that since you were 5 years old but, I know it's not just that..." His words made no sense to me. "Tch, what do you mean by that?" He sighed, then dropped his desperate gaze to me. "I know something's wrong, maybe you're putting too much pressure on yourself? Where is the Byeol I know, the one who laughs so much, the one who is always proud of herself, the one who always comes to me with sparkling eyes when she finally got a trick right, the one who said she wanted to marry me, the one who listened to me... Where is that Byeol now? Why now I have to deal with a Byeol who doesn't care about everything, who doesn't enjoy anything, who doesn't say anything, who denigrates herself all the time, who doesn't smile or laugh anymore... I just hope it's not because of Jung's death..." 

"This Byeol has grown up, she has finally understood that the world is not all rosy, and that not everything in life is so simple. I guess that's why you interrupted me, the court is over I bet?" His desperate look put me back on the floor. I didn't even give him the time to answer, as I left the rink and went to change.

I walked back to my house without saying a word. He was not wrong, I miss that Byeol too, I dream to find her sometime but life decided otherwise. I was on edge too, I hate the fact that he always reports everything to his death... He knows very well that's why he should shut his mouth. When I arrived home, I put my bag in the hall and went to the kitchen. I took a carton of milk and drank it. The edges of the counter top were digging into my back, so much so that my gaze scanned the framed photos next to me. One picture caught my eye, there was a little boy and girl, both sitting on a swing, smiling and laughing. The laughter echoed in my mind, as if it was coming out of the frame. Not too far away, two other pictures showed the same people. In the first one, the two were in ice skating outfits, holding each other by the waist and proudly showing off their gold medals. On the second one, they were there in diploma clothes, the boy was holding the girl by the shoulder and she was holding him by the waist. This time they were showing their high school diploma. They were smiling, so much so that flowers were falling from their arms. A tear rolled down my cheek and without me realizing it, my milk carton dripped on the floor, soaking my socks. But I didn't care, only those pictures mattered, replaying intense memories in my mind. I cleaned up my mess and went to bed.