One Spring Morning

Bandages over Bruises

*trigger warning: fire, burning*

The burn in the kitchen

Balleli Pov:

I head home, gently putting my backpack in my room, I take my journal and all my books. I'm about o start on the homework that was given during all of my classes and I'm just about to take my phone out to call Ari Hu, to tell her my plan for the novel that we have to write in the Writer's Society but I suddenly feel hungry. I head to the kitchen turn the gas on and use the frying pan that I left near the sink earlier, there's a spatula on the rack left to dry. I quickly clean and dry it, ready to make a scrumptious meal.

I was doing fine, making an egg omelette with spinach when suddenly, my small hands touched the fire underneath the gas cookery I gasped in pain, dropped the pan as the food in it splattered everywhere, the flames started to envelope the kitchen. I would not need the help of my brother, I did not need him to extinguish the flames. The fire was rising and rising, I watched it take away all of my precious kitchen appliances that I saved so much money for. I tried to open all the cupboards to get the table salt, to pour onto the flame, I heard the key click from the front door. I could hear Yeonjun sniffing the air.

"BALLELI! OH MY GOD-" He yelled, running to the kitchen immediately, his eyes were open in shock at the ring of fire around me as I stood spraying table salt and water over the flame.

He was in such a worried state that he fumbled his phone, calling the emergency number. He crouched down beside me and lifted my chin to stare at me. We stared at each other for a long time. Yeonjun's voice wobbled as he called the fire brigade, there were still some flames that hadn't extinguished yet and were in desperate need of disappearing. Yeonjun held onto my body the whole time, he held onto my grey sweater for the whole time until the brigade came, one of the firemen escorted us out of the house. Yeonjun and I watched our house and watched the men heading in and out of our home, I only wished that there was no damage done to our kitchen from my cooking because we hadn't finished school and we didn't know how we would pay for repairs.

Yeonjun wrapped his arms around my neck, resting them on my chest, his chin balanced on top of my head. I held onto his hand as finally The Fire Brigade informed us that there were no damage to our kitchen and allowed us to return back into our house. As soon as we entered the house again, I collapsed on the floor, knees hitting the wood and hands covering my face. Yeonjun was also on his knees, his arm around me, I didn't bother to push him away. This week has been way too tough.

After the meltdown between the two of us we watched as the sun set, our homework left unfinished, as the sun started to descend, it sent a glow through the living room where we rested, the last of the sun's rays glowed on Yeonjun's soft face now.

'I'm sorry for what I said last night and you were right about something, I'm really impulsive and can't seem to control my emotions." Yeonjun told me

"I'm sorry too, for what I said to you last night and you were also right about something, I can't seem to trust people that well." I responded.

"I was wrong." Yeonjun confessed.

"No, I was." I retorted.

"Should we get another snow globe?" Yeonjun asked.

"Yeah, we should and I'm sorry for saying that your name was pathetic."

"Don't worry about that. Don't ever worry about anything anymore." Yeonjun hugged me, for the first time I felt his warmth, his brotherly warmth, for once it was a relief.

"I'm sorry that Dad left us, that Mum died, that our cat ran away." I whisper.

'I know, but all we have is each other now." Yeonjun whispers.

~short memo - yeonjun pov ~

When I hugged her, I didn't realise that I had missed her strong body against mine, as if she were a real person, my little sunshine, my sister. I had underestimated, I had thought she wasn't strong but what she was, was mentally strong. Mentally strong. I was physical, she was mental. I could have wept with joy. I was so sorry for all the negativity that I had inflicted on her and all I wanted to do then was turn back time but the sun descended, the light slowly disappearing until my body grew cold and numb.

The floor once echoed the sounds of shouting from older members and the soft cries of young children.

The floor once echoed the sound of two pairs of feet pattering around.

The floor once echoed the sound of laughter and two people living together happily.

The floor once echoed the sound of glass breaking, of screaming and muttered sobs.

The floor now echoed the silence, the emptiness of this big apartment, the silence of relief.