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In a garden hidden in the city of smeraldo bursting with shimmering flowers, he hid his face from the world, haunted by secrets and his own insecurities. One night, a bold girl slipped into his garden mesmerized by the blooms, making her steal n...
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Days passed, and the atmosphere between them shifted. The once easy rhythm of their meetings in the garden had grown heavier, tinged with an unspoken tension that neither could fully ignore. She came every day, just as always, but now her eyes lingered on him a moment too long, her curiosity sharper, her questions bolder.
He felt it her quiet determination to know more of him.
It unsettled him.
One afternoon, as the sun dipped low behind the treetops, casting golden hues over the garden, they found themselves standing by the fountain. The water reflected the soft glow of the sky, but the air between them felt thick, almost suffocating.
She looked at the water, playing with rose petals swimming in the fountain. His mask reflects in the water of the dark night filled with moonlight.
,, why do you hide your face ?" she asked. A daring question left her lips without even realizing what she was saying. She wanted to know. Her curiousity was bothering her. She spoke her thoughts. She wanted to know why he was like that.
His jaw tightened beneath the mask, the question cutting through the silence like a blade.
"I thought we respected boundaries" he replied, his tone colder than he intended. Looking at his reflection on the water.
She flinched, but her resolve didn't falter.
"I do" she said after a moment. Her voice was careful, trying to balance her emotions.
"But..." she trailed off, searching for the right words. They had known each other for a while now. They weren't strangers. They were friends. Surely, he could give her something, anything.
"Never mind" she muttered, backing down when she saw the way his shoulders stiffened.
The silence stretched painfully between them.
"I know you're curious" he said finally, his voice like frost on glass. It startled her. He rarely spoke of himself unless prompted and now every word felt heavy, deliberate.
"Everyone always is. They always want to know why I wear this mask, why I hide." His tone was cold, detached, but there was something deeper beneath it a rawness that he couldn't quite conceal.
"But the answer isn't something I can give you."
She looked at him silently. His words weren't cruel, but they stung nonetheless.
"We're friends, aren't we?" she asked, her voice quiet, unsure.
Friendship was a concept he'd long abandoned, something he didn't think he deserved. He knew she saw him as his friend, but he also knew that friendship will fate by time. Still he doesn't know why he even talked to her. What had drawn him to be this open with her ?
She didn't wanted him to just take off his mask. She cared about his feelings. She just wanted to know why he hides his face. What was the cause of his mindset ? She wanted to know. How does he feel ? What is going on inside his head ?
All these questions lingered in her head. She just wanted to help him. Wanted to be a person to him he can trust, even though she didn't quite understand why she wanted him to see her like that.
"I really care about you" she continued, hesitating, as though testing the weight of the admission.
"I'm not asking you to take off the mask. I just"
She stopped herself, biting her lip. How could she explain it? She didn't need to see his face, she needed to understand him. The mask wasn't the problem it was the wall he kept between them.
"Enough" he whispered, his voice a low growl. His eyes burned into hers, cold and unyielding, warning her to step back. A warn for her, that seeing his face could be dangerous.
She stared at him, searching for a trace of the warmth she had once thought she saw in his gaze. But it was gone, replaced by an impenetrable wall of ice.
"I'm sorry" she said, her voice trembling.
"I didn't mean to push you"
"you didn't push " his tone quieter now.
,, you just asked for something I cannot give"
Sadness felt her. She wasn't quite sure why. Maybe she thought they were close enough to tell each other secrets.
„ you" he startet. He wanted to make sure that he doesn't need help. He wanted to just life without being asked about his past. ,, you don't have to fix something, that isn't broken" he said. Not finding the right words to adjust his feelings.
"I wasn't trying to fix you" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I just want to understand you"
"Is that so wrong?" She asked. A question more to herself then to him.
"Maybe it is" he said.
"Because understanding leads to expectations and expectations lead to disappointment."
Her heart ached at his words, the finality in them.
"If you truly believe that I would judge you for whatever it is you're hiding, then maybe you haven't understood me at all."
Her words hung in the air like a challenge, daring him to contradict her, to push her further away.
He didn't reply. He couldn't. His mind was racing.
„ You are already making that decision for me, even though you don't know how I would react"
That hit him like a blow to the chest. The silence between them deepened, heavier than ever before.
,, You shouldn't care about me. That isn't right. It's dangerous"
She shook her head, her voice breaking slightly.
"If you don't want me to care, then maybe you shouldn't have let me get this close."
Her words were final, filled with a mixture of hurt and frustration. She didn't know why she was getting angry now. Were her words to harsh ? She turned abruptly and walked away, her steps purposeful but unsteady.
He watched her leave, her steps quick and uneven as she left the garden. His chest tight, his hands trembling.
Her words echoed in his mind, unraveling something he wasn't ready to face.
