A Pile of Ashes

Chapter 4

I avoided her for the next week. But I realised my time was growing short and I needed her help for things. I was thinking things over as I walked through the park, when I noticed someone sitting on a bench with a bush of messy brown hair.

I walked forward to say hello, when I had her arms thrown around me. I stood rigidly, and looked down at her stonily. "What are you doing?" I asked confused and annoyed at the same time. She hastily let go and looked up. That's when I noticed the water on her face. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Bella, your eyes are leaking,"

She looked at me and gave me a weak smile. She was used to my naiveness by now. "It's not leaking. It's called crying. We do it when we're really sad. And that was called a hug."

"So, you are sad? Why? What is wrong?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter."

I looked at her for a while before letting the matter pass. "So, what do we do today?" She looked at me for a while, opened her mouth to answer, before reducing to tears again, and running back home. What?

I shrugged and walked back home too.

Once I was home, I took out the pomegranate and placed it on the table in front of me and sat down staring at it. I looked through the hole and watched as another seed disintegrated. I knew I had just less than a week left. I needed to do something soon.

Bellarose had told me how to ask people out, and about going on dates. I decided to give it a try.

I went to the café to buy myself a coffee in hopes to clear my mind a bit. There a lady had dropped her jacket so I picked it up and handed it to her. She smiled at me charmingly, "Thank you." I smiled back, "Anytime." I held the jacket out for her and watched her take it. "Say, how about I buy you a drink?" I inquired. She continued to smile at me, "I would like that."

"What would you like to get, uhh...?"

"Anna, and an iced coffee will do."

I smiled, "I'm Arius, and sure thing."

We started meeting on a daily basis at the café.

I also started spending more time with Bellarose than I used to. She spoke very openly, causing me to open up to her, even though it may have only been slightly. She was also more open about physical gestures and affection. Like hugs. I did not understand why, but that was that.

But it was on the night before my last I finally plucked up the courage to ask one of them out.