Our Little Cherry Blossoms

sixteen. shield

ＭＡＲＣＨ (( ＣＡＳＥ ))

I entered the school gate, snow squelching under my drab gumboots as I steadily plodded forward. Days passed seamlessly since Edmund's reminder, and I still hadn't left Valerie, although my somewhat muted epiphany regarding Lark propitiated my artistic friend. This cowardice of mine, I can't stand it. Vaguely, I had realised where my true feelings lie, though the mere prospect of understanding this enigma daunted me. Valerie was enamoured by most, her fleeting optimism and languid yet scorching aura drew the attention of admirers despite her mildly prodigal habits. Her very presence bereft me the wretchedness I felt from Lark's delicate, desolate face, and a part of me didn't want to face that agony again. Is that all? I shook the notion of Valerie's possible façade away. If that were true, she would be a living travesty. A girl such as herself who offered me heat after the winsome bird flew away and casted that gust of frigid wind which clawed at my chest - she would never...

"Hey, Case, you'd better go save your girlfriend before she gets hurt."

A insufferably patronising sing-song tone erupted next to my ear like an irritable pimple, belonging to one of my more well-built friends. Burly, yet unbelievably haughty. He then scurried off like a field mouse who had found a stash of corn in the middle of a wasteland. Valerie? My strides lengthened, pace increasing by the second as I rushed after my friend, joined by several other snoops who fervently waited for drama like this to ensue. How pathological would someone be to lay a finger on her? Ahead of me, my friend's hefty body stopped along with a crowd of obnoxiously curious students, figures swaying to and fro in order to seize an adequate glimpse of the scene that was transpiring. I gulped, swallowing the copious bile scraping its way up my throat in ire. Bundles of coats stepped aside as I walked towards the centre of the onlooking circle, prepared to trounce whomever had dared commit violence against a mere sunflower. Bracing myself, I set my eyes on the stage, only to be impaled by impalpable shock. Crude strands of barbed vines enclosed around my thoughts and tightened all at once, bursting my delusions as a menagerie of alloyed sunlight seeped out of my wounds.

What a travesty.

"Valerie?"

A strangled whisper crawled out of my throat, coated with bile as it dripped off my tongue. Plucked feathers flitted before my vision, and the sun whom tore them from its owner halted, her vibrantly repulsive face turning to gape at my presence. Ignoring Valerie's impertinent squabble of an explanation, I warily approached the girl who was kneeling on the ground, her cheeks a sore shade of cerise and a part of her lips swollen. It was as if my flamboyant heart was being wrung by the hands of a grieving mother, all traces of craven doubt draining away with the sodden snow. Charily in response, she cast a debilitated gaze, her emerald lanterns portraying a forest after fire as rain pacified the smoke. Minuscule tears leaked silently from her eyes.

"C-Case, I...she was trying to ruin our relationship...I only-"

Valerie's futile stammers came to an abrupt stop, her mangled thread cut - burned by the sun itself. I wrapped my arms around the broken bird before me, squeezing her tightly until I could finally feel the comforting warmth I had desperately yearned for, extinguishing the beguiled heat forced upon me by Valerie. Her arms returned the favour and an anguished jubilation took hold of my breath, mounting higher and higher until my scrunched eyelids overflowed with untimely happiness.

My bird had come back.