Stellina

A Weeping Willow Tree

It began with a fistfight.

No, perhaps it wasn't the most auspicious of beginnings, especially for a first day at a new school. But Lina couldn't help feeling the most awful wave of relief. It resided deep in her gut, nestling there. She couldn't help being thankful that it wasn't her lying on the ground in a pool of mortification, but rather Liliane.

The start of the day had been fairly smooth. Lina had trudged through her classes, clad in a plain gray dress that hung too tightly at the knees. She couldn't stop thinking about the other night at the coffee shop, the Mozart melody Luka had performed playing in her head all day long, which offered the slightest tinge of hope and comfort as she attempted to block out the image of Mama's violent outburst the other day. Yet in spite of this, she was still cloaked in grief and timidity. It was as if these things were a vibrant red stain on a white shirt, for all the students kept a wall of silence between her and themselves.

So when Lina emerged from the peeling white doors, she was shocked to see the commotion out front.

A circle of boys congregated in the schoolyard. There had to be a dozen or so, all wearing faded gray jackets, still holding their school books nonchalantly at their sides. They wore hunger, hatred, and an urge to fight on their chapped lips, chanting some vulgar French word. Yet when Lina's gaze shifted from the boys to the figure in the center of the circle, her heart plummeted. The girl's skin was even paler in the cloudy lighting, her shoulders hunched over as if to make herself smaller. She was crouched to the ground, strands of brown wavy hair peeking out from her red hat.

Liliane.

Blood pulsing through her veins, Lina slammed her stack of books to the ground, rushing to the scene. She pressed her way through the growing crowd, ignoring the stench of sweat and stale bread from lunch that penetrated the air. A few raindrops began tumbling out of the sky, eerily peaceful amidst the roaring buzz of the crowd.

"Why don't you answer me, stupide? Can't you lip read?"

The shouting slapped her in the ears as Lina surveyed the scene. The words came from a tall, freckled boy that Lina knew as Léo Hugo. He licked his lips in satisfaction as Liliane, much to Lina's horror, arose and began pushing her way through the group of schoolboys. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pressed through the crowd, yet the children remained a wall of humiliation. They merely snickered as she stumbled into Léo, who took the opportunity to shove her back in the circle.

Fighting the urge to gasp, Lina faltered back a couple of steps. Her heart throbbed in her chest as she said a silent prayer that Liliane would somehow be stronger than her, brave enough to stand up for herself. Something Lina didn't have the courage to do, even for her little sister.

And sure enough, as the crowd circled in tighter, Liliane brushed the tears off her cheeks. Her jaw set with every ounce of determination she still possessed, she did what everyone knows one should not do when confronted by bullies. In one violent fury of motion, she shoved the largest person in the circle: a two hundred pound, six-foot girl by the name of Hilda.

The crowd gasped.

Lina's hands went numb.

In an instant, both girls were on the ground. Jaw clenched, Hilda furrowed her eyebrows in pure vengeance and concentration as she curled her fist into a tight ball. She punched Liliane several times in the face, chin, and eyes, each time causing a shudder to ripple throughout the little girl's entire body. Gasping, Lina stumbled closer to the circle, unable to tear her gaze from the scene yet wanting so desperately to. Blood trickled to the ground, slithering across the gravel. The tears that fell from her little sister's eyes were as heavy as honey, and for once, Lina was grateful that Liliane couldn't hear anything.