bonheur

Chapter 2

Aria had been knocking on the old lady's door for quite a while now but there's no answer. Finally, she decided to try the door but it was unlocked easily.

"What's going on?" She mumbled to herself.

"Granny?" She asked as she came into the house but there was no reply. She was already panicking but then she spotted the old lady sitting in the living room.

"What's wrong, Granny?" She asked. The old lady turned around to face her with Charlie in her arms.

"Aria," she said.

"Charlie?" She came closer to Granny and touched Charlie's head. "Is he dead?"

"No, he's just seriously ill. You mustn't die, little one," Granny said as she patted Charlie's head gently.

"But if it's too painful for him, isn't it better to just let him die?"

At least, it's better than living in this shitty world. Aria thought.

"Even so, he wants to stay alive," Granny said.

"He wants to stay alive..." Aria repeated quietly.

Aria then sat by the living room sofa and repeated to herself. "He's still alive. He's not dead yet. Not dead yet..." Then she remembered something and quickly ran off to the front door. She bent down to check the flower pot. A tiny sprout has poked through the dirt in it.

"Aria? Is something the matter?" Granny asked walking to the front door, holding Charlie.

Aria pointed to the flower pot and faced Granny.

"The first sprout has come out," she said. "That's really something."

Granny smiled but it almost looked like she was on the verge of crying.

"Why are you crying?" Aria asked. "Are you sad again?"

"I'm not. I'm just very happy," Granny replied.

Aria then smiled. "I'm happy too. The flower is blooming and Charlie's also been saved."

"I think I should go to school now, granny," Aria added after checking her watch.

"Please take care of yourself," Granny said, waving at her.

---

After school, Rena had called Aria to hangout.

"Hello, Rena," Aria had picked up her phone.

"Aria! Where are you now?" Rena had asked through the line.

"On my way to Bryan's."

"I'm hanging around the park we were at. Why don't you come over?"

"Okay," Aria said then hung up.

When Aria got there, she saw Rena talking with a girl. It was their classmate, Betty, and as far as Aria was concerned, she was also "their likes".

"Been a while, Aria," Betty said. "You're still going to school?"

"Yeah," Aria replied.