Wool's Orphanage

A Brave Jump

Chara avoided Tom the following days but still sat next to him while eating. They didn't talk and he didn't seem to notice that she was there. Normally school was the highlight of Chara's days but after that night she just loved to be in her room and try all sorts of things, making a glowing ball like Tom was her priority. Chara hated how satisfied Tom was over the fact that he could control the power while she was basically helpless. Another thing that she had to accept was that Tom must have been right; she could only use it while she was scared. When practising in her room she could barely move anything with her mind and when trying to conjure a light ball her hands only tingled. It felt like the power was right at her fingertips but it was not ready to be used just yet. After another long evening of staring at her pocket watch and her hands feeling numb, Chara decided to try something else in the morning.

It was a nice day, the sun was actually shining and it was a nice temperature, on days like these, kids like Chara should be playing tag or some other game but she had something else in mind. She had just stepped outside after washing dishes for what felt like an eternity when Dennis yelled her name from the other side of the backyard.

'Chara!', he came running towards her.

'Do you want to play tag with us?' Dennis had reached her and smiled happily. Chara looked around the backyard and noticed that others were looking at them because Dennis had attracted their attention. He had become particularly annoying in the last few weeks and pretending to like him got more exhausting with every interaction. Chara really didn't want to get noticed today but he just had to ruin it.

'No, I have other plans.' she proceeded to walk past him.

'Well, what are your plans?' he caught up to her which that made her stop.

'Since when do you care?' she turned to face him so that he could see how annoyed she was.

'No one has seen you play outside all week! You're just in your room all the time, what are you even doing?'

'That's none of your business. We aren't even friends,' she said, a bit confused as to why he would care. "Just leave me alone."

'Fine! Now I get why no one wants to be friends with you!' he stomped away and shot her one last angry glance before he reached his friends.

 Chara walked towards some bushes and vanished behind them. Her anxiety calmed down when she was out of sight but while thinking about what she was about to do, her heart started beating faster again. She reached the tree she had fallen out of a while ago and started to climb up before anyone could notice. This time the wood wasn't wet as it hadn't rained in days. She saw everyone from up there and watched Dennis tag Amy so hard she fell to the ground. Mrs Cole started running towards them from the stairs where she was sitting, like every time she watched over the backyard. To Chara's surprise, Tom came out of the door and slowly walked down the stairs while looking at Amy whose right knee was now visibly bleeding. Chara tried to keep her thoughts away from Tom and looked down at the ground, at the exact same spot where she was floating last time. She would try to do it much longer this time, she wanted to know how long she could float. Chara knew this would work, she just needed to be brave enough to jump. Looking down made her heart beat faster so she closed her eyes and thought about how it had felt the last time. The cold air while falling, her heart going crazy and the realization that she did not get hurt. It made her feel like she could do anything; like she was invincible. Filled with determination, Chara opened her eyes and let herself fall. She was confident and calm because she knew this would work, it had to, just like last time. She saw the ground come closer but she didn't feel threatened by it, the cold air that hit her face felt pleasant and she stopped falling just before hitting the ground as if it came naturally.