Mosaic

Chapter 3 .:. Komorebi

Komorebi
(n.) sunlight shining through the leaves of trees

Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the wooden picnic bench. The sun beat down relentlessly, made worse with the lack of breeze. In the shadow of the trees, Brook was sheltered from the burning touch of the sun's rays.

She sat on the picnic bench with one elbow propped on the table to support her chin while the other held her phone. Her leg bounced impatiently, and the bench quivered from the intensity of her movement.

Brook scrolled lazily through her Instagram feed, double tapping some posts and ignoring others. She stopped on a recent pictured posted by her friend, Riley.

It was group photo of her friends, all smiles and eyes that gleamed joyfully. Brook's heart squeezed painfully, and a wave of loneliness rushed through her. She wished she had been there. She wanted to be there.

She had only left a week ago and it already felt like they had moved on. Do they even miss me? Brook had thought they would, but she wasn't sure anymore. She was only friends with them because of Riley, who had been her neighbor back when she lived in Fresno. Since Brook did online school, there weren't many opportunities to be with other kids her age, so Riley always invited her to join them. Now that Brook would be going to public school for the first time, she missed their company more than ever.

The thought of school made her pulse quicken and her heart thud, echoing like a gong in her ears. She gave her head a violent shake. She didn't want to think about school right.

"Hello, Brookie," an annoyingly familiar voice reached her ears. A hand ruffled her hair, making it frizzier than it was before.

Brook swatted the hand away with a grumble. "Stop calling me that," she said as she tried to smooth down her now messy chestnut hair.

Her brother grinned at her and sat down on the seat across from her. "Aw, don't be like that. You're the one who asked me to come."

"I thought you would've matured some in college," Brook muttered under her breath. Despite her words, she was glad to see him. It felt like old times when they bickered over silly things that didn't matter. The familiarity was comforting.

"Oh, but I did," her brother said proudly. "I have my own apartment now."

Brook furrowed her brows. "You moved out? I thought you were staying with Dad."

He shrugged. "Thought it was time for me to go out on my own."

"David, you swore you wouldn't ever move out," Brook said. Her tone was light, playful even, just enough to mask the suspicion that was creeping into her mind.

Her brother smiled, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. "Things change, kiddo."

Don't I know it. She kept her thoughts to herself, only acknowledging his words with an absent-minded hum.

"How is everything?" David asked.

Was that concern she heard? Brook almost smirked. Almost. As much as she wished to confide in David, she didn't want to burden him with her problems. "It's alright," she said dismissively.