Belle Stone

Part 8

A lot of time passed since Belle came out of her room. No one let her do that again. The new guy literally had no other choice but to keep her there. She didn't mind it though. She didn't spend it doing anything. Her speech was coming along nicely. Although there was some stuff she still didn't know, at least she could speak a little bit.

Her isolation made her have more time for thinking about things.  Finally, the acknowledgment of her name arrived. She knew at last that her name was Belle, that people weren't making that sound around her just because they could. It had a purpose. The name suited her, so she liked it. It was quite simple, easy to remember, easy to pronounce, nice to the ears...

When she realized Belle was her name she kept repeating it over and over and over again. Each time instead of it becoming dull and annoying for her it sounded even better and nicer. She herself couldn't even pick a better name for herself. That day of her realization the new guy caught her giggling while repeating her name. It brought a smile on his face, even a slight bit of a chuckle.

"Hi there Belle, what are you doing?" He emphasized the last word cocking his eyebrow up while leaning against the door frame. Belle stopped at her tracks and looked over to her now you can say best friend there.
"Hey..."
Her voice really quiet due to the embarrassment of being caught admiring her own name.
"Umm...nothing."
She bowed her head down.
"I heard you, Belle. Now tell me what is so funny about your own name that you keep on giggling at it.”

He walked towards her. The sound of footsteps getting closer making her raise her head up.
"Well...It sounds nice...Like a..a.."
Loss of words that was getting less frequent came once more.
"Bell??”
Like usually the guy was there to help her with it.
"Yeah...a bell," she said and jumped because she heard a new word.
"What is a bell?"
She calmed down, wanting an answer after discovering she didn't hear the word before.
"It is the thing that rings."
Unsure if it is clear enough he looks at her for affirmation. Again he lost her as she drifts off in her mind. She now knew what that thing was and she knew what was it called. She was so happy she learned a new word.
"It even produces the same sound as the bell."
Lost in thought. She looks so far away from him as she speaks.
"You mean it rings"
"Yeah, yeah rings...That is what meant...rings.."
The smile grew bigger on her face as she repeated those words in her head.

"Ah...Belle. l will never get what is it with you and words. You always seem so fascinated by everything I say. Just by saying the word bell and ring, I could see you brighten up and shine even more than you usually do.”
The guy was saying his thoughts out loud but Belle was too busy with her own world to notice anything being said. He knew that she wouldn't hear him.

As the guy was about to leave Belle grabbed him. She snapped out of her wonderful world at the sound of the door opening.
"Please stay for a little more. I am bored."
"Okay, okay. But only a little. The other children are bored too."
Belle's face falls after he says that that and he notices. Her head now hung low. She dropped her hands in her lap and played with her fingers. Mark observed this bundle of joy turning into a slouched pile of sadness. She raises her head up at him and looks at him with puppy dog eyes.
"Why don't they want to hang out with me? Am I bored?"

Her small pout. The bottom lip sticking out. Her big eyes searched for an answer in his. He is a bit amused by her broken English but the feeling of sorrow is greater. He wraps his arm around the kid and rests his head on top of hers.
"No, of course, you are not boring. They ask me where you are all the time?"
"Then why don't they play with me? Why don't they come to hang out with me?"
She gets out of his grip and looks up at him. Her eyes are demanding an answer. He panics. He can't tell her the truth. It would crush her.
"They think they are boring to you."

The guy lied but what other could he have said, they are afraid of you, the grown-ups here don't let you. He had to lie, seeing that poor innocent girl being sad broke his heart. At his lie, she turned her whole expression lighter. The bundle of joy reemerged.
"Really???"
She wasn't excited about them thinking they are boring. It excited her to think they wanted to hang out with her, that they thought of her so greatly. Most of all she was happy about it not being her fault for them not visiting her. The man's smile grew at the same time as the little girls while he lovingly looked her in the eyes.
”Yeah, really"

After a few seconds, she turned her expression back again. She was going through a whole rollercoaster of emotion.
"Then that means they will never come."
The man didn't know what to do, he just stared at her. What can he say? He already lied. It stung his heart to see her like that knowing how the others treated her and what they thought about her. How can he make it up to her? How can he make it better? Not by his own will but by something deep within him the words came out of his mouth and surprised both Belle and him.
"They will. I promise to bring them tomorrow.”
Joy entered Belle's body as she rushes up to hug him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, very thank you, thank you, thank you..."

She kept repeating those words over and over again. The man stood there he, his hand pressed the small back of the little girl. He was thinking of how he is going to pull this off and what can he do to make what he said come true.
To be continued...