𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭 ❄️

6: Home

The fall leaves scattered the ground in small piles of color. My classmates were playing in the leaves, throwing handfuls in the air and letting them rain down around them. They kicked flurries of leaves into the air as they chased each other around the playground. Alone on a bench, I sat watching them.

A girl approached me with a timid smile. Her short brown hair fell around her face with the exception of a small ponytail tied to the side. "Why are you sitting here all alone?" She asked.

Wasn't that obvious? I looked at her with a frown. "No one wants to play with me." I answered.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because I'm a foreigner." I said.

Even though I was born in Japan, it was because I was only half Japanese. It didn't help that my parents divorced because my mother wanted to move back to Europe. That fact only gave the bullies more ammunition to use against me. If my own mother didn't take me with her when she moved continents, then why should the other children invite me to play?

This girl didn't seem to care about that. "I'll play with you." She said, her eyes shining with determination. "It doesn't matter if you're a foreigner. I'll be your friend!" She looked at me with eyes that were innocent to the cruelty of people. That smile seemed to be mocking me. Coaxing me to let my guard down just so she could tear me apart from the inside.

"I don't need your pity or your fake kindness." I said, fixing a frown on the girl. "You're just going to leave me too." I stood from the park bench and left, wanting to find another place to read. A place where I could be alone.

I ignored the girl's confused frown. As much as I wanted to open up, nothing good would come of that. I'd told my classmates about my background and look what happened. If that girl got to know me better, surely she would abandon me and come to hate me soon.

"Hello," that plain girl approached again with a smile just as bright as the last time. After that day we met, she told me her name. Every day, she approached me to ask the same question: 'how are you today?'

And every day I gave her the same answer: 'it doesn't matter. Go away.'

She never did. So today, my answer was different.

"How are you today?" Tohru asked.

I frowned in the face of the sun. "I'm . . . confused." I said. Tohru seemed to perk up at the change in my normal response. "I want to know why you keep talking to me even though I just tell you to leave. I can't be that interesting to you. And I'm not even being nice."

Tohru smiled. "Well that's because I want to be your friend. And friends always stick together."

"So that's why you greet me every day? Because you want to be my friend?" I asked. Tohru nodded. "Why?" I asked. "Why me?"

Tohru hummed. "Well, you looked like you wanted someone to play with. I thought you were waiting for someone to ask you. But there was no one who was asking." She said. "It made me sad. I thought maybe you were sad too. I wanted to be your friend so you wouldn't be lonely. Friends always help each other feel happy."

So Tohru was the kind of person that wanted to help others. That was very noble of her. I glanced to the side. "Maybe I was a bit lonely . . . Sorry I was so mean earlier. I guess I was just scared you would reject me, so I pushed you away. If you really want to be friends with you, then I don't mind."

I looked back to see a few tears slipping down Tohru's cheeks. She was crying. I froze. I had no idea what to do. "H-hey! I wasn't that lonely!" I exclaimed. "Stop crying!"