The Gifted (Txt x Itzy)

五

Chaeryeong traced the patterns of the stained glass windows gingerly with her finger. She willed her hand not to quiver as the reflective material casted brilliant colours onto the ground of the Chapel. This will not break, she told herself. Her mother always had a fear of glass, after she had been pushed out of a glass window, the shards piercing through her skin, even now the scars were faint but there. And she had passed it on to her daughter, she was taught that broken glass would hurt you, and sharp objects would cut you. It also didn't help that Chaeryeong seemed to have a thing where a tiny cut would bleed on for hours, a rare disease, though the doctors had no real proof she had it. So Chaeryeong was a child bundled in safety and cotton, because one paper cut, one tiny scratch would leave her pale and still on the floor. Chaeryeong sank out of her reverie when the sunlight winked through the window into her eyes, and she caught sight of a boy lurking outside the window. She squinted at the tiny thing that was falling towards the window, what was that-

She yelped a moment too late when she realised it was a pebble, and the glass shattered immediately, the pieces raining down on her, and all she could think of was "this was how mother felt like", but something else, not just that, it wasn't pain, it wasn't unpleasant, it was musical. She lifted her head and examined her hands, and laughed lightly in shock. No blood, no cuts, no scratches.

"Chaeryeong!" Her mother shrieked, rushing up to her. "You...you...didn't the window shatter? You...you're alright?" Her mother sounded shocked and relieved at the same time.

That night, Chaeryeong crept out of her room with the intent to get a cup of water, when she froze as whispers drifted up to her. "We need to get her tested," Her mother said adamantly. Her father snorted and shook his head, "And if they take her?" "Test me for what?" Chaeryeong asked, startling her parents. Her father licked his lips nervously, but her mother said quickly, "Just a small blood test, nothing fancy-"

"For what?" She asked again, weakly.

"To check if you are a gifted."

-

Chaeryeong knows the test would come soon, and she took advantage of her parents not being home to check the mailbox. A large envelope sits there, and she tears it open eagerly. The paper drops to the ground. The girl shook her head, biting back tears. They would take her, the government, her father had warned her, use her for the coming war. "I don't want to be taken," She whispered.

That's when she decided. She had to go. And she needed to take the paper too. It was so obvious, that big, bolded word: POSITIVE.

-

I taped up my heart