The sun in my days | 孙芮 • Sun Rui

II

Zhang Duozi's cellphone rang in the middle of the class. There have been two whole days since she met that stranger at "Gege's" and still no sign from her. Who knew, maybe she would bump into her at the coffee show again one day.

The professor looked at her in a serious way, nodding her to turn it off. Her face turned red out of embarrassment, but every negative feeling went away as soon as she opened and read the text message from an unknown number.

"Is this the right number for the spot thief?"
She rushed to text back. Actually, she couldn't believe that Sun Rui texted her and didn't delete her contact.
"You have reached the right number. Am I speaking to the pretty girl behind me?"
She stayed there over her phone, waiting for a response. Her eyes were eagerly staring at the screen and her heart was rushing.

A response has been sent to her phone three hours later.
"I'll be around the coffee shop at 05:00 p.m. Are you up for a walk?"
The truth is that Zhang Duozi was having a lesson until 07:00, but she preferred to skip it for the sake of the stranger.

And that was it. They set an appointment at the park. Duozi was running in order to be there on time. She liked being punctual. Once again the weather was warm and nice. The park wasn't that crowded, since everyone was still at work or at school.

She found Sun Rui waiting there, outside the coffee. A smile showed on Duozi's face when she saw her from the distance.
"Hi!" She said and approached the brunette.
"Hello!"
"I really thought you wouldn't text me." Duozi confessed and awkwardly scratched her head like she always did, when she felt anxious.
Sun Rui responded with a smile and signed her to start moving towards the park.

It was a beautiful walk. Duozi was talking about her classes and Sun Rui appeared to be a good listener, yet not much of a talker.
"I'm on my last semester, so I usually stay home studying. A very uninteresting person."
"Uninteresting people don't practice medical studies, do they!" Sun Rui stopped her wheelchair and looked at the girl.
Silence for a while. You could only hear the birds tweeting. The atmosphere was shy, but these two seemed to like each other's aura.

"May I roll you?" Zhang Duozi offered to roll the wheelchair.
"I don't need help to move around."
Sun Rui sounded a bit harsh and kept using her hands to roll the chair forward.
Duozi got disappointed by the brunette's strong attitude but managed to catch up by walking fast towards her.
"Are you mad?"
"No. I just don't like being asked for something like this."
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to look like I was helping you with moving around. I just thought it would be kind to ask."

Sun Rui saw the sincerity in Duozi's shiny eyes. This girl was truly trying to make the interaction between them work. For some strange reason, she was dedicated to form this friendship. But Sun Rui wasn't used in trusting people, especially since the accident.

"Fine. You can do it." She finally said to the tall girl with the thin legs. Duozi was indeed awkwardly tall with brown straight hair that reached her shoulders. She was usually wearing loose t-shirts and skinny jeans, like she was studying Fine Arts. But no, surprisingly enough this girl wanted to become a Pathologist one day.

Zhang Duozi grabbed the wheelchair's handles and started rolling Sun Rui until they reached a nice spot at the park. She found the rolling entertaining after all.
"Okay, you know what, rolling you is not convenient." She said and jumped in front of the brunette all of a sudden.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sun Rui got a bit frustrated by those words.
But Duozi was staring at the girl's eyes with a silly smile drawn on her face. She started walking backwards, facing Sun Rui and said:
"I mean, it's hard talking to you, but not seeing your pretty face."

Sun Rui almost choked. Her eyes turned big and shocked.
"What is wrong with you?" She awkwardly chuckled. Deep inside she was being flattered, but chose to hide it. It was too soon to let herself loose.
"Oh, I thought you've been told many times."
"You must be blind."
"Maybe you are!" Duozi talked back, but in a sweet way. And now you could see Sun Rui's face blushing a bit.

After a while, they found a nice and quiet spot at the park, right under a big tree. So they sat there, looking at the green scenery. It was nice and peaceful. Nothing but silence was filling up the atmosphere. It was enough for the two girls to appreciate the moment.

"What?"
"N-nothing!" Duozi shyly responded to Sun Rui, who had just caught the former staring at her. "You must be really blind, you know?"
Sun Rui smiled and gazed at the buildings across the park.

"Have your guards always been that high?"
"Huh?" Sun Rui got surprised by the strange question coming out of nowhere.
"Your guards. I mean, I know I'm still a stranger to you, but, Sun Rui, I'm willing to fight for your friendship."
"Why are you so persistent? You just met me."
"True. But, you know, I've always been a reserved person. This time I've decided to listen to my heart and be spontaneous about it. I go wherever my feelings go."
That was a deep confession. By listening to her own words, Zhang Duozi felt that she had shared too much for a first walk. The thing is that Sun Rui wasn't talking. She was just siting there, carefully listening to her new friend. Fully focused on her honest words. Honesty, that's what she liked in Zhang Duozi.

"Zhang Duozi..." she initiated a conversation after a while. "You haven't asked about my... situation yet. Most people notice my situation before anything else. It's like I'm defined by my disability." The girl lowered her head in disappointment. It was true. Most people felt sorry for her. Most people were chatting about her in front of her. Most people were perceiving her as that girl on the wheelchair. Pointing a finger at her. Some times it was in humane. All these little behaviors of the people around her, made her guards high and her self esteem low.

"I..." It was hard for the tall girl to find the right words. "When I first saw you, complaining about my rudeness, I only thought one thing; that I wanted to see you again." She shyly confessed, while ripping the grass off the ground with her fingers.

The two girls found themselves staring at each other in a moment of silence. Two hearts could be heard beating faster. There was a mutual connection. Understanding.

"I should better get going. It's late." Sun Rui said looking at her watch.
"Sure. I need to study a bit as well."

Duozi accompanied Sun Rui to the coffee shop, where her mother would come and pick her up.
"Will you text me again soon?"
"We'll see." Said Sun Rui and rolled her chair to the car waiting for her at the corner of the road.