42: C42 Chapter 42

C42 Chapter 42

The sun emitted its light through foliage of the big tree that shadowed the long bench where we had been sitting since five minutes ago. The wind swished in my ear through hand fanning my neck as if whispering something I could not fathom. My body got sweaty due to being in the public transport with a lot of people. I let my face up, listening to the sparrows chirping while waiting for words from Vera’s mouth.0

We were in the park. It would be a perfect place for us to have a talk about the things I did not want to expose to my mother. It was the bullying I had grappled that compelled me to give up. The only thing my mother conceived about my decision to drop out of school was solely due to my own desire and accord. As far as she knew nobody intimidated me to do so. At least I felt relived she thought that way. I could not imagine how hard it was for her if she found the fact that her daughter had to go through hell at school almost every day.

“His father sent him abroad yesterday,” Vera initiated the conversation. I understood the person she referred to. It was Reno. It did not jerk me since I got the information from Kevin two days ago. That boy’s plan to obviate Reno was successful. I let out of breath, throwing my disquietude away. Reno should not have been of my concern yet there was a pain inside me every time I thought that I probably would not see him for the rest of my life. “You know what? The CCTV and the pictures taken and shared by someone on social media confirmed that it was Reno, the one who was with you in the library.”

“No way! It was Kevin who resembled Reno by putting on glasses,” I defied.

“It is too late for you to reveal that now. Nobody believed that he is innocent. Even his father got wrath. If only....”

“I am selfish”

“No, you are not.”

“I should have listened to you. I should have told the teachers and the school principal the truth. If I kept going to school no matter how hard it was to face the contumely from the students, he would not be slandered for something he never did. His father would not blame him. He is still in the school,” I prattled.

“Don’t cry over the spilt milk. What you should do now is to come back to school. Reno desperately wants you not to give up. He has scarified his life. He confessed that he was the one who asked you to come to the library. And you are innocent.”

“What? Why? He doesn’t have to do that. He always thinks that he is a superhero, saving others ‘life by killing himself.” What Reno had done was annoying. It was not because he did the wrong thing but he did the thing that kept me away from him. I finally admitted that it was so heartbreaking to lose him.

“Would you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Go to school.”

“I can’t promise you the thing I am not sure I can do.”

“You can’t do even if it is for Reno’s sake, someone who had protected and saved you?”

“Someone who also has caused me to go through this,” I added.

“What Kevin has done has nothing to do with Reno. That boy is evil, indeed although Reno always treats him well.”

“Vera....”

“Please...I don’t want to hear any other sentences but you will come back to school.” I did not say anything. It was hard for me to meet her request. “Ilana....”

“I can’t!” She looked at me in disbelief. “I mean I need time to make a decision,” I mumbled. “To be honest, coming back to that building that has created bad memory in my life is very difficult thing.”

“You can think about it. Listen, I am always your friend that you can go to or share with whatever it is a decision you make. But, I hope that you choose not to quit. You are your mother’s hope. You are your hope. Remember all the tough times you have been through, how cruel your father tortures you, how unfair the students at school treat you. You aspire to have a better life and future, don’t you? You can achieve it only through good education.” Vera ended her discourse. We were locked in our own world afterward. I was trying to discern her utterances. She might be right that whatever happened, giving up was the word you never opted or acted it out. Nevertheless, the faces of the bullies popped up on my mind every time I had an intention to come back to school.

We separated after that long talk. I was walking down the street with many things piling up on my head. The heat of the sun no longer became my enemy. I got used to it. The long journey did not affect me either. It was my problem and Reno’s leaving that disturbed me. I was in dilemma whether or not to listen to Vera’s suggestion. I felt guilty that Reno was in trouble because of me, after all.

The road to my house still stretched ahead. It was more or less two kilometers from my whereabouts to my neighborhood. It was not that far for me who was used to scavenging. I didn’t feel bothered that the sweat had damped me.

I lost my concentration so that I did not realize that I went through the desolated area. This area was where the last time I met and ran away from the robbers. My problem even had impacted my brain. I was about to spin around to the main road, but I saw someone I recognized. That middle-aged man looked like my uncle from his figure and the shirt he wore. But, what did he do here?

That man turned back. He was not my uncle. He was just coincident wearing the same shirt as my uncle’s. That man smirked at me with expression that I could not comprehend. My instuition warned me to go away as soon as possible. From the way he stared at me, he was definitely not a good man. He chased me. I ran as quickly as possible.

pqdm.com