whoosh
whoosh
The gentle breeze seeps between Liselotte's hair. Its the perfect time to take a nap and her eyes felt tired. In the hut she lives in, the ceiling is too low and mould is everywhere that she felt uncomfortable sleeping there.
'Maybe I should take mother out and sleep here with her from time to time.' She thought to herself, laying down and staring at the bright blue sky.
'Everything is so hard... I wonder how it feels like being rich.'
Now that she thinks about it again, the nobility is so rich that they probably never endure hardship. 'What do they do with those money anyway besides going to salons and dressing up for balls and plays?'
'And marrying Princes...'
'If only... If only we were from nobility...'
Her red eyes sparkles as she stares at the blue sky. The thought of her beautiful mother now healthy, wearing lavish dresses with bows and frills and her dad in robes and pendants made her heart flutter. She would be wearing cute dresses too, and she would ask them to make it pink for her with lots of bows and gemstones. They would walk in ballrooms hand in hand and they would be the most beautiful family anyone had seen.
'If only...'
She felt like crying again,
"Hey,"
The tears got suck right back in.
A face appeared on top of her and she quickly jolt up, causing her head to struck this person on the chin.
"OW!"
Both of them yelps in pain, and each rubbed the part of their head that was hit with impact.
"W-who are you?" Liselotte eyed the person, who appears to be a boy with a bit of a caution.
The pair of silver eyes stares back at her, and then...
DUN
Her eyes widen. A sharp pain appears on her chest, causing her to tumble a bit forward and fell to her knees.
"My God, are you okay?" The boy bends down to help her, as Liselotte clutched her palm tightly to her chest. It felt like she was pierced in the chest for a moment and the insides of her body is about to burst.
'What was that? What was that?'
Her eyes are staring to the ground, her heart began racing. A heart attack? No, no, no, no, no, she can't be sick. Not when she has her mother who she needs to take care of.
The boy sat beside her in silence for a couple of minutes and when Liselotte calmed down she turned to the boy.
"You gave me a heart attack,"
He furrowed his eyebrows, "Did I?"
"I saw your eyes and suddenly there's a sharp pain in my chest and--"
Liselotte stopped midway when she noticed his expression changed drastically. "What's wrong?" She asked this time.
"..." He seems to be thinking for a moment before returning his gaze back to her, "Go on, tell me more."
"Yeah and anyway that sharp hot pain is nothing like I've felt in my 11 years of living. Maybe its a heart attack."
"...I surely hope not. Sorry I must've startled you,"
"Yeah I hope that doesn't happen again, I can't be sick and I can't die young."
The young boy looks apologetic. It's clear from the way he starts rummaging through his pocket, as if looking to give Liselotte an offering as a token of apology. He pulls something out, it's a gold coin.
"Will this suffice?"
Lise took the gold coin. Business is business.
"Yes, you're forgiven."
The two sit in silence for a moment. Each secretly eyeing each other up and down, although with Lise it's a lot more obvious considering her blatant judging side eye that she's giving the young boy. He's taller than her, tall enough for her to assume he must be at least 2 years older than she is. He has dark black hair that shines even under the calm blue sky and eyes striking bright silver, as if it's made of actual silver, or diamond. His skin is of a cool pale shade, making him look a bit frail, and he's quite lanky in stature. Maybe the poor boy didn't eat much.
"What are you doing here? Do you know this is my secret spot?"
It was Lise who breaks the silence first.
"I didn't know that. I was running away, actually. I just happen to find the place."
"Oh? Run away from who?"
"My... tutor,"
"You have tutors?"
"Yes... A lot,"
"Do you like, study?"
"Yes,"
"All the time?"
"Yes,"
'So this starved looking boy is rich huh,'
Lise plops back down on her back against the grassy hill, "Must be nice. I would love to study. Do you learn about swordsmanship and penmanship?"
"Yes,"
"I'm jealous."
Lise cannot read nor write, and she has never picked up a sword in her life. In this world, only the rich are able to have access to education: swords and pens are a status symbol of wealth and power.
The boy stares at her and then move to lay down besides her, "Do you not study?"
"No,"
"I figured."
Again, it was silence. Lise doesn't mind people, in fact she actually loves making friends. However, her neighbours wouldn't allow their children to play with her, fearing 'they would contract the illness Liselotte's mother is suffering with'. As a result, she learned to swallow the bitter pill of loneliness and came to enjoy her own company. The fact that this young boy so willingly lay beside her made her extremely happy.
'Oh,'
Her smile fades,
'It's probably because he doesn't know my mother is sick,'
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm just enjoying and playing by myself,"
╔═·༻𐫱༺·═══════════════════════════════╗
'Don't your parents get worried you're out here alone?'
╚═══════════════════════════════·༻𐫱༺·═╝
"Don't your parents get worried you're out here alone?"
"No... My mother is asleep and she's too sick to care,"
╔═·༻𐫱༺·════════════════════╗
'I'm sorry to hear that, I wish her well.'
╚════════════════════·༻𐫱༺·═╝
"I'm sorry to hear that, I wish her well"
Lise rises quickly, her eyes narrows and she looks around the hill as if she suddenly sense danger. "Did you repeat yourself twice?" She asks the boy who stares at her strangely, still laying down. He shakes his head, now looking equally wary as her.
'What the hell was that?'
She could swear under God's name that she just saw him repeats himself. Like a glitch. Or was she just hallucinating?
'I feel dizzy...'
"Hey, you okay?"
"No... I swear I heard you repeat yourself twice. It's like I saw you speaking before you actually speak."
'Does he thinks I'm crazy? I am probably going insane.'
Small Lise starts laughing to herself,
'Hah hah... I'm probably turning ill like mother.'
The boy remained unmoved. Lise expects him to abruptly stands up, saying excuses like 'oh my tutor is probably looking for me' and get going, running away from the insane, dirty, homely, smelly, stinky girl like her. However, he just sits there and looked... Thoughtful? As if he's taking her seriously. As if he's believing her.
"I understand you. That's strange but we will probably find the answer later. I have a very knowledgeable tutor who is into these things. Deja vu, he told me once. I will ask him about what you just experienced and maybe he will know the answer."
‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋ ' I understand you' ‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋
Lise's chest feels warm. That's the first time anyone had ever say that to her.
Ba dum
"Yeah, ask him. I want to know the answer too." She looks down at the grass and began to fiddle with them using her feet as a distraction.
"What's your name?"
"Liselotte. And yours?" She reply, not meeting his gaze.
Then it happened again.
╔═·༻𐫱༺·════════════════════╗
'Helios. My name is Helios'
╚════════════════════·༻𐫱༺·═╝
"Helios. My name is Helios."
"Ah... Okay Helios, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Liselotte."
'What is this feeling?' She starts fiddling with her short, tangled hair. 'I should probably get going. I hope mother is still asleep. I should make her supper and she should be eating dinner soon.'
The sun is still up, it hasn't begin to set but the little girl is feeling anxious.
"I should get going. I need to make my mother supper before she wakes up. It's nice meeting you..." She pauses, "I had fun talking to you."
Lise didn't dare to meet his silver eyes. There was a sudden shyness in her that prevents her from meeting eye to eye. It felt like this time, the boy is staring at her and if they made eye contact, he could pierce and saw through her soul.
"Will you be here tomorrow? On this hill?"
"Yeah, I will."
"Do you promise we will see and play with each other again?"
The boy extends his pinky finger, expecting her answer.
"Promise, I'll see you tomorrow."
Lise walks away feeling like a coward, head hung low as if she was ashamed. That day, the little girl will take home something new, hidden in her heart.
Underneath the cool shade of the huge tree on the hill where they made the promise; as the wind serenades their meeting and as the birds sing songs they could not understand, and as Helios stares at the fading silhouette of the little girl in shabby plain brown dress frayed and full of patches, Liselotte would never knew how cute he thought she looked that day.