[R1999] Short Stories' Collection

Cristallo & Bette: May your dream come true

"Um.... Hi, there!"

The brown-haired girl peeked through the open door, hesitantly waving her hands as a greeting to the other girl who was sitting on a machine that looked like medical equipment in the hospital.

Inside the room, the girl who had short white hair and green eyes seemed to be surprised by her sudden presence, but soon greeted her back with a nod and a gentle smile.

"Oh, good afternoon. Please come in."

Seeing her friendliness, the brown-haired girl, Bette, secretly let out a sigh of relief. Although she entered the room with a rather relaxed expression, her hand which still tightened to the bamboo cane said it all.

"My name is Bette. What's your name?"

Bette took off her fedora hat and nodded.

"You can call me Cristallo or Hilma." The girl replied.

At this close distance, Bette could see clearly the bandages on many parts of the girl's body. Cristallo's skin was as pale as snow, so the bruises looked more prominent and hurt in Bette's eyes.

'When Snow White ran away from the Hunter, her bruises may look exactly like this...'

A thought just popped out in Bette's mind, making her distracted a little.

"Do you need anything... Bette?"

Hearing her name was called, Bette instantly straightened her standing posture with heating cheeks.

"Yes! No, no! I..."

She started stammering and in the end, gloomily lowered her head, speaking in a small voice.

"...I'm sorry."

Cristallo worriedly watched her weird behavior.

"There's no need to apologize." She slightly shook her head, "You did nothing wrong."

"Do you need me to do something for you?"

The girl's gentle words and her cheering eyes helped Bette back to her usual.

"It's about your book." Bette said and pointed to the book that was put next to the girl.

"My book?"

Cristallo's voice was a bit surprised.

"Yes! It's a great story that has already been adapted into a TV series."

Bette's amber eyes sparkled.

"I have read about movies and films before, but I haven't watched them yet."

Cristallo honestly answered.

"It's okay! I came here because it has been a long time since I last saw that book."

The brown-haired girl unconsciously got closer to the book on the machine as well as the white-haired girl.

"So I thought there was someone here that was also interested in the story like me."

Bette loved to express her feelings through body language. It had been her habit since the first time she learnt about silent film.

"Have you read it yet?"

She looked at Cristallo expectantly.

"Yes, I've already finished part one and part two. Part three just arrived yesterday, so I've only read the first three chapters."

Cristallo nodded, having an unfamiliar feeling due to the close distance between them. It was because there was rarely someone who would approach her without any fear of making her hurt or showing sorrows towards her.