She was running in a crowd, trying to avoid the townspeople, and trying to mute the voice that was shouting inside her head. The breeze whipped her face, and her legs were almost too heavy to move, but she couldn't stop. It was like in the hallway, back at the College. How many times had she already tried to escape her problems like that?
This time was different, though. She wasn't in an empty hallway, she was on a bustling town street and everyone was staring at her. The bakery street wasn't too populated, but once she turned the street corner a bunch of people were there, either shopping or just sitting and chatting, idly living their lives while she was stuck in a maelstrom of emotions.
All of them were disturbed by the teenage girl running through the crowd, heading towards most isolated place she could find.
She lost their judging glances once she was far enough from the town and close enough to the fields. She had missed this beautiful scenery in London, it was so full of life and color. Yet, its beauty didn't console her, and tears were falling nonstop on her cheeks. She sobbed and couldn't quit it, even though she yelled at herself to become stone; and similarly she couldn't stop running, either.
The brick street promptly became a dirt road, full of rocks, branches and puddles from last night's storm. Not so far away, the bridge she so many times had passed over rose.
Once she arrived at the bridge, she had to stop and catch her breath. She had been running a lot lately, but she was still out of shape, as could be expected of the health of a Sleigh Beggy's body.
The body her mother gave to her.
She thought she was above this, but these kinds of things are never so easy to get over with. A mother that tried to kill you. A mother that blamed you for all her problems. A mother just like Miss Belmont.
No, that woman was even worse. Chise's mom realized her huge mistake and begged for her daughter's forgiveness in her last moments. This Miss Belmont was blaming her daughter for her own death! Telling that she was too loud, or too stubborn...A ten-year-old! Like her mother couldn't have done anything to stop the fire... She wanted to throw up.
She clenched her fists. She was angry. She was so, so angry. Had she ever been this angry before?
Her breathing was still ragged from the exercise, and she found it hard to catch her breath. She gasped for air, her lungs burning like her heart was, maybe even more.
Just then, she felt the mountain breeze. It blew cool air on her arms, on her face, as if to freeze the sad surface of her thoughts. She looked up to the sky, and she saw liquid blue and immensity; it stretched all over the world, far further than she once thought she could ever reach... but now, she had two legs to stand on.
She took a deep breath. Several deep breaths, actually. Just enough for her to focus and calm herself down.
The situation had escalated so quickly that she hadn't been able to think about it at all. Just a bunch of fast-lightning thoughts breaking through her brain. Now, the anger and the exercise had cleared out space in her mind for embarrassment and culpability. She felt her cheeks heatening.
Because now that she thought about it, she didn't know what happened in the fire. She knew Miss Belmont and her daughter had a discussion that day, but not what happened after that. Maybe it was like Ruth said, and everything was worse in her mind than it was in reality. Maybe she did have an unearned bad impression of Miss Belmont.
...but that tone she was using still clipped through her heart, like a poisoned arrow.
"Chise!" a familiar voice said at some distance. She recognized Elias.
YOU ARE READING
A Matter Of Understanding
FanfictionWords can hurt, but it's your choice to accept them or to do something about it. Chise Hatori learned that she isn't the same unfortunate girl that was before, but maybe the help that she needed came from someone she wasn't used to it. Following th...
