2 Am I Ugly? (1/2)
June, 1996. At a forest near village Lang.
Jim looked closely at the girl sitting near the pond. She was hugging her knees tightly and crying. He swallowed. What was he supposed to do?
He couldn't leave her alone. Of course not. She must be crying because she wanted something. And his teacher had told him that he must always help those in need. So, how could he walk away?
Slowly, with light steps, he approached her.
The girl was quivering from her sobs. She looked smaller than he was, even though he himself wasn't very tall for a big boy of eight years. Silently, he knelt beside her.
”You shouldn't cry, miss,” he told her awkwardly, ”If you do, your heart will rip apart.”
The girl looked up at him with large green eyes, still hugging her knees tightly.
”What?” she asked in a hoarse voice.
Jimmy sat beside her clumsily.
”Your heart, miss, it will rip apart.”
She stared at him for a long moment, and he stared back. He figured she didn't understand.
”How?” she asked nevertheless. Jimmy frowned.
”I have a friend, her name is Mrs. Park. She told me that if you cry, your heart rips apart.”
”Rips apart?”
”Yes, like… breaks into two.”
The girl wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
”And then?”
Jim thought for a full minute before responding. He didn't really know.
”You die,” he said though.
The girl shivered at this, looking at Jim with wide eyes. Jimmy immediately regretted his words.
”I-I don't know for sure, miss!” he began in a hurry, ”I read it in a book that the heart works all day. If it breaks though… I'm guessing…”
The girl's eyes welled up again, and she looked severely unhappy, ready to cry.
Jimmy slapped himself mentally. He didn't want her to start crying again!
”But… But you shouldn't cry! Miss, if – if it doesn't rip, it would still hurt, like every time I cry, my chest hurts a lot. Then I stop, because I don't want it to rip apart.”
The girl looked at him incredulously.
”You cry too?”
”Yes… sometimes, why?”