Emily walked disconnected from the world, lost in her own thoughts, until someone no taller than her stepped right in front of her, interrupting her path. Seeing his feet, she thought in relief. "It's not George, that's for sure!".
Emily always walked looking at the ground, so she knew almost everyone by their shoes. That behavior had been taught by her inseparable friend “Fear”, putting its hand on the back of her neck and pressing down until she lowered her face just enough to avoid any stares. Always elusive.
Emily did what she knew best, tried to dodge him without seeing him. Without taking her face off her cell phone. She had no friends or acquaintances who would stop her on the street to greet her, the only ones who stopped her were to tease, taunt or leer at her. So it was either run away or confront someone. However, she couldn't remember the last time the latter had happened.
Emily took a step to the right and continued her path, or so she expected. The person moved just enough to hinder her again. It was obvious that this was no coincidence. Whoever he was, he was doing it on purpose. He was looking for her.
She hadn't seen who he was yet, and she didn't feel like it. Maybe it was a habit. Too many times Rebecca, Beth's best friend, or rather, her most rabid dog, had done it to her. Instinctively, Emily frowned and without taking her eyes off her phone tried to dodge him again. This time, she took a quick step to the left and dodged him, or so she thought.
Surprised, she felt her left earphone being tugged and taken away. Emily froze, hesitating whether or not to look. She had also suffered this many times in high school. So many times, that she had learned the best approach was simply ignore it, and that's what she did.
She tried to continue on her way, but before she could put the earphone back on, an old woman's voice startled her. "Aren't you tired of walking around with your head down? Looks like you've got it glued to the ground. So long under the yoke of fear that you've gotten used to running away? That's no way to live. Face your fears or they will devour you, child." She was no longer a child, or at least, she didn't feel like one.
As usual, Emily was lost in thought. "She must know me well to say something like that. If I go straight ahead and ignore her, she might complain to Mom. And I don't feel like putting up with her yelling at me again, calling me rude and telling me I'm a disappointment as a daughter. I'm tired of it. Very tired."
Emily let the air out of her tense lungs, very slowly. She relaxed her face and blurred her visible anger until she looked tired. This tended to work well with those who were looking to argue for the sake of arguing. To her surprise she didn't recognize the old woman when she finally saw her, and the old woman didn't add anything else either. Emily simply waited for her to finish what she had started. But there was only an uncomfortable silence that only the cars mitigated.
The old woman was short and shabbily dressed in dark clothes so old, that they looked as if they predated Emily's birth. She looked to her like one of those old country ladies who always dressed in mourning. The old woman leaned on a long badly carved cane and wore a cloth covering most of her white hair.
Emily, tired of the situation, tried to resume her walk. She turned around and tried to put the earphone back on, but the old woman prevented her from doing so, calling her attention again. "What does that Beth call you? RedCow? Why have you indulged her for so long? Are you dumb?" A shiver ran through her body until, finally, her whole body froze and stiffened. For an instant, she heard again the laughter of the other students every time that filthy nuisance called her that.
Emily tried to look for a connection between the old woman, Beth and her disgusting friends. "Maybe she's related to one of them? Acquaintances?" She thought it was unlikely, but not impossible. And if so, how many people outside the high school were laughing behind her back, calling her RedCow? The old woman moved closer to her and asked. "What's with such a pathetic nickname? You're not even fat enough to be called a cow. It must be because of your red hair and those huge breasts"
Emily clenched her fists, showing as much discomfort as she could, however the old woman didn't understand that as a "Leave me alone!" And if she did, she didn't take it seriously. She just continued. "Does she hate you so much? Why? Because you made her crush stop talking to her and only had eyes for you?" Emily was stunned.
The old woman continued, satisfied to finally be able to get her whole attention. "But I'm not talking about the eyes of all those pigs who imagine you naked when they see you passing near them." Emily couldn't help but feel revulsion at the thought of boys constantly doing that when they saw her.
The old woman refreshed her mind with what should really matter to her. "I'm talking about the eyes of a good man. Yes, I know. Something so rare these days. A man with a pure heart. Something Beth will never have because, she doesn't stir anything in those hearts. Only disgust."
Those words came as a revelation. Like the words of an oracle revealing the answer to everything in a single sentence. So many years of insults and humiliations because the boy Beth liked had started to notice her?
Something akin to a faint tingle of happiness began to invade her as she thought. "There's someone who looks at me like that?" "Wait! Pure heart?! Who is he?! Richard?! It has to be! Richard is a good boy."
For an instant, she didn't feel so alone in this world. Like a merry-go-round of emotions, from happiness to sadness, to finally, anger. Anger towards the unmentionable one. "How is it my fault that he doesn't notice you, you fucking bastard?.”
Emily looked at the old woman, expectantly. "I want to know more! No! I need to know more! But why does this old woman know all this?."
After a few seconds, she thought she looked like a familiar face, but she didn't know from where. “Where had I seen her before? It must have been a long time ago. Maybe when I was a child?”
The poker-faced old woman blurted out. "You're dreaming if you think I’ll give you that boy's name, Emily."
She felt a shiver as she heard her name on the old woman's lips. She tried to hide her surprise, but the only thing she could hide were her words. "She knows me! But I don't remember her, and she knows it. I know she knows. Damn it! Where have I seen her? Remember, remember!"
The old woman twisted her mouth into a very creepy and disgusting smirk. Emily felt harassed and began to get nervous. Without realizing it, she ended up doing what she always did when someone made her feel that way. She lowered her head and stared silently at the ground. She even looked as if she was holding her breath.
Emily remained like that for several seconds, not knowing what to do, lost in thought. "How does she know all that? Maybe she's Richard's grandmother?"
"Courage" had never been one of Emily's faithful traveling companions. She had been feeling like a bug that everyone was trying to squash for so long that she was unable to do anything but think about running away. But all this interested her too much to let it go.
The old woman blurted out a final blow as she walked away. "Several boys at that high school you attend really like you, but only one is the source of your problems. And only one is, and will be your soul mate forever."
Those last words filled an emptiness as immense as her entire life. In just an instant, years of loneliness, sadness and incomprehension were hastily erased. Like a tornado of thoughts. "Does anyone really feel anything else for me than shame and pity? Does he go to my class? I wish it was Richard! Shit! I need to know who he is!"
Without knowing how, she began to feel something similar to happiness. It was something so extraordinary to her that it seemed foreign to her. Not even her parents provoked anything even remotely resembling happiness. They treated her as if they were constantly disappointed. She practically avoided them. Especially her mother.
"Sadness", one of her forever faithful traveling companions, let go of her hand. The relief from a heavy burden that was no longer there, allowed her to fill her lungs with more air than usual. Her voice, which until now always asked permission before pronouncing itself with a throat clearing, jumped out of her mouth. Hearing it, anyone would have noticed that she was terribly shy and fearful. "H-how do you know all that?" Her voice had trembled so much, that it sounded like she was about to cry.
The old woman turned around, mischievously blurting out. “I know a lot more than that, Emily. Much, much more! "What I don't know, I can find out in a matter of seconds. The question is not how I can do that, child. The question is if you want to hear what I have to propose."
Emily's eyes widened, not understanding what was going on. Then, doubt poisoned her. "This old woman gives me a very bad feeling."
The old woman kept walking away as Emily hesitated whether she should follow her or not. The old woman passed under a streetlight and the light flickered nine times. At the last blink and for an insignificant instant, the old woman's clothes changed. They looked like really tattered, also much darker. In addition, the strange cane on which she leaned, now ended in the metal blade of a scythe. Emily was petrified by that horrifying sight.
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