Read Venerable Knight :: School life - The Past

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. There is no relation to any real persons, groups, events etc. They are all fictional.

Chapter 9

School Life - The Past

**** Yumi’s mom POV ****

“Bye mom!” Greeted my lovely daughter as she left for school.

I stood at the gates to see Yumi go off with Aden, my neighbor’s son. Tears almost broke out when I saw her face…Her smile… was what was waiting for.

After everyone went on their way, I turned around and closed the door. I stood there covering my mouth with my right hand, crying silently, the tears started flowing down my cheeks like rain drops. My mind and heart bounced uncontrollably.

After a while, I did rhythmic breathing that made me relax. I wiped away the tear droplets on my cheek and looked at the house. The floor was dusty and the couches were messed up with pillows placed in a mess. The rectangular table was decorated with items placed in a mess, and the kitchen. The kitchen was the worst.

I took down the apron from the cloth hanger near the door and tied it onto me.

“Time to clean the house.”

I separated the cloth from the pillows and put the clothes into the washing machine that was already filled with washing powder,and started washing the clothes. I turned on the cordless vacuum which I put on charge in the morning and started to clean the dusty wooden floor. After vacuuming the floor, I took the pillow cloth from the machine and hung it outside to dry in the sun. I looked up and thought to myself. The day seems brighter than usual. Then I stored the things on the table into the cupboard. Such as the bundled old newspapers.

The kitchen floor was covered with dust, oil spills and some rice grains. The sink was filled with plates and the items that I used to cook today.

I let out a big sigh.“It’s going to take a while to clean.”

After cleaning the kitchen and the dining table, I went to my bedroom which was next to the kitchen. The room had a queen sized bed with white sheets. The yellow curtain reflected the sunlight which gave the room a yellow glow.

When I started to walk out after realizing the room was already clean, I noticed the lamp which was mounted in a small cabinet that was placed near the bed was lit.

I walked towards the lamp to turn it off, but there was something under the lamp that caught my eye. It was paper which was folded.

“What is this?” I wondered.

As I unfolded the paper, a person…No, a boy who looked similar to Aden and was wearing a double breasted oversized coat in American Blue colour that had a unique pattern printed in Barley Corn. While the end of each sleeve was Ashy Grey in colour. His pants were dark blue and his shoes showed a glimpse of void.

Small tears started to flow down my cheeks. It was a drawing made by Yumi. I folded the paper as it was and kept it in the drawer. My mind in joy rushed outside of the room.

Ding-dong!

“Coming!” I yelled as I walked towards the main door.

I unlocked the door and opened it.

It was Aden’s mom. She wore a light teal coloured T-shirt with a cat drawn in white lines and had pants that were full bright white that had cat paws printed in it. She was holding a small plastic box.

“Good morning!” She greeted me with a smile as she handed me the box.

“It’s just a treat from me.”

“Oh thank you! Come in and have some tea.”

I closed the door as she came inside and we headed towards the living room.

“Sorry to disturb you while you’re cleaning the house.” She chuckled.

“Yumi seems very cheerful today," she said while sitting in one of the couches.

“Yeah, it's nice to see her smile,” I agreed while slowly removing my apron and placing it on the side table where the TV was resting.

“I hope she will stay like this…”

Her face showed genuine care and worry.

“Thanks to you and Aden, she is able to smile this happy” I thanked.

“What do you mean?”

Her face was filled with confusion and curiosity for the explanation.

“Well, just don’t tell others," I stated.

“It was 4 years ago when Yumi was in elementary school…”

_________________________________________________________________________

BackStory

“Mom!” An excited voice sounded through the house.

Zsszss

I sprayed drops of water on the pan which evaporated in seconds.

“Look at this!” Yumi showed me her hand as I turned around.

She was very small, a little short compared to any other girls her age.

A bracelet decorated with a cat on top along with some pearls in the string was tied onto her wrist.

“My friend made me this today!” Her smile spread all over her face.

“That's cute! You like cats, don't you, my cute baby!” I cooed while kneeling down to her eye level.

“You should make one for her too.” I suggested.

She blitzed to her room and I continued cooking dinner.

After dinner, I cleaned the plates and placed them on the shelf. While I was placing the plates on the shelf, Yumi came to me with a sad face.

“Mom…” She nearly cried.

“What happened Yumi?” I hurriedly placed the last plate on the marble slab and kneeled down.

Her hand was full of pearls and strings.

“You weren't able to make the bracelet?”

I took the things in my hand and we went to the living room, where my husband was reading the latest report in his work.

His eyes went wide open after seeing Yumi in tears as he rushed to us and carried her to the sofa.

“What happened?” He asked.

I showed him the pearls and string in my hand.

“She was trying to make a bracelet for a friend but it seems like she wasn’t able to make one.”

He went quiet. Maybe he was thinking about a solution.

“How about we make it together?" He suggested.

We started crafting the bracelet in the living room as my husband instructed us what to do. Happy laughter and chatters filled the room.

Hours had passed, and we finally finished the bracelet with a panda face drawn by Yumi and some old pearls which I used to have around.

Yumi took the bracelet in her hand and admired it.

“Thanks Mom and Dad!”

Her smile bloomed. It is the first thing anyone will think about her. That innocent smile was her identity for many people who walked past us whenever we went outside.

“Now now. Lets go sleep, it's already past your bedtime Yumi” I ushered.

The clock on the wall chimed when one of the hands hit 12.

[10:00 PM]

Yumi rushed to her room in joy and maybe she even fantased about what will happen tomorrow.

“I hope that smile will stay like that for a lifetime.”

My husband turned to me, placed his hand on my cheek. We stared at each other’s souls.

“After all she has your smile.”

But who knew that this will be our last time we are going to see her smile like that…

The next day, Yumi and my husband walked in through the front door but Yumi was different and her usual smile vanished.

“What happened?” I quickly questioned.

My husband placed his umbrella on the hanger near the door, while Yumi still had no response to my question.

Yumi ran past me to her room. She didn’t even look at me, the usual call “Mom! I’m hungry!” was gone.

I looked at my husband in distress.

“Honey what's happening?”

“I don’t know, the teacher said the same thing”

“I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YUMI RIGHT NOW!”

My lungs went dry after that shouting. My mind went blank as I couldn't think of anything but Yumi.

Suddenly my head rested in a warm place and a heartbeat was heard through my ears. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was hugging me.

“I will find out what happened, now just relax dear…”

End Of The Backstory

_________________________________________________________________________

“From then on, she stopped interacting with her friends and became silent.” I paused for a few seconds before continuing. “Her smile slowly started to fade, that's when we planned to relocate to this place for a change.”

Aden’s mom sat in silence, she stared into space before turning to me slowly.

“What happened at school for her to act like this?”

“We asked her so many times but she just avoided it.”

The silence of confusion was apparent. My mind went back to the days where we were happily together, in that room where we spent hours to make a bracelet. Then Aden’s mom remarked.

“Well the good news is that Yumi has recovered from it. She even agreed to do the play with Aden.”

“Thats why I have to thank you and your son.”

“Thank Sir Abraham too, I mean he is the one that recommended this.”

Suddenly her face went into sadness, like she was hit with sad reality.

“What happened?”

She sat there in silence, maybe she was thinking what to answer. Then she opened her mouth.

“You know, Ady and Reid also had a similar experience.” She paused. “Not just them, everyone including me had a story like this. It was because of a girl named Ayra.”

“She fought with them?” I asked

Again she paused like she doesn’t want to answer or she is afraid of something.

“Nevermind, I know how sad to remember that past of our child”

Aden’s mom didn’t answer, after staring at the empty space she looked at the clock.

[12:24 PM]

“Oh it's already past 12, I have to go clean the house too. Again sorry to disturb you.”

We stood up from the sofa and walked towards the front door.

“Don’t worry, you really gave a good break that’s all”

“Haha, have a good afternoon. Bye!”

Aden’s mom waved her hand before leaving through the gates.

After seeing her entering her home, I closed the door and stood there thinking about our conversion.

Ayra