"I just want to be alone. So please respect my wishes” she said, her voice sounding unnervingly cold.

I reflexively squeezed my fingers. I took a long, deep breath before finding the courage to speak. "i swear. I will not stay long"

"I merely wanted to ask about your honesty the night of your confession"

"I dont understand why you chose to be truthful, only to end up punished like this. when I had prepared another excuse to protect you"

Silence followed. Claire remained as still as a statue, her back still turned toward me.

"I do not know what is going through your mind. But truly, I only wish to know. so that the question will stops spinning in my head"

Claire closed her book and slowly turned to face me. She looked at me with a bewildered expression. I rise from the sofa and stepped toward her. 

Slowly, her eyes welled with tears, and clear droplets began to escape. "I do not know either, Mr. Harrie"

"I am confused. I do not understand" Her voice was a mere whisper, her gaze vacant as she looked at me.

"I only want freedom. Why is something so simple so hard to reach?"

"I did not choose to be born. But why.. why must I be the one to bear this?" She let out a small sob.

Without thinking, I reached out and drew her into a protective embrace. My heart ached for her as she wept silently. With every sob and every word of grief she uttered, more tears fell to wet her lashes. 

She did not speak of regretting her honesty, but I began to understand what she had been trying to say all along. Outside, heavy clouds gathered, darkening the room as the curtains remained tightly drawn.

 The sound of rain began to fall, growing heavier by the minute and bringing with it the faint, earthy scent of damp grass and soil. 

Claire did not wail as if she had lost a great love. her tears fell with small, soft whimpers that could only be heard if one stood very close to her.

…

The sound of rain was now a faint things behind the soundproofed walls of the old hallway. Clutching a new stack of assignments I had prepared, I stood before the wooden door and knocked firmly.

The door creaked open a fraction, revealing those amber eyes. They sparkled with light the moment they met mine. "More task?" she asked through the gap, her voice carrying a slight whine.

I nodded and gave her a wide smile. "Only thirty questions" She huffed in annoyance and opened the door just wide enough for me to squeeze through. 

Once inside, I saw that she had opened the balcony curtains. She was wearing a bright yellow dress, and her hair was perfectly brushed. 

The room felt alive now. The piles of books that had once cluttered the floor were moved to a large wooden shelf beside the balcony door. Her bed was neatly made, and the stuffiness of the previous day had vanished, replaced by a faint scent of vanilla mixed with damp earth. Granted, I could not deny that many things still lay scattered about, a toy rabbit, cookie crumbs, and some dried ink stains on the floor that would be difficult to remove even with soap and water. Still, it was a vast improvement.

Claire took the stack of papers I had given her the day before, her face set in a pout. As she sat on the sofa, she pointed at the pages with a look of utter frustration. "Look! I have not even finished the work you gave me, and now—"

Her eyes darted to the new stack in my hand. "You give me more" She leaned back against the sofa and let out an exasperated huff.

I could hear her grumbling under her breath as she stared at the ceiling. I shook my head, exhausted by her antics. "It is my duty, Miss. Besides, were the questions not easy? I could do them with my eyes closed"

 hear that, she sat upright. Her expression soured, and She snatched a sheet of paper from the table and pointed at a specific question, "Easy? With your eyes closed? Tsk, you must be joking"

I shook my head. "It is easy. What was so diff—"

"Easy? Now, explain to me why the answers for numbers five and eleven are not in any of the handouts?"

"You told me that all the answers were in this pile of papers. And yet, I could not find them. I wasted over an hour of my time"

Claire pointed toward the cookie crumbs and the dried ink on the floor.

"Those are the silent witnesses to my frustration. I tried to stay awake by eating cookies for energy! But just as I was about to nod off, my hand accidentally knocked over the ink bottle” 

“It spread everywhere Mr Harrie! and ruined the answer sheet I had been working on since the afternoon” 

“and now, I had to start all over, sacrificing my rest just to finish the work you made"

"And now, you give me a new task. No, a new stack of death!" Claire let out a frustrated chuckle, staring blankly at the new assignments in my hands.

I had doubted her story at first, but seeing the crumbs and the dried ink, it seemed too elaborate a scene to be a mere excuse to skip her lessons.

I placed the new papers on the table and picked up the answer sheet she had pointed out. I studied it closely, trying to analyze the most difficult part of the problem.

"Miss Claire" 

 Her sulky face lifted weakly toward me. 

"I have found the answer"

Her eyes, which had looked so weary, began to round in surprise. "That fast?"

I chuckled at her shocked reaction.

Claire leaned forward enthusiastically. "What is the answer, Mr. Harrie?"

"The answer is—” 

“there is none"

Her brow furrowed instantly.

 "Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

I answered her confusion with a casual shrug. "There is no answer. Those questions were not supposed to be there. They belong in the new set of papers I brought today"

"my mistake. Sorry"

Silence followed. Claire looked down, her head bowed without a word. The air in the room grew cold, as if someone had opened a window and let in a winter chill. Slowly, 

Claire’s expression darkened as she glared at me. She rise from the sofa and stepped slowly in my direction.As she drew closer, my instincts screamed at me to flee. Was.. right.

"don't run mr harrie!"

"Because of those questions, I lost my sleep!"

"And my reading time!"

"Get back here, you damnable man!"

I ran as fast as I could, circling every corner of the room. But let me remind you how fast that girl can be.

"Hey! Who are you calling damnable, hmm?!" I was gasping for air as I dodged her pursuit. Remarkably, she could run with great speed even in a heavy gown. 

As my long legs grew weary, Claire drew closer. I was ready to surrender. But..

"Stop chasing me—"

Remember that toy rabbit on the floor? That wretched rabbit caught my foot, causing me to lose my balance. As I fell, I instinctively grabbed for her hand, pulling her down with me. It was the one thing I had hoped to avoid, or more accurately, the one thing I detested most.

BRUK