She mumbled over her words like a newborn learning to talk, but I understood she was just nervous.
"Sure, have a seat."
"Thank you very much!" She said as she swept her pink hair behind her ear.
She smiled and sat down on the floor facing me. I then began cleaning her wounds. Blood trails still ran down her face from her eyes. After I finished cleaning the dried blood, I started removing the splinters from her eyes. They were a mess.
Her vision was completely gone. Sadly, she would remain blind for the rest of her life.
"I hope you weren’t scared," she suddenly said.
"Scared?"
"Actually, that was a lie. A part of me wants to see you scared," she giggled.
"Hmm? Why is that?"
"Well, umm... I guess I’m just tired of seeing the same bored look on your face every day."
"I see."
"But now that I’m blind, I wouldn’t mind seeing your face right now." Her heartbeat suddenly rose, beating like a war drum inside her chest. I could smell the sweat coming from her palms. I could feel the warm breath coming from her mouth as her breathing grew ragged.
Is this fear?
"I actually have a confession to make. I’ve spent a lot of my time watching you. It started at the beginning of the school year, our first day in class. While everyone was desperately trying to make friends, you sat by yourself gazing out the window. It annoyed me. I thought you were just trying to be cool, and it made me dislike you a bit. And worst of all, I had to sit beside you in class."
She twiddled her fingers as she spoke, and I sat quietly, listening attentively to every word.
"You were a big hype among the girls when we first started school. They made a list of the most handsome first years, and you were ranked third. They quickly lost interest, though, when they found out you were weird... I mean different. Whenever someone tried to make conversation with you, you always brushed them off. It drove me crazy, to be honest. My mother always said I get too obsessive over things and that it would drive some boys away. I think that’s what happened with you. My irritation with you slowly turned to obsession. Before long, I knew everything about you: your favorite food, small habits, even things you might not have known about yourself. I turned into some kind of stalker," her face turned red as she covered her face. "Sometimes I would follow you around the school and at times even follow you home."
I somewhat knew about her stalker-like behavior toward me, but I brushed it off since it didn’t cause much harm. I didn’t sense any malice from her, so it wasn’t much of a big deal.
"It was my friends who told me what was actually happening with me. It was Kate. They knew by how much I spoke about you. They made me realize..."
"Realize what?"
Just then, a single tear rolled down her face. I instinctively moved my hand and wiped it before it reached her chin.
"Realize that I was in love with you. So that’s it. I’m sorry for saying this at a time like this, but I don’t want to leave anything unresolved."
"What do you mean?" I asked. I found her words and expressions strange. "Sounds as if you don’t believe you’ll survive this."
A strange smile appeared on her face.
"Will I survive this?"
Her question caught me by surprise, and I couldn’t help but feel an odd sensation from it.
How did she...
She wasn’t lying, it seemed she really did know a lot about me.
"Forget it, I’m just being silly," she said while giggling awkwardly.
The reason her words struck me was because of a stench I smelled coming from her. It was a smell I was awfully familiar with. The smell of death. It clung to her, and with every passing second, it grew stronger. What I was doing right now was pointless. Her eyes were already infected, and by morning she would be a corpse.
...
Before long, I finished attending to her wounds, and it was time to continue eating the meal they gave us. I looked over at Sarah, and her face was as red as a tomato. Suddenly, she grabbed her meal and practically shoved it into my lap.
"I need some assistance!"
I stared at her blankly.
"Do you want me to feed you?"
Her face turned a deeper shade of red as she nodded vigorously. If I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I saw smoke coming out of her head.
"Okay."
I picked up a fork, scooped some of the meal, and brought it close to her mouth.
"Open up."
She opened her mouth wide, and I gently guided the spoon inside. The moment the spoon touched her lips, she clamped down hard. A few students in the room, including my sister, stared, but I ignored them.
"Delicious!"
It was the same awful meal they served us at school but by the way she was chowing down on it you would think it was prepared by a five star chief.
I continued feeding her until she finished her meal. When she was done, she smiled and leaned back in satisfaction. I then took the liberty of finishing my own meal.
...
Soon night fell, and the zombies found where we were. They stood outside the auditorium, beating against the door. The ruckus made it hard for us to sleep. I glanced over at my neighbor, Sarah, and she was out like a light. There was a peaceful look on her face as she sucked her thumb.
After a while, I had grown somewhat accustomed to the noise they were making, and I could feel myself dozing off. But just then, I felt a weight pressing down on me, and I opened my eyes and...
A radiant pink-haired girl was sitting on top of me, her wide hips spread across my waist. From that angle, I first noticed how beautiful she was. Her hazel eyes sparkled with a bit of wildness. She was breathing raggedly, puffing out a bit of smoke. The sound of her fast-beating heart echoed in my sensitive ears.
"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling confused.
"Something brave before I die."
pic*