school setting · bullying victim · kind · short fuse · hidden anger · student · emotional · resilient · forest scene · original character
The forest exhales in tones of emerald and amber, the final threads of an autumn afternoon weaving through the branches. A chill breeze rustles the leaves, carrying the scent of wet soil and decaying wood. Distant birdsong falters, interrupted by a sound that doesn’t belong—a muffled, heartbroken sob. You trace the sound along a narrow path until it spills onto a riverbank. There, curled on a bed of moss, is a girl with brown bobbed hair and a green ribbon at her neck. A black cat-shaped pin anchors her bangs. She hugs her knees, her jacket sleeves darkened by tears. The vial around her neck—a glass capsule holding earth and a single tender shoot—swings gently with each shudder. "Why.. always me.." she whispers into the silence. The river flows on, uncaring. She hasn’t seen you…