Chapter:01- False reality
Part-1
People say being kind is easy.
It isn't. It's... heavy sometimes.
Today was one of those heavy days.
Well, I'm Vehan, eighteen, high schooler apparently "nice" and "kind" as they say.
Even today, I held doors open for others, laughed at jokes I didn't like, lent my notebook even though I desperately needed to revise , even listened to problems I couldn't fix.
And I just smiled the whole time.. as if it didn't sting.
"Uh! It actually sucks!
They say I'm good at studies so I wouldn't probably need any revision as if they peeked into my mind and saw all those files storing the folders containing the whole syllabus.
If only they knew how chaotic my mind feels sometimes.. like someone stuffed all my syllabus into the folders named "maybe later."
I just procrastinate everything..
Even though, I seem to be popular, I'm still a loner.
It happens to be funny sometimes - popularity can make you visible to everyone but known by no one.
Everyday is like following a same straight line: classes, fake smiles, acts of kindness, and finally lunch under the gulmohar tree in the school backyard.
That tree with bright red flowers! That's my favourite lunch spot.
The best thing about this spot is that even the tree is as lonely as me.
"No one cares about coming to us until they need something."
I was just having my lunch and suddenly I got a feeling. It felt weird as if something snapped inside me. And that's when I noticed her sitting beside me.
Mira. We're classmates but she's different. Observant eyes, soft presence yet someone unreadable.
I just looked at her and smiled- a real one.
For once, I wasn't alone under the tree.
Part- 2
"He smiled at me."
Well, not the real kind- the stitched one people wear when they're afraid of showing the bruises under their ribs...
Most people wouldn't notice but I did. I have seen that smile before. I can't tell exactly.
"You look tired." I said gently.
"Ah! No, I'm fine."
He flinched- barely noticeable but I caught it.
"It's weird seeing someone around this area," he said avoiding the eye contact.
"I just... noticed you sitting here while passing by."
It's not a lie. Just not the whole truth.
Because I notice him everyday. He says that he's fine but he isn't.
The way he keeps helping others as if he don't need any.
The way he is disappearing... bit by bit and nobody sees it happening.
"Aren't we in the same class?" he asked, almost surprised.
"Umm.. yes," I nodded.
At least, he knows that I exist.
That's more than I expected.
He was looking away and plucking the grass absently.
At that moment, I felt like watching someone pretending to be whole.
The truth! I didn't sit here by accident. I came here because my instinct told me he was close to falling apart.
And under the bleeding red tree, he didn't look like someone who needed kindness.
He looked like someone who needed someone to finally see him.
"I need to go now, the lunch break is almost over." he said and ran away.
He lies so easily. Not to me... to himself. That's always the dangerous kind.
Anyways, I also went to the class.