Prologue - Where it all started
“Honey, your food is ready!” Mom exclaimed.
I jumped up and rushed to the table. I wonder what delicious mom cooked today?
“Ugh, broccoli?” I twisted my face in disgust. “Mom, you know I can’t stand it!”
“Bravin, you know it’s healthy. Plus, Nurse Redheart said you should eat more greens.”
I sighed. Mom was right. I knew she and Nurse Redheart meant me no harm, so I obediently picked up my fork and began to eat.
Finally, I jumped up from my chair. “Thank you, it was very tasty!” I grimaced.
Mom laughed. “Honey, do you really dislike broccoli that much?”
I put the plate in the sink and nodded. Mom started thinking.
“I’ll talk to the nurse. Maybe she’ll recommend something tastier. All right?” Mom smiled.
I hugged my mom and said, “Thank you-thank you! You are the best mom in the world!”
We stood like that for about ten seconds, after which I asked: “Mom, can I go for a walk?”
Mom looked out the window. It was a beautiful summer day outside, not a cloud in the sky. Birds chirped with might and main, flowers bloomed brighter than usual.
“Well, well. But not far from home!”
I jumped for joy, and then ran to get dressed.
“I’ll walk in the park opposite, okay?”
“Sure, just cross the road carefully, as I taught you! And make sure you'll be home in time!”
I zipped up my sandals. “Okay, Mom!”
I left the house in a great mood. Nothing could spoil this clear, beautiful day! Even broccoli.
I looked first to the left, then to the right, and, making sure that there were no cars nearby, I crossed the road. I turned around and saw my mother giving me a thumbs up from the window. Without thinking twice, I answered her the same.
So here I am in the park. In general, despite the fact that I live almost in the center of the city, this park is always not crowded. This park has always attracted me - here you can retire with nature, breathe fresh air... But if other children appeared here, the park becomes an excellent place for playing catch-up! And in the middle of the park is my favorite place - a fountain and a round square around it, where the benches are.
Oh, how great it is to sit on a bench, reading a book, while a fountain gurgles in the background! That is why I took with me a book that my mother recently bought me. This is the third book in the “Young Nature Lovers” series. I liked the last two so much that my mother bought me a freshly released third part.
I walked slowly and enjoyed the beauty of the plants, breathing in the fresh air along the way. The park, as usual, was almost deserted. The only ones I noticed were two guys about ten years old and a girl about my age. They caught my attention with a loud cackle... Or rather, the boys were cackling, while the girl... Hold up, is she... Crying?
I quickened my pace and began to approach them. At some point, I got close enough to hear exactly what the guys were saying.
“...wouldn’t you ask your birdies for help, huh?”
“Wait a minute...” The guy withstood a theatrical pause. “They don’t seem to care about you!” And both boys burst into laughter.
I furrowed my brows. Not only do they bully a girl, she is also younger than them! This is not taking into account the fact that there are two of them, and she is one! Of course I couldn’t get past this!
Suddenly I felt... Scared?.. Still, they are ten years old, and I’m only seven... Yes, only three years difference, but both of them are twice as tall as me... And, for sure, stronger...
I shook my head. So what?! In the end, I can’t let them take the mickey out of the poor girl! Better they beat me up than they continue to bully her!
Meanwhile they continued:
“Fluttershy? Rather Klutzershy! Gwa-ha-ha-”
“Hey! Shame on you!” - I raised my voice. - “Why are you bullying the poor girl?”
The girl (who, apparently, is called Fluttershy) flinched and began to tremble even more, and the guys turned to me, obviously not with good intentions...
“What’d ya say, prick?” answered the tallest one.
“I said ‘Why are you bullying the poor girl?’. I’m sorry, I didn’t know about your lack of hearing,” I was furious.
“H- W- How dare you!? It’s none of your business! It’s not our fault she’s such a loser!” the other one nodded in agreement.
“Oh yeah? And why exactly she’s a loser?”
“Because she... Uhm...” he scratched his head.
“Because she was feeding the birds and called them ‘friends’!” the other one came up with a reason.
“So what? She was being nice to birds!”
“Ha! Kindness is for suckers!”
“Hmm... Let me ask you a question. Imagine there’s -” I started gesticulating “- two people. The first one approaches you and tells you ‘your hair sucks!’,” after these words, the guys grimaced and began to look at each other’s hair. “The second one, on the contrary, tells you ‘you are such a cool person!’,” the guys smiled smugly. “So who would you be friends with?”
“What a ridiculous question! Of course with the second one!” both guys said in unison.
“And why, may I ask?”
“Because he was kind to-” the tallest froze with a stupid expression on his face.
“Exactly. So stop bullying her - or you will be very sorry.”
The boys looked at each other and clenched their fists. I looked menacingly into their eyes. While looking in their eyes, I took off my jacket.
The tallest spat to his right. “Whatever, you little prick. C’mon, let’s go.” he said to his pal. They looked at me with angry eyes and walked away.
Finally it was all over. At least for them. I turned to the girl, she stood as if in a trance.
“Hey, uhm... ‘Fluttershy’, was it? Are you okay?”
She shuddered and looked at me. Her large, beautiful eyes were filled with tears, she was shaking like a leaf.
“...yes.”
“Are you sure? You look... Very scared.” I came closer and give her my hanky. “Here, take this.”
“...u-uhm... Is it... Is it really o-okay?..” she was speaking really, really quietly. I could barely hear her.
“Yep!” I smiled. “Please, don’t cry. It’s alright now, isn’t it?”
She silently nodded, grabbed my hanky and started wiping her face.
“Th-thank... You... Uh...” She said a little louder.
“Oh, my name is Bravin! And don’t sweat it, it’s not a big deal! I mean, no person could walk by when someone else is bullied, let alone a beautiful girl like you!”
Fluttershy blushed and hid her face behind my hanky.
“Still... Thank you, Bravin.”
Well, seems like she’s less worried now. Good.
“Well, Fluttershy, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I guess I kinda need to go home by now. My mom only allows me to be by myself half an hour.”
I turned around and started walking away.
“Ah, wait! Uh... I mean... U-uh...” I turned around. “Well, it’s just that you forgot your handkerchief...” She clearly is a shy one, huh?
“Ah, no biggie! You can keep it! I’ll just pick another favourite!” I smiled at her. She looked at me and... Wait, she smiled at me! I was kind of flustered, so... “O-Okay, got to go!” - and so I made my exit.
Just why does my heart beat so fast?
Author's Note
Hey everyone! Sorry if it's lame - it's my first time writing something like this. Please, if you have some critique - leave it in the comments! Also I want to note that I'm very bad with schedules and I don't really write regularly so it may or may not take a long time before next chapter(s) will be published.
Yours truly,
WoweMain.