As Noah and I walked down the road, we passed by the old town school.
Hack when we were kids, we had to walk several miles every day just to get here.
The schoolyard looked much better than it did back then–now paved with concrete, no longer covered in dust that swirled into
the air every time the wind blew.
ta
At that moment, a boy and a girl were chasing each other across the field, a kite soaring high above them.
I lifted a hand to shield my eyes from the sun, gazing up at the kite drifting effortlessly in the sky.
It flew higher and higher, carried by the wind.
Laughter rang in the air, light and carefree.
A wistful smile touched my lips. “I miss being a kid. Happiness used to be so simple.”
Noah wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pointed toward the restrooms. “Remember that old outhouse?”
I frowned, trying to recall….
Then, the memory surfaced.
It was in fifth grade.
I was cornered in the girls‘ bathroom by a group of classmates, their voices sharp with cruelty as they taunted me, calling me an
orphan, a stray with no parents.
I fought back, refusing to take their insults.
However, there were too many of them.
The ringleader yanked my braided pigtail, pulling so hard that I screamed from the pain.
Then, the bathroom door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.
It was Noal.
That was the first time I ever saw him lose his temper.
He wasn’t that tall back then, but he stood in front of me, shielding me with his small frame.
With gritted teeth, he kicked the girl in the stomach, his voice cold and unwavering.
If anyone dares to bully Chloe again, I’ll beat them every time I see them.”
The memory faded, pulling me back to the present.
2/3
I smiled and leaned my head against Noah’s shoulder.
“After that day, they avoided me like the plague. No one at school dared to mess with me again.”
Noah tapped my nose with his finger.
“I told you I’d protect you. And I meant it.”
+15 BONUS
Noah had always been a man of his word.
When I was three, my mother passed away from illness.
My father left for the city to find work and married someone new.
Back then, I used to sit on the worn wooden doorstep of my grandmother’s house every day, staring down the dusty road in the distance, hoping my father would appear and take me home.
And one day, he finally did.
