We The Misfits

5//romeo & juliet

    He takes a sip and cringes.

    "Don't be so choosy," Louisa says, folding her arms.

    "I'm not," Zed coughs, splattering some soup down his chin. He wipes it off with the sleeve of his pyjama. "You just suck at making soups."

    "Take that back," his mother gasps but with a smile. "You're not one to talk."

    "I can make them better than you can."

    Louisa's eyes soften as she watches him gulping down the steaming soup. The bruises on his face have faded away. His arm, that's in a cast, lies limp on his chest.

    "Are you...feeling better, honey?"

    Zed looks up at his mom. She has a pained look on her face so Zed swallows the soup and smiles weakly. "I've been better."

    After having him finish the soup, she adjusts the pillows in a way so that he can sit up straight without cramping his back. After she shuts the door behind her, Zed lets out a loud sigh.

    "This sucks," he mutters looking up at the ceiling fan. It's been two days since the incident and he hasn't heard of them. It puts him on the edge – the fact that they haven't called or come here. They probably thought that he was a wimp.

    But...they weren't like that, were they? No. They weren't. So, he looks at his window to distract himself. On his window, there's a butterfly. Rosa had painted that when she was here and when everything was normal. Sometimes, he swore that if he stares at it, like, really stared at it, the butterfly's wings moved. He first noticed it when he was nine.

    "Ma!" Zed had yelled then, his green eyes widening in shock, staring at the red butterfly on his window. When she didn't come, he yelled again.

    The door swung open and there stood Louisa with a grumpy face. "What is it, Zed?"

    "That butterfly just moved! Ma, it just moved!"

    Louisa looks at Zed and then at the butterfly that he was pointing at. Her eyes soften at first, at her son's innocence and then, they harden again. She didn't have time for his innocence.

    "No, it isn't, Zed. Go back to sleep. You have school tomorrow."

    "No, ma, look! Its wings are fluttering." When his mom pointedly stared at him, he looked at the window, mesmerised by how the butterfly flew. It flew all over his window, bright red colours flashing. "See, I told you! I think that Rosa has magic powers!"

    Her jaw ticked at that and she slowly walked up to his bed. She sat on the edge and said, "Zed."

    Nine year old Zed didn't look up at his mom. In fact, he hadn't heard her. He was entranced by the butterfly. Rosa has magic powers! Whatever she painted came to life!

    "Zed!"

    He jolted and looked at his mom with wide eyes. Her eyebrows were drawn together and she asked with her teeth clenched, as though she were forcing the words out of her mouth, "where's Rosa?"

    Zed opened his mouth and closed it.

    "Hmmm?"

    He didn't answer. He stared at his lap.

    "That's what I thought. Go to sleep."

    Zed sighs as the memory washes over him. He lets out a dry laugh. Stupid, silly him.

    "Why don't you fly now?" He asks the butterfly.

    The butterfly looks at him. Since it's a sunny day, it looks brighter. It says, "I'm too shy."