Brewing in Love

Chapter 24 The Smile

It was the season of examinations. Looking at my medical report, I was permitted to write my exams from the Principal's office.

Emm and Tyy used to come and meet me everyday. As usual, we used to discuss the question paper and chuckle at Tyy's silly remarks.

One strange thing, I used to observe that why everyone used to wear a mask of sympathy before me. Why they wanted me to laugh, smile, giggle all the time. It took me a few days to understand the matter.

You know breakup gossips spreads faster than the fire.

Now, I understood the reason behind the sympathy mask but, not about the laughing thing. Am I suppose to become a lunatic and smile and laugh all day, just because he and I are not together anymore?

On the last day of Sooghoom, after the exam, we had a feast. The school was decorated with all our pictures and was embellished with different artistic works.

Tyy and Emm, although insisted on roaming around with me, but I made them leave. It was the last day, these two need to spend some quality time together. I didn't want to be a third wheel.

And so I and my wheel chair started wondering in the corridors.

As, I was visiting to the places; all the memories were walking beside me. From the corner seat to the shuffling of class room; everything was floating in front of me.

The boy's washroom was teasing me, the canteen area was inviting me, the class room was making fun of my misunderstanding which I had on seeing Kevin with that girl. The corridors were challenging me to run again just like that day, when I was running after seeing Kevin and that girl. The ground was smiling at me and so was I.

Do you want to know why was I smiling at the middle of the ground all alone?

The ground was adorned with all the trophies and works which has brought fame to the school. My trophy which I was awarded for scoring the highest academic grade among all the schools in Seoul, was also there.

But I wasn't smiling at that.

At the middle of the ground, there was a painting kept on the stand. The info plate beside the painting stated that this was the winner of the Arshik Painting Zone.

My heart froze when I saw the painting.

It was a painting of a boy and a girl, leaning on each other. They were sitting under a tree, under the sky. The serenity was so prominent, the love was so overwhelming, the warmthness was so satisfying....... so satisfying that it again managed to calm my nerves which were raging.

Yes, it was the same painting which was lying in the box of my childhood memories. It was the same painting which Noah had gifted me on my birthday 10 years ago.

When I rolled down my eyes to the bottom of the painting to see the name; it was inscribed " Noah Brown".

It became more clear when I read the info slate again.

It said, " the artist, Kevin Brown, whose pen name is Noah has been awarded the first position."

Now everything was getting connected.

KEVIN IS NOAH!

Noah Brown was not a real person all this time, Kevin must have introduced himself as Noah to us back in Chicago. Now, his strange face while eating my cake makes sense to me, his reaction when Tyler took his piece, makes sense to me, recognizing me when I used to cover his eyes, makes sense to me. Everything was now falling in place.

All this time, whom I was searching was in front of my eyes and I failed to recognize. Kevin was Noah, my pig head!

But before I could say something, my mind flashbacked and played all those harsh words, all those false allegations he placed on me. The promise to never see him again suppressed my happiness of finding my childhood friend.

And I stayed there.....smiling.

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Like this we come to the end of Series 1 of Brewing in Love.
I express my deepest gratitude to all my readers and to all those who encouraged me to complete this book.

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