Tainted

Chapter 7.

Recommended song: Chelsea Cutler - Emily 

Pedaling home cautiously, a sweet coating still glistening on Nari's plump lips. She had taken the back road home, a road less inhabited but the risk was worth it because of the stunning scenery. Fields of rainbow flowers stretched out as far as the eyes could see, only interrupted by small, rolling hills. The bicycle tires sunk into the deep sand path, treading difficulty. The breeze caused an upheaval in the small grains, creating rolling patterns. The smell of sand was slight, but the intoxicating sweet whip of the flowers was strong.

Nari's thighs burnt as she fought to keep the bicycle moving but she was too preoccupied with the shivering flowers to pay any attention to the pain. She continued fighting, her glittering eyes darting from purple to yellow to pink petals. At first, her eyes glazed over the bright red backpack, taking it as just another flower, it invaded the road, calling out like a cry for help for anyone that would dare to care.

Once she stopped peddling the bicycle immediately dug to a halt in the thick sand and Nari stretched out her toes. She paused for a moment, staring cautiously at the bag, covered in sand, it has been there for a while. A heavy feeling of dread washed over Nari but she forced herself to her knees, feeling the sharp pricks of sand on her stretched skin.

She carefully dusted the bag before clicking it open. Inside, were scrunched-up paper balls and a school workbook. Nari slid the workbook out, paging through the messy pages slowly. Hearts, flowers, and cute clouds were scribbled on most of the pages. Wrong work scratched out in frustration and tiny smiles drawn next to correct answers.

Nari smiled, her finger running over the indents left on the page by the pen of a heavy-handed person. Nari already knew who this journal belonged to but she wanted to confirm her worst fears so she flipped to the first page of the book, and a short and sweet name appeared, Jung Jihyo.

Nari's needed to look away, look at the beautiful flowers to try and settle her sinking heart. The squeaking wheel pierced her ears again, after all this time, the thoughts of a bloody body invading her thoughts.

"I'm sorry..." Nari whispered, closing and bringing the book to her chest, hugging it. After a moment of silence, she set the book down and pulled out the wrinkled papers from the bottom of the bag, one by one she unfolded them. Pretty miserable tests making themself known.

The grades continued to decline as the writing got messier and less caring, until the most recent hit a grand total of 0. The paper was totally blank, not a single answer was given.

'Come see me after class'  Written neatly in the top right corner by Mr. Park, followed by a quickly scribbled date. Nari ran her thumb over the date, after all the news she watched that covered the murder she knew that was the day Jihyo went missing, the day before Nari came to Pyeongyang.

-

Agonizing groans rang through the apartment, Nari's head slumping into her hands. The room was lit by the soft rays scattering through her shivering silk curtains. The cherry blossom on her window sill wilted, its brown, crackling petals floating on the glittering water.

The formulas on the page warped and scattered as Nari tried to fight the sensitivity jumping in her stomach with every tick of the clock but in the end, it was victorious, bringing a wide smile to her plump lips and almost flinging her out her chair into a spontaneous dance session.

Finally, a defeated sigh leaped from her throat and Nari dropped her pen, leaning back and glancing at the flickering neon numbers on her desk. Gwang-il would be there to pick her up in an hour and Nari hadn't even built up the courage to tell her Aunt and Uncle.