Aiden was interning at a museum. He was being given a tour since that what the museum did for its interns.
"And here are the artifacts that we keep away from the public-"The guide gestured to the statues, stone tablets, and other things.
"Uh why are they kept from the public?"
The guide took a breath.
"Okay, what I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone."
I nod, wanting to know.
"Do you remember the girl who stopped that evil a few weeks ago? Well, she didn't turn to dust, she was turned to stone. She sacrificed herself for our world."
"Okay and this is important how?"
"Uh that statue is here in the museum."
I was shocked. What if the girl turns back to normal. She'll starve to death in the storage locker. She should be shown to the public. She should be recognized as a hero, not a random girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"But she deserves to be seen!"
"Yes, I know but the governor wants to make it seem like he saved the town, so he wanted all evidence destroyed."
"Fine but can I see her?"
"Sure" The guide shrugged, leading me to the girl. In our world, magic exists, but most people believe it doesn't exist. I was one of them until the incident. Someone wanted to take over the world as usual, but she sacrificed her own life to stop him.
"Here she is."
The girl was all stone, and she was short. Her hands were raised slightly at her sides. She was smiling as if she knew that this was her end. And then I gasped. It was that girl.
Aru
The one who had bumped into me on the first day of school and said "I know where you live!"
I remember seeing her reading to little kids at the library, making facial expressions and moving her hands around animating the story. I remember her comforting a little girl after her friends left her and she then played with her. That was the girl who at the dance subbed for the DJ who had gotten sick. That was the girl who stood up to Poppy and her minions. She shared her lunch with a little boy who had his lunch stolen by some bullies. I also sat next to her for most my classes in school, so we talked a lot and were paired up for many projects. She was amazing. She was kind, heroic, generous and beautiful.
"Yeah, um that's her so uh yeah that's the end of the tour" the guide said.
"Can I stay here for a bit?"
"Okay just get out of here before closing time"
"Sure"
The guide left. It was me and Aru. Before I knew it, I was talking to her.
"a lot has changed these past few weeks" I started, sitting down on one of the many wooden crates, not knowing this conversation would be the start of many more to come.
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Every day he'd sit down on a crate next to the statue and tell her about things that have happened. He'd her about her friends, about who they like. Not long after his internship started, he befriended her friends who were very nice and he got to meet his best friend's girlfriend, Hira. He told Aru everything, except about his little crush on her.
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I decided I would spend New Year's with Aru, just in case she comes back. I decided to tell her about my day.
