A Mindful Old Soul

7

CHAPTER 7

James Birthday Gift

♧

My Lena? Did she hear that correctly? Or was she just imagining what he said? Whatever he said, she must have been imagining it from all the fatigue. An hour ago, she was perfectly worn out and was on the verge of fainting. The hour before that she was not at all in ease. Then all of a sudden, a guy kissed her on the cheek. Not the kiss of a father or a brother, but a kiss that was utterly different and her mood lifted her into thin air unlike any other days. Everything in the whole world was exquisite and wonderful for her. But until he was gone, the feelings faded in the wind and Lena didn't have the energy to dream because of the drudgery she'd gone through in the house.

There wasn't anything she could do after that was over, so on the same night, she came back inside and fell into a peaceful slumber in her own room.

On the following day, the rest of the hour during break time was the very moment Lena always loved.

The library was overflowed with new and old musty books that were stacked in the wooden shelves. The school librarian who always kept his sharp eyes on the students with his funny spectacles, held his nose every time when he caught a pungent whiff of sweat from the schoolboys who stepped in the room after they have recently gone outside. The boys were loud when they came in and this disturbed the librarian immediately. He stood from his chair and rebuked the juniors for a good deal of five minutes. He grunted, sat back in his chair again, grasped the fountain pen from his desk, and proceeded writing with a grim expression. There the members of the book club were seated at the round table from the corner, and caught the little scene that tempted them to stare even longer.

"Now, enough with the prying eyes. Let's start our reading." Olivia promptly said with a wave of her hand before her fellow friends.

That was the way things remained for half an hour.

Outside of books, Lena would usually learn new things in the club. Sign language was one of the reasons why she wanted to be close with the people there. It was one of the best things she had found and the members deeply warmed her heart. She could meet with them almost every single day, have discussions together, and even if their communication wasn't going smoothly as it ought to be, eventually they were open arms to anyone.

"This is what makes our club special. We do not have to leave the other one behind. Instead of shutting out certain types of people all the time, we bring harmony. Why, just because the kids in here said they are different it doesn't mean we aren't different as well. Everyone has their own flaws and what we're trying to do in this club is to cherish the little things we have." Olivia said after school.

When the rest of the evening followed, little Serena was slowly recovering after fighting off her cold fever.

The infant was getting healthier once her round face blossomed into a fresh and natural daisy. She was as pure and shiny as ever. If only her little sister knew, those light in her smiles could cure the dark world they live in. Her golden ripples under those lashes were soft and none of her paleness were left to be seen. Her round cheeks looked puffed and plump, almost like a cherub.

"How you've grown so fast, Serena. Look at you! Betty must have taken you seriously when you were ill!" Lena exclaimed as she took the infant from the crib. She carried her little sister in her arms, and went downstairs for the door. Outside on the porch, Lena sat on the swing as she laid her little sister on her lap.

A sudden feeling from Lena possessed her to do something, so she kissed Serena's chubby cheeks, her perfectly round belly and her little toes. A touch of her cold biting skin from little Serena's tiny feet, alarmed Lena for once until she managed to take out a pair of socks from her pocket in her long skirt and cover the dainty feet.