she had always been quiet..... and he had always liked her.
in fact, he could remember the first time he had ever noticed her. back in third grade, when he had just started to notice a lot of things, that he hadn't before.
it was indoor recess...
she had always been quiet..... and he had always liked her.
in fact, he could remember the first time he had ever noticed her. back in third grade, when he had just started to notice a lot of things, that he hadn't before.
it was indoor recess, and she was sitting on the floor by the window, cushions from the storytime carpet were not only underneath her, but surrounding her, and covering her lap, so that she could sit cross-legged in her skirt without being "indecent".
something about her made him stop playing with his toy fire truck, which had been putting out the fire in lego brick mansion, and watch her. he remembered thinking of the stories his mom had told him to keep him occupied as she did chores, of lovely princess' who stayed trapped in towers by wicked witches who were jealous of them, or by evil little men with tiny feet, who locked them up to repay favors, or of beast's who kept them for themselves.
and as he looked at her, reading a book that was several grades above their reading level, surrounded by her fortress of cushions, he wondered why the princess had built her own tower, and locked herself away.
she looked up from her book as there was the sound of a tower of wooden blocks getting kicked over, and saw him looking at her.
at first, she looked surprised, then awkwardly shy, then stuck her tongue out at him and moved one of the cushions so that she was blocked from his view.
and the next day, she was back in the same spot, though, she only had about, three cushions and her book was gone. there was a dark spot on her arm, that was either dirt or an old bruise.
she was just as quiet as the previous day. but she stared out the window, hugging one of the pillows tightly against herself, every now and then, she would rock herself forward, sigh, and then lean back. to him, she looked lonely.
he watched her for a few days, always just as enraptured as he had been the first time he saw her.
it was rainy outside nearly every day, so it was inside recess, except for one day, when it was almost sunny, but he couldn't help but notice that she didn't come outside.
he knew exactly where she was though. the same place as usual. sitting in her palace of cushions, by the window. he had begun to think of that window as HER window.
it took weeks for him to come to the decision that he was gonna make friends with the princess of cushion kingdom.
it was raining again, more steadily and heavily this time, the small sound of raindrops tapping against the window was calm and quiet. her book was slightly thicker than the last one, and well worn, with pages bent the spine cracked, and half of the back cover was missing. the pages had the discoloration of age.
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(THE BOOK SHE WAS READING)
she was barely visible past the arrangement of the cushions, just her face, and a bit of her golden, honey-colored hair, and the book in her hands.
he set aside the mega blocks he had been playing with, and walked up to her slowly, almost hesitant. what if she told him to go away?
as he stood beside her and the cushion barricade, he twisted the fabric of his shirt between his hands. then he reached out with his right hand and tapped lightly on her shoulder.
she jumped a little, startled, and looked up at him. he let his breath out in a rush. there was an ugly blue bruise on the left side of her face. the side that had been facing the window.
she moved her hair to cover that side of her face quickly.
"what happened? did you fall or something?" he asked her
"I hit my face on the stairs yesterday," she answered, her voice barely a meek whisper.
"Oh." he said dumbly, shuffling his feet a little "I like your fort."
"fort?" she asked, with one honey-colored brow arched
"the pillows. it's like the fort I built with my cousin in the backyard. 'cept we used sticks and dirt 'n grass and stuff." he answered, shuffling still as he scratched the back of his neck. "we were battling ogres" he said flatly, "what is your fort to fight against?"
the question caused a flicker of light to spark in her grey-blue eyes and catch, the light adding a new life to her. " come in and I'll tell you" she answered smiling as she moved some of the cushions so he could sit. it was the first time he saw her smile. he decided quickly that he liked it, and sat down in the spot she had made for him, watching as she set the book down, not bothering to mark the page, and excitedly began to tell him the story of an evil king that was after her, and all the bumbling creatures he sent after her.
he had done it. he had gotten the princess to lower her drawbridge and let him into the palace.
they became close friends. she even started to go to his house every now and then after school. she told him countless stories, and sometimes, he would play them out. she was always quiet. never raising her voice, and only really talkative when she was telling of some knights brave quest crossed dangerous lands. but even when there was just quiet between them, it was nice, and soft, like a warm blanket.
about halfway through middle school, they started hanging out less inside school, and more outside, as he gained quick popularity, she was still quiet and invisible, and when she was with him while his friends were around, she realized how much she didn't like groups of people.
by high school, he had realized how much he didn't just like her, he was in love with her. she wasn't just a princess. he wanted her to be his princess and show her how much he treasured her.
he found it odd that they always hung out somewhere public, or at his house, but never at hers. his own mother thought of her as a daughter, and he had only met her mother a few times. but he got used to it, accepted it, and moved on.
but this isn't the story of how the knight rescued a lonely princess from her tower. this is the story of how a princess jumped from her tower, and left the knight so heartbroken, that he locked himself away within the same walls.
this is a story of love, but also a story of sadness. of happy moments, and also of pain.
this is the story or the death of Caroline Kimble. a death that changed the life of Whyatt Evans.
