Gallia

Seoul, March 2017

The sky was still cloudy this afternoon, just like the past few days. But she was glad there was no rain today –not yet- and that she could sit on one of the benches behind the dorm. There are sketchbooks and pencils in her hand while the earphones on her ears played the music player from her phone. She chose to stay at this place, hidden from everyone, and to get away from the crowd of the other residents who were busy preparing the welcome party for the new residents in Gallia.

As the sky got darker, the air also felt colder and she had to wear her sweater. She reached for the thermos in her bag and poured the hot tea on the lid of the thermos. The aroma of mint and vanilla greeted her and immediately put a smile on her adorable face. Despite the cold weather, she felt warm.

She has been drawing on the sketchbook since an hour ago, along with the music player accompanying her. But she still feels bored. She decided to talk a walk to the rose garden not too far from the dorm. Ignoring the consequence of getting her clothes and her shoes dirty, she squatted down and began to clean the dried leaves from the rose. Every now and then, she would push back her long hair to the back of her ear. The smile on her face got wider when her fingers touched the rose petals that bloomed so beautifully.

She always likes all beautiful things. She likes nature and the landscape. Those always make her calm and feel comfortable. Back then when she lived in Osaka, she always spent the weekend with the nature club students. She would go hiking and camping under the sky on her own when she felt stuffed from her daily activities. But now she moved to Seoul, she has to change her habits. From the adventurous girl to the sweet and quiet one who spends more time in her dorm backyard. A year passed and sometimes she asked herself why she left her friends and her life back in Japan. She knows the answer to it: she never wanted the new life she has, but she has no option as an accident happened and she had to return to Korea. And that’s the only thing that makes her accept the fact that she’s “different” from other people her age.

For a moment, she enjoyed her time in the middle of the rose garden, forgetting her surroundings. Her lips unconsciously hummed the voice of Richard Marx’s Right Here Waiting. She chuckled, realizing how old her taste is compared with her young age. Well, she’s the youngest in the dorm for now. She could only blame the people she spent a lot back then for her favorite type of music (But she still likes it).

Without her knowing the raindrops began to fall and wet her smooth skin. She looked up at the dark sky with open arms. This afternoon, she let her palm touch the drizzle. But soon she stood up and her eyes looked around looking for something she could use to protect the rose garden. She could only sigh when she didn't find anything to protect her favorite place. Once again, she crouched and touched the rose petals. Carefully her fingers moved to touch the fragile but thorny flower stem. But it still looks sturdy even though it is now touched by rain.

First rain in spring.

Unc