the first bloom of spring

"AH!" no, no, no. what is this? i put my face closer to the mirror to see what the hell am i actually looking at.

that morning i noticed a small crack on the surface of my eye... or the seed? nevermind. i accidentally let out a scream of surprise. i hear footsteps rushing up the stairs so i quickly got the eyepatch back to my eye.

"saku?! did something happen?" it was grandma. i took a deep breath before i faced her. i must not show any emotion or she will notice.

"what happened to you?!" i totally forgot about the cuts and bruises but this is better than them discovering the small bud trying to come out underneath the crack of the seed.

"i fell... hard... yesterday,... down the stairs at school. but, it's fine. i'm okay." she asked me to go downstairs with her to have breakfast and to treat my bruises. they are already used to seeing me like this now, years of bullying can do that. but i reminded them that i fought for myself and i won. grandma was not happy with it, but grandpa was proud.

"also haru-" .

"haru? who is haru? you made a friend?" grandma's piercing glare gave me chills. i have to be mindful of what i tell them next time and not let my feelings get in the way.

"haru... is a cat near our school. she accompanied me to the infirmary and didn't leave my side until it's time for me to go home." i'm not sure if grandma is convinced but grandpa sure was.

"a cat led you to the clinic? must be a smart cat. does she have an owner? maybe we can adopt her." the cat is richer than us, grandpa.

"well, i think she lives nearby. i'll feed her instead whenever i see her."

i bid goodbye and started to walk to school. it was 6:30 AM, i was sure that people are still in their houses. It's safe to remove the eyepatch and look at my eye.

"maybe this will heal. maybe it's because it got wet or something..."

"what got wet?" i jumped in surprise and dropped my phone. i put the eyepatch back before taking a look at the owner of the voice.

"haru??? what are you doing here?" i flinched when she reached her hand out but soon relaxed when she told me that my hair is under the eyepatch. i didn't even notice it.

"it was early and... i wanted to see you, so i figured i'd wait for you to pass by here." she was drinking coffee bought at the convenience