Chapter 8: My Horrid Voice

The door broke the silence closing behind her. In my chest, something squeezed at my heart. Recalling her eyes devoid of their glow. I turn to look at Jishi, his eyes staring at the door. Searching for the carefree girl who storms into the room. Only meeting the trail of her saddened shadow.

My eyes too chased it, her shadow. Doing so, I remembered the day Jishi broke into my lonely life. Forcing his way into becoming a part of it. Arriving bruised at my doorstep, inviting himself into my house.

"So you blow off steam playing the piano?" His direct, innocent question resounding across the attic. Until that point, the piano had been my only friend. Even I noticed that my piano sang my heart's lonely cries. At the time he sat beside me and played random piano keys. A cheerful shout shot out of the piano.

"You don't have to play alone anymore" Jishi's words back then, they became a charm for me. They gave me hope. Although I'm still shackled by those days, I can count on Jishi to help me. His words became a reminder of that.

"I want to help her," my heart shook as this wish took flight. Without knowing why, my body moved on its own. My heart recalling her wilting expression. That's when I realised why I shot out the door. I couldn't stand those sad eyes.

My feet struggling to hold their own over the dust. I ran around the building, diving into the trees. Ignoring the branches cutting at me, I make it out. Baring the glare of the evening sun, I make my way to the baseball court's fence. My hands clawed at the bars as I tried to spot her.

A shock ran through my spine when I saw her. Her long brown hair laying still, while her eyes stared off at the ground. Someone was talking to her, or rather reprimanding her. A stern woman, with dark brown hair tied into a bun. Her lifeless eyes matching with the gray business suit she wore.

A part of me shook in fear, seeing the people in the court. Their stares might fall on me, they might hurt me. If only I had heeded those calls before running into the court. Tying my best to stop myself from running slip. Falling before the scary woman and Ray.

"Eh?" Ray mumbled as she stared in confusion. The woman saying nothing stared straight into my eyes. My sight turning red as my eyes slipped back to Ray. Closing my eyes, I open my lips. A crippled voice forcing its way up my throat.

"D-d-don't c-c-cry, I a-a-am here" A horrid noise scraped against the ears of those who heard. Sweat swamped every corner of my body, my hand clenched into a fist. The silence made it clear; I die here. Choosing to avoid the shame, my gaze plummets to the floor.

"Run with me" the sweet whisper gently caressing my ear broke the silence. I turn to see Ray extending her hand to me. After helping me up, her grip on mine became tighter. Suddenly she ran, dragging me along. My eyes stared at the lady, her eyes burning holes in mine. Feeling, no, knowing that if I stared any longer, it would crush my soul, I avert my eyes.

" *pant* *pant* This should be far enough" diving back into the trees, Ray mumbled these words as she sat on the ground. She looked at me, her eyes glowing with both sadness and a bit of excitement.

"You do not understand how surprised I was seeing you there, and scared too, my mom is imposing," it took a while for her words to lay any meaning in my head. After a moment, I felt my eyes widen as I turned to her. Letting out a chuckle, she proceeded.

"I like baseball, as much as you with your piano, but mom takes it too far. She works for the company that helps fund the school. She tries to control everything I do, from what I eat, to the baseball club. These past few days she has been pestering me about quitting it. Because if I don't excel at it then I don't need it, or so she says." The look in her eyes turned grim as she talked. Her nails marked her arm as she clenched it.

Before she continued to feel any more pain, I wrap my arms around her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!" the alarms blasted in my head, but I couldn't leave her like this. A few minutes passed, accompanied only by the rustling leaves.

Slowly, her stare mellowed as she placed her hand on my arm. "I-its o-okay" my terrible voice once again tearing off our ears. But her face looked relaxed, even more than before.

"This is the first time my voice has ever reached someone," the thought birthing an even bigger problem. That being my heart beating out of any control.