Afraid of the Light

Monika took a deep breath.

"Alright. Let's look over the quote once more, 'We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light'. First, we must break down the first part of the sentence. When it says 'forgive', this implies that some sort of crime was committed. In the same vein, 'easily' means that this crime is not severe. Now, taking this in relation to..."

My head was spinning.

As expected, Monika was eloquent, but it turns out I just couldn't understand her to save my life.

...Maybe Monika wouldn't be the best teacher for me. Our levels of intelligence were simply too far apart.

Monika had a finger raised in the air, concentrating on her speech.

"...and combining these together, we get one interpretation. That we begin to fear reality as we grow older."

Monika smiled sweetly.

"Did you get that?"

I turned away, unable to look Monika in the eyes.

"Ehehe... not really."

Monika nodded.

"That is fine. Now tell me, what parts do you understand?"

I pressed the tips of my fingers together, unable to make a sound.

Monika smiled bitterly.

"...Seventy percent?"

I remained silent.

Monika tilted her head to the side.

"...Fifty percent?"

I buried my face into my hands.

The corner of Monika's lip twitched.

"...Ten percent?"

My eyes peeked at Monika before shifting away.

"Ehe... Zero percent."

The inner corners of Monika's eyebrows rose in helplessness.

"I see..."

She shook her head.

"I really need to learn how to explain things properly."

I hurriedly shook my hands in front of me, as though I wanted to blow away some dust.

"No, no! It's really not like that at all. Your explanation was amazing!"

A small smile emerged on my face.

"I'm just... a bit of an airhead."

Monika lightly poked me on the forehead with a teasing smile on her face.

"My explanation was amazing, but you couldn't understand a single word?"

I covered my forehead with my hands. I did so partly because I was embarrassed, and partly because I wanted to savor Monika's touch for a little longer.

"I... I didn't mean it like that!"

Monika smiled sweetly.

"I know, don't worry about it."

Monika proceeded to hold her chin with one of her fair hands. She looked up to the ceiling in thought.

"In hindsight, the way I explained it was far too sloppy. Let me try again."

Monika pointed one finger in the air with a confident smile on her face.

"Quotes are vague. As such, they have many interpretations. Some of them can be as simple as your own, feeling sad."

My heart felt warm when she included my own opinion. It made it feel a little more personal.

Monika continued.

"Despite their differences, from complexity to accuracy, they are all valid. After all, there is no true right answer."

I nodded like a puppy.

"Ok!"

Monika cleared her throat.

"Let me give you my interpretation. Why would we forgive a child that is afraid of darkness? Well, a child understands little about this world. For all the child knows, there are monsters lurking at every corner."

She smiled sadly.

"But... as we grow older, these shadows come to light. We see the world for what it really is. Fearing the light is a tragedy because we are not afraid of the possibilities, but the cold reality."

My mouth was slightly agape for a few moments. A chill swept past me like someone poured a bucket of cold water on me.

Monika let out a sigh.

"Phew! How was that?"

My body tensed.

"Ah!"

I blinked a few times before gathering my thoughts.

"...It's like a miracle! I understand it so clearly. You're amazing Monika!"

Monika giggled.

"Thank you. Good on you for understanding it on your first try!"

A tiny smile formed on my face.

"Hehe, Plato sounds like such a profound person!"

Monika smirked.

"Actually, Plato never said that quote."

My eyes widened.

"Ehhhhh? But... but."

Monika laughed brightly, almost like a flower blossoming.

"It was a quote falsely attributed to Plato. In reality, someone paraphrased it from Lucretius. The original quote is, 'We are as much afraid in the light as children in the dark'. Kinda crazy, isn't it?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Wow, you are so smart, Monika! Not only do you know everything in the textbook, you know when the textbook is wrong!"

Monika smiled awkwardly.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration. I'm not omnipotent!"

I giggled mischievously.

"It really feels like that way though!"

Monika sighed.

"Anyways, for the test, just say that quote is from Plato. It's not actually right, but you'll get the marks for it."

I pressed the palms of my hands together, like the prayer gesture.

"Got it! Thank you so much, Monika!"

Monika smiled sweetly.

"I learned quite a bit in this exchange as well. Thank you for listening to me."

A gentle warmth spread from my heart to the rest of my body.

Monika... was so nice!

I almost hugged her as tightly as I could right there, but held myself back right before my impulses got the better of me.

Suddenly, I gasped.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself!"

Monika waved her hand dismissively.

"I didn't introduce myself either. Plus, I already know your name, Sayori."

I retracted my arms and held my hands next to my face like I wanted to curl up into a ball.

M-Monika knew my name?!

My body tensed unconsciously. Monika even remembered me! The clumsy girl in class?

...Wait, is that why she remembered me?

I stuttered over my words.

"Y...You remembered me?"

Monika smiled gently.

"Of course. How could I forget you, Sayori?"