Chapter 9

After a day of anguish, his tears had run dry. He listlessly began sorting through Vivienne's old belongings.

In the drawer were the face masks she always kept on hand. She had ruined her face and could no longer bear to be seen in public.

Beside them sat the wheelchair she had used for three years.

He stared blankly at the wheelchair until his vision blurred.

His first encounter with Vivienne was in sixth grade.

He had just moved next door to her house not long ago.

One evening, while stargazing, he noticed a little girl kneeling at the neighbor's front door.

He approached to ask what was wrong.

The pretty, pitiful little girl said her mother had punished her, forbidding her to eat unless she knelt there all night.

He snuck back home, heated up some food from the fridge, and brought it to her.

The little girl was often punished, and he frequently brought her food. They soon became close.

They even attended the same school.