R-Ring! Finally, the weekend! I've been looking forward to seeing the garden all week! The Summer blossom trees are starting to bloom, and I can't wait to see their beautiful blossoms. “Hey Sara,” Andromeda says. “I’m going to head to the library, I have a test on Monday.” “Ok, I’ll be in the garden,” I reply. “Are the Summer blossoms blooming already?” Andromeda says, kind of surprised. She knows how much I love the garden when they blossom. “Yes,” I say excitedly, “I've been waiting all year! Now I finally get to see them!” “Ok, I might stop by after an hour or so.” Andromeda replies. “Sounds good.” And with that, I’m off to the garden. I think all about the trees from last year, white bark, and beautiful pale blue and purple flowers blooming on the top. Last year, Evelyn showed them to me when I first came here. I was in awe of the beauty of the garden. Apparently, the Summer blossom trees give off a magical aura that makes some people feel calm and happy, good for whenever I would have bad days. Of course, Summer blossoms aren’t the only thing that grows in the garden. There’s Cloud Sky berries, and Golden leaf bushes, but nothing as beautiful as the Summer blossom trees. I continue to daydream about the garden from last year. I am almost to the garden when I hear a scream. Low, hollow, scared. I trust my instinct. Run. Help. I fling myself backwards, turn around, and break into a sprint. I hope I can make it on time. I hear another scream, higher than the last one, definitely closer. I wince, I usually can’t take the thought of someone in pain. It just makes me feel sad, and sometimes hurts me too. I reach the area where I heard the screams, round the corner and see Vivian, her hand up, facing a boy floating in the air. What is happening? Her back is toward me, and I notice her hair isn’t her usual black with purple tips, but a bright purple color all over, how it looks when she is using her powers. She raises her hand, and the boy raises up higher in the air. His face is looking upward, contorted, pained. His body seems to be held up by his head, the rest of his body dangling from it. Like a puppet with only one string. Or a gallows. No, I don't need to think about things like that right now. His limbs make random twitching movements. I don’t recognize the boy from any of my classes. What is Vi doing to him? I put my hand on her shoulder to get her attention, and hopefully stop this. Instead, she jolts me back with a flick of her hand, sending me flying to the ground. She looks over at me, and her bright red irises contract, then grow back a small bit. The look of fear grows in her face. She didn’t realize it was me. She didn’t mean to hurt me. She didn’t mean to fling me back. Her arm falls, and the boy falls to the ground, lying limp on the ground, looking almost dead. The boy twitches a bit after falling. She looks at me, her hair returns to normal and her eyes turn back to purple.
“Vi?” is all I can say to her before she starts bolting towards the dorms. I quickly get up and follow her. I’m too far behind to see her, but I’ve been to her room before. When I reach her dorm, the door is shut, but I hear glass shattering inside. I open the door, just as she flings her hand, and a floating picture frame shatters to the ground. Her back is to me again, and I can see her hair has returned to purple. Other things, a lamp, a chair, even a pen, lie on the ground broken. Various objects around the room are floating, slowly moving up and down as if they are suspended in water. Her dorm is darker than it seems it should be, with two windows and the open door. “Vi?” I say again. She is startled, and stops breaking things. All of the objects that are floating around the room fall to the ground, some breaking. The room grows cold, and Vivian shudders. I can tell she didn’t want me to see her doing that. Indistinct whispers start to sing in my head. They sound like they are coming from inside my skull. They get louder and louder, filling my head. And then, they all suddenly stop. “Don’t try to tell me what I did was wrong, I already know that,” she says. Coming here to reprimand her was never my intention. What kind of friend would I be if all I did was tell her that what she did was wrong? And, she wouldn’t have just randomly hurt some random person for no reason. “What did he do to you?” I say. She pauses for a moment, and the room grows darker. Suddenly, she falls to the ground, and starts crying. I have never seen Vi cry, not once, since I met her. She’s always seemed so strong. Brave and strong, yet emotionless. Not really knowing what to do, I close the door, walk over to her, sit down on the floor. Her tears are jet black, and look like ink running down her face. She keeps smearing them all over her face. Something I could’ve never known about her. I can’t help it, I quickly lean forward and embrace her. She is startled at first, but quickly wraps her arms around me. We sit like this for I don’t know how long. Time has lost meaning. She has obviously needed something like this for a very long time. “How often do you do this,” the words startled me. I didn't intend to ask her this. “About- about every day,” she says in between sobs. “Oh, Vi,” I say, I would've never guessed this about her. Strong, brave, emotionless Vi cries every day, and no one knows. “Why have you hidden it for so long?” I ask her. More tears. They drip down onto her uniform, creating ink blots onto cloth, then seeping in and spreading out on the fabric. I remember seeing black stains on some of her clothes, but I would’ve never guessed that they were tears. This lasts for what feels like hours, but surely couldn’t be. Then, Vivian suddenly says, “you can just go ahead and do it.” I don’t know what she is saying. “Do what?” I say, pretty confused. “Use your power, you don’t have to feel sorry for me,” she says, as if I was supposed to know the first time. “Oh, right,” I say. I’m not used to the fact that I have powers, even after a whole year.
