Odessa Mazur::D6::FIN

.: A P P E A R A N C E :.

Her honey brown locks of hair flow over her shoulder like curtain, thick and lushes, unlike many other people of the district her hair glows with health and love. Her hair falls over her right shoulder, some colourless clips hold the hair back on the left side, and falls across her chest in gentle waves. Her hands run gentle through her hair, making sure that is all swept onto her right shoulder. It was obvious in the carefully way that her fingers glided through her hair and the way her face glowed slightly, that she loved her hair, treasured it. Finally happy with her hair she dropped her hands; her deep brown eyes study herself in the grimy window of the shop.

A small smile spread across her small lips, dimples forming in her round checks. People have told her time and time again that she was adorable, that she was cute. They say that when she smiles that they can’t help it they have to smile too. Her smile, her happiness, was contagious. Her brown eyes seemed to reflect how she felt, they seemed to glow with anticipation, with excitement. Today the soft brown, which they usually are, seemed to have lighten slightly, turning into a warm honey colour. The small smile that grows wider and wider stays on her face as her eyes travel down her body.

Her eyes travelled down over her body trailing down the small lean muscles. Tracing the curve of her hip. Her eyes studied the way the sun made her pale skin shine brightly in the sunlight. A look of disgust filled her gaze as her eyes travelled over her left hip. From the outside it looked fine, the material of her cotton shirt covering the nasty scar that hid beneath. It was a scar that she had gotten long ago. It reminded her of things that she so desperately wanted to forget. It reminded her of times when she was so close to falling into the open arms of death. Something shifted in her look as she remembered that this scar, this nasty painful scar, also reminded her that she was strong. That she could pull through event life and death events. It reminded her that she was not vulnerable. That she was alive for a reason.

.: P E R S O N A L I T Y :.

The girl turns away from the grabby shop window and starts to head down one of the many streets of District Six. She seems to radiate in self-confidence as she marches down the street. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, her feet making no sound on the cement pathway. She held her head high and the smile that smile that had formed on her lips earlier stays painted there as she rounds the corner that would lead her to the hospital. People who I have talked to tell me that she is a girl who radiates with a sense of life, that she is a girl who is usually smiling and happy. They tell me how friendly she is and always ready to offer comfort or just a genuine smile. Watching her now I would think no different.

The hospital comes into view and for a econ the girls steps falter, something dark coming across her vision as she takes in the huge leering building in front of her. But after a moment the darkness that had suddenly sparked up disappeared replaced with her previous joy and anticipation. But the smile that she wore now was not as believable as the smile that had been plastered to her face earlier, it looked more forced, but still convincing to others who weren’t watching her.

There was this mysterious sense about the way she concealed her feeling. Like she was hiding behind a mask. Who was this girl truly? Was this happy cheerful girl just a façade? An act to hide who this girl truly was? I wanted to get to know her, I wanted to know who she really was, I wanted to know why she was hiding her feeling. I wanted to know her. Finally she enters the building and disappears from my sight. I had questions burning on my lips. I wanted to find the answers. I needed to know what is was about this girl that made her who she was.

I walked into the hospital determined to find out what this girl was hiding.

.: H I S T O R Y :.

There she was crouched down beside a little boy who was missing half his leg. Her eyes shone as she talked with the boy, her hand clasped around his small one. The boy was smiling at her and talking happily to her. She never looked away from the boy, and her smile never faltered. After a couple of minutes she gave the boy a hug, the boy responded immediately putting his small arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. Finally they pulled away from each other. She smiled down at him one more time before turning away, leaving though the same door she had entered, but instead of follow the same crowed path she turned down an empty ally way, I followed her curios of why she as hiding.

I found in the alley way where she crouched on the ground, he back against the wall. Tears were falling from her eyes landing on the ground around her. Her bod began to shake and she pressed her hands to her face. Breathing deeply she tried to calm herself. Mt heart began to ache as I watched her. So small. So vulnerable, curled up on the ground. It was a totally different person to who I had seen out in the hospital. Here she looked weak, she looked so human.

That’s when she looked up, her tear filled eyes meet mine and I know that I should not have followed her. The hurt the confusion the agony the hatred which was hidden beneath her tears were so strong that I knew I was interrupting a private moment. “What do you want?” She had said bitterly dropping her eyes from mine she had stared at the ground, refusing to look at me. “Why did you follow me?” She ask just as sharp. “Why did you follow me?” She finally says looking at me for the second time. Some of the emotion I had seen earlier had disappeared to be replaced with her forced composure of warmth.

“I just wanted to see if you were okay…” I say, knowing all too well that this was not something that the girl would believe. “Are you okay?” My voice is filed with sympathy and warmth as I try to sooth the girl.

“I’m fine… I’m fine, just go away please…” Her voice trails away and she looks back down at the ground. I don’t move I stay exactly where I stand, until her body begins to shake again and sobs rack through her body. “I’m sorry, it’s just, the boy in there, well he is my brother… and my parents-" she spits the words parents out-“ well they did that to him! they did that to their own son,. Not to mention what they did to me… They destroyed my life you know, they took everything I had and took it away from me… they abused me and told me who useless I was… They starved me… they did so much… But what they did to him, what they did to my brother…” She chokes on her words, fresh tears springing to her dark brown eyes. “What they did was unforgivable. They should burn in hell.” He voice was filled with hatred as she spat out the last words.

That when I moved forward, pressing my body to hers I gave her a hug, whispering reassuring words into her ear. She sobbed into my shoulder. We stayed like that for a while, for as long as I could remember.