TheQuestionSheCouldn'tAnswer
629 Words
The bell rang, and the classroom slowly began to empty.
Soule remained in her seat, carefully arranging her books inside her bag. She liked being the last person to leave. It gave her a few extra minutes before she had to face the noise outside.
“Soule.”
She looked up.
Her friend, Amelie, was standing beside her desk.
“You're coming with us, right?”
Soule frowned slightly. “Coming where?”
“To the café. Don't tell me you forgot.”
“Oh..” Soule forced a small smile. “I have something to do.”
Amelie crossed her arms.
“You always have something to do.”
Soule laughed softly. “That's not true.”
“It is.” Amelie pulled out the chair beside her and sat down. “You never come anywhere with us anymore. You don't talk much. You disappear during breaks. And whenever I ask if you're okay, you say you're fine.”
Soule’s fingers stopped moving.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
“I am fine.”
Amelie sighed.
“That answer again.”
Soule looked away.
Outside the window, students were walking across the school grounds, laughing and talking as they made their way home. Everything looked normal.
But inside Soule’s chest, something felt heavy.
“Why do you care so much?” she finally asked.
“Because you're my friend.”
The words were simple.
Yet somehow, they hurt.
Soule lowered her eyes.
Nobody had asked her that question in a long time—not what happened?, not why are you quiet?, but simply are you okay?
And even when they did ask, she had become so used to saying “I'm fine” that the words came automatically.
Amelie gently touched her hand.
“You don't have to tell me everything,” she said. “But you don't always have to pretend with me.”
Soule swallowed hard.
For one terrifying second, she thought she might actually tell her.
She could tell her about the nights she couldn't sleep.
About the memories that returned whenever she was alone.
About the things people had said that she pretended didn't hurt.
About the part of herself she had slowly buried because it was easier than explaining why she was hurting.
Her lips parted.
“Amélie, I…”
A loud laugh from the hallway interrupted her.
Soule immediately pulled her hand away.
“Never mind.”
Amelie looked at her carefully.
“You were saying?”
“Nothing.”
There it was again.
Nothing.
The safest word she knew.
Amelie stood up slowly.
“Okay. I won't force you.”
Soulé nodded.
“But promise me something.”
“What?”
“When you're finally ready to talk, don't convince yourself that nobody will listen.”
Soule stared at her.
Amelie smiled before walking toward the door.
“I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
The door closed.
Silence filled the classroom.
Soule sat alone for a few seconds before reaching into her bag.
Her fingers touched something hard.
She pulled it out.
A small, old photograph.
She stared at it.
Her expression changed instantly.
The smile disappeared from her face.
There were three people in the photograph.
And one of them was someone Soulé had spent years trying to forget.
Her hands began to tremble.
She quickly turned the photograph over.
Written on the back were four words.
“You can't hide forever.”
Soule's heart stopped.
She looked toward the classroom door.
Nobody was there.
She looked at the photograph again.
For the first time in years, she wondered whether her past had really stayed in the past.
Or whether it had simply been waiting for the right moment to find her again.
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