𓂂𓈒౨ৎ The Roses That Stayed *ೃ.⋆

⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹

I don’t remember being found.

Everyone else does.

At least, that’s what I’ve been told.

I was about one and a half years old when someone found me near the edge of a forest. I was alone, with no parents nearby, no explanation, and apparently no idea how I’d gotten there.

Nobody knew why I was there.

Nobody knew where I had come from.

Nobody even knew my real name.

So eventually, a family took me in.

They gave me a home.

They gave me a name.

Ari.

And for a while, everything seemed normal.

At least, that’s what my parents thought.

It didn’t take long for them to notice that I was different.

When I fell over as a little kid, I didn’t cry.

When I scraped my knee, I simply looked at it.

When I got hurt, I didn’t react the way other children did.

My parents would rush toward me, asking if I was okay.

I’d look at them.

Then I’d look at whatever had hurt me.

Then I’d say,

Ari - “I’m fine.”

Sometimes I really was.

Other times, I wasn’t.

I just didn’t know what I was supposed to do about it.

As I grew older, people noticed other things too.

I didn’t talk much.

I didn’t laugh very often.

I didn’t get excited about birthdays or presents.

I didn’t cry when other children did.

I didn’t get angry when someone insulted me.

I didn’t seem scared when I should have been.

People didn’t understand me.

And people don’t usually like what they don’t understand.

At school, I became the strange kid.

The quiet one.

The emotionless one.

The one who didn’t react.

Eventually, I became something else.

A freak.

“Freak.”

I heard it so often that eventually the word stopped meaning anything.

Someone would say it when I walked past.

Someone else would whisper it behind me.

Sometimes they’d say it directly to my face.

I never answered.

There wasn’t much to say.

If they wanted to think I was strange, they could.

I had more important things to worry about.

Like getting through the school day.

I sat alone during lunch.

I walked alone between classes.

I did my work and left.

Nobody asked me to join them.

I never asked to join them either.

It was easier that way.

People came and went.

Friends stopped talking to each other.

People changed schools.

People moved away.

People stopped caring.

I’d learned something very early.

People don’t stay.

So I stopped expecting them to.

That was fine.

At least, I thought it was.

Until Ren appeared.

I first noticed him because he was loud.

Not annoying loud.

Just...

There.

He talked to everyone.

He laughed with people in the hallway.

He argued with his friends over completely pointless things.

He seemed to know someone everywhere he went.

I didn’t understand why someone like that would ever notice someone like me.

But one day, he did.

I was sitting alone beneath a tree during lunch, reading a book I’d already read twice.

A shadow fell over the page.

I looked up.

Ren was standing in front of me.

Ren - “Hi.”

I looked back down.

Ari - “Hi.”

He didn’t leave.

I turned the page.

He remained standing there.

I looked up again.

Ari - “Can I help you?”

He smiled.

Ren - “I’m Ren.”

Ari - “I know.”

His smile grew.

Ren - “You know my name?”

Ari - “You’re loud.”

He stared at me for a second.

Then laughed.

Ren - “Okay. Fair.”

I went back to reading.

He sat down beside me.

I looked at him.

He looked at me.

Neither of us said anything.

After a few seconds, I asked,

Ari - “Why are you sitting here?”

Ren - “Because you’re sitting here.”

Ari - “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Ren - “Sure it does.”

I sighed and returned to my book.

He stayed.

The next day, he came back.

Then the day after that.

And the day after that.

Eventually, I started changing where I sat.

Ren found me.

I ate somewhere else.

Ren found me.

I took a longer route between classes.

Ren somehow found me.

Ari - “You’re following me.”

I told him one afternoon.

Ren - “Yes.”

Ari - “At least you’re honest.”

Ren - “I have nothing to hide.”

Ari - “Why?”

Ren - “Why what?”

Ari - “Why do you keep following me?”

He tilted his head.

Then he gave me the simplest answer.

Ren - “You look lonely.”

I stared at him.

Ari - “I’m not.”

Ren - “Okay.”

He sat beside me anyway.

I frowned.

Ari - “You don’t believe me.”

Ren - “Nope.”

Ari - “Why?”

Ren - “Because you’re always alone.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

So I looked away.

Ren smiled.

Then, after a moment, he said,

Ren - “You look lonely, so I want to be with you even if I’m annoying.”

I looked at him again.

Ari - “You are annoying.”

Ren - “I know.”

He smiled wider.

Ren - “But you’re still sitting here.”

I looked down at my book.

He was right.

I hadn’t moved.

I didn’t understand him.

Most people saw me and decided they wanted nothing to do with me.

Ren saw me and apparently decided the opposite.

He kept showing up.

He kept talking.

He kept sitting beside me.

And somehow...

I started getting used to it.

Sometimes I would look toward the school entrance before class.

I didn’t know why.

Then Ren would appear.

And I’d realize I had been waiting for him.

I never told him that.

He would probably never let me hear the end of it.

One afternoon, Ren asked me something strange.

Ren - “Come to my house.”

Ari - “No.”

Ren - “Why?”

Ari - “I don’t want to.”

Ren - “Come on.”

Ari - “No.”

Ren - “Please?”

Ari - “No.”

Ren - “Please?”

Ari - “No.”

Ren - “Please?”

I looked at him.

Ari - “How many times are you going to ask?”

Ren - “Until you say yes.”

Ari - “Then I’ll never say yes.”

Ren - “That’s okay. I’ve got time.”

He really didn’t give up.

The next day, he asked again.

I said no.

The day after that, he asked again.

No.

Again.

No.

Again.

No.

By the fifth day, I was starting to regret ever meeting him.

Ren - “Please, Ari.”

Ari - “No.”

Ren - “You haven’t even seen my house.”

Ari - “I don’t need to.”

Ren - “You might like it.”

Ari - “I won’t.”

Ren - “You don’t know that.”

Ari - “I do.”

Ren - “You’re impossible.”

Ari - “So are you.”

He grinned.

Ren - “So that’s a yes?”

Ari - “No.”

He sighed dramatically.

I walked away.

He followed.

Of course he did.

Eventually, after days of refusing, I finally stopped walking.

Ari - “Fine.”

Ren nearly walked into me.

Ren - “Fine?”

Ari - “I’ll come once.”

His face immediately lit up.

Ren - “Really?”

Ari - “Yes.”

Ren - “You’re actually coming?”

Ari - “Yes.”

Ren - “This is the greatest day of my life.”

Ari - “You’ve had a very boring life.”

Ren - “You don’t know that.”

Ari - “I know you.”

He smiled.

I didn’t understand why that made him so happy.

But I let him be happy.

That afternoon, I went to his house.

I expected noise.

I expected people.

I expected the same kind of energy Ren carried around with him everywhere.

Instead, the house was quiet.

Too quiet.

Ren opened the door.

Ren - “I’m home.”

Nothing.

He waited.

Nobody answered.

He shrugged and walked inside.

I followed.

Ari - “Are you sure they’re home?”

Ren - “Probably.”

Ari - “Probably?”

Ren - “They’re usually busy.”

He said it casually.

Like it didn’t matter.

We walked upstairs.

I noticed the empty hallway.

The closed doors.

The untouched rooms.

There were signs that people lived there, but somehow it still felt empty.

Ren took me to his room.

He started talking immediately, showing me things he’d collected, things he’d drawn, places he wanted to visit.

I listened.

Then I asked,

Ari - “Do they always leave you alone?”

He stopped.

For a moment, he didn’t smile.

Ren - “Sometimes.”

Ari - “Why?”

Ren - “They’re busy.”

He said it quickly.

Too quickly.

Then he smiled again.

Ren - “Anyway, look at this.”

He changed the subject.

I looked at the thing he was showing me.

I didn’t ask again.

I didn’t need to.

I understood.

Ren wasn’t as different from me as I’d thought.

He knew what it was like to be alone.

Maybe that’s why he’d noticed me.

Maybe that’s why he refused to leave.

We spent the rest of the afternoon together.

When I finally went home, Ren stood at the door.

Ren - “See you tomorrow.”

I nodded.

Ari - “Tomorrow.”

I walked away.

For some reason, I felt lighter than usual.

I didn’t know why.

Maybe because, for once, someone had wanted me around.

The next day at school, Ren was waiting for me.

He waved when he saw me.

I walked toward him.

Neither of us knew that things were about to change.

Not yet.

For now, we were just two boys who had found someone who stayed.

Until one afternoon...

Everything changed.

I was walking down the hallway when someone stepped in front of me.

I stopped.

There were three of them.

I knew what they wanted.

One shoved my shoulder.

I barely moved.

“What’s wrong with you?”

I didn’t answer.

Another pushed me harder.

“You think you’re better than everyone?”

Ari - “No.”

“Then react.”

I didn’t.

That seemed to make them angrier.

One of them grabbed my bag.

Another pushed me backward.

I stumbled.

Before I could steady myself, they shoved me into an empty locker.

The metal door slammed shut.

Darkness.

I heard their laughter outside.

Then their footsteps disappeared.

I stood there quietly.

There was barely enough room to move.

I pressed one hand against the door.

It didn’t open.

I tried again.

Nothing.

I sat down.

There was no point shouting.

Nobody was coming.

I rested my head against the cold metal.

‘I guess I’m stuck here.’

I closed my eyes.

Then I heard footsteps.

They stopped outside the locker.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

Click

The door opened.

Light flooded in.

I looked up.

Ren was standing there.

His expression wasn’t smiling anymore.

He looked worried.

Ren - “Ari?”

I stared at him.

He crouched down and held out his hand.

Ren - “Come on.”

I looked at his hand.

Nobody had ever come looking for me before.

Nobody had ever opened the door.

Nobody had ever stayed.

For the first time, something inside me moved.

Something small.

Something unfamiliar.

My eyes sparked.

I reached out.

Ren grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

And for the first time in a long time...

I wasn’t alone.

⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹