The sparks of curiosity
The laughter began the moment Noah stepped into the lecture hall. A jagged scar split his face from temple to jaw-a cruel lightning bolt of raised, discolored flesh. It twisted his smile, made his left eye droop slightly, turned every expression into something the world deemed wrong. Whispers slithered through the rows,"Damn, did a bear maul him?"
"I'd wear a mask if I looked like that.""Why even show up?"
He kept his head down, gripping his notebook until his knuckles whitened. But he didn't turn back. He never did. The professor droned on about ethics while the boy with the scar sat alone, as always, in the back. No one noticed when he slid his notes to the girl who'd missed class last week. No one saw him quietly pick up the crumpled coffee cup someone had tossed at his feet. But Susan did. From across the room, a girl with ink stained fingers and a habit of chewing her pen caps too hard stared. Not in pity. Not in disgust,in wonder. Because when a group of guys "accidentally" bumped his desk, sending his papers flying, he didn't curse or flinch. He just knelt-slow, deliberate-and gathered every sheet while their smirks died in their throats. And for the first time, someone thought: What kind of person still chooses kindness after a lifetime of this?
The stray dog wagged its tail furiously as Noah knelt by the dustbin, peeling the lid off a container of last night's rice. His scar caught the evening light, turning the twisted flesh silver at the edges."Does it have a name?"
His shoulders tensed. That voice-soft, unfamiliar-was talking to him.
Slowly, he turned.
Susan stood there, her bag slung over one shoulder, her head tilted just slightly. No smirk. No phone pointed at him to film his reaction. Just...her.
Trap ,his mind screamed. They send pretty ones sometimes to lure you in.
But the dog whined, nudging his hand, and habit made him answer."...No. But he likes chicken."
She crouched beside him, not too close. "I'm Susan."
A pause. The dog licked his fingers.
"...Noah,"he muttered, bracing for the laugh, the Wow,even your name's ugly.
But she just nodded."Hi, Noah."
Silence. The dog ate noisily.
Then she asked it-the question that no one had ever dared, not sincerely.
"Why are you still kind?"
His breath hitched. The rice container crumpled in his grip.
Why?
Because kindness is the only thing they hadn't taken,because if he's not kind,they'd win. Because-
"Someone has to be,"he said at last, voice rough.
And when he finally looked at her, really looked, she wasn't smiling in pity.
She was staring at him like he was the first real thing she'd ever seen.After Noah stood up to go,he realized Susan was following him."Why are you following me?"
"Curious to see how this kind man lives"
"It'll be boring"
"I don't care"
