The Regained Smile

The boy stood in the garden of the hostel, checking everything in his sight. Everything seemed strange and alien to him. He was a little anxious about living there for the next 10 years. A smiling face caught his attention. It was of an angelic girl behind the tree. He watched her, chuckling. He comforted himself that at least there was one lovely thing in this place. As the boy went back to his room, he received a SMS from the girl. Recalling the charming smile, he felt his heart was melting like chocolate.

The boy tried his best to make the girl’s birthday celebration party memorable. He walked to the park with the girl with their hands joined. He was intoxicated by the fragrance given out by her hair. They chatted while sitting on the bench in the park. The boy peeped at the girl’s smiling face, chuckling. At the Valentine’s Day, they walked out as usual. The boy bought the girl a big ice-cream of the girl’s favorite flavor. With the girl in the boy’s arm, they walked to the common place they used to go.

As they sat on the bench starting to chat, the girl vanished. The boy was so anxious that he felt as if his heart was burning. He called everyone he knew and asked about the girl. The answer was there was no such girl at all. One of his best friends told him, “You held a birthday party for nobody, and you went out for a walking every Saturday by yourself.” The boy was totally confused, and he could not believe every word came into his ear. With his hand trembling, he took out his handphone. The SMS was still there.

The boy could not help letting out a smile and tears. He rushed to every place he went with the girl. He went to the fence, the tennis pitch of European children, the foot bridge, the park, and the benches underneath the library. Though he could feel the aura of the girl left there, nowhere could he find the girl. The boy was plunged into despair. He was so exhausted that he didn’t even have the energy to cry. Staggering back to his room like a drunk, the boy failed to manage any expression on his face. He felt that he had already been dead of grief.

Upon entering his room, the boy sensed something wrong with his badminton racket. He felt the girl was just in the racket. The boy buried the racket in his arms. A tear drop fell on the racket. Since then, the boy went everywhere with his racket. He formed a habit to sit on the bench with her and tell every minutia of his life to her. They appreciated the beautiful scenes of sunsets. The boy was addicted to playing badminton because he could feel the girl most strongly when he played badminton. He prepared a towel to wipe her after the enjoyable time of playing badminton with her. The boy could still feel the angelic smile on her face.