The sun wasn't all that bright by the time she stepped out, but she still flinched slightly at the light. The green courtyard and blue sky looked like an overexposed photograph, too bright at the white parts, and the colours brilliant.
She let the heavy door close behind her, and felt herself start to warm up in the afternoon heat. Her white jacket came off with a shrug; she let it hang on her arms as she breathed in deep, breathing in the clean fresh smell of after-rain grass and the calming smell of clean slate floors.
Looking around, letting her eyes adjust to the new luminosity of her surroundings, she walked down the pale steps to the grass, and strolled thoughtfully, feeling the sun on her bare arms, her neck, her face. At this point, the breeze picked up, and she had to comb her fringe out of her face as the wind blew her short hair around.
In her head a chinese ballad played. She looked up at the sun, and let go of her hair, letting it fly about her half-lidded eyes. She seemed to breathe in deeper, ignoring the black shifting mass of hair about her face.
"I've finally given up on him." There was something final about the way she said those words, softly, to herself. The smile she had turned sad, and then bittersweet. "I'll miss him."
Glancing at her watch, she turned around wistfully, and walked back in the direction of the classroom.
chiiyo's comments :
I wanted to write a piece about being heartbroken, but keeping it all inside, and then seemingly expelling it with one big breath. It's about not making a big fuss about things, it's about giving up on a person, willingly, easily, calmly, and becoming a better person at the same time. It's about letting go of the person you like. And doing so gently. Because not all love has to be tears and drama. Sometimes it can be as simple as just giving up. I tried to capture that kind of seemingly simple emotion in this piece, and I'm still not sure whether I did.