Earlier...

The first time I'd noticed something wrong, I'd just been on my way out from campus during a free time block I had in the second week of school. The island had a public park just a short distance from the school, so I went for a walk to explore the area.

It was a warm early autumn day, and I wandered through the park on my way to my next class. It was a botanical garden, like any other you'd find in typical well-off cities. There were a lot of walking paths that surrounded small ponds and rest areas with benches. There were also a few monuments and gardens scattered around the park, with statues and little plaques of famous people. It had plant life from all over the world, with specimens collected from all across the northern hemisphere. The park was a popular place for students and the few old retirees who lived on the island.

So, I was minding my own business, enjoying the weather and watching the trees rustle around me, when I heard the faint, hauntingly beautiful sound of a violin. I'd stopped in my tracks and looked around, trying to find the source of the melody. I was surprised. I'd seen lots of people playing instruments throughout the city, but this was different.

It was a gorgeous melody, like a virtuoso piece of some kind. Whoever played was very talented, but the music didn't fit the scenery. It was classical, but it had a very exotic flair to it. The tempo was breakneck, but the notes were playful with an undertone of sorrow and hope. It reminded me of a sad poem or a tragic scene in a mythological epic. The music seemed to go on forever as if it were a never-ending story. The violinist was obviously exceptionally talented, and every note played was clear as crystal.

I desperately wanted to investigate where that beautiful music was coming from, so I followed the violin's sound, winding through various walking paths. I could hear the music more clearly as I came closer to my destination, and I stopped in my tracks when I reached the source.

The sight that greeted me nearly broke my heart. A lone girl with a blob of short curly black hair and green eyes stood beside an oak tree, playing the violin with grace in an arboretum below me. She was dressed in our school uniform, which wasn't fully tailored to fit her, but she wore a pink bow on top of her head. It would have made for a cute image, but her shoes were covered in dirt and grass stains, and little twigs and leaves were stuck in her curly hair. Her uniform was stained in dirt as if she'd fallen in a mud puddle.

The girl played with her eyes closed, but tears were streaming down her face. It was a hauntingly beautiful piece that sent chills down my spine. It wasn't just that, though. I was also drawn to the heart and emotion that the melody carried. There was evident pain in her expression, but she plowed on, never opening her eyes.

I felt like an intruder here, so I stepped back from the edge of the railing and sat down on one of the benches nearby, giving her space and privacy for a moment. I also wanted to hear more of that music. I sat down, closed my eyes, and let the music wash over me.

It was otherworldly. It was like a flowing tide of music. It was the most fantastic thing I'd ever heard. It was sad, lonely, and hopeful all at once. It filled me with sorrow, but at the same time, it was uplifting. It was as if I'd never heard anything before. I felt like a little kid again, sitting in my father's lap while he read bedtime stories to me.

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Reluctantly, I slipped away quietly and left her to her world. It didn't feel right to disturb her then, so I found a path out and returned to school. I'd returned to school just in time to make it to class, but I kept thinking back to that encounter. The music that she'd been playing struck a chord inside of me. I could never really put it into words, but her music left me feeling that things weren't so lonely out here and there was light in the future.

I couldn't stop thinking about the violinist and her music, though. The mud on her shoes and the bruises on her face, her hair tangled up, and the heartache in her pained expression. It seemed wrong for someone to be like that, even if it was just me judging her from afar. I didn't really know her, after all. I didn't know what had happened to instill all that pain in her.

I found out a week after. Call it fate, call it luck, or call it a coincidence. I'd just been walking down the hall, minding my own business, when a girl came stumbling out of the girls' bathroom awkwardly.

Her backpack and uniform were both soaking wet. Her hands were trembling, but she had a sad smile that refused to leave her face. The air smelled of toilet water and grapefruit; it was a nauseating smell, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy struggling to get her backpack back on. It was soaked and didn't want to stay on her back. She seemed to be in pain and was still unsteady on her feet.

Something made me call out to her.

"Umn. Are you okay there? What happened?!" I said as I stopped what I was doing and rushed over.

She jolted in surprise, but after looking at me, the smile left her face as she turned tomato red and looked around in a panic. My chest seized up as I realized it was the girl from the garden.

"Ah, hah, y-yes. I'm fine. I'm fine." She stuttered, fumbling with her bag. "Thank you for your concern," She said, tears in her eyes as she tried to recover her composure. Having someone see her in such a state was utterly mortifying for anyone.

A second later, a trio of girls came out of the bathroom behind her. One of them was a gorgeous, older-looking Asian girl with raven black hair and violet eyes; she had an overly fancy and complicated necklace around her neck. The second was a lightly freckled white girl with auburn hair with a look that reminded me of a mischievous fox, and the third was a petite girl with olive, tanned skin, clean dark blue bangs, and dark, deep brown eyes.

The trio of girls started giggling as the girl in front of me began stuttering, stammering, and covering her face.

"I can't believe you, Natasha! You're such a klutz, what were you doing in there?" The olive-skinned girl teased while looking at the girl who'd come stumbling out. The other two laughed as the girl in front of me trembled for a moment.

She bowed her head in embarrassment and tried to hold back her tears, but she was unsuccessful. Then, she finally broke down, sprinting with her bag still hanging off one shoulder, half-soaked and dripping water everywhere. I wanted to run after her. I wanted to say something. I wanted to give her support, but I was suddenly frozen in my place. She ran off down the hallway as I stood there and did nothing.

I swore I'd catch up to her and check up on her, so I rushed after her, but the other girls had gotten in my way. They were blocking my way with sly smirks on their faces. Some would say that this was the sort of thing that would happen, that these sorts of things happened all the time in schools like this. I'd seen something different that day. I'd seen someone who was hurting.

They looked at me with scorn and scorn and scorn. Then, as if it were an act of fate, the tall girl with the black hair and violet eyes pushed me aside and stood in my place. She was a bit taller than me and had a charming, porcelain-like face. She adjusted her prim and immaculate uniform and smiled at me in a disturbingly amicable manner.

"You're new here, aren't you? You'll understand soon enough. Now, run along." She said with a disturbingly friendly smile.

The trio walked away laughing as I made a sour expression.