《The Peripheral Girl》Chapter 12

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I found Hirsh sitting up in his bed, reading a book with a content look on his face. Baila was sitting in the rocking chair beside him, knitting something with brightly colored yarn. They smiled at me when I stepped into the room.

"Zuza!" Baila beamed, her bright eyes almost disappearing beneath the wrinkles on her face. "How nice of you to visit."

"Happy to be here," I grinned. "How are you feeling Hirsh?"

The old man looked back up fro his book. "Just feeling a bit tired, is all. I spent a long time in the garden yesterday. I wore myself out."

Baila shook her head slightly. "That blasted garden is going to be the death of you."

"You don't look too bad to me," I said. I stared at his face, trying to see for myself if he was carrying any of the symptoms that Enzo had mentioned earlier. His eyes looked normal and his skin wasn't ashy. I guess he was just old.

"How are you doing, Zuza?" Hirsh asked. "I hope you're not getting into any trouble."

"Well, you know my parents. They would never give me the chance to actually cause any trouble."

"That's never stopped you before though... especially with you sneaking into the infirmary to see Enzo. I'm sure your parents aren't aware of that."

My face flushed. "Oh! You know about that?" How embarrassing. I guess he was right there when I came into the room. I knew going was a bad idea.

Hirsh and Baila chuckled. "You don't need to worry about us knowing your secret," Baila said. "It won't leave this house."

I felt relieved. "Thanks. My parents would probably kill me."

Hirsh nodded. "It's normal for them to worry about you, but I'm glad to see that you've made a friend. Enzo is a good boy." His eyes twinkled with happiness. Hirsh and Baila were never able to have children of their own. It was probably nice to have Enzo staying with them.

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"Yeah..." my voice trailed off. If we were friends, shouldn't I tell him about my powers? That's what friends did, right? Tell each other secrets. He told me a little bit about his community; even stuff that he didn't tell Hirsh. Did I not trust him?

**********************

Enzo hadn't moved from the step when I left Baila and Hirsh's room. He looked so peaceful, I almost didn't want to bother him again...

Almost.

I jumped down to his step and stuck my nose close to his face.

"Enzo!"

He jumped back like a frightened rabbit, dropping his book. "What?!" he said, startled. He picked up his book and held it close to his chest like it was a precious gift. "Don't do that Zuza, you scared me."

"... Sorry." I felt a little hurt. I didn't mean to scare him. I didn't think he'd be so jumpy. "Hey are you busy? Do you want to take a walk down to the river with me? The leaves are changing right now, so it's really pretty."

"Umm..." He glanced at his book.

"You can bring the book."

"... Okay, let me grab my coat and scarf."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not that cold out." My thoughts turned to the time that I saw him outside of my house a few days ago. "Oh, you want to hide your face from everyone else."

"No, it's not that, I-I," he stammered. "... Some people still give me dirty looks. The scarf helps." He wrapped it around his neck and pulled it up over his mouth.

"Well, I think most people will be looking at me anyway since everyone thinks I'm weird. So you don't have to worry about it too much."

"That doesn't bother you? People staring?"

"I don't let people get to me. Why let them? They don't know me."

"That's a very courageous thing to say."

I smiled at him. He was a lot nicer than most kids my age.

"Let's go!" I said, leading him out the door. Enzo was my friend. I guess I did trust him enough to tell him my secret.

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