Why is my brother not coming back?

It had been almost ten minutes since she started waiting.

She was careful to make sure no one could see that she was alone in a shopping centre. Whilst never being invited by any friends, she held onto her fragile pride and made sure no one saw her alone.

He didn't leave me, right?

Tears were beginning to form in the young girl's eyes.

She decided to get off the bench and search for her brother. She wandered around the shopping centre, glancing at the front of the stores. After not being able to find her brother, she decided to walk out of the shopping centre and look around the car park.

She was slowly losing the ability to hold in her tears and distress. After quickly scanning the car park, she walked over to a vending machine and took shade at the side of the vending machine.

"Oh look who it is."

A group of three girls who just happened to walk past saw the little girl who was on the verge of breaking.

"What's up glasses girl?"

"You're hanging outside alone? How sad."

"Hey don't bully her too hard, otherwise she might cry."

The girls snickered at the retort.

"I'm surprised someone like you would even bother to go outside despite not having any friends."

She looked down at the ground, trying not to make eye contact with the group of girls.

"Ugh, I feel bad for you, want to join us? You look pretty lonely by yourself."

She looked up at the girl who offered her this proposal. There was a ray of hope in the lost girl's eyes.

"Just kidding, I'd hate to have someone see us hanging out with you! Maybe if you were cooler we'd hang out with you."

The ray of hope was crushed by a statement so painful the little girl felt as if her heart would break apart right then and there.

Eventually, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, tears building upon her eyes and slowly dripping down her cheek.

She held her knees against her body covered her eyes.

"Sorry did we say too many mean things?"

It was an apology as empty as the young girl's heart.

"Let's leave, otherwise someone might see us."

Seeing the scene, the other girls decided to take their leave and enter the shopping centre.

This is all my fault, isn't it? If I stopped wearing glasses, people would stop thinking that I was weird. If I were cooler, people would want to hang out with me. I thought I could have fun for once, with my brother, but even he didn't want to be with me.

The broken little girl sat alone under the shade of the vending machine.

"Why are you crying?"

In front of her, a young boy wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a green shirt looked down at the sad girl. The boy was around the same age as her, an average looking boy, with nothing seemingly special about him, aside from an eerily apathetic voice.

The girl didn't respond to his question, she wasn't going to be tricked by any more false hope.

"What is this place?"

Huh? Is this boy lost or something?

After not receiving a response the second time, he decided to just leave and make his way towards the entrance of the shopping centre.

Unknowing why the little girl had a sudden urge to speak to the boy. Whether it was out of a desire to help someone else, or a desire to be helped herself, she got up and walked towards the boy.

"Wait..."

The boy turned around after hearing her voice.

"This is the main city shopping centre... Are you new here..?"

The little girl's voice trailed off as she spoke to this stranger.

"I've never been outside the orphanage before so I guess you could say I'm new to this place." The boy responded.

Orphanage?

"You live at an orphanage?"

"Yes."

The two of them slowly made their way into the shopping centre.

"So... um, what are you doing here?" The little girl asked.

"The orphanage manager said he wanted me to experience this."

Huh? This boy was here to experience a shopping centre?

"I don't know why he sent me here, I didn't have anything to buy."

"Well not everyone who comes to a shopping centre has something they want to buy. Sometimes people come here just to have fun with their friends..."

As soon as the girl said that she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

"To have fun with their friends... I see."

The boy suddenly looked around. He turned to face the girl.

"Where are your friends?"

"U-um..."

She broke eye contact with the boy hoping he would change the topic.

Nevertheless, the boy remained staring blankly at her.

"They um... went home already..."

"I see."

The two of them were aimlessly walking around the shopping centre.

The boy looked down at the glasses she was holding.

"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

"The other kids make fun of me when I wear them."

"Why would that make you stop wearing them?"

The girl was surprised by his response.

"Of course, it would make me stop! It hurts when people make fun of you."

"So it hurts... I see."

"Why are you so weird? You act as if you've never felt anything!"

"I'm weird..? "

She looked as if the boy was something completely incomprehensible to her. Despite how weird the boy was, she found it comforting how she could talk to someone so easily.

"I wonder, if I changed, would I be able to make lots of friends..?" The little girl muttered to herself.

"What's good about having a lot of friends?"

"Huh?" The girl jolted in shock at the response.

He heard me?

"Well if you have lots of friends, you get invited to parties, you can talk to people at school and you can hang out with them on weekends."

"And?"

And?

"So what?" The boy continued.

"Well, that would make me happy!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

The two of them continued down, eventually making their way to the food court.