A story...

The blood. The screams. Sirens wailing as she slipped in and out of consciousness.

It has been almost a year since the horrific accident had happened, but haunting images from the scene were still as clear as daylight to Nina, who had lost both her parents and sister. With no one else to stay with or turn to, the young Kayan girl moved in with her aunt Julia, who could not care less of her presence. With the lack of attention and affection, depression settled in and eventually became part of her life. Often, she would lock herself in her room and lie on her bed for hours , letting her thoughts drive her insane.

Today was like any other day.

“How wonderful and perfect my life was before; a life full of friends and fame, filled with laughter and joy. Why this accident? Why does it have to ruin my life and take everything away? Why… why…my family??!! ”

Nina’s eyes rimmed with wetness and her lips trembled as the sweet memories of her beloved family flashed through her mind. The good times they had, the bad times they had endured together, had all vanished. Nina blinked, grabbed a photo album nearby and squinted at it through her tears.

The accident cost Nina more than just her family. Nina’s beautiful face was no longer what it used to be. Shrapnel had left permanent scars on her once beautifully sculptured and defined features, and people now looked at her in disgust. Going to school had become a dreaded nightmare.

“Hey Nina! What’s that hideous adornment you’ve got on your face? The latest trend?”

Cheryl, whom Nina had regarded as one of her closer friends, howled with laughter at her own remark. People closed by started to snicker at the insult. The hurt was just too much to bear. Nina fled towards the toilet with cruel laughter of her schoolmates still echoing in her ears. She slammed the door of a cubicle, trying hard to ignore what Cheryl had said. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop herself from bursting into tears, but to no avail. Depression and self-pity overwhelmed.

“Everyone loved me before… I guess looks was all that mattered to those who are supposedly my ‘friends’. I’m not wanted for who I am. They never knew the real me. And I guess they never will.”

Day after day, she tried to keep her dignity as she continued to be hurled with seemingly endless hurtful insults and questioning faces with looks of undisguised disgust. Her self-confidence plummeted. Self-esteem and popularity were things of the past. She was no longer the Nina she used to be. The once bubbly, energetic social-butterfly was now replaced by a lonely, disfigured girl.

Time seemed to pass by slowly, painfully for Nina. Valentine’s Day was just round the corner. Every year, Nina received bunches of roses and all sorts of cards and chocolates from admires everywhere. She knew it was going to be different this year.

“True friends are indeed hard to find,” she thought, sadly, during one recess break in school. She glanced enviously at some of her schoolmates who were bustling around, busy with Valentine’s Day sales for various organizations.

The bell rang, and Nina hurried back to class with an armful of books she had loaned from the school library. In her haste, she collided with a Chinese boy and dropped all her books. Profuse words of apology poured out from Nina in embarrassment as she immediately dropped to her knees to gather her books, expecting the boy to respond in hurtful words. She would bear with it. She was used to it anyway.

“Are you alright?”

The boy quickly knelt down and pick up Nina’s books. She was so stunned that she froze and just allowed herself to be helped. It had been such a long time since she had received such kindness from anybody. She glanced up shyly and their eyes met.
She knew for sure she had never seen him around before.

“I’m alright,” Nina managed to reply after taking a while to recover.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. My name’s John.”

Nina smiled back sheepishly and introduced herself.

“Uhm… Care to hang out after school?”

John and Nina met up after school and chatted for hours on end. Nina felt that John was very different from others. For once, she felt as if she was being accepted for who she really is and not for what she looked like. Nina poured her heart out to John, telling him what had happened on that horrible day which took away everything from her.

Through John, Nina realized that there was actually hope. She realized that a book can never be judged by its cover – not everyone was how she thought they were. Someone out there actually cared about her.

“A true friend does not walk ahead of you or behind you; they walk beside you and stay by your side. A true friend is there to share all your passions and sorrows.” It was a proverb Nina had refuse to believe in, until John came along.

John and Nina were there for each other whenever one was in need of the other; they helped each other out with schoolwork, other problems, and practically everything else. The friendship bond that they shared was purely indescribable. They even discovered their interest in helping the needy and doing voluntary work. Both were determined to help out in whatever ways they can.

The morning of Valentine’s Day arrived. Nina walked to school as usual, reminiscing the same day of previous years, trying not to feel too blue. All the same, the last thing she expected was to receive anything from anyone. She made her way to her class, thinking back on how her family used to celebrate this day of love by making cards, expressing their love for each other. She missed them dearly.

Putting her bag down, Nina settled down in her seat and caught a whiff of a familiar floral scent. Something shiny inside her drawer caught her eyes.

She lifted an eyebrow in surprise and reached for the glittering object. Her heart beat skipped a beat as she saw a single red rose, beautifully wrapped in silvery metallic paper secured with a pink satin ribbon. Not quite believing her eyes, she opened up the note that was attatched to it.

Dearest Nina

You are beautiful
No matter what they say
You are beautiful
In every single way
In my heart you will always be

Life is not about looks,
But the way you look at life.

Love, John

A hot tear rolled down Nina’s cheek.

Since Valentine's Day is approaching, decided to post this up for fun. It's something I wrote in form 4 for some essay writing competition. :) Lost da soft copy and typed da whole thing so you'd better like it!! Haha

Signing off: I've got mua lappie back! :P