Chapter 3 A Different Look

"Even though I will be gone from your life. However, you must believe in this one thing. That is, the full body that I have is already attached here. Your heart and mind."

***

Hosh! Hosh! Hosh!

Sia woke up from her sleep, her breathing was labored, and her heart was swaying vigorously like she was at a discotheque. Sia clutched her chest, which felt tight. Cold sweat began to pour out of her neck and temples.

Sia hugged her knees, crying for her drama-filled life. The dream came again, and it would stay like that forever. Every night, Sia had the dream she hated the most. Why have that dream when there are so many other, better ones? Why did the breakup with Elgi make its way into her subconscious?

Sometimes Sia was afraid to sleep, afraid of the dreams that had haunted her mind for the past year. Sia's tears broke out, clear liquid flowing easily from her eyes. A day without crying was impossible for her, in fact, crying was her friend.

Sia has always waited for Elgi, until now. Sometimes she went to the meadow, where she witnessed her separation from Elgi. She hoped that Elgi would come back and suddenly give her a luxurious surprise. However, in reality, it was just a delusion. Elgi was really gone and would never come back. Sia always waited for Elgi and hoped that one day she would meet him again. She doesn't know when.

Sometimes Sia also felt bored, and waiting for something uncertain was very sad. But she was still faithful enough to do that. Sia believed that a separation must have a speck of happiness behind it. Nothing is impossible if God has willed something.

Sia's hand moved, wiping away the tears that had been forming a small river on both cheeks. A second after that, her face turned and looked at the wall of her room, where the wall clock was stuck. At two o'clock in the morning, that was the hand that showed the number.

Sia let out an exasperated sigh, then she pulled back the thin blanket until it covered her chest. Sia wanted to continue sleeping, considering she had school today after the weekend. However, Sia was too afraid to close her eyes again, afraid that a nightmare about Elgi would attack her again. She would definitely feel the tightness in her chest. And she didn't want that to happen.

Until the call to dawn, Sia had not closed her eyes, she had been awake all night for almost three hours, not that Sia was not sleepy. Instead, she just felt scared. In fact, Sia felt so sleepy, she probably opened her mouth dozens of times, yawning.

She unfolded the thin, tattered blanket with roses on it that had been wrapped around her. She folded the cloth and placed it on her sleeping pillow. Sia sat on the edge of her rickety mattress, her feet roaming in search of her slippers.

After her feet found her friend-slippers. She quickly got up, opened the door, and started walking towards the bathroom, not far from her bed. She took some ablution water and immediately prayed the morning prayer.

***

When she was ready to go to school like any other day, she went out of her house. The creaking of the door made a loud noise. It was a sign that the door was about to be replaced with a new one.

This house was the only thing left by Sia's parents. Her mother had been overseas for a long time. However, every month, Sia is sent money for food and school fees. Meanwhile, Sia's father passed away about two years ago, when Sia was still in junior high school.

Sia is getting used to living independently. It was hard to do. But she did it wholeheartedly. Sia sighed softly, then started walking towards the bus base.

Sia let her hair down, she felt comfortable. Occasionally, her wavy hair danced as she took wide steps. It only took fifteen minutes to reach the school. It wasn't too far from home.

The zipper of the bag was opened, and then Sia took the money and gave it to the bus driver when the four-wheeled vehicle stopped right in front of the High School gate.

"Thank you," he said. Sia only responded with a small smile. A second later, she took a bit of the hair covering her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"SIA!"

Sia immediately stopped her footsteps, feeling that her name had been called, Sia then turned her body backwards. A second later, she smiled happily, apparently the person who called her earlier was Elin, her classmate.

Once Elin arrived beside her with her breath catching, Sia only smiled a little when Elin also flashed her a big smile.

"You're so beautiful today, I swear!" complimented Elin as she gazed at Sia's radiant appearance from the top of her head to her toes.

"You're pretty too, in fact, you already have a boyfriend," Sia praised Elin back.

Hearing this, Elin nudged Sia's shoulder, signaling to her best friend not to talk about "boyfriend" at a time like this.

"By the way, you're really different today, I guarantee that many people will be attracted to your new look!" Elin said she was examining her appearance again, often chuckling and shaking her head continuously. This also made Sia's excitement level even higher.

Instead of being happy and proud at the same time about being praised like this, Sia was desperately holding back her embarrassment. In fact, she only slightly changed her appearance.

"Don't be like that, I'm embarrassed." Sia slapped Elin's cheek while hiding her blushing cheeks, complimenting her appearance.

"Crazy, I'm one hundred percent sure. The next time you go to class, the boys will gawk at your new look," Elin teased again, her finger picking at Sia's chin. A split second after that, Elin took even faster steps while dragging Sia. She did not do this without reason. Rather, Elin couldn't wait to see how surprised her classmates would be when they saw the new Sia.

"Don't walk so fast, the entrance bell is still a long time away." Sia tried to release Elin's grip on her arm. However, Elin was not the only one whose will was not yet complete.

Ignoring what Sia had just said, Elin increased her footsteps. It got to the point where Sia herself was overwhelmed by Elin's wide footsteps. Inevitably, because she kept being dragged forward, Sia tried to run a little.

Elin really put Sia in a state of anxiety. What was different about her appearance, she only felt that she had changed her appearance slightly. Underline if necessary.

If Sia had undergone plastic surgery, then Elin would be able to gush and praise her appearance to her heart's content. However, for something as small as this, the girl seemed to be looking at Sia like she hadn't seen her in a long time. Really, Sia didn't know the way her best friend thought.