Dry Leaf Under The Starless Night

"In the end, loneliness is a friend. It will be there for you when you are alone. No matter what the problem is, it will be in your heart. Don't fight loneliness, learn to love it. And you will not fall into your doom."

Celestine closed the book that she was reading. A pang of pain was present in her chest. The tears that fell in her cheeks somehow, dried up but her eyes fell another set of tears.

Without a second, she wiped her tears and held out a sob. She put the book back in her bag and lean into the trunk of a mango tree. The pants she wore was now full of dust because of the ground. But she did not care less, as long as she was comfortable in her sitting position, it was fine.

"Oh my... There's the slut out there," a stinging voice of a girl exclaimed.

Tin just closed her eyes. She knew who that was. A girl who had a big hate of her. A girl who was once her best friend. A girl who was once she spilled secrets into. A girl who was once she shared happy moments together.

It was Aivy.

She did not look at their direction. It will just provoke them and can cause trouble.

"Aivy, let's go. We are not going to approach that kind of girl," said Leyla.

Leyla was the girl they used to hate but now, she was the one being hated. She smiled but it did not reach her eyes.

The sun shone brightly even if it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It was opposite of what she felt. Her insides were dark clouds, thunder and lightning. It was a stormy night in her heart.

It was still vivid in her memory on how she and Aivy became friends.

It was raining hard back then and Tin was on the waiting shed near the gates of her school. She did not bring an umbrella so she was waiting for the rain to stop.

The drops of water bounced in her black shoes and it was annoying her; another thing to clean. Her socks had dots of mud brought by the water that tapped her shoes.

The wind blew in her direction bringing the rain to her face. Her school uniform slowly got wet. She turned her back and wiped her face.

Suddenly the poking of the rain in her back stopped. Did the rain stopped? But she heard the sound of the rain on the roof of the shed. She faced what happened and then find a girl that in pigtails shielding them together from the rain using her umbrella.

The girl smiled to her. "Hi," she said in a cheerful way. As if the rain can not stop her from smiling.

Tin smiled also. Thinking that she would give back the smile the girl had given to her.

"I'm Aivy," she said and extended her hand for a shake. Aivy's other hand was holding the umbrella.

"I'm T-Tin. C-Celestine," she replied and held the Aivy's hand. They shook it together and shared a giggle.

That was the start of them being best of friends. But it lasted for only two years and three months.

Now, she was alone hugging the loneliness in her heart. Like a dry leaf under the starless night that was not sure of what it will become, she was not also sure of what she will be tomorrow.