The Boy and The Girl (1/2)

A boy went near a girl and tapped on her shoulders.

"Hey, hey, do you want to eat this fruit? It's very tasty. My father told me that eating this fruit would make all our worries go away."

"Go away, don't disturb me. I don't want any stupid fruit nor do I want you to talk to me."

A seven year old boy with black sparkling eyes and a cute chubby face was trying to talk to a nine year old girl who was sitting on the riverbanks with a gloomy air around her.

The boy seemed so cute and innocent that if one saw him, they would feel like protecting him from getting corrupted by this world.

The boy had come for touring around the famous riverbanks of the Moonstone City with his father.

But as he was playing around enjoying the scenery, he saw a girl of his age sitting on the riverbanks crying to herself. Her eyes were red and strands of snot were hanging from her nose.

Because of his kind and helpful nature, once he saw someone in distress, he would have the feeling of wanting to help that person. He couldn't bear to see anybody in pain and was someone who wanted the whole world to be happy.

So he took out a fruit his father had given him, it was quite an expensive fruit for his family to afford. But he didn't think twice about giving away the fruit to the girl to cheer her up.

The girl found his pestering annoying and thought why he can't just mind his own business.

But the boy didn't give up, "But this fruit is not stupid. It is called the 'Blissful Fruit' because it's said that it will cleanse your heart of all worries and make you happy again." The boy innocently said.

"And what do you know about my worries or problems? You don't even know me. Stop being nosy and just mind your business and go away before I teach you a lesson." The girl got pissed off at his obstinate meddlesomeness.

She even decided to throw him off with her strength if he continued his pestering. After all, she was quite confident that no one of her same age group could be a match for her.

But the boy didn't get afraid hearing her threat and still continued, "Then I will just keep the fruit here in front of you. You can eat it whenever you want. I will sit and wait here for you."

The girl finally got fully pissed off seeing his annoying behavior. She had come here for some fresh air with her father. Her mother had just recently died and she was having a hard time coping with it. All she wanted was some alone time to herself but didn't expect to get pestered by a kid. And seeing his innocent smile only made her more angry.

Losing her loving and caring mother at such a young age, she wasn't able to take it. She felt as if a huge void was left in her heart. She came here to reminisce her memories with her mother, how she played with her, how she never got angry despite all her naughty antics, how she took care of her every single day no matter what and most of all, the love she showered on her every second of her life.

She regretted that she did not spend more time with her mother during all these years as she understood that one wouldn't know the value of what they have unless they lose it.

"You just won't learn do you?" She scowled at the boy as she started circulating her ethereal energy within her body to push the boy away.

But when her senses spread she was shocked to find out that the boy had practically no ethereal energy at all! In other words, she realized that he was a cripple!

She instantly stopped circulating her ethereal energy and got scared realizing that she would have almost dealt a deadly blow to the boy had she not known about this fact.

The boy was just a seven year old crippled boy. His body was basically mortal. So how would he be able to handle a blow from someone who has ethereal strength?

If she didn't stop her casual attack, the boy wouldn't die but at the same time he would end up in a miserable state.

Her anger and irritation was instantly snuffed out just as she realized this. She suddenly felt pity and sympathy for the boy. She wondered how he could keep such a smile when he himself was cursed with such a cruel fate.

Even though she was just an eight year old kid, she knew how the cultivation world basically worked. Forget about being crippled, if one did not even have an elemental talent or have an elemental seed, they would be ostracized and treated as trash.

She had never seen a cripple before and the boy was the first person.

So she mused how much the boy would have suffered or will suffer in the future because of his condition. No one would accept him anywhere, no one would marry him, no one would care about him.

When she calmed down, she realized that she was being silly by being angry at someone who only wanted to help her.

She was amazed how the boy wasn't fazed by his condition and instead was trying to help others. She felt that she was inferior to him in that aspect.

"I-I am...s-sorry." She said in a low mosquito voice.

The boy was puzzled seeing the 180 degree change in her expression. First she got angry at him but now she was apologizing to him?

But he still gave a cute smile and said, "You don't have to apologize for taking this fruit. I don't mind giving it away to someone who needs it. You need it more than me anyway."

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry seeing the boy misunderstand her apology. But she was impressed by his generous and compassionate behavior.

She wiped her snot with her cute hands and finally took the fruit placed beside her. But she paused for a moment and turned her head to look at the boy.

She knew how much this fruit was worth and for her it may be as cheap as well. But seeing the boy's clothes and bearing, she knew that he must not be coming from a well off family.

"I...don't need it. I am fine now. You can take it back. I have plenty of these back at my home."

"No, no, I can't take back something I have given away. Even if you have some at your home, you have to eat it now. My father said that if one stays sad for a long time, their heart would turn black...and I don't want to see your heart turn black. It should stay as red as an apple."

The girl didn't know whether to believe it or not. She had never heard of someone's heart turning black just because they were sad for too long. But seeing the seriousness in the boy's words, she started worrying if her heart was already turning black.

Seeing her hesitation, the boy said, "Go on...eat it. It must be very tasty. People wouldn't spread lies about it's effects." He said with a pure smile.