The morning light entered the room softly, painting everything in a golden tone. Seina woke without a start, something so rare that she needed a moment to orient herself. It wasn't her room. The bed was soft, the sheets smelled clean and… it was quiet. Wonderfully quiet.
She stretched, feeling a satisfying crack in her spine.
"Already awake?" Thalya's voice came from the doorway. She had her uniform over one shoulder and a pink towel over the other, holding two cups of tea. "I brought this. I thought you might need it."
"Thank you," Seina said, her voice still rough with sleep as she sat up in bed to take the cup. The warmth was comforting in her hands. "Your bed is really good, you know? I didn't feel any back pain. I think it was the best sleep I've had in years."
Thalya sat on the edge of the bed, a small smile on her lips. "Yeah. It really is good. Too good, sometimes it's hard to get out of it."
They drank their tea in quiet company, the kind of silence that only exists between people who don't need to fill it with words.
While Thalya went to shower, Seina stayed in the living room. The morning light revealed details that the dimness of night had hidden. She walked slowly, her fingers brushing over the surface of the furniture, as if she could read the story of that family through touch. Her attention was captured by the grand piano resting against the wall. It was elegant, but covered with a thin layer of dust.
Almost without thinking, she lifted the keyboard lid and pressed a white key. The note—an A sharp—echoed in the silent room, louder than she expected.
"Careful with that A sharp," Thalya's voice sounded right behind her, making Seina jump in surprise. "It's always a little out of tune."
"Wow, you scared me!" Seina laughed, placing a hand over her chest.
Thalya stood there with a soft and distant expression, leaning against the side of the piano. "That piano was my father's," she said, her voice lower. "My mother used to sing opera in the kitchen, and he would accompany her from here. The whole house would vibrate."
Seina could almost hear the echoes of that past happiness. "It must be beautiful."
"It was," Thalya confirmed, running her fingers over the keys without pressing them, in a gesture of pure longing. "Sometimes, when the house gets too quiet, I still think I'm going to hear them."
There was such raw vulnerability in that sentence that Seina felt her heart tighten. She said nothing, only stood beside Thalya, sharing that silence which was now heavy with memories.
A few hours later, they were standing on the sidewalk in front of Seina's house.
"I'm coming in with you," Thalya announced, leaving no room for discussion. "Just to make sure."
Seina didn't complain. The idea of walking into that heavy atmosphere alone scared her. They slipped inside quietly, like ghosts. The sounds of fighting had already ceased, replaced by a heavy and hostile silence. Thalya stayed in the kitchen, vigilant, while Seina ran upstairs to her room.
The shower was quick, a ritual to wash away not only the dirt, but the energy of that house. As she dried herself, Seina looked at herself in the foggy mirror. The same tired eyes, the same person. But something… was different. A spark of something that resembled peace.
She stared at the sink and sighed while looking at the items on top of it…
Thalya heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. She was leaning against the kitchen counter, pretending not to hear the low grumbling coming from the living room. When she lifted her eyes, the air stopped in her lungs.
Seina was standing at the foot of the stairs, illuminated by a ray of sunlight coming through the window. Her hair, usually a messy cloud, was tied up, revealing the elegant line of her neck. The uniform, although the same as always, seemed to sit differently. She was… beautiful. Not in a conventional or crafted way, but in a way that came from within. A quietness in her eyes that Thalya had never seen before.
Seina, feeling the gaze, blushed slightly and made an uncertain gesture with her hands.
"So? What… what do you think?" she asked, her voice a little hesitant.
Thalya had to swallow before answering, her face warming along with the weather outside.
"You look… enchanting," the word came out more like a breath than a sentence. It was the purest truth she could find.
The walk to school was done in a different kind of silence. Charged, but not uncomfortable. Full of unspoken things that hovered in the air between them.
"I'll see you at break?" Thalya asked when they reached the gate.
"Of course," Seina replied with a shy smile.
They parted ways. When Seina entered her classroom, she didn't notice it immediately. But then, she felt it. Several pairs of eyes were on her. Whispers stopped when she passed. Someone called her name with a tone of surprise. She sat at her desk, confused, not understanding what had changed. She had only taken a shower and fixed her hair.
But maybe, to the outside world, that was the greatest revolution possible.