Concealed no More

It was already evening when the three of them finally exited the establishment. The sun was behind buildings, leaving streets covered in long shadows. A sudden gust of wind threw Silva’s hair into disarray, making her squint at the new acquaintances.

In the end, Silva had barely spoken. It did not seem like Steven and Mika minded, but it still left her feeling inadequate. She had wanted to do more than just nod or shake her head. But it was too late now. It was time to go their separate ways.

They said their goodbyes and parted. 

On the way back home, Silva habitually slipped in her zone. While it was still not very late, the earlier experience showed that caution was necessary even when it was the middle of the day. 

Not that Silva, when alone, ever did not use her very convenient ability. It was far too convenient to not be noticeable to other people.

While walking, Silva recalled every detail of her time spent together with Steven and Mika. She had spoken more today than any other day in the past couple of years. In a way, it was an achievement for her. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud of it.

It was so rare for Silva to take like people. But those two were an exception. She found them funny, endearing and easy to get along with. They accepted her, or at least she thought they did. She wasn’t the best at reading social cues.

And come to think of it…

They hadn’t mentioned the possibility of meeting again. Maybe? Had they? It was hard to say. They had exchanged their contacts, but that didn’t mean they would actually call, and she was too big of a coward to do that herself.

No, but Mika had mentioned calling Silva. So… Should she simply wait? How did this work?

This was weighing heavily on Silva’s mind - especially because Mika had seen her use her ability. That was not a conversation Silva looked forward to... Even if it did not seem like Mika had any nefarious thoughts and just wanted to talk.

And would she be able to act natural if… 

When.

When they meet again. Silva doubted she could - at least not without some serious planning on her part. At that point, it would not be natural at all!

But that was fine. Silva just had to get used to interacting with others. She could search them out again even if they didn’t call.

As for the chances of Steven or Mika finding her? She doubted there was any chance at all. Not even if they came straight to her school and asked for her.

Silva doubted that anyone in her class remembered how she looked and, even less, her name. They mostly ignored her, or when they spoke about Silva, they called her 'that quiet girl', which, she supposed, she was.

It was better than the other nickname - The Class’ Ghost.

In fact, Silva's attendance was near perfect. She just never felt the need to interact with the rest of the class. 

Don't speak, don't make eye contact, get average grades and vanish when the bell rings - Silva’s patented way of being left to her own devices.

While waiting for the green light at the crossing, Silva’s thoughts wandered back to the fight. In the heat of it, she had hurt someone badly, and so had Steven. 

But both he and Mika seemed to be sure that the thugs were fine, or at least not hurt in a way that would cause a blood feud between them. She shuddered, imagining the ugly mugs hunting them down, crawling around, searching her home.

It was not like Silva had no ideas why they had been so sure."Maybe Mika could tell? It would not be a far stretch to think that someone who can heal can also feel if that is necessary. Should I ask? But that could be bad… Mika didn’t look like she wanted to speak about it with Steven present. Maybe later? When? Will I have to answer? Will Mika ask about me?”

Silva did not want to have that conversation, but her wandering mind kept running in circles.

"I don't know her that well. Is she a person who would try to take advantage of me? Why did she stop me when I tried to tell them about everything?" Silva couldn’t understand, and it bothered her immensely.

While agonising, Silva noticed she had been standing at the crossing for who knew how long - just thinking. The traffic light had switched colours several times, her missing them completely. And once the green came again, she ducked her head in embarrassment and ran over the street.

In the end, there was no clear solution to her problem. Silva was as sure as she could reasonably confident in Mika not being a bad person. From her time observing the duo, she had never seen them be rude or malicious. She would not have tried to speak to them if they had been.

And there was something else.“Trust is important between friends, right? We are not friends yet, but I still should trust them. Wait, are we friends now? Huh, when does a person become your friend?”

Silva stopped at the doorsteps of her apartment building. She tilted her head, pondering the inscrutable ways of bonding between individuals. 

Then, Silva shrugged, headed inside and began to climb to the second floor. It was not something that a person like her could understand. Friendship was a difficult problem to solve.

While scaling the stairs, Silva wondered if her father was already home. It wouldn’t be strange if he wasn’t. Supporting what was left of their family alone was hard. Overtime was common for her father and often without warning.

Just that… Silva’s father was sometimes a little too overprotective. And she was late. Hopefully, not too late. She really didn’t want a lecture if he was back from work.

But if it happened, it happened. Silva wouldn’t run away from it. Her father deserved to be heard. His hard work was what gave her home.

Their flat wasn’t big. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet, a kitchen and a corridor that connected it all.

While it sounded a lot, all of the rooms were tiny! No matter how she had tried to arrange furniture, it still was cramped!

Even if Silva wanted to invite someone over, it was impossible. There simply was no room for another person! …Not that she had anyone to bring over.

So it was just fine until now. Silva and her dad simply didn’t have friends. They simply were solitary creatures by nature.

At the doors, Silva stopped and took a deep breath.

It was not rare for her to arrive home a little bit late. But she still got scolded for it each and every time. 

Silva’s dad automatically assumed that she would go and get into trouble. He was always worried she would mix with the wrong crowd, get hurt or start using drugs and whatnot else.

Of course, none of his worries had any basis...

If Silve did not count today. She silently decided to not count it and headed inside.

As Silva entered the flat, she grimaced. Her father was at home. The soft sounds of TV filled the apartment. She quietly closed the doors and started to undress. 

It was a bit late for dinner, but unfortunately, Silva was too hungry to skip the meal. There had been nothing she wanted to risk eating at the suspect tea shop, even if Steven insisted it was safe. “Scavenging what is in the fridge, it is.” She decided while sneaking towards the kitchen.

When Silva opened the fridge, she found yesterday's dinner still there. It was a little surprising and meant that her dad had eaten outdoors - which was rare as it was more expensive than cooking.

Still, this counted as lucky. But while taking out the plate of food, Silva was startled by a sudden cough behind her. She slowly turned to face her dad, who stood in the doorway and scanned her with a scrutinising frown.

The taller man studied her, clearly finding many things wrong with what he saw. He narrowed his brown eyes, then pinched his glabella. A heavy sigh followed as he ruffled his short-cut brown hair.

Silva’s father’s aged face promised a lecture. He had been quite dashing once. She had seen pictures of her dad in his youth. He had been quite the catch, but now he was just an ‘old man’ with a pot belly.

There was no escape. Silva took a deep breath and meekly greeted him with what she hoped was innocent cheer. “Hi, dad!”

Jonathan scrunched his brows. “You are late. Again.” He suddenly looked very tired. “What is the reason this time?”

Habitually, Silva wanted to go with the usual excuses but then paused, settling on mostly truth. 

After all, if she were to invite more people into her life, it would be better for her father to be informed about them. "I was with friends, we were at a tea shop and… I kind of forgot about the time,” Silva explained.

Jonathan raised one of his bushy eyebrows at Silva's claim.

“Friends?”

“I, too, can have friends, you know!” Silva sulked, but it was mostly acting. Mostly.

And it worked. "I know, I know! But I did not know you had friends beside me.” Jonathan didn’t hide his surprise, making Silva cringe, which was ignored. “Come, sit and eat while we talk." He placated and gestured at the table, promptly sitting down himself. 

Silva was surprised at how well it had gone. But there had to be more. Her dad’s expression hadn’t softened entirely.

So, while microwaving her soon-to-be meal, Silva tried to escape reality. She watched the dish turn while fantasising about more luxurious food - not reheated potatoes with sausage. Her dad didn’t make anything else most of the time.

Silva and her father were not good cooks. Anna – her mother, she was the one that had cooked their meals... 

But it was already long ago. Silva could barely remember how her mother’s cooking had tasted. All that had remained from that time was how she had enjoyed it. They simply never bothered to replace Anna.

A loud beep startled Silva out of her reverie. Her food was ready. She grabbed the plate and trudged to the table to sit across from her dad.

The clunk her plate made when it made contact with the table woke up Silva’s dad from his complementation. Jonathan harumphed and rubbed his eyes.

Or maybe Jonathan had almost fallen asleep. He did look tired, more than usual anyway. With dark circles under his eyes and pale skin, it was apparent the long days of work were wearing him out. 

And Silva knew that he had trouble sleeping. She had never told her dad, but she could hear him sobbing at night when he thought she was sleeping. 

Jonathan loathed himself and truly missed Anna. 

Something Silva did not share with her dad. Anna may have been a wonderful person once, but for Silva, she was the person she hated the most.

Finally, Jonathan was ready to interrupt the silence. He looked at his daughter, seemingly mulling over an important question before speaking. “Was your friend a boy?” He probed.

The question horrified Silva. “Friends! A Girl and a boy. No boy-girl stuff involved." She felt the need to correct him before the conversation derailed. She did not want to visit this topic ever again. Talking about relationships with dad was too draining.

"I had to ask!” Her father protested. “It's just that you never mentioned anyone…” Jonathan paused, realising how uncomfortable Silva was looking. “Anyway, you have to be more careful. It gets dark quickly around here. You can't..." 

Jonathan, as expected, went on a tirade while Silva continued to poke her sad meal. She held her head low and let him let off some steam. 

"... And when will you introduce them to me?" Jonathan suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Silva froze.

“Your friends, I want to know what kind of people can get you to call them your friends.”

This needed to be addressed. Now! “Dad, please, when would you even meet them? You are always working, and it is not like I can invite them over. They would not fit in here!” Silva argued.

“Ah... Sorry about that, I...” Jonathan visibly wilted, looking guilty.

The sight felt like a punch in Silva’s gut. She regretted being so blunt. "Sorry, Dad! I did not mean to... I like it here! It is cosy! And I won't hide them from you, it's just that... You know." She waved her hand aimlessly, not knowing what to say.

To her surprise, her Dad gave her a gentle smile. It seemed that seeing her daughter panicking had improved his mood. “Do you need an increase in your allowance for outings?” He offered.

But Silva shook her head. "It is fine, thank you..." Silva returned the smile, deciding to ignore the strange emphasis her dad had given to the word 'outings'.

There was nothing like that. Who even would like her? Silva didn’t see that happening.