Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 25

Chapter 22ZenI sat at the head of the long wooden table in the meeting hall. I could feel the eyes of the six elders watching me from across the room. The morning sun was coming through the windows, making the dust dance in the air, but I didn't find the sight relaxing at all. My head was throbbing from the lack of sleep, and every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing the way Estelle had called me a coward before walking away from me in the garden."The banquet was a failure, Zen," Elder Thomas said, breaking the quiet that had filled the room for the last ten minutes. He was the oldest member of the council, and he always spoke with a slow pace that made me want to grind my teeth."It wasn't a failure," I argued, though I knew I was lying to myself as much as I was lying to them. I leaned back in my chair and tried to look like I wasn't bothered by the way they were all staring at me.Elder Thomas shook his head and folded his hands on top of the table. "The point of the banquet w

Chapter 24 The PastAnnette “Mummy, mummy,” I tapped my mother, “look at what I made.” My mother glanced briefly at my painting but she made no comment. She turned her attention to what had occupied her earlier; my sister's drawing of her. “Estelle is simply talented!” one of her friends in the parlour spoke up as she passed Estelle's drawing to her. I watched as her mother's eyes lit up with pride as Estelle's work was passed around her friends while hers was ignored. My little fingers balled up in a fist as I thought about all the ways I could hurt Estelle. I walked out of her mother's weekly tea sessions and went to look for her sister, holding my deserted painting behind her. “Annette?” I turned to see my father leaning over the rails around the inner courtyard. “Father?” I looked up to see my father smile at me. He carried my small body into his arms and spun me around. “What do w