Winter’s POV

It has been two days since Taemin has been at our school, everyone is welcoming him. I feel happy for him, he really is a good guy. I just wish he was in mine and Giselle’s class, but I like to think that he will be able to keep Karina safe from Kai if he’s closer to her. Karina and I have grown close. She has been making an effort with being friends again. We have a school camping trip very soon, Giselle is excited. I’m more so nervous.

“I’m interested in seeing the scenery for my new art project.” She said while packing up her things for the day.

Giselle is really talented, she’s smart and artistic. I think she pinpointed that Taemin is an artist as well, I don’t know how she found out, but then again - she is quite smart.

“Will you take Taemin with you on your drawing trips down the track?” I raised the question I already knew the answer to.

“Of course!” She confirmed my suspicions.

“This trip is about taking a break,” I reminded her. “Don’t forget that, okay?”

Giselle nodded, although I can see the calculating look in her eyes. She’s probably thinking of where she can set up her drawing pad or how to abduct Taemin. I blew a sigh and waved goodbye to my friend before heading home for the day. 

I’m making my way home when I got a text from Karina. I stopped walking and read the text highlighted on the screen.

Karina: Can we meet now?

I bit my lower lip as I typed away on my phone.

Winter: Of course, where?

Karina: The park near the library. Meet me there in 10 minutes. I’ll be waiting.

I walked along the footpath towards the location she picked. I wonder what she’s up to, it sounded important. She doesn’t usually text me to meet up with her, it’s usually the other way around. Either way, I’m pleased with the surprise.

I arrived at the park to see Karina leaning against a large old tree. She spotted me and waved to me to signal me to come over. I jogged over to her, that’s when she raised her hand telling me to stop before I got too close.

Karina ran her fingers through her black hair and looked at me with self conscious eyes. She pulled a notepad out of her bag and gave it to me. She moved back to her previous spot and motioned to look at it.

My gaze widened and read her pretty handwriting on the notepad. It read:

‘For Winter.’

I looked up at her and she seemed nervous. She cleared .

“Read it.” Her voice was soft. “Please.”

I could see writing on the other page underneath, I flipped the page over and began reading silently to myself.

‘I don’t know how to communicate this to you verbally, but time seems to be dragging on. I want to tell you this as soon as possible. I don’t want another day to pass by.’

I looked at Karina to see her watch me read her handwritten message to me. I read on, trying to figure out what she meant.

‘I know I haven’t been a good friend that doesn’t communicate how I feel or think. I tend to keep things to myself and bottle up my emotions. I even explode. But I’m trying to fix that. With this small step. I want to tell you how I feel within these pages.’

I slowly flipped to the next page and I felt like I could hear her saying these things with her voice, except she’s quietly waiting for me to finish reading. I found myself smiling a bit.

‘I wanted to thank you for holding on for so long. I never apologized properly for hurting you all those years ago. I’m so sorry, Winter. I’m sorry for.--’

I looked up at Karina and she looked a mixture of confused and anxious. I sighed lightly.

“Did you finish already?” She looked at the ground.

“Not yet.” I answered honestly.

“Hurry, my legs are getting stiff.” She seemed impatient.

I stopped trying to read it and gave it back to her. She looked confused until I spoke up.

“I want you to read this to me.” I said softly. “You said you want to try to fix your communication skills, so read it to me.”

Karina batted her eyelashes before she eventually prepared herself to read.

“I know I haven’t been a good friend that doesn’t communicate how I feel or think. I tend to keep things to myself and bottle up my emotions. I even explode. But I’m trying to fix that. With this small step. I want to tell you how I feel within these pages.” She read out loud and a bit quickly for the first page.

I remind her to read a bit clearer and to go a bit slower. She took a breath to prepare herself for the next page. She shifted uncomfortably in one spot and read onwards.

“I wanted to thank you for holding on for so long.” She spoke slower and with sincerity. “I never apologized properly…” She paused and looked up at me with sad eyes. “For hurting you all those years ago.” Her voice cracked a bit and she bit her lower lip before reading on. “I’m so sorry, Winter. I’m sorry for... I’m sorry for…”

I was afraid she wasn’t going to continue or that I pushed her too far, but she took a deep breath and read on even though her voice trembled. I felt a tear was running down my cheek. I feel so touched that she’s making the effort.

“I’m sorry for ruining our friendship. I miss the friend I used to be to you. You deserve better.” Karina looked up at me with her lip trembling. She took one deep breath and wiped her tears away, even though they kept falling. “You deserve better - I will be better.”

She finished reading her message to me and threw it to the ground to run over to me. I was shocked to feel her arms wrap themselves around me. I initially stiffened, she was shaking with her cries in my arms. I held her and rubbed her back gently. Karina buried her face into my shoulder. She was clutching onto me and I was just standing there. Allowing her to let it all out. I was still in shock, but I did my best to comfort her.

“It’s okay now, Karina.” Her cries and sniffling grew louder. 

She tightened her grip on me. Her grip wasn’t painful, it was tight, but gentle.

“Shhh…” I comforted her as best as I could by her hair and rubbing her back carefully. “Thank you for your apology.”

I closed my eyes, I felt so happy and moved that she did that for me. I know she is being genuine. After a few more minutes, Karina’s cries grew quieter until she had finally calmed down. 

“Why did you apologize now all of a sudden?” I asked out of curiosity as we stayed in that position.

She sniffled before responding.

“I realised that I never really gave you much of a reason to want to be friends with me.” She spoke quietly into my shoulder. “You barely laugh when I’m around, only when others are around us.” She sounded sad. “I wanted to fix that.”

I recalled that one time I laughed with her. It was when Taemin was being pushed and pulled by Giselle and Ningning.

“Well honestly this made me tear up a bit.” I chuckled.

“Me too.” She joined in laughing with me.

We stayed in each other's arms a bit longer. She eventually let go and I could see her little red nose from crying. I dug around in my bag and gave her a tissue. She mumbled a thank you and wiped her face properly.

We walked slowly with one another to the bus stop which marks where we will part ways. Karina looked hesitant before going to give me another hug. I welcomed it with open arms and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted. It feels like I can forget about the bad things that happened, since they won’t be at the back of my mind now.

“See you at school.” Karina waved goodbye, so did I.