THE ENCOUNTER
Jeremy Valle ran out of the classroom.
His face burned with humiliation. He didn't want to hear anything else. He didn't want to look at anyone.
The teacher tried to catch up with him.
“Jeremy!”
He didn't stop.
He ran down the hallway with his head lowered.
Then a foot appeared in front of him.
Jeremy tripped and fell.
His palms hit the floor. His clothes became dirty.
The laughter came immediately.
Miguel Fangio stood in front of him.
“Jeremy... what a stupid name!” he sneered. “Don't you ever get tired of falling for the same trick every day?”
Another boy stepped forward.
“Beat him up again. That fag never learns. He's a retard!”
The boy pulled at his own pants and began mocking someone with an intellectual disability. The others laughed.
Jeremy got back to his feet.
He said nothing.
He ran.
The shouting followed him.
“Get him!”
“Get the fag!”
Jeremy ran down the hallway, through the school exit, and kept going.
He didn't know where he was going.
He just wanted them to stop chasing him.
He turned a corner.
And disappeared from their sight.
On the other side of the corner was an abandoned lot.
It was overgrown with tall grass, scattered pieces of wood, debris, and stones.
Jeremy ran into it without thinking.
Then he stopped.
Someone was there.
A girl.
She was standing beside a large dog with saffron-yellow fur and deep black eyes.
The animal watched Jeremy closely.
The girl was fourteen years old. She was thin and small, with messy, wavy blond hair falling down her back. She wore black clothes.
But it was her face that immediately drew attention.
A reddish birthmark began near one of her eyes and spread across her cheek, reaching part of her nose.
Her eyes were different.
One was brown.
The other was light blue.
Jeremy barely had time to take it in.
The boys appeared behind him.
He tried to run again.
He couldn't.
He fell.
Miguel and the others caught up with him.
They began kicking him.
Jeremy raised his arms to protect his face.
That's when the girl screamed.
“Stop!”
The boys kept going.
“Stop!” she shouted again. “You stupid idiots! Leave him alone!”
Miguel looked at her.
“You damn witch! Get away, Satan!”
Another boy stepped back.
He stared at the mark on her face.
“She could give us some disease with that red face!”
The girl said nothing.
She simply looked at the dog.
“Seco.”
The animal stood up.
Miguel went pale.
“Oh my God... run! The dog!”
The boys took off.
The dog chased them for a few yards, making them run even faster.
Within seconds, they had disappeared.
The lot fell silent again.
Jeremy was still lying on the ground.
The dog returned.
The girl approached him and held out her hand.
Jeremy looked at her.
Then at her hand.
He took it.
She helped him to his feet.
“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
Jeremy didn't answer.
The two of them stood in silence.
For the first time, they were able to look at each other without someone shouting at them.
She noticed how thin he was.
He noticed her different-colored eyes again.
And the mark on her face.
Neither of them seemed to know what to say.
The girl lost patience.
“Come on, boy! Those idiots beat you up and ripped your tongue out too?”
Jeremy lowered his eyes.
“T-thank you.”
His voice was so quiet it almost disappeared.
The girl took a breath.
“Well... my grandmother told me not to talk to just anyone. Especially someone who gets beaten up by everyone.”
Jeremy lowered his head even further.
She noticed.
“Okay, okay. Sorry. I'm being an idiot.”
She sighed.
“You just got the crap beaten out of you. I'm Pollyanna. What's your name?”
Jeremy remained silent.
Pollyanna waited.
Nothing.
“Come on, boy. What's your name?”
He flinched.
“Jeremy!”
She blinked.
“Sorry!”
For a moment, she looked embarrassed.
“It's just... unfair things make me angry.”
Then she noticed his face.
“Oh my God. Your nose is bleeding!”
Jeremy touched his nose.
He looked at his fingers.
There was blood.
“Uh...”
He wiped his nose on his sleeve.
Pollyanna grimaced.
“Ew, no! Don't do that.”
She looked at the dog.
Then back at Jeremy.
“I'm taking you to the hospital.”
She thought for a moment.
“But it's pretty far from here. My grandmother can take care of you. I live nearby.”
Jeremy didn't answer.
He simply stayed beside her.
Pollyanna's house was close to the abandoned lot.
It was simple and modest, with no fence around it.
When they arrived, Pollyanna knocked on the front door.
An older woman appeared.
Inês Côrtes was fifty-five years old, with short white hair. She wore a colorful floral dress with shades of orange and red.
As soon as she saw her granddaughter, she smiled.
Then she looked at Jeremy.
“Polly! What kind of strange animal have you brought home this time? How exotic!”
“Grandma?”
Inês kept looking at the boy.
Then she noticed the blood.
“Oh my!”
Her expression changed.
“The boy's nose is bleeding! Let me take care of him.”
Jeremy stood still.
Inês looked at him.
“You don't say anything?”
Pollyanna answered for him.
“His name is Jeremy. He's just really quiet.”
Inês gave her granddaughter a look.
“Don't embarrass him, Polly.”
She opened the door wider.
“Come inside. I just made a cake.”
The house was simple, but it seemed full of life.
Old books were mixed with newer ones. Books filled shelves, tables, and little corners where they seemed to have been left in a hurry.
Cats wandered through the house.
A few dogs slept in different rooms.
Jeremy sat on the couch.
Inês took a clean cloth and began tending to his nose.
Pollyanna remained beside them.
“What happened, Jeremy?”
He froze.
He didn't know what to say.
Pollyanna looked at her grandmother.
“Grandma, just take care of him, okay?”
Inês raised an eyebrow.
“Watch your manners. I'm your grandmother!”
“But, Grandma...”
“I'm not trying to embarrass him. I just want to talk to Jeremy.”
“But, Grandma...”
“Go to the backyard.”
Pollyanna crossed her arms.
“What?”
“You're filthy. Go clean the backyard. Now.”
Pollyanna stared at her grandmother, clearly annoyed.
Her expression hardened.
Without another word, she turned around and left the room.
Jeremy followed her with his eyes.
For the first time since he had run out of the school, the silence around him didn't feel threatening.
It was just... silence.
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