Chapter 2

Several weeks passes in the small village, Dia continues living in the second floor of the sanitarium. Even though the spring air is inviting, she has not left the building once. She only goes down to the lower floor to see Doctor Alex when needed. Since she will faint by walking for only a minute or two, she is trapped at the sanitarium with no hope to see the village.

Dia spends her time reading books that Gina brings back from the library. Gina is her only connection to the outside world, she brings her food, books, and other things she needs to live comfortably. Some random villagers find their way into the sanitarium, but nobody goes upstairs. Every time she hears a random villager inside, she just hides and stays still pretending that nobody's home. Because she keeps herself hidden, nobody in the village other than Gina and Alex know that Dia lives there.

Gina has tried her best to convince Dia to even take a step outside, but Dia always resists. Every now and then, she would take a look outside the window and see the happy villagers move around freely. Every time she does, she feels envious that she can't even share the liberty to walk to the library without help. Since she can't walk with them, she prefers not to socialize and feel left out.

On a clear spring day, Dia takes a look out her window and sees the birds flying around the village. Nobody is around, so she can stare all she wants without being seen. As she stares, Gina walks up to her, and asks, “It's a beautiful day, isn't it?”

“Sure.” answered Dia in her usual emotionless tone.

Gina smiles and continues, “It's such a perfect day for a picnic. I know that soon we will be able to go outside and enjoy a day like today.”

Dia remains quiet.

“I received a letter from your father,” said Gina gaining Dia's full attention. “He wrote that he has made a generous donation to the hospital at our hometown. With it, he expects medical science to advance and find good treatments so we can enjoy days like today.”

“Even if daddy donates everything he has to science, it still would take years before they make any progress at all.” Dia then continues to stare outside the window to watch the birds.

“Dia, I am heading to the market. Do you need me to pick something up for you? I heard the blueberry pie is good today! Shall I get you a piece?”

“A blueberry pie would be nice,” answered Dia

Gina nods in response and leaves to get some pie from the Cafe. Not too long after she leaves, Dia decides to read a book until she comes back. What she doesn't know that the Sanitarium is getting an unexpected visitor. Pete, the local farmer of Flowerbud Village is taking a random stroll around.

He walks around casually like he always does enjoying the sights and sounds of the village. Like Dia, Pete is not from the village, instead traveled to start a farm from far away. Pete is fond of the village and hopes that he’ll meet that special someone who could spend his days with. As he walks through the village, he notices the sanitarium behind the clinic. He has seen the building being built since last year, but he doesn’t have a clue what it’s used for. It’s not a store since nobody is selling anything. He has heard some rumors from other villagers, but nobody is sure what a sanitarium is. Since the sanitarium is open to the public, Pete decides to go inside and see if anyone lives there.

“Hello?” called Pete as he takes his first steps into the sanitarium. He looks around and sees nobody around. He takes a look around the building and sees the odd mix of house and clinic. There is everything a normal home can have such as a living room, kitchen and bathroom; but there is a collection of medical equipment sprinkled around. Everything looks so important and expensive so he doesn’t dare touch anything. He is in awe as he gazes at the strange environment he found himself inside.

As he walks around the sanitarium quietly, Dia lightly sneezes from the chilly Spring air coming into the Sanitarium's open window. Pete looks up and notices the stairs leading to the second floor. His curiosity gets the better of him, so he decides to take a look. Dia hears someone walking upstairs, she closes her book and places it in the bookshelf. At first, she thought that it was Gina coming back from the market. She looks back, and sees a complete stranger looking at her from the stairwell.

As soon as she sees him, she hides behind a nearby curtain. Even though she is hiding, she does take a good look at her guest. She doesn’t recognize him, but she can tell by his overalls and shirt that he is a farmer. Pete is mesmerized by this young girl; she is beautiful, elegant, well dressed, and shy. He tries to take a step forward, but it only makes her tremble.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Dia says, “Who are you? What do you want?”

Pete lets out a sigh of relief and smiles, “Hello, my name is Pete. I heard a rumor that someone moved here, so I wanted to introduce myself.” The silence returns for a moment, so Pete continues, “Why are you hiding, I won't bite.”

“Please, go away. I wish to be left alone.” she told him.

Pete doesn't want to scare her, so he begins to leave. But before he does, he asks, “can I at least have your name?”

“It's Dia, now please go.” she answered shyly.

Pete nods and climbs back down the stairs. On his way out, Pete runs into Gina who is coming back from the market. “Oh! Hello there Pete,” says Gina.

“Hey Gina.” answered Pete. He has met Gina several times before around the village and in his farm buying vegetables. “Do you live here?”

“Yes I do. Did you come to see me about something?”

“Not really, I heard that someone moved here, and I wanted to introduce myself. I should have figured that it was you.” He then points to the stairs leading up and asks, “By the way, there is another girl here named Dia, what's her story?”

Gina gasps and says, “oh dear! She must have been surprised to see you up there.”

“I guess so. Sorry about that.”

Gina nods and says, “Dia is a close friend of mine, we both moved here together.”

“I see,” responds Pete. He then takes a whiff and smells the aroma of blueberry pie coming from the basket Gina's holding. “Smells good, is that a piece of pie?”

“Yes, it's blueberry pie. It's Dia's favorite.”

“I’ll remember that,” said Pete. He then takes another look at the stairs leading up. For a moment, he wanted to go back up with Gina and apologize for appearing out of the blue. But remembering what Dia said a moment ago, he doesn't think he should.

“Is everything okay?” asked Gina.

“No, I'm just about to go home. Bye then!”

“Take care,” Gina responds with a bow. Pete nods and quietly leaves the sanitarium. Gina walks up to the second floor to see how dia is doing. She is still hiding behind the curtain, but comes out when she sees Gina’s blue braids come up. She takes a deep breath and pats her skirt for dust.

“Looks like you made a new friend,” Gina said randomly.

“Leave me alone. . . ,” responded Dia. She quietly returns to her seat where she can breathe and relax. Gina takes out the pie and takes a slice to offer to Dia. She thanks Gina and accepts the blueberry treat. As she eats, Dia is tempted to take a look outside to take a peek at Pete. She then slaps herself remembering that she vowed never to trust anyone other then Gina again. After how cold and mean she was to him, she feels sure that she'll never see him again anyway.