The Girl Named Adora

A Story by suuyuwriteyunu

short story written in 2021

Belief, it’s a funny thing, isn’t it? If you believe in something, it’s really there. If you don’t, it doesn’t exist. My papa always says ‘Ados is right’, and he always is. He’s proven that to me. Every time I cry or feel down, papa turned it into a lesson from the God by quoting from the book of teachings, and every single time, Ados is correct. After that, I would always find myself feeling amazed by this particular person. Amazed, but also annoyed.

I felt the soft flakes falling on my skin, burning each time they hit. My arm prickled as I slowly trotted across the street, headed for the miserable building with its windows peeling off from its walls. The crimson red curtains draped unevenly along the rails. Everything seemed dead, still, and never-ending. My boots sank through the thick snow as I rushed into the school, trying to escape the cold.

As I was running, tripping over my meter long scarf over and over again, I spotted a dark haired girl, standing in front of Little Valley Middle School, her gaze locked upon the building. Is she new? I wondered, feeling rather nervous. No one said anything about any new students. She had long brown hair and wore an oversized pink coat for the winter, all wrapped up in some chunky brown boots and topped off with a cherry red wool hat. I walked up to her, my head cocked to one side, trying to figure out who this mysterious person was. Despite all the commotion going on, the girl didn’t budge. She just stood there like she was frozen in time.

“Hello,” I greeted her, though it sounded more like a question since my voice went all high up at the end. There was no answer. I nodded then repeated what I said, “Hello.” But the girl didn’t reply, she just stood there, as still as ice. It was getting awkward, but I really wanted an answer from the girl, so I stood there like she was and looked up at the school building. I shaded my hands over my face so the sky flakes wouldn’t sting my them and stared at the light blue sky, the fluffy white clouds scattered all over the place.

“Restate the four rules for me,” a voice started, snapping me out of my thoughts. I flinched.

“What?”

“Please restate the four rules for me,” The girl repeated her demand, her eyes still locked on the sky. My eyebrows were tying knots. Four rules? I wondered, glancing at the girl.

“What four ru--” Then it hit me. I shifted my full attention to the girl. I clutched my scarf tightly as I spoke, “You…you believe in Ados too?”

“Of course,” the girl finally responded, turning around to face me. Her eyes were icy blue, cold but warm. Her freckled cheeks and rosy red nose made her look like Rudolph. “I’m Adora,” she extended a hand for me to shake, “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Brynne,” I had told her in return, “Are you new here?”

Adora hesitated, then let out a heavy sigh, “No.”

“Then what brings you to this place? It’s the last place anyone would want to be at,” I added, swinging my hand all around the area.

Adora covered her nose to sneeze, then grumbled, “I don’t exactly know. It just feels right; like Ados had brought me here.”

A while later, we headed into the school building, trying to find things that sparked up Adora’s mind. She and I had a little conversation earlier, but it didn’t go so well. All she could say was “I don’t remember. I don’t remember.” She seemed to have lost her memories. We went from the main hall to the janitors’ closet but nothing worked. The skinny girl’s mind was still as blank as a white sheet of paper.

“How about we try the principal’s office? That might make something click into place,” I offered. She only nodded in reply. We climbed the crooked wooden stairs and up onto the highest floor.

“This is the place,” I motioned her inside; I was lucky the principal wasn’t there, or I would’ve been in big trouble. “Does something come to mind?”

Adora frowned and shook her head. Nothing. Again. I groaned, this was getting nowhere. I peered through the windowsill and sighed heavily, slumping onto the soft navy blue armchairs in the room. I waved the girl to a seat but she decided to stand beside the window instead. I took another good look at the Adora. She seemed familiar, somehow; like I’ve seen her in the myths papa would read to me every night. The perfect girl, I realized, was Adora herself. She looked as if her hair was filled with sparkling stars and her body was the whole universe itself, but the hope in her eyes seemed to dim as if pondering on the thought of giving up.

“I want to break the rules,” Adora spoke up. Those words sent shivers down my spine, “I want to break them. If I do, I will vanish…disappear.”

I sprang up from my chair, stuttering. Even if you break the four rules, you can’t disintegrate just like that; only Ados could. The god had sworn on himself to disintegrate if the rules were ever broken by him. But Adora wasn’t Ados. Adora was just a girl. It made no sense at all and I shook my head in dismay.

All of a sudden, Adora gasped. The lights overhead flickered nervously.

“I remember now,” she muttered, twirling around to face my way. The air around me shifted, now murky and dark; like someone had just drowned me underwater. The poofy couches sank and deflated, the principal’s desk crumbled under the pressure. My whole body stiffened as Adora whispered something under her breath. Her eyes focused on the floor. After she was finished, I was a pool of sweat. My loose hair was flying all over the place though Adora seemed as undisturbed as ever. She turned to me and flashed that similar perfect, little smile.

“Thank you, Brynne…” were her last words before she disintegrated into a pile of ashes.