It was one rainy morning, students running through the rain. One girl stood out - her name was Vanessa Black. The biggest bully in school, she always bullied the sweetest girl, Lily Chou, because she was always bright. Lily was scared to go to school because of Vanessa. Everyone was scared of Vanessa because her family owned half of the town. Lily never dared to stand up for herself, because it would only make things worse.
That day, the bullying was worse than ever. They told Lily to come to the gym. In the gym they burned Lily`s arm and tore the pages of her books. But, she didn`t react, she just stared blankly at them. All the joy from her was gone, only replaced by numbness. Lily was lying on the ground, her skin hurting badly. The bullies left a while ago. Now Lily was alone in the gym. She slowly got up and walked outside. The rain poured onto her unhealed wounds. She felt the burning, but ignored it and kept walking, her body hurting with each step. Lily didn`t notice someone was watching her and that someone was Vanessa.
She finally arrived at the place she needed to be. The place was called "Safe Shelter". Lily always volunteered there and people loved her. That day she went there, because she was lonely at home. Lily walked in and everyone`s mood instantly brightened. "Lily, you`re here!", said a little boy happily as Lily smiled. Lily put on a greasy, dirty apron and got ready to work. But, the whole time she was working someone was watching her.
Once Lily finished her work, she slowly walked home. Lily was home alone most of the time. Her parents worked nonstop, so they didn`t know their daughter was being bullied. Lily walked into cold, empty, lonely house, wet from head to toe and shivering in the cold. Then she followed her usual routine.
The next morning Lily expected the worst bullying - but, she was wrong. She slowly walked to school, her skin still hurting from the day before. When she arrived she braced herself for the bullying. But, it never came - instead, she got an apology. "Lily, ...we are sorry for everything.", the bullies said, including Vanessa. Lily was so shocked that she couldn`t speak. Everyone went quiet, no one expected Vanessa and her group to apologize. Lily didn`t say anything and walked away. She didn`t know that Vanessa was the one who was watching her that day at the shelter. Vanessa wanted to change, but she didn`t know how. She didn`t have much time left, but only she and her family knew that.
At lunchtime, things became even more shocking. Vanessa invited Lily to sit with them. When Lily got to their table, she looked at Vanessa and asked: "Why are you like this?" But, Vanessa didn`t answer. Lily sat with them and ate her food quickly.
A few days passed, and Vanessa kept being kind to everyone, including Lily. Lily became more and more suspicious of Vanessa but decided to ignore it.
One day, everything changed. Vanessa was in the hospital. When Lily found out, she immediately rushed there. She saw Vanessa pale and weak. Her heart ached at the sight of her. Vanessa took Lily`s hand and Lily could feel her bones. "Lily, I am so sorry for bullying you.", Vanessa said and then paused. She looked at Lily with tired eyes. She continued speaking more slowly: "Lily, I liked you as a friend, but never told you." She couldn`t finish her sentence before she sadly passed away. Lily started to cry as doctors rushed in. But, it was too late.
Many years later Lily became a famous doctor. All because of Vanessa, Lily never gave up. She never thought that one day could change her life. And she never forgot Vanessa, despite everything she did to her.