Children speak their minds without reservation.
Such a distant oath, in the end, was forgotten by both.
That day Samuel Johnson came home with a bruised and swollen face, and was seen by Grandpa Johnson again. He got another beating, was ordered not to finish his meal, and was forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for a nightlong solitary confinement.
...
Amanda Smith awoke from her bed, sat up, and touched the place on her forehead that had once been injured.
No scar remained there, but at that moment, she felt a burning pain again as if she had returned to that carefree childhood, her heart filled with that little boy, the one who, although bad-tempered, would always wait for her in the classroom after school to walk home with her.
Though he often spoke harshly, he would rush to fight anyone who hurt her.
All these were things of the distant past...
Amanda closed her eyes and couldn't help but wonder, when exactly their relationship had changed...
