Morning light arrived before the tutor.
Elara sat on the bed with her legs folded, the sheet pushed aside. The room still held the night's cold. The air felt too still.
The door opened without hurry.
The tutor came in carrying a tray balanced on both arms. Bread. Cut fruit. A glass of water. The same as always. She walked straight to the table. No pause.
"Good morning."
Elara answered with a short nod.
The tutor stepped closer to the bed. Looked at the knee and the finger that had been cut.
The cloth was gone. The cut was gone too.
The skin was smooth.
The tutor watched for one second longer. Didn't tighten her face. Didn't step back. Just confirmed with her eyes and turned away.
"Eat," she said, already moving off.
The tray stayed on the table.
The tutor left.
The door closed.
Elara kept looking at her knee for too long. She ran a finger over the skin. Pressed. Nothing answered.
She pulled the tray closer. Ate slowly. The bread was dry. The fruit cold. The glass emptied too fast.
When she finished, she pushed everything back into place.
She stood.
The corridor was silent. No voices. No steps.
She went out.
The garden was still damp with dew. The grass caught the low morning light.
The stones of the path looked lighter than the day before.
The children were already there.
Elara took two steps toward them.
A third.
"Elara."
The voice came from the side.
She stopped.
A tutor stood near the bench, arms crossed, her body set in the middle of the way without looking like a block.
"Stay here today."
Elara looked at the group. The cloth ball passed from hand to hand. A laugh slipped out too loud.
She nodded.
Turned the other way.
She sat near the wall, where the shade still held. Picked up a toy left on the ground. A piece of wood with a string. She spun it between her fingers.
The sound was low.
The children ran. The ball bounced. A shout crossed the garden and came back smaller.
Elara spun the toy.
Stopped.
Spun it again.
One child looked her way for an instant. The gaze slid off too fast. Another was pulled by the arm, without a word.
The space around Elara emptied.
The sun climbed.
The shade shrank. She moved to follow it, dragging the toy along the ground.
Sat again.
Her knee bent without protest.
She pressed her fingertip. Still smooth.
She spun the wood.
The sound slowed.
The tutors moved through the garden. They didn't stop near her. They passed. Looked.
Went on.
The day moved forward.
The toy slipped from her hand once. She picked it up. Slipped again. Stayed on the ground for a while before she leaned down to reach it.
The ball rolled close to the wall. Stopped a few steps from Elara.
She looked.
No one came to get it.
The ball was pulled back by an improvised string, dragged away without touching her.
Elara leaned her back against the wall.
The stone was cold.
The sky changed color without asking attention. Light turned yellow. Then low. Then too slanted.
The children were called one by one. Left in small groups. Voices thinned.
The garden grew larger.
Elara stayed.
A tutor came over when the sun was already low.
"Time to go in."
Elara stood.
The garden was almost empty now. The grass looked darker. The stone path longer.
She went inside.
The door closed behind her.
At night, the room was too quiet.
Elara sat on the bed with the toy in her lap. Spun it one last time.
The sound stopped.
She kept her eyes on the wall until the light vanished completely.
The garden was on the other side.
And she was not.