Private Finished The Art of Improvement

To Sumi’s first statement, Carmin nodded. “Exactly, so it’s okay.”

The second part, however, felt sort of foreign to Carmin. He hadn’t felt like he could be open to people ever since he got there. He honestly felt a little jealous that Sumi was so comfortable the way he was. He didn’t say that though, instead he just hesitantly congratulated Sumi. “That’s... that’s nice. You’re lucky to feel that way.”

Carmin stared at the ground for a short while. He was still trying to understand why it was so bad for people to find out about his past. But as he thought about it, he started to feel... bad. Perhaps he just didn't like talking about it. After all, it was much easier to just pretend bad stuff had never happened than to think about it.

He looked back up at Sumi and watched as he was admiring his artwork. He supposed that after Sumi had been so open with him, it was only fair to do the same, even if it was just a little. "You aren't far off. I don't remember how I looked when I was eight all that well, but I'd say you're probably close with that..."

There was a pause after Sumi's assumption. Carmin slid his hand along his other arm until it met with a flower, then he picked it, sighed and tossed it aside. "Yeah..."

His knees tucked in towards his chest and his arms slung around them. "I just... I can't do anything anymore," His head sunk into his knees and he muttered "And it sucks." It was quieter and harder to make out.

"There is I guess. I mean there's always something. I have eyes still so I read." Boy did he read. Reading was always a nice little escape. But you could only read for so long in a day before you got the urge to do something else.

"There's just so many things I used to be able to do, that everyone is always doing all around that-" His voice sunk "I can't do anymore."

Of all the things Carmin couldn't do, one of the most prominent was thinking positively. "I can hold my breath a long time I guess, but I also float. I can't swim very well anymore either. Not to mention I'm slow and if there's a current at all I would probably get swept away pretty easy." He seemed to miss the point of what Sumi was saying once again.

"Look, I appreciate the effort, but it's fine. Being a plant sucks. End of story. I've accepted it so it's okay."