One Good Thing _ _ ♯shortstory

Davina was far from perfect. She knew it. She’d never heard anyone say anything kind about her — not once — and she never expected to. Over the years, she'd grown used to the gossip that floated like poison mist through the school corridors.

“The old hag is coming,” she had heard one day while walking past a group of classmates.

“I can’t stand looking at that face. It makes me feel nauseous.”

Then came the laughter — sharp, cold, cutting.

Davina accepted it all. She had internalized their words like scripture: that she was ugly, that her mind was slow, that she was socially broken — and worse. And so, she lived quietly in the background, enduring, expecting nothing.

---

The new teacher was already in front of the class when Davina slipped in, panting. Her shoes were muddy from the morning rain. Her hair was uncombed, and her uniform was crumpled. Everyone was used to her lateness — everyone but the teacher.

“Hello, intruder,” the woman said, her voice cold.

Davina froze, turning slowly to face her.

“Are you a member of this class?” the teacher asked, giving her a thorough once-over.

Davina nodded quietly.

“That’s Davina — the perpetual latecomer,” someone offered from the back.

The teacher chuckled darkly. “Really? I didn’t expect someone with such a nice name to look this... unkempt. And tell me, who asked you to compete with the owls and elephants?”

The class erupted in laughter. Loud. Heartless.

Later that day, she gave a class test. Everyone passed — except Davina.

The teacher looked at her paper and shook her head. “You need spiritual deliverance. Even kindergarten children can do better than this.”

Laughter again. Crueler this time.

Davina blinked back tears, but they spilled anyway.

“Oh wow... Almighty Davina finally cries,” a classmate mocked.

That was when Asaph stood up. He slammed his hand on the desk, his voice low but sharp.

“Enough.”

The room went silent.

Asaph was the best student in the school. He was respected — even feared by some.

He turned to the teacher. “With due respect, Miss Perfect — this is wrong. It’s your first day here, and this is the example you’re setting?”

Her expression darkened. “How dare you chastise me like that? Get out!”

Without another word, Asaph picked up his books and walked out of the class.

Shortly after, a notice came over the intercom. The new teacher had been dismissed.

---

During break, Davina sat in a quiet corner of the classroom, hunched over her old diary. The pages were worn, the ink faded. She hadn’t brought it to school in months, but today, something made her reach for it.

Tears dotted the page as she wrote. Asaph walked over to her for the first time. He had never spoken to her directly before. He wasn’t used to seeing her cry.

She didn’t look up when he approached.

“Can I...?” he asked, gesturing to the diary.

She hesitated, then handed it to him.

He flipped to the first page.

5/2/12 — MOM DIED.

Next page:

9/5/12 — DAD REMARRIED. HE SAID I NEEDED A MOTHER.
21/4/13 — DAD DIED.
26/4/13 — STEPMUM SACKED THE HOUSEMAID.
27/4/13 — STEPMUM GOT ME NEW CLOTHES.
28/4/13 — I VISITED MUM AND DAD'S GRAVES.
29/4/13 — I MOVED TO THE SERVANTS' LODGE.
30/4/13 — LATE TO SCHOOL. GOT PUNISHED. GOT PUNISHED AT HOME TOO.
1/5/13 — WENT TO BED HUNGRY. LEFT HOME LATE CLEANING.
2/5/13 – 31/12/13 — HELL. RELATIVES IGNORED ME. THEY BLAMED DAD FOR NOT INCLUDING THEM IN HIS WILL.

Asaph turned more pages.

1/1/14 — I WAS ISOLATED DURING NEW YEAR. STEPMUM SACKED THE GARDENER. THINGS GOT WORSE.
2/1/14 – 31/12/14 — SCHOOL BECAME HELL. RELOCATED. NEW SCHOOL. SAME HELL. NO LOVE. NO TIME TO READ.
1/1/15 – 11/5/15 — LAST MONTHS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL. STILL HELL. BODY SHAMING. INSULTS. HARASSMENT. I MISS MUM. I HATE MY STEPMUM. DAD MARRIED HER BECAUSE OF ME. I ASKED HIM TO. NOW I REGRET IT. TODAY, A NEW TEACHER MOCKED ME. SAID EVERYTHING I’VE ALWAYS FEARED. SAID I NEED AN EXORCIST. SAID THERE’S NOTHING GOOD ABOUT ME. I’M DONE. I’M DYING. I’M GIVING UP. I HELD ON FOR YOU, MUM AND DAD. BUT I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE.

Asaph sighed and gently closed the book.

“All they said about you... may have been true,” he said softly. “But there’s one good thing about you they’ve all been too blind to see.”

Davina looked up, curious. Her eyes were swollen, but behind them, a faint flicker of hope stirred.

“You’re brave,” Asaph said. “Only a few people can endure what you’ve endured and still show up every day.”

As simple as those words were, they were everything. They were enough.

For the first time in years, Davina smiled.

---

11/5/21

Asaph, now dressed in a fine suit, sat behind his office desk. He glanced at the file in front of him and then buzzed his secretary.

“Send in the next applicant.”

The door creaked open. He looked up — and froze.

Her heels clinked softly on the tiled floor. She walked in with the poise of someone who had fought through fire and come out glowing. Her skin still wore the same dark tone, but now it gleamed with confidence.

Her once “owl-like” eyes now fit beautifully with her oval face. Her frame, once mocked, was graceful. Strong.

“Davina?” he asked, stunned.

She smiled. “Can I?”

“Yeah… yeah. Sit.”

She sat down across from him.

Davina had bloomed.

That one good thing — her bravery — had grown roots and branched into many good things: resilience, beauty, strength, and grace.

And just when she had been about to give up, someone saw her.

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