"He was just leaving." Then she turned and went inside her room without another word, the door of woven bamboo closing firmly behind her.
Benjamin turned slowly to look at Marina, gazing directly into her eyes as they stood there in silence for a long minute, the distant sounds of the forest filling the awkward gap between them.
"What is it?" She finally asked, her voice flat and guarded as she waited for him to speak.
"Are... you all ignoring me?" Benjamin mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper as he stood there near the swaying vine bridge, the leaves rustling softly around him in the morning breeze.
"What makes you think so...?" Marina asked him back, her tone flat and guarded as she tilted her head slightly, arms crossed over her chest.
"I've been getting... a weird treatment since this morning..." he answered slowly, his oceanic blue eyes searching her face for any sign of the warmth he used to see there so easily.
