Rain Drops

Chapter 18

Jadestar grabbed my arm and pulled me close, giving me an awkward hug before letting go. After giving me a sad smile, he waved to the older couple and headed inside the gate.

Hidetaka smiled at me once more and followed his friend.

The two of us were left alone.

I turned around and headed towards the woods, intending on returning home. However, something stopped me. I could feel a warm embrace embracing me from behind, and then a pair of arms circling my body tightly. A familiar smell filled my nose, and after sniffing at it I realised that it was Lissa's scent. After a short moment she let go of me and stepped back. She looked at me and asked:

"Are you feeling better?"

It seems that she was asking if I am alright; whether I am still weak. I nodded and gave her a relieved smile.

We walked back towards the town side by side. As soon as we entered the streets, she said goodbye to me and went back in. My heart ached for her, but she did not notice it. She returned to the tavern where she works, leaving me alone. I didn't know how long I was wandering through the streets. All I knew is that, after having walked for about half an hour, I found myself at the entrance of a tavern where my father, mother, sisters and I used to spend our summers. I sat down on one of the stools at the counter and ordered some coffee. The barkeeper served me some, and after I thanked him and paid him, I turned towards the crowd around me. There was someone familiar among them.

It was Tasha!

She came and sat next to me on the stool beside mine, giving me a friendly smile.

Tasha was my older sister, the one that I loved the most. In the village of Orena, our house was surrounded by a lot of trees and bushes, and I spent so much of my childhood playing under those trees. I'd always imagined myself to be a princess and to be protected from all dangers. That was why whenever Tasha, and every other child I knew, would visit the village, she was usually allowed to play there instead of coming back home with me. She always wanted me to come home with her, and whenever I told her that I couldn't, she was very sad. However, it never bothered her too much. She would always find another reason to come back to our village. One day I found a beautiful dress with silver threads in the forest, and she wanted to wear it because she thought that it would match her eyes. That evening I was waiting for her and my father in bed. When Tasha finally arrived, she came straight to the room and took off her skirt and shirt. I was lying in bed, waiting for her to enter. Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching the bedroom door. My father's voice could be heard behind it, telling Tasha that she had to get changed into her nightdress. Then Tasha opened the door, and I jumped out of bed and started yelling. I hugged her and asked her to go to the mirror, and we went downstairs for dinner. And so I spent my last summer of childhood with my sister and her husband, living together.

At that time, life was peaceful. Our small village was hidden in between dense forests, so the danger rarely threatened to anyone, although sometimes a group of wild animals attacked us and scared me so much that I had to hide under our parents' bed to avoid getting hurt. But nothing bad ever happened. Nothing bad ever happened because we lived a peaceful existence. We weren't rich, and we were poor and hardworking, but we were happy. We worked hard and played hard. We ate well and we drank well, and we always stayed happy. I didn't care about anything else than my own happiness. We were a normal little family of three people.

A week after my encounter with the two strangers, I was walking along one of the narrow roads leading back to my village when I saw them again, in front of the palace gate, talking animatedly to one another. The old man was wearing a green cape and hat, while the young man wore a brown cloak. They kept looking at me, laughing, as though they were excited because they had seen me again. The young man said something to the old man, and the old man, holding his bag, nodded. And then the young man took something out of his pocket and handed it to the old man who took it. What could it be? A letter? A ticket? A gift? Maybe even a present for me. The strange thing is that I was completely unable to recognize the writing on the ticket.

As the strange man put the letter in his bag, I approached him. I tried to catch his eye and ask him about it.

"Excuse me... Do you know if that note has been delivered yet?" I whispered.

His expression remained the same. No reaction. The stranger stared at me for a second and then turned around. I felt disappointed.

It's no use, I thought to myself. This will only make things harder for everyone involved.

I looked back into the distance, searching for my sister and my father. My mother was busy cooking and washing dishes, and my father was standing on a ladder, preparing lunch. Everything seemed normal, but I didn't dare to believe that it would remain this way forever.

When I arrived home, I took a quick shower and washed myself quickly before going straight to bed. I laid down and tried to fall asleep right away. After several minutes of tossing and turning in my futon, I suddenly remembered what was happening during the previous afternoon, and I realized that my mind was playing tricks on me. I must have misheard what the old man in charge of security said earlier. He must have mistaken my appearance for someone else. I must have misunderstood. So I tried to convince myself. Finally, after several minutes, I fell asleep.