This is just a "sneak peek" at my next story, the sequel to my first story "Mistress of Shadows. If you would like to see the next chapter, say so, if you would like to wait until I finish my other story and begin posting this one, say so.
Untitled
"Looks like there's gonna be rain tonight…" I whispered, gazing up at the ever-darkening sky. I leaned over to rest my head on the arm-rest of the bench I was sitting on. The entire park was empty; even the birds had gone home to escape the approaching storm. Normally, I would've enjoyed such a display of nature's fury and would've been glad to be outside. Alone. Where I could lose myself in the rain, and be free from all my worries. But then, I had had a home to go back to at that time, hadn't I? Unconsciously smiling when a cool breeze washed over me, I tried not to think about where I would go tonight to dry off. Where I would go to get a nice hot meal after drowning in the rain. Instead, I thought about my parents and a little about the past. It wasn't that either of those subjects were particularly cheerful- they weren't, really- but rather that it was something to keep my mind off the future, since, at the moment, I had none.
"Mom I wonder…Are you still under the same sky as me?" I said softly moncler zürich, my words lost in the wind. I couldn't really imagine her being dead. She was always so strong, so cheerful, so…full of life. Mom and dad were everything to me, and yet… it had always seemed that they were untouchable. Close…so very close, and yet…I would never be able to touch either one of them. I never had been. I sat up slowly when a dull ache in my neck reminded me of the awkward position I was sitting in. A low rumbling in the distance brought back those haunting thoughts from before and I put a hand to my head, willing them away.
Though still afternoon, the sky was as dark as night. For whatever reason, the darkness always reminded me of my father. It was probably his personality- which I seemed to have inherited some of. Though he was cold to other people, his darkness was always…comforting to me. When I was little, I was in awe of him. So as a child especially moncler uk stockists, I could see exactly why my mother had married him. Dark, handsome, and good at everything he did, that's my dad for you. Both now thirty-five and thirty-four, it may seem like my parents married and had me awfully early, but I guess they were that in love. I think they're each other's soul mates, and for mostly that reason, I believe dad didn't abandon mom, and I believe he's out there somewhere, still searching for her. But…I wished someone was searching for me too. A huge raindrop fell on my head just then, bringing me out of my reverie. Suddenly the sky unleashed it's fury on me as a million more of those drops pummeled me.
"You feel like crying too, huh?" I said, looking upwards. I was already soaked through, even my socks, but I still took off my jacket and held it over my head. Somehow, I felt safer like that. Maybe it was because my vision was obscured and I couldn't see how big the world outside was. I stayed like that for awhile, looking at nothing but blurry colors until my arms got tired. I let the jacket fall onto my head and pulled it tight Moncler Jassen Online Shop, making myself look like one of those women from the Middle East. I stared at nothing for what seemed an eternity, and thought about nothing at all. Except for how cold I was. I usually loved wind, especially when it was cold, but it was another element that had turned against me today.
I don't know how long I stayed like that, but I must've drifted off to sleep because the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into gold ones. I made something like a squeak and sat up, realized I must've fallen on my side earlier. Hurriedly, I ripped my jacket off my head.
"Are you okay?" I looked up and saw a rather tall young man with black hair and brown highlights standing in front of me. His long hair was in a ponytail and he was wearing a black coat and black boots, but that's all I could tell.
"Um…Sorta." I replied. I had a strange feeling about this guy, and it wasn't nervousness.
"Why are you just lying out here, if I may ask? You don't look homeless." he said, kneeling down in front of me. I noticed he was carrying a brown paper bag, but strangely enough Chaussures Femme, it wasn't wet. I looked at the sky for the first time since waking up and saw that it was morning, probably about seven judging by the position of the sun. I turned my gaze back to the man now, who was staring at me expectantly.
"Oh. Um, well, it's a long story, but I don't really have anywhere else to go." I said finally.
"But it's dangerous out here. Sleeping on a bench in New York isn't exactly the safest thing to do. I'm surprised you're still in one piece." I blinked. I had just realized the man had a slight British accent.
"I wasn't intending to sleep out here. It just…happened." I shrugged. "But in a way, I'm glad I did. I was really worried about where I'd stay…"
"You don't even have a place to sleep for the night?" the man asked. I shook my head. "Alright then. Come with me. You can stay at my apartment for awhile, since the situation is so desperate," he said, grabbing his bag and standing up.
"I studied his face. He didn't look particularly dangerous. I didn't know why, but I also felt as if I could trust this man. I nodded unconsciously. I would just have to put my life in his hands- especially since my other choices weren't any better. "So then you'll come?" The man said suddenly.
"Hmm? Oh. Um…Well, how do I know you won't try to do anything to me?" I asked for extra precaution. He smiled- such a kind smile, I thought- and shrugged.
"I guess you don't. All you can do is trust my word that I won't harm you. Don't worry; my little sister lives with me, if you feel like you need a girl to talk to. She's fourteen." I stood up slowly, trying to work out all my stiffness from sleeping on a hard bench and nodded.
"Okay. I'll go." I told him.
"Good. Then let's be off." The man started walking towards the main sidewalk and I quickly tied my jacket around my waist, then ran off to follow him. When I caught up with him, the man clapped a hand to his head. "Where are my manners? Call me Alexander. Or Alex, or even Xander if you like." He said with a laugh. I thought about that for a moment before replying.
"…I'm Hikari. Nice to meet you." I looked around finally, and noticed just how empty the small park was. It was really a pathetic little place- the only thing that was in it was a bench and a fountain- but still, it seemed like there should've been joggers or something.
"Ah, Hikari you say? That's a beautiful name. I'm afraid that I'll have to wait to properly introduce myself, but I can already say it's a pleasure to meet you as well," I looked back up at Alexander then. He was so polite, it was hard to believe he lived in New York City. He looked at me at that moment and gave me a smile. I realized I had been staring and decided to concentrate more on where we were going, and saw that we had left the park. From the direction we were going in, I thought we might be headed towards a huge blue building that was famous for having expensive, elegant apartments. If that was the case, then I was truly lucky indeed.
"You might want to stay close to me, otherwise we'll get separated," Alexander said. He was right it seemed; there were now increasing numbers of people around us on the sidewalk. I did as he suggested and moved closer to him. We were getting closer to those apartments and I was getting excited. I had never imagined that I would be so lucky as to find a rich guy to crash with. We were right at the busy intersection in front of the apartments when my hopes were smashed to pieces. Alexander turned. I couldn't help but sigh as we were crossing the street. There was hardly any room between cars for us to do so anyway, and Alexander took my sigh to mean that I "hated morning traffic as much as he did." When we finally did manage to cross the intersection safely, I was thrown right back into another busy sidewalk. I would've lost Alexander but for his height and distinctive hair color.
"Don't worry Miss Hikari, we're almost there," he said as I finally got close to him again. I noticed that the stores in the neighborhood were getting shabbier the farther we went, which only helped dishearten me more. After awhile, I gave up all hope of the place he was taking me to being nice, and contented myself with staring at the back of Alexander's coat sulkily. "We're here." I looked up, but not in enough time to avoid me running into the man.
"Sorry." I mumbled, then directed my gaze at the building we had stopped at. It was…ugly, to say the least. It looked like it was a hundred years old and had a disgusting green paint job that seemed as if someone had tried to cover up all the blemishes with paint.
"What do you think?" Alexander asked.
"It's…tall." I replied. Truthfully, that was the only thing I could say about it that wasn't negative.
"Heh. I know. You probably want to run. But it's better than nothing," The dark haired man started walking up the mossy green steps and I hurried to follow. I thought he might have to speak into some sort of intercom to get in- most apartment buildings here had that, to keep out unwanted guests- but I didn't expect that Alexander would have to yell through what appeared to be a can with a string on it. "Morning Miss Candy! Would you mind letting me in?" He shouted.
…Whatever." Came the sleepy, but young voiced reply. Alexander gave me a sheepish smile.
"Heh, that was the landlady's daughter," he said, then added in a lower voice, "Miss Watkowski- the landlady- is too cheap to buy a new intercom system since our old one broke." A loud buzzing sound made me jump just then, and Alexander pushed the door open with one hand and held it open for me. When I was in, he let it go and I jumped again as it slammed. The place was just as bad inside as it was outside, with decaying green walls and an odd musty smell to it. Alexander once again took the lead and I followed him up four flights of rickety, old steps to the fourth floor, which looked exactly the same as the first. We walked all the way to the end of the hall until my guide stopped in front of a door on the right labeled 478. Shifting his brown paper bag to his left arm, Alexander knocked on the door. Within a few seconds ugg short boots, a female voice called out in a faint British accent.
"This is my brother? You better have my groceries!"
"Yeah, it's me, Xander. I've got a girl with me, sis. And the food." After a brief silence, I heard multiple locks being undone and a face appeared in the crack of the door as it opened. Suddenly, the door flew back and a young girl snatched the bag out of Alexander's hands and ran back inside. Alexander gave me another sheepish smile. "Sorry. She's just like that when it comes to food. Shall we?" I nodded, and followed the dark haired man into the apartment.
