1 Chapter 1: Encounter

Sun has just set in Iba city of Tared, it was evening there was melancholy lingering in the breeze, Jay was hanging out with his university friends, making jokes and cracking hard. It was a perfect evening Jay wanted his every day to be like that Jay wanted to stick there at that moment and never wanted to experience future journey. Because he felt a warmth inside in his heart, he felt vulnerable that day, he felt a sense of belonging; but everything perfect has to end And the evening was no longer carrying that sadness with it.It was the hour of darkness. Jay rode his bike by hewing the breeze on his way; his face got numb because it was a cold night. Upon reaching his place with an uneasy feeling in his heart, he couldn't fall asleep swiftly. But after an hour or so, he entered into a Utopia in a dream, where he could feel that everything was pristine around him. Suddenly all the uneasy feelings he had vanished into thin air inside Utopia world.

Melody and Rain

It was quarter past nine in the morning jay woke up feeling empty, it was gloomy outside but perfect weather to wander around. Jay rode his bike without deciding on a destination, He came to Iba city after a long time, and it was changed so much that it almost felt like an alien city to him. He slowed down his bike, and at the intersection of the road, he took a sharp left turn hoping to find some kiosk or drive-thru; suddenly, the rumbling sound of thunder was echoing in the cloud, and it was going to rain. Jay had to find someplace to protect himself from the downpour, Jay found one park at the end of the road, and luckily this park had some shed and some benches to rest. Jay parked his bike and rushed towards the garden, but storm unleashed itself before Jay could reach the hut, Jay got drenched; he was worried that he would catch a cold if he didn't dry himself. He sat on the park bench and started thinking how stupid he was to get out today, knowing that it was going to rain.

To feel at ease, he looked at the dark clouds and beautiful trees around him, somehow his anger faded into thin air, and he murmured to himself, "Wow! This cloud looks gloomy but pretty", He felt nostalgia about it. Jay could hear birds chirping; it was melodious as birds were singing notes from the killer queen; Sitting on the branch of that giant oak tree beside the fountain, which was their concert stage. Thunder was getting loud, and it seemed like a rock guitar syncing with the melodies in which birds were singing. Leaves were dancing with the beats of thunder, cold wind was gushing through the rain changing its direction, it was cheering the birds and thunder for beautiful melody they were creating. Umbrellas couldn't stand this heavenly wrath of nature, people were finding a shelter to hide from the rain. All the people scattered in the park started moving inside the shed, Bunch of people rushed towards the hut where Jay was sitting, all of them were drenched. An old man with his little grandchildren sat opposite to the bench where Jay was sitting.

Encounter

Jay was enjoying nature's rock concert; he was quite happy about the downpour as it has been a while since he took a break. The scattered crowd was gathering towards the shed were Jay was hiding, Jay got a little uncomfortable and took a defensive position holding his fort. Suddenly his phone buzzed; he got a text message from his grandfather, But Jay didn't want to reply to any text messages, so he started reading them.

At that moment a fine young lady came near the shed, she was carrying a folder in her left hand and with her right hand she was closing her black umbrella, It seems that umbrella couldn't protect her from the wrath of nature, she was thoroughly drenched, and her long black hair was soaked in the rain. Somehow she made her way to the park benches and saw a lot of people were standing, she looked for space where she could sit and dry herself a bit. Finally, she found one bench where Jay was sitting holding down his phone, and that was the only bench left with a space to relax, with not so much of choice she decided to sit there; but Jay was sitting at the center of the court. So, with a hasty voice, she asked him to move a bit towards the end of the bench. But Jay was in his zone and didn't seem to notice it, she got a bit frustrated by it, and she sat down at a smaller portion on the bench without saying anything further. Suddenly Jay saw that some lady was sitting beside him, so he got extra uncomfortable and moved himself a bit to the corner of the seat, Upon seeing this, that lady gave Jay a blank gaze. He got anxious by that expression of hers.

Jay started analyzing what he did wrong to get that scary look. He didn't reach any conclusion, finally giving up he asked, "Excuse me! Did I do something wrong?" The lady ignored Jay and acted as she didn't listen to him. But this time with more intensity, Jay asked her, "Excuse me! Did I do something wrong?" Jay thought it was weird as she was not replying to him, and was desperately searching for something in her folder. Jay asked her again, but a different question this time, "Is Everything okay?" This time she got annoyed and finally replied: " No! Nothing is okay". With concern in his eyes, Jay asked her, "What's the problem?" she didn't seem interested in answering his question as she was busy searching for something. Jay again asked her, "Can I help you with something?" Finally, she replied by saying, "No! I can do it on my own."

Jay couldn't leave people having trouble alone, he always seems to care about everyone around him, Jay said to her "it's okay to ask for help from me Erica" with a shocking expression over her face she asked, "How the heck do you know my name?" With Hurry, Jay replied, "Oh, don't worry I just saw that name on your folder so I guessed that it was your name" with relief on her face Erica explained Jay that she might have lost some essential documents, which she was supposed to present at an important meeting. Listening to this, Jay offered his help, But Erica didn't seem to agree upon it. After insisting a lot, she decided to get help from Jay, and Jay felt good that he was going to help some stranger.

TO BE CONTINUED...