Chapter 18

As they both left to cater the plants, Hina and I stayed there quietly. Both of our eyes were at the hall's entrance. 

To remove the awkwardness between us I asked, "Would you like to have some snacks?"

She looked at me and I could feel her annoyance as she refused immediately, "No! How can you think of having snacks when they went into the storm?!"

"I—"

She cut me off as she glared at me. "Let me remind you, I don't like you one bit! So you better stay away from me." She said with a harsh tone and shocked me at the same time.

"Why?" I asked. From what I recall, it was our first time interacting because the first time we met, she ran away. She didn't even introduce herself. I thought she was a child and might have been shy. But now it seemed it was another point.

"Because you took away my most favorite person!" She shouted loudly over the roar of the sky, starting me in the process. 

Person? 

I tried to study her face and noticed there was a hint of sadness along with her anger. Maybe some accusations as well. But why and who?

I tried to run my mind and the moment I realized who it was, I got dumbfounded. 

"Is it—?"

"Don't say another word!" She growled, fuming with anger as she turned around. Probably to hide her tears or her reddened face. She sniffed as she mumbled, "I liked uncle Arashi since the day he came here. He treated grandpa when I thought he would die. He took care of us and he cooked amazing."

Well, that was true. He cooked amazingly. 

"But Arashi is way older than you." 

She turned around and spilt venom in her words. "So what?" 

Her round face got redder with anger as she clenched her palms on both sides of herself. "Isn't he older than you as well?"

I thought for a moment. She wasn't wrong. Arashi looked young but he was in his late twenties while I was only eighteen. There was a big gap between our ages but I had never thought of it before.

"If you can have him, why not me?" She asked with so much pain and sadness in her words that I had nothing to say. Hina was only twelve or around the age but her question was to the point that I found myself stumbling on it. 

"You are not even good looking like uncle Arashi and you are a scaredy cat! How you could get him while I couldn't?" She looked down at her clenched fists and added, "I know everything. I learnt cooking, stitching, and I practiced the shrine maiden rituals everyday. I will soon take over the shrine and yet you took him before I could make him notice my efforts!"

"Hina..." I wanted to soothe her pain because I could feel it from here. 

"No! Don't say a word!" 

I could see her pained eyes and I could notice how well she carried herself. She did all those to gain Arashi's attention and make him see her as a woman. Even though she was a child, she put in a lot of effort. Calling her an immature girl would be an insult as she carried forward her maiden tasks because she wanted to get acknowledged by him.

I could sympathize with her as I had to work a lot yet nobody acknowledged me and here she couldn't even get a chance to show off her work. Although nothing was in my hands. My marriage wasn't in my hands. Arashi being in my life wasn't in my hands. 

She was right. I wasn't good looking like my sisters nor I was an heir. Arashi getting someone useless like me was unfair to him as well. Somehow that thought made a pang in my heart.

"It seems like uncle Yuan didn't select a good wife." She muttered to herself but I could hear even if the wind howled outside. It didn't seem like she wanted to hide it. Although it hurt a little but thinking it was a child's words, I let it slide. 

I moved my eyes toward the entrance as my worries grew because with each passing time, the weather conditions were getting worse and I knew he had planted a lot of herbs for his customers and some to sell later. If the storm destroyed them, it would bring a crisis on him. I didn't want that. 

Once again, silence fell on both of us but it didn't last long as a lightning hit a tree just before us. Hina and I both screamed as we wrapped ourselves together in each other's comfort. The darkness of the sky scared us as it roared again. Both of our heartbeat took speed as we screamed again. 

The storm did look bad. We heard the rain drops on our roof and now I wanted to go help him. I heard footsteps and my hopeful eyes went toward the door. I saw the priest coming. 

With his old feets and body, he huffed as he reached. He didn't get wet much since he had entered the hall just before the rain fell heavily.

"Where is he?" I asked as there was no sign of him.

The old priest said breathlessly, "He is still covering the crops. I told him to come but he said he needed to do it otherwise he couldn't make more medicines."

Another lightning hit but it didn't scare me like before as my mind went to Arashi. He was alone. I noticed the rigid body that held me tightly. Hina was still scared as her eyes closed shut and her small hands wrapped around me. She wasn't aware that her grandfather had come because all of her focus was on the thunder. 

The priest said, "I apologize for that Miss Yuan. Mr Yuan told me to go back as I can't catch a cold. It might worsen my health."

I shook my head. "It is okay, please stay here and look after Hina."

I knew he was suffering from a great disease because Arashi had been making his medicines while kept checking his notes. He was very focused and tense at the same time. Those herbs he had planted would not only be useful for the priest but also those who had been suffering. Arashi didn't go to cover the plants for making money, he went so the people would not have to suffer for lack of medicines.

And if anything happened to the priest, Hina had no one to look after her. She needed her grandpa before she could take over the shrine. 

The priest came near as I said to Hina, "Hina, your grandpa is here. Now, you can be at ease." 

Her tearful eyes opened up as she jumped to her grandfather. I smiled at them as I advanced toward the entrance.

"Wh—where are you going?" Hina asked confusedly.

"To Arashi." I said as I wore my slipper. 

"But it is thundering outside and the rain has gotten worse." Hina pointed.

I turned my head toward her and told her before I left, "I am his wife and I need to be with him no matter what."