1 In the Rain

I was looking around anxiously. I was... sweating.

Where could it be? I was sure I had put it somewhere nearby... There was no way I could lose something so important!

I started running around. I knew that people in the campus were curiously watching me as I was circling around the building with my obviously worried face. I didn't like being watched like that, but not pulling attention on myself while running around like crazy... It was impossible.

I could notice the lightning strikes far ahead, towards the horizon. It was fall, the rain season... A thunderstorm was approaching the town. I had to find my bicycle as qucikly as possible, and get out of here.

"There it is! Finally..."

I eventually found my bicycle chained to the metal fences near my engineering faculty.

"I can't believe I locked this thing so far away." I murmured as I removed the chain. I got on my bicycle and started speeding away, out of the university campus.

I had recently moved to this town called Yuvakaya, to get university education. It was a small settlement founded next to a large mountain, far away from the city I was previously living in. But fortunately, my aunt here was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to stay at her apartment. So, I have been living with her for a few weeks now, since the beginning of the academic year. I still couldn't get used to the life here, but it really didn't bother me unless I got lost in the streets, which, quite often, I did. Just like this time...

"Okay, I thought I was going to turn left after I got past the post office..."

The narrow streets of Yuvakaya were resembling each other. The stone roads, little sidewalks, cute shops, even the people in them... Everything was so similar for me!

I could hear the thunder getting even closer. The wind had already started blowing tree leaves around. It was getting colder every minute.

"Okay..." I started talking to myself again. "Let me go back the way I came from and try the other intersection..."

I turned around and kept cycling to find my aunt's apartment. I could notice the number of people in the streets decreasing as the storm approached. After a while, it was only me out in the open, in the middle of a street.

Lightnings lit up the town which was shaded by the thick layer of clouds. I felt a few drops of rain on my skin. The rain intensified pretty quickly, and I was caught in it.

"Anyway..." I sighed. "I guess I'm already late."

I had to seek shelter until the rain stopped. I quickly had a look around and spotted a small building. The ledges of it's roof was large enough to protect me from the rain if I stood under them. I hurried there and got off my bike.

"This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon..." I said, and frowned. I actually enjoyed the rain, but being stuck far away from home was a whole different story.

Having nothing else to do, I examined the building I was standing next to. It seemed like I had stopped in front of a small book store. The windows were covered, so I couldn't see anything inside. My curiosity vanished quickly and I started watching the street instead.

Suddenly, I heard a door opening behind me. I looked back with a renewed curiosity. My eyes met with those of the middle-aged man peeking out of the store's door.

"U-uh, I... I'm just-" For some reason, I got anxious and tried to explain my presence in front of the store. It wasn't a very successful attempt, but the man probably understood my intentions.

"Come on in, you wouldn't want to get sick." he said with a welcoming tone.

"B-but, I am all soaking wet!" I said.

"This is why you should come in." he replied. I left my bicycle in front of the store and stepped inside.

The store was indeed small and cute, like everything else in the town. It had wooden floor, walls and bookshelves which made soothing sounds as I walked around. The man was probably the owner of the store, and there were no customers around.

"Make yourself comfortable." the man said, pointing to a chair for me to sit. I softly nodded and sat on the chair near the checkout. The man went into another room, and came back a minute afterwards with a towel in his hands.

"Here." he said and handed me the towel.

"Thank you." I hesitantly said before drying my hair, my face and arms. After I was done, he looked at me with a thoughtful expression.

"This is no good..." he said. "Come with me."

In wonder, I got up and followed him into the room he came from just now. Only then, I discovered that 'room' was actually a staircase. I followed the man upstairs and through a corridor. Looking at it's interior design, the upper floor of the building was probably serving as his house.

After walking a bit, he had brought me to a bathroom.

"Sena!" the man yelled. "I am taking your hair dryer for a while!"

"Of course, father!" a girl yelled back from the other side of the building. The man grabbed a red hair dryer from a cabinet and plugged it into the wall socket.

"Let's get you all dry and comfortable." he said as he began blowing hot air on my hair.

In no other place have I encountered such hospitality from anyone! I was surprised and amazed by the man's thoughtfulness, but to be honest... I was also being creeped out a little bit. Inviting a random stranger seeking shelter was okay, but taking care of me like I was his little kid... That was a bit weird. I was a university student now, was I still looking so young?

"There we go!" the man said, smiling. "Now... Let's see... What is your name, mister?" he asked me.

"I-I am... My name is Ender."

"Interesting name." he said. "I am Idris. The book store man."

"I am... pleased to meet you." I said. "Honestly, you are very nice and-"

"Would you like some tea?" he asked as he walked out of the bathroom. "This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon, you know."