7 A downpour on one fine summer day

"Sophia!!!"

She covered her ears and ducked under the table.

"You come out here. Right now!"

She pressed her lips and slowly revealed her head out.

What's wrong with Mr. Finn these days?

She was doing extra deliveries for him since Lukas has been drunk since the day she cannot even remember.

She even helped him in manning the shop in between her shifts in the inn and before she goes to the pub in the evening.

But he was extra crappy to her lately.

"Come out here!"

She removed her apron and approached her boss reluctantly.

"Boss?"

He handed him a paper.

"A hospital bill?" Her forehead wrinkled out of curiosity. "I haven't been hospitalized lately. Why are you giving me this, boss?"

Mr. Finn head inside and sat behind the counter.

"Salary deduction twice a month until you paid off the total."

"Salary deduction? Why?"

"I'm feeling generous today so no interest will be added. Just pay the whole amount and you're as clear as the sun again."

"Huh?" She confusedly waved the paper to him. "I don't understand, boss."

"I paid off his hospital bill, you clueless lass. Since he has no guardian, no one has claimed him as a family and it's been a fortnight now since you found him, he's set to be discharged today."

"Who are we talking about?"

"The man you saved, remember?"

"What?"

All of a sudden, the bright sunshine outside the shop turned grey and the clouds started to precipitate faster as they grew heavier and darker in color.

"Boss, you cannot do this." She went inside and stood across the counter. "I barely knew the man! I thought I already bailed out myself from this?"

"Okay. Pay his bill in full then."

Her eyes widened.

"You cannot do that, possibly!"

"Oh well, I can possibly!"

She stared at the paper she was holding. There were a lot of zeroes in there. If she calculated it right, her four-year worth saving will be depleted in half if she paid her boss back the full amount. And that was just because she saved an unknown no-family, no-identity, no-memory man.

Wait!

"Why do I have to pay you back, Mr. Finn? I don't owe you anything in the first place."

The old man stood up and looked down on her with his hands rested on his wide waist.

"Sophia, answer these."

She nodded.

"Who the heck found that man in the forest?"

"Me."

"And brought him to the hospital and got him treated?"

She knotted her forehead but answered anyway.

"Me."

"Therefore, it should be your sole responsibility to take care of him considering that he has no memory of his identity nor his family."

"NO!"

"YES!" He said with finality.

"And since you were the only connection that man has within our village, I told the hospital that you shall be his official guardian while the police are still looking for his family."

She felt dizzy by the minute.

"You gotta be kidding me, Boss." She shook her head nervously.

Mr. Finn tapped her shoulder instead and gave him a very assuring smile.

"Just in time." He exclaimed. His eyes were focused on the entrance door behind her.

The old man stood up and headed outside the store. She followed him and saw a white car parked in front of their shop.

A man wearing a black shirt stepped out from the driver's seat.

"Good day! Mr. Finn!"

Her boss welcomed the man.

"As promised. I drove him here from the hospital. Can I now see Ms. Adams?"

"I'm here!" She approached the two gentlemen with a half-smiling, half-frowning expression painted on her already confused face. "I don't understand what's going on."

"Ms. Adams." The man offered his hand to her.

She accepted it. "If you still remember, I was one of the officers who met with you in the hospital a fortnight ago."

He was the taller, leaner police officer.

"Yeah, I remember. What can I do for you, officer?"

"Greg. Call me Greg from now."

"Sophie."

He slightly squeezed her hand before he let her go.

Greg smiled at her.

She felt uneasy but gave him a warm smile instead.

"As you know. The man you saved has been discharged today from the hospital." Greg started.

"I heard about that."

"And as the official guardian appointed by Mr. Finn, I brought him here with me to stay with you for the time being."

The smile on her lips disappeared in a snap.

"Officer Greg..."

"Greg, please."

"Okay, Greg." She cleared her throat. "I know I was the one who found him in the forest and brought him to the hospital but my part in this wee weird situation had long been cut off since I endorsed him to you two weeks ago. Why are you sending him back to me?"

"Because Mr. Finn wouldn't take him."

"What about the hospital? Or the police station? Why me?"

"The hospital is quite full lately and he cannot stay there any longer. We have no extra room for him in the station either and Mr. Finn said that he can only pay for his bills but cannot take him in since his house has no room for him too."

"So, that all leaves you to me, then?"

Greg nodded cheerfully.

"Why me? Why don't we ask the Mayor or the village head if they can find him some accommodation while he's still recuperating?"

"We tried all those before you think about it. Fortunately, you were the only person in this village who is free to take an extra person home."

Her face turned sour just as the rain started falling from the dark sky. One solid raindrop next to the other became larger and more frequent. Another peculiar downpour in one fine summer day.

"Unfortunately." She gagged.

"Besides, the poor man has no memories at all. Plus, your village is the most perfect place for him to stay at to recover. Lastly, we strongly believe that you have the purest heart among all people here to help him, Sophie."

"You are all heartless." She glared at the two men standing with her outside the shop.

Greg tapped her arm. "Please, wait here."

Greg left her side for a moment and walked back to the car.

Sophie followed Greg by her gaze as he went near the passenger seat and opened the back door.

A taller man with a small bandage on his forehead in a plain white shirt and a pair of denim trousers stepped out. He walked with Greg towards where Mr. Finn and her were standing.

The man wore a deadpan expression. He wasn't even smiling. He was merely looking straight through her face as if she doesn't even exist.

"This is Alexander." Greg introduced him to her as they stood a meter away from her. "Alexander, this is Ms. Adams. She's the one I was talking you about."

The man in his white shirt eyed her from head to foot before his eyes returned to her confused face.

"Is she the girl?" His deep soothing voice was so nice to listen to. But he was somewhat sending her signals that he seemed displeased at the mere sight of her.

She's not having a good feeling about this.

"Yes. Ms. Sophie here was your savior. If not for her, you wouldn't be alive today." Greg continued with a wide smile on his face, unaware of the increasing tension between her and the no-memory man.

They were facing each other while Greg was standing a few inches between them.

The rain showers became stronger amidst the sudden and quick cameo of the sun behind the dark grey clouds.

Somehow, the sky seemed sharing the troubles whirling inside her mind caused by this memory-less man standing in front of her.

"Hmm..." Alexander hummed not breaking his glances over her.

Her brows crossed.

Hmm?!!!