First Encounter

"Moooom, I'm going out for a bit. Please close the door." She said as she put on her shoes. It was another one of her usual boring days in the countryside. For some reason, her parents decided to spend their summer holidays in their hometown, saying stuff like 'Importance of family' and whatnot. She didn't think too much of it at first. But three days was her limit. After three days of mingling with people she didn't even knew the name of, her social battery finally ran out. She decided that she needed some much needed fresh air and headed out.

Although it's been a few years since she last visited this place, the roads felt oddly familiar. She was glad that it was spring, since the black shirt she was currently wearing, actually, all of the clothes she brought with her, would've been too much for summer. A light breeze was blowing past her cheek as she decided to visit the riverside where her old school was.

After a few twists and turns, she finally admitted, "I'm lost."

The alley she was currently walking through definitely felt like the one that'd led her to the school. But it was already the 5th alley that made her feel that way. The heat was finally getting to her as she kept walking through narrow alleys for a considerably long time. She unbuttoned the uppermost button of her shirt, revealing a perfectly carved collarbone. But that still wasn't enough. Next she started folding her sleeves in an attempt to get rid of the heat. Soon she spotted a small shop in the alley.When she approached the shop, she saw an elderly man sitting inside, with a palm leaf fan on his hand. His hairs were all white. The wrinkles in his arms and face bore witness to his old age.

"Grandpa, can you help me? I'm lost." She called out to the old man very naturally.

"Huh? Oh. Which houses lad are you?" It looked like he hadn't noticed her presence before and was quite startled by the sudden voice. She grinned as she replied "I'm from the Smith's."

"Oh? I see, I see. I did hear their oldest son came home a few days ago. Come sit. You look tired."

"I wanted to visit my old school at the riverside but got lost on the way." She sat down on the bench that was placed in front of the shop. The old man took out something from the refrigerator behind him. It was an Ice-pop.

"Here. This'll help." He said as he handed her the Ice pop. She was a bit surprised but took it nonetheless, remembering her policy not to turn down any elderly's kind gesture. She reached out for her moneybag to pay for the Ice-pop, to which the old man looked visibly shocked.

"No no. No need to pay. It's on me." He strongly refused before she could even fully take it out.

"Thank you. Grandpa, can you tell me the way to the school? I can't find it no matter how much I walk." She scratched the back of her head as she asked. Clearly not used to asking others for help.

After resting for another five minutes and getting the information she wanted, she left the store with a big grin on her face and an Ice-pop in her mouth. The flavor was lemon, coincidentally, her favorite flavor. When she was finally getting out of the alley, she bumped into someone.

"Ouch… Sorryyy." Although it wasn't clear whose fault it was, she immediately apologized as a habit. Living in the bustling city for many years had taught her that most problems could be avoided by a simple apology. As she was rubbing her hand, she noticed that the person she bumped into still hadn't moved aside from in front of her. A light scent of grass and sunlight permeated her nose as she stood there, trying to figure out its source.

Worn out shoes, backdated jeans, tightly fitted check shirt that looked like they were bought for someone else and a blade shaped locket hanging around his neck. She looked up slowly as she checked out the person in front of him. In the back of her mind, she was expecting a rowdy looking country bumpkin. But when their eyes met, she was visibly shaken.

'So cute!'

He had a lean figure and a baby face that didn't look out of place. Even the mismatched outfit looked like it only added to his charm. The way he was looking down on her also looked very natural.

'Whoops! Now is not the time for this!'

"I'm sorry. Please excuse me." She said as she scooted out of the alley. His face was still lingering in her mind as she reached her destination. It was rare after all, even in the city, to find someone who matched her type so perfectly. She sat down on the grass bed near the river as she enjoyed the cool breeze that was ruffling her hair. After dealing with various people throughout the last few days, she desperately needed some alone time to recharge herself.

After an hour or so, she finally decided to return home, feeling refreshed and recharged. Nature always did her magic at healing her whenever she felt tired or emotionally exhausted. When she was passing by her old school, she saw a few guys sitting at the front of the building.

'Looks like it's close today. I wonder if Mr. Ian still teaches the students with a water bottle in his hand.' She grinned as she remembered a fraction of the memories that she had long forgotten. When she was passing by the bunch of guys that looked like they had nothing productive to do, she heard a whistle that sounded all too familiar to her. Sneering laughter and uncomfortable comments followed right after. In short, they were harassing her.

They were the troublemakers of their kind. It was normal for them to do something like that if they saw a pretty girl all alone. What they couldn't have thought of was what happened next. In normal situations, their target would leave the place immediately; in which case they'd follow her and tease her more. And in rare cases, the girl would ignore them like they didn't exist, in those cases; they'd normally lose interest and not follow them.

But the girl in front of them stopped right at her track and turned around. She was making direct eye contact with them- no, the correct term would be she was glaring at them while at the same time looking down at them. She looked like she was looking at a pile of shit as disgust was clearly visible in her face. The whistling guy, the sneering guy and the guy who was making bad comments about her all flinched at the same time as they stopped when her gaze fell on them. They felt like they were abominable creatures who were being stared down upon by someone superior.

"Tch." She clicked her tongue when she saw that they were nothing but a bunch of kids trying to act like bad guys, who didn't even have the guts to make eye contact with their victim.

"What a disappointment." She said as she exited the place shaking her head. Only after she left did the trio came to their senses. The one who was making the ugly comments, who also suffered from an inferiority complex, clenched his fist in embarrassment. His nails dug deep into his palm as he kept glaring at the spot where the girl was standing moments ago.

"Find out who that was. Let's teach her a small lesson, shall we?" he said as the two in the back shook their heads and sighed.

On her way back, she brought snacks and cold drinks for her little cousins' home. Their sparkling eyes as they flocked around her, waiting for her to hand them their share was a sight to see. She spent the rest of the day playing with her little cousins and being pampered by her uncle and aunts, not to mention, her grandparents who were bringing her snacks every thirty minutes.

A few days passed like that. Just like before, she grew restless and her temper turned bad as she could no longer bear it. Her social battery had run out once again. Everything got on her nerves as she kept grumbling to her mom. Finally after hearing enough grumble from her daughter, her mother told her to go out to clean her head. It was already late afternoon, so she was a bit surprised that her mom asked her to go out when it'd turn dark anytime soon.

She went out, wearing a white t-shirt and olive green shirt on top. This time, a cap was on her head, keeping tabs on her unruly hair. It was grey in color, one of her favorites' among all her collection. While wandering aimlessly, she came around a lake big enough to be mistaken as a river.

'I thought I came back to the riverside. I don't want to face that rowdy bunch again.'

Remembering her encounter with the trio, her brows furrowed. She kicked a rock that was lying near her feet into the lake. Then shook her head and sat down under a nearby tree. Unlike the strong breeze near the river, the wind here was gentler and colder. The soft sunshine peeking through the trees and their reflection on the lake made the scene look like something out of a painting.

"I always wanted to take a nap in a place like this." She whispered her voice growing dimmer by the end of her sentence as she fell asleep leaning on the tree.

She slept for what felt like a peacefully long time before waking up. But her feelings when she slept was a sharp contrast to what she felt when she woke up. The fresh air was replaced with a damp smell that'd only occur when a place was devoid of sunlight for a long time. The soft grass beneath her had turned into something sturdy, the tree into a wooden wall.

"How-no where am I?" confusion was visible on her face as she looked around her. The only source of light in that cramped place was the full moon outside whose light peeked through the hundreds of holes of the ceiling.

'Did someone move me when I was sleeping? But how could that be, I'm not a heavy sleeper. Anyway, let's try to get out of here first.' She searched for her phone only to remember moments later that she hadn't taken it with her when she left home.

"What kind of stupid cliché is this?!" Irritation visible on her face as she searched around her. It seemed like a warehouse of sorts as she saw the old furniture's and utensils inside. Soon she found the door to exit only to realize it was locked from outside.

'Is this some kind of prank? Definitely not kidnapping since neither my mouth or hands and feet are tied up. Weird. I don't think I offended some-'

Her thought came to an abrupt stop as the faces of 3 boys came to her mind. She was pretty sure about her hunch as she sighed loudly.

"Is this revenge?" She wondered out loud. She laughed as she thought about the absurdity of her situation. She sat down near the door, unfolding her sleeves to hide the goosebumps in her hand.

"It's cold." That was all she said as she waited for the arrival of the day, no cry for help leaving her lips due to her pride and stubbornness.