Want To Come With Me?

"Day 21, at the back of an old friend's restaurant I managed to find a few leftovers today. A cat came up to me as I sat near the backdoor appreciating what little I had. After a while I had fallen asleep with it in my arms for what felt like a few hours. Passersby still continue to glare at me in disgust, but I'm used to it by now."

"Day 39, I don't think I can continue for much longer. My body is weakening with each passing day and I realise it every time I scrounge around alleyways and rubbish bins. Even the animals have begun to avoid me, like I'm some sort of repellent due to how much I smell. I wonder when I'll be released from this."

"Day 45, the overhead clouds are turning gray, seems like it is about to rain. I will write again once I find shel-"

Rain began drizzling. Very shortly after, it started pouring down on the poor woman as she ran to the closest alleyway she could find.

As she ran past several passerby's holding their umbrellas she placed her hand around a brick corner. Her eyes widened and she realised something terrible. 'No! no no no no no, why am I so dumb?' She had dropped her diary in the rain. Imagining how it must be drenched in water and the ink slowly melting away broke her heart.

Her tears melded with the rain as a cold breeze made her shiver to no end. The diary had been given to her by someone dear to her, who was also the one that discarded her.

She clung onto a nearby bin, hoping the remaining heat inside would at least warm her up even a little bit. Her fists clenched as rain began to fall harder, her thoughts drowned out by the constant sound of dripping, clicking on glass, thumping on pipes and splashes on water which began to pool nearby her.

"It probably got washed away into a drain by now..."

She was surprised by an unusual noise. Through all the sounds she could hear a faint sound, it sounded like footsteps clacking along the sidewalk.

A dark figure emerged from around the corner before her eyes. It approached her wielding a square shaped object in hand and something invisible which appeared to repel the rain in the other. The figure forcefully stomped on the ground with each step it took towards her.

She trembled in fear, unable to see very far ahead of her.

The figure came into her vision and revealed their face, which turned out to be what seemed like a young man in his mid twenties. He held the crystal clear umbrella and handed her the square object. Holding it over her afterwards.

She reluctantly grasped the object so as to not drop it. It was her diary, it was drenched and only a few pages undamaged by the rain. She looked up at the man in glee and tried to ask for his name but her throat was dry despite all the liquids around her.

She did not want to embarrass herself further in public by drinking from water pools on the ground infront of the man, so she could not utter a sound to express her gratitude.

Instead she picked herself up and bowed to the man before slowly walking away, half out of respect, half out of fear. The man quickly grabbed her hand before she could walk far.

"Want to come with me?" He asked, his voice sweet and mellow.

Her eyes widened at his sudden question. What was he planning to do with her? What if something bad happens? Am I never going to see the light of day again?! She stood still and thought to herself. "Not that I'd mind not getting to see that light again..." Her thoughts drifted away.

The man held the umbrella over her again. She hesitated for a moment to ponder upon whatever his intentions were, but accepted his offer anyway and they walked home together under the umbrella.

She glanced over at him several times on their way to his home. He appeared to be rather wealthy as he wore a thick black jacket with a red mane that stood out around his neck which she had not noticed earlier.

She continued shivering again as a cold wind wisped by and combed through her hair. The man held onto her hand. "Your hand's going to get dirty." She forcefully spoke, worried that she might offend the man. To her surprise instead he turned to her and smiled.

"You're cold, it's not much but my hand can offer some warmth for the time being."

Instead of her hand being warmed her face began heating up as she quickly looked away, not that he would be able to see the blush on her face anyway. Her trance was broken when a loud thud reverberated throughout the street.

A ringing began in the man's pocket. Letting go of her hand, he reached for his phone within his jacket and brought it up to his ear. "Clean it up quick." He spoke hastily, before shoving his phone back into his jacket. "We should walk faster, we're nearly there."

She snuggled closer to his side as they upped their pace.

After having only passed by a few dozen buildings they arrived upon the gate of the man's mansion. Raindrops slightly warped the lights inside of the mansion from the outside. She took a minute to gather her thoughts as she stood, awestruck at the sight of the monstrous structure.

Looking around at their surroundings she noticed something odd. The mansion was very near other residential buildings despite its size, easily taking up several blocks. Suddenly her vision began to blur as she struggled to hold herself upright.

Her vision faded to black as she fell into the man's arms. The umbrella was blown away shortly after he had dropped it.

He slumped her arms over his shoulders and grabbed her feet with his hands as he lifted her off the ground. A line of water followed him into his abode. A group of servants trailed not far behind, quickly mopping up whatever dripped off the man.

He plopped the woman onto a luxurious grey sofa in the middle of his room. As he dropped his soaked jacket onto the ground. "Throw it out, it's dirty," a servant came running in, chucked the jacket out of a window and into a trash bin directly beneath.

"Bring me 2 sets of warm clothes and flu medicine." The servant bowed before swiftly leaving.

The bathroom was spacious and cold. The walls and floor built of spotless marble, a large jacuzzi sat in 1 corner of the room, whilst a door leading to an outdoors traditional hot spring was at another. There was a shower, toilet, sinks and bathtub which could be found around the bathroom as well.

After a quick shower, he checked on the woman. She was still sleeping on his couch, but she had been changed into a fresh set of clothes and a scent of heavy perfume emanated around her.

He laid a thin black blanket the woman and examined her for a moment. She had a dainty figure, her hair was disorderly and her face still covered in grime despite having been out in the rain for quite some time.

He sat beside a table and flicked on a switch. He placed a paper wall between him and the rest of the room as the hair dryer conjured wind stronger than the breeze outside. As he returned the paper wall to the previous space it had occupied he was worried. "I hope that did not wake her."

"She'll have to leave tomorrow, I'll provide her some food and send her out."