Change

Mia was having wild thoughts in her head as she heard the man's shout. Her heart out almost leaped out from her chest as she could not resist the urge to yelp out in fright. She continued running not daring to look at the man who called to her. But maybe it was due to curiosity or the nagging feeling one felt as someone called out to them. Her face slowly looked back, like a door needing of oil, creaking from the slow movement of her head, she looked back.

"Gyaaaaah!" Mia could not help but scream as the person's face was right in front of her. He had a menacing look as his body heaved up and down trying to catch his breath. One hand was reaching out to her and grabbed her shoulder.

Everything happened so fast that all she could do was close her eyes waiting for a blow to land on her body. Her body was trembling in fright.

The man suddenly spoke in a gentle tone, "Mia." Although his breath was still ragged, the man was still able to utter her name with a bit of gentleness and familiarity with her name.

Mia opened her eyes wide from being called and her eyes opened wide like saucers. On the other hand, Happy was sitting on the pavement while wagging her tail while looking at the two people. As though she was saying, "is the game of tag over?" with disappointment.

Mia could not help herself as she raised her hand and slapped the shoulder of the man as she said, "What the hell are you doing! You scared the crap out of me! Following me like a creeper in the middle of the night. I almost died from fright."

The man rubbed his neck sheepishly while looking at Mia, "I wasn't sure it was you so I followed you for a bit. I didn't think you would run away before I was able to ascertain it was you."

"Aish. This guy." was the only reply Mia could say. Her heart that was running wild was now starting to calm down. She stared at the man, rather a young man in front of her. She knew exactly well who this person was. He was a classmate in grade school who she grew up with. There are only a few in their grade so it wasn't hard to know the people in the same grade as her.

"Sorry, sorry." said the man. His face was apologetic as he had a wry smile on his face.

"The least you could do is buy me a drink, Evan. All that running made me thirsty," said Mia.

The man named Evan did not hesitate to enter the convenience store which was now right in front of them. He bought two cold drinks and handed one to Mia as they both found a bench nearby to have a chat.

"What were you doing in the middle of the night alone anyways?" asked Evan.

"I couldn't sleep. What about you?" Mia said.

"The same thing." however, Evans' voice sounded downtrodden as he spoke those words. Mia was able to catch a hint from Evans tone and asked, "What's wrong?"

Evan was still holding onto the cold can in his hands. He was staring at it while he spoke, "I was just checking on our stall. Although we had to close our shop, it's been a habit to come here around this time."

Having realized what Evan meant, Mia felt sad. Evan's family had a stall that sold soup and noodles at the night market. Their's was one that flourished and had many loyal customers that come to eat. It has been established since his grandparent's time so it was a shame that they were closed.

"By the way, you shouldn't walk alone here at night, by yourself." Evan thought for a while before continuing. "I heard it's not safe at night as there are a couple of cases where women were being assaulted. You have to be careful."

"I did not know that," said Mia. This was the first time she heard about it. "Is that the reason why the shops closed?" she asked curiously.

"You can say its one of the reasons," Evan said. However, he did not delve deeper to other reasons which made Mia think.

An awkward silence arose from the two as though they ran out of topic to discuss. Mia couldn't stand it anymore and ask, "So why were you following me?"

Evan finally woke up from his stupor and said, "Ah, I just wanted to inform you that it's not safe at night. I mean, I wouldn't want an acquaintance to fall victim and be assaulted."

"Oh, Thanks." Mia thought of her actions and felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry I ran away. Now that I think about it. Happy didn't bark or reacted. She just happily went along with me running." She caressed Happy's head while saying so.

"It's a good reaction. It shows you are alert. I mean, it really is dangerous at night, especially for women. You couldn't possibly know if I was a friend or a pervert."

Evan could not help but smile at Mia's reaction as he uttered, "You've changed."

Mia looked up at Evan and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what happened but I think the Mia right now is better compared to the Mia from before."

Mia tilted her head as though not understanding what Evan meant.

Evan laughed at her action as he found it cute and he continued, "You were never one to talk relaxedly like now. I remember how you would avoid people from our class and spend most of the time by yourself. But now…" she looked at Mia with a smile and said. "You look happier and more outgoing. You're not afraid to show your emotions. It seems the wall that you put up yourself is gone."

"Ah, that…" Mia fidgeted while unable to come up with a good answer, "I guess I was going through a phase." she said awkwardly.

A refreshing laugh resounded in the air, the young man stood up and looked at Mia. "Let's go. I'll walk you home. It's getting late." In the end, the young man could not help but mumble, "a phase huh." It was not loud as though he did not want anyone to hear but himself.

A couple seconds later and Mia was able to catch up with Evan. They walked side by side in the night as they chatted about their lives after they separated from school. It was a short walk and the time passed by quickly as Mia realized she was already in front of her house. She thanked Evan for walking her home and went inside with a light-hearted feeling thinking, "I've changed huh."