Slow Suicide

[3]

  It was raining.

  Not the shower kind, but the thunderstorm kind. And there's only one difference between rainy days and sunny days to her.

  It's that for one of them, you need an umbrella.

  So there she was, sitting alone by the tree with a book and an umbrella protecting her. But she didn't seem to mind the rain. After all, without rain, there wouldn't be rainbows.

She obviously wasn't expecting anyone else outside. Not many people liked the rain, sadly.

But after a few minutes, the boy was sitting in front of her once again. With no umbrella, no raincoat, or even a hoodie. Yet he remembered to bring his cigarettes, which were currently in use.

"Hey, what are you doing here without an umbrella?" she asked him.

He shrugged.

"You should stay indoors unless you'd like to take a rain shower."

He shrugged.

She stared at the million drops that fell on him as he smoked carelessly. Sighing, she closed her book and stood up.

He watched her every movement as she sat down beside him. Her umbrella was big enough to cover both of them.

"There. If you're gonna stay, we might as well share my umbrella, " she said and he slowly nodded.

His cigarette was constantly releasing smoke into the air, making her cough. That caught his attention.

  She eyed him as he crushed his cigarette with his hand and stuffed it in his pocket.

  Perplexed, she murmured, "Um. Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

  He shrugged.

Strangely, she began to feel warmth by his silence. He didn't need words to explain himself. Simple gestures or actions were explanatory enough.

  She smiled as she opened her book again. But it was quite difficult to turn the pages and hold the umbrella at the same time.

  He noticed her difficulty.

  And held the umbrella for her.

  Without a word.

  Her face softened, grateful for his help. "Thanks."

  She realized how often she thanked him and felt a bit sheepish. However, he didn't seem to mind.

They continued to sit beside each other and he continued to hold the umbrella for about half an hour. But she knew she had to leave.

She couldn't stay there all day and night, much to her disappointment. So she closed her book and turned to him.

He was looking around aimlessly and he didn't look like he was enjoying it. It made her wonder why he was even there. People don't usually go to the park when it's raining or go outside at all during this type of weather.

Does he like rain too?

"Well, uh, I have to get going. Have a nice night, " she told him as she stood. After a few seconds, he rose and handed over her umbrella.

The girl smiled at him. "Thank you. Remember to bring an umbrella next time, okay?"

She swore she saw the corner of his lip lift for a quick second.

He nodded at her and she took that as her cue to leave. But as she walked away, she glanced back and saw him walking in the opposite direction.

Again, why didn't he leave before?