Project: Socialize (Chapters 1-197)

24. Walk in the Rain

We got off at a train station in Berjaus, in a pretty prosperous area near the main Berjaus Station. Looking to my sides, I took in the station scene, watching as the pedestrians paid no heed to me, walking past me and headed towards their own train platforms.

From the station broadcasts, I could hear the sound of the various announcements, from the announcements for train arrivals to the soft ambient music of the station. I followed Mura and out of the station. Outside, the rain poured down on the world, and the only way people walked around was with an umbrella.

Muria stared at the sky above, frowning at the weather. I realized that Muria was, in fact, wearing the summer uniform of our school, which, for girls, consisted of a white button up blouse. White, so if it gets wet, it would likely cling onto her skin and become almost see through. Obvious enough, she was aware of this fact.

I dug through my school bag in search of the retractable umbrella that I often carried in my bag just in case. I produced that umbrella from my bag and handed it towards Muria.

"Here," I said without looking over at her.

"..."

Muria stared at the umbrella in my outstretched hand and then at me. She was quite surprised, dazed almost, to see this gesture from me.

"Thank you," she said, accepting the umbrella from my hands.

"Not going to give one to me?" Mura teasingly smiled and nudged me gently with her elbow.

"You two can share one," I said, backing off slightly from her.

"How about you, Emilia?" Mura turned towards her and asked.

"Don't worry," Emilia responded as she reached her hand into her purse and took out an umbrella as well.

"Both of you came prepared," Mura smiled. "Let's go now."

Muria then put up the umbrella that I handed her, stepped to the side slightly, and allowed her older sister to share the umbrella with her. Since it was a retractable umbrella, it was smaller in size than the normal ones, which made it so that the two of them had to stand quite close, shoulder to shoulder.

As I stood there, mentally preparing myself to be drenched, I saw from the corner of my eye Emilia, putting up her umbrella and lifted the umbrella up slightly, gesturing for me to come closer. I stared at the hand in which she clutched onto the umbrella with in confusion, and then I gazed up at her face, discovering a smile on her face along with a mysterious facial expression that I can not read.

"I'm fine—"

Just when I was about to decline, Emilia closed the distance between us, and with her free hand, she grabbed onto my arm so that I could not escape.

With a sigh, I decided to go along with it. The sound of the rain droplets falling on the umbrella and the world around me was quite a pleasant. The city was on a slightly slower pace that day due to the rain, but life still had to go on and people still have to go where they have to go to. Numerous cars packed the streets, and the sound of the car tires rolling in the background proved to be quite relaxing.

As I walked beside Emilia while we shared a small umbrella, our arms occasionally brushed against each other's. It was quite an intriguing feeling due to how soft and cool her arm was. I glanced over at her face, admiring the unreadable poker face that she constantly had on.

It bothered me that despite the fact that I can gaze into her eyes, I don't see anything. It was like a wall has been raised, protecting her heart from all outside intervention. Like someone hiding in a fortress, she appeared quite ambivalent in regards to the outside world, yet for some reason it felt as if she cared for this world. Maybe it was because she's an angel of God, but still it felt as if there's a more personal emotion mixed within it.