Dearest Anonymous, Let Me Be

Chapter 36: ARC 2 - The Woman in the Painting

"Look kid, I don't know what type of candy you swallowed before but are you seriously asking me to take you to my place?"

Umi's voice was raising a tad bit higher, fully intending to scare the kid away, yet surprisingly—and annoyingly—the boy's gummy smile only grew wider.

"Yes, Miss Ivy. I'm glad you understand me."

"No! You got the wrong idea!"

Umi pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling the headache coming. Peeling her eyes away from the boy, the woman released a deep breath and inquired, "Where are your parents?"

The bus stop was located at the edge of the central part of town. As they speak, almost all of the people on the streets behind them have retired for the night, and Umi just noticed that they were the only ones standing on their spot, waiting for the bus that will take her to the farther parts of the town.

The boy pulled the suitcase on his side closer to him, afraid that the rain might damage it. He then replied, "They're on another country, Miss Ivy."

Umi raised her eyebrow. "Let me guess, you ran away from home?"

"No, Miss Ivy. I'm on vacation. I'm a big boy who can travel on my own."

The wind that the rainstorm brought was growing stronger by the minute that Umi had to tighten both of her hands on the umbrella's handle.

"And?"

"And I'm politely asking a good-natured citizen like Miss Ivy for shelter to get through this rainy night. I just arrived in this town and my family must have forgotten that today's the day I'll be coming. I have nowhere else to sleep and my Mama said that sleep is very important for me to grow faster."

"So you do have a family here," Umi spoke while narrowing her eyes at the kid. "Then call them! Goodness kid, you don't just ask strangers to take you in. Nobody ever taught you that?"

"I've been trying to call them from the phone booth but I forgot their number."

Umi raised an eyebrow. "Is there a police station nearby?" she asked herself, trying to rack her brain for information about this world's setting.

The boy pouted almost immediately. "The police station is in another town. I'm afraid that we'll be drenched before we arrive there."

"Effie, you're not really helping me," Umi muttered under her breath. Why design a town with no police station on it? That's why the four original main characters did not survive the night! If the police have arrived earlier, they wouldn't be dead before the fire would catch them all!

Umi scrunched her eyebrows. "And what made you think that I'll take you there?"

"Because I think that Miss Ivy is a good person. I saw how you gave an umbrella to the homeless man from before."

The wind was stronger this time that Umi's hat almost flew away. Light flashed in a second and the sound of thunder followed a moment later. The storm was getting fiercer, along with the wind that it carried. The umbrella was not helping anymore, and with her physical body as a Shadow Hollow, Umi's lower body was starting to get hit by the rain. Well, at least she looked better than the kid. The boy was already drenched from head to toe.

With a sneer, the woman replied in a low voice, "So you've been following me?"

"Please help me, Miss Ivy," the boy pleaded while raising his inner eyebrows quite dramatically, almost looking like a soaked puppy.

Umi took a quick glance at the boy and she almost regretted doing that. If anything says true about her, it would be that she was quite weak with cute things. Sighing deeply, Umi looked ahead of the road while avoiding the deadly adorable eyes of the little midget.