Rainfall Chronicles: Amelia Reinhart

Chapter 8: My Second Chance

"Hey, you can trust me, I promise. I can prove that I won't take it."

I give him a stern look. This prompts him to reach under his clothes. I watch him carefully, and he pulls out a necklace of his own, hidden inside of his clothes. It's golden like mine, but in the shape of a heart.

He reassures me. "See? I have one, too. I wouldn't steal yours since I already own one."

I answer back. "What if you just stole that from someone else like me?"

"You're quite paranoid. I understand that people probably don't treat you well, but I promise that I'm not like that. Besides, I wouldn't run off while you're wearing my jacket."

I guess he has a point... I should've trusted him earlier. With a sigh, I unlock the latch of my locket. I hand him my necklace, and he opens the photo. As I look at him, he smiles.

"Are these your parents?" He asks.

"I don't know. For as long as I remember, I've been wearing it. I'd like to think that these two gave this to me before..."

"Abandoning you on the streets?" He finishes my sentence.

"I-I guess? Your guess is as good as mine. Hey, look, I showed you mine, and I'm grateful that you were honest, so... um..."

"So, what?"

"Can you show me yours?"

As he listens out to my question, he proceeds to unlatch his own locket.
"I guess it's only fair."

He hands me his locket. I open it up, and I see a picture of a mature woman. I realize who this could be, and I unconsciously let out a smile.

"Woah... is this your-?"

"Yep. It's my mother."

So he is a mommy's boy — I mean, I don't blame him. The woman in the photo is beautiful. She has the same, pure white hair as he does.

It seems like this stranger and I have more in common than I thought. I speak up.
"So we both have our parents close to us, huh?"

He chuckles.
"I'll do you one even better. My mother is gone, too."

Oh... I get it. She's gone gone.
"O-Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I lost her, but that doesn't mean she still isn't here."

Intrigued, I give him a sincere comment.
"I really admire how close you seem to be with her."

He gives me a sincere response right back.
"She means the world to me. You know, when I saw you lying down on that alley, I thought of what she would have done, so now we're here. I'd like to think she's smiling down from above seeing the two of us."

I wish I could relate to this boy... it must be nice having loving parents.
"It's what she would have wanted, huh? What if, hypothetically, she wanted you to leave me to die there alone and hungry?" I jokingly remark.

He defensively waves his hands in front of him, but in a lighthearted manner.
"Hahaha — of course I wasn't going to leave you alone, silly."

I giggle it off, but suddenly, he gives me a more serious look as opposed to the laid-back demeanor he gave me just a moment ago... he tells me something oddly convoluted:

"I've seen death before. I've been on the verge of death numerous times in my lifetime. When you witness exactly how terrifying seeing your soul being ripped away from this mortal realm is, you wouldn't wish for that to happen to anybody — no matter how cruel or evil they may be."