''Can I look up now?'' Rain nervously asked when we had finally climbed up the stairs in the tower. I had blindfolded him in an attempt to surprise him, but that resulted in him almost falling off the stairs. So we agreed that it'd be better if he just took his blindfold off and looked down.
''Yes, you can look now!'' Rain nervously looked around the room we were currently in. The room wasn't like any other room in the church. There were large windows all around, so that you could see everything that was around the church. The forest seemed endless on one side, on the other side, you could vaguely see Hillburg. Swiss had helped me with preparing the date. We put a table in the middle of the room with a white tablecloth over it, and candles in the middle. The room looked extra beautiful because there were plants everywhere. Plants hanging from the ceiling, plants in pots on the ground, there even was a little flower on the table next to the candles. Swiss was standing there with one hand behind his back, the other hand holding a menu. He was wearing a black suit wit a bright red bow tie. ''Welcome in Swiss' restaurant! Do you have a reservation?'' He had a broad smile on his face, like owning a restaurant for a day had always been his dream. ''Yes, a table for 2 please, on the name Galea.'' I replied. ''Please, sit down!'' Swiss pointed at the only table in the room. ''My name is Swiss, and I will be your server for today.''
We did as Swiss said and sat down at the table. He handed us the menu. It was a simple paper with a digital drawing on it. The drawing wasn't the best I had ever seen, but the idea was there. It was a ghoul, supposedly Swiss, I think, as a waiter. He was recognizable by his broad smile and the patch he had on the left side of his mask. Above Swiss were golden letters that spelled "Swiss' Restaurant".
Swiss laughed. ''I let Cirrus draw the cover of the menu. It wasn't the best idea I've ever had, because she can't draw hands so now it looks like I've got no hands.'' Rain kept looking at the drawing with a serious look on his face. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't beautiful either. It was exactly what you'd expect from someone making one of their first drawings in Illustrator. ''No, it's perfect. She probably spend way too much time on this.'' He said, while still looking at the drawing.
When I opened up the menu I saw that we had a few options for an appetizer, dinner, and dessert.
Swiss' eyes lit up when he talked about the menu. ''My name is Swiss, and the restaurant is called Swiss' Restaurant, so I thought that it'd be fun to only put recipes from Switzerland on the menu!'' I squinted my eyes. ''Spaghetti is Italian.'' ''It's still the most romantic dinner, right? And besides, Switzerland is just above Italy, so it's basically the same.'' Switzerland and Italy were not the same country, but I let it slide.
''So, would the lady like something to drink?'' Swiss asked. ''I would like the red wine please.'' Swiss wrote it down on the little notepad he was holding. ''And what can I get for the gentleman?'' ''I also would like the red wine.'' Swiss wrote it down on his notepad, like it was a very hard thing to remember our drinks even though we ordered the same drink. ''Okay, then I'll be right back with you.'' He walked out of the room, beginning to climb down the endless spiral staircase.
Rain looked at me with his beautiful, brown eyes. He was wearing his mask now, but I knew that he was handsome, even without his mask on. I would never want to let go of him.
''Rain, I want to start this date by saying that... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being angry at you in The Great Hall, and I'm sorry I threw your soup all over you.'' Rain shook his head. ''It's alright, I get why you were angry. I'll try to be less controlling. It's just that I care about you, so much. I don't know what I would do if a ghoul attacked you. So, uh...'' ''What is it?'' I asked. ''It's nothing, I just uh, is it safe to order the soup?'' He nervously laughed at me. I pretended to think about it for a while. ''Hm, I think it is.''
Swiss came back with our drinks shortly after that. We ordered our appetizers, and Swiss had to climb down the stairs again. ''I'm rethinking the location of my restaurant now.'' He complained. ''You know, it was quite a career change, going from owning a furniture business to being in a band and owning a restaurant. But these stairs just ain't it. I'll have to talk to our cook Mountain about this.''
I only noticed that Rain was nervously shaking his leg after Swiss had left the tower once again. I hadn't even asked him yet if it was him, and he was already nervous?
''Rain, why are you nervous?'' Rain took a sip from his drink so that he didn't have to look at me while he answered my question. ''Do you promise me that you won't make fun of me?'' Why would I make fun of him after he stole my key? That wouldn't be the reaction most people would have. Most people would be angry, or sad, or disappointed. No one makes fun of another person committing a crime.
''No, I promise that I won't make fun of you.'' Rain let out a relieved sigh. ''Great, I- I am afraid of heights. Ever since I told Cobra, he won't stop making fun of me for it. So I'm a bit embarrassed about it.'' He looked out of one of the windows before he continued talking. ''I really appreciate you doing this for me, but I can't help the fact that all of these windows here scare me. But the view is also kind of... nice?'' He did his best to stay positive.
Maybe he didn't steal the key after all? What if he was speaking the truth, and the only reason as to why he was acting so weird, is that he was afraid of heights?
''But don't you sleep in the highest room of the Water-Tower?'' I asked, somewhat confused. Rain nodded. ''That is true. When I first came to earth, I had thought about asking The Clergy for another room. I felt so scared in my room all of the time. I wouldn't even dare to look out of the window. So I kept the curtains closed on most days.'' ''Why didn't you ask The Clergy if there was another room available in the Water-Tower?''
Rain looked up from his drink to look at me. ''Because sometimes, you have to overcome your fears. You can't always hide from them. I feel comfortable in my room now, but this tower is like, really, really high.'' I took another sip of my wine. ''So, you don't want to move and eat dinner downstairs somewhere?'' Rain shook his head. ''No, only the bravest people overcome their fears. And hiding from your fears isn't going to help with overcoming them.''
Rain was trying his hardest to make his story seem believable. And maybe it was true. Maybe he was just an innocent ghoul who was afraid of heights. But I couldn't shake the feeling. I couldn't feel comfortable with him without knowing for sure that he didn't do it.