ELAYNE

Through the Rain

After the emotional meeting with Clave, I felt relieved somehow. I have been building up a lot emotions in my heart about Tyler. The fight we had before he was gone was haunting me, not even letting me grieve wholeheartedly. It was all too much for me to bear... Losing a bestfriend, a lover, a special someone who can never be replaced from my life.
Everything around me was stuck for a few months but I could never cry without feeling the guilt of not being there for him.
The pictures I saw on Clave's phone made my heart warm.
I feel a bit lighter now even though I miss Tyler.
It's been a year... But his memories with me are still floating around in the back of my mind.
As I was walking through the streets, the rain poured on my head without a warning as if it heard me.
I ran towards a shelter I saw on my right, keeping a hand on top of my head.

As I was brushing my clothes with my hands, I heard someone coughing beside me. I tilted my head and looked at my right. "Are you okay?"
A pair of brownish black orbs looked right into my eyes. A few strands of wet hair covering the sides of his eye, an awkward yet gentle smile appeared on his lips.
"Yeah.."he replied.
I nodded and continued brushing off the moisture droplets from my clothes.
My phone started ringing in my pockets. I reached to grab it, noticing an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hello... Is this Miss Ina?"
"Yeah.. Who is this?"
"This is Mr Phil."
"Ohh.. Heyy.. What's the matter?"

"..."

"Hellooo???
Can you hear me??
Mr phil??"
I pulled the phone from my ears only to see that my battery has died.
"Oh c'mon"
I let out a sigh forgetting the fact that I was standing in public.
"Are YOU Okay?", a deep yet raspy voice asked me. It's the man who was coughing earlier.
"Oh I'm sorry. My phone's out of charge.. And now it seems like I would have to wait till the rain dies", i replied letting out a disturbed laughter.
" Do you wanna borrow mine? " he offered.
"Oh it's okay sir. Even if I do, I don't know any numbers by heart.
Umm... Are you new here", I asked so as to ease the friction surrounding the conversation.
"Well... Kinda.. I moved here a few months back but I don't usually stay at my place all the time."
He looked at me as I wasn't responding to him even after a minute or so. He chuckled as he saw me trying to rub my batteries on my shirt.
"Wow.. You are resourceful " he commented.
"Ahhh... Ohh I'm sorry.." I quickly put the battery inside the phone and kept it back in my pocket and brushed my hair with my fingers to avoid him from seeing my embarrassment filled face.
He smiled at me and let out an inaudible chuckle.
There was silence for a good amount of time. The rain was only getting heavier. I sat on the bench looking at the rain... Each drops falling on the ground, the voice of the rain, the mist arising infront of my eyes.
My eyes wandered around and stopped at the dark silhouette of the man standing to my right who seems to be admiring the rain just as I was.
He was tall, attractive and had a distinct voice that I've never heard of.
A familiar feeling was engulfing me. It felt as though all of these happened before..
Is this what you call a deja vu?
As I was lost in my thoughts, the man suddenly turned to face me, breaking the silence surrounding the both of us
"Do you need a ride home? The rain is getting heavier."
He asked me, slightly nodding his head.
Something about him was intoxicating me. His face and the way he carried himself sure made me intimidated in ways I wasn't able to explain.
"Is it ok for you?" I asked widening my eyes.
He smiled at me and called someone on his phone. After a few minutes, a black car was parked infront of the shelter and the driver inside the car got out of the car, handing an umbrella to the man in the shelter.

The man took me inside his car and then got into the driver's seat without wasting any time.
As we were driving to my home, I was noticing how everything inside the car was. The interior smelled like a fresh garden and there was a large bulk of files on the backseat.

We reached pretty quickly and I waved him a bye before turning to head towards my front door. He waved back and took a turn back.

I knocked on the door impatiently.
As Lola opened the door, I rushed inside and went straight to the washroom to see how I looked.
I was disappointed to see my smudged face and wet hair.
I let out a sigh... And then a chuckle, thinking why I was so concerned about this all of a sudden.
Unlike the other nights, I didn't feel empty. I felt much better than the past days. I wasn't sure why I felt a sudden urge to write out my feelings in a book, which was something that I usually did when I was happy.
Was that because of the folder Tyler made?? Or was it the effect of the man whom I met during the rain?
I could feel my eyelids getting heavy as I was wandering through my thoughts and soon I fell into a deep peaceful sleep.