Lia strolled around the town and tried to do what her mother said. But her heart's not in it. She kept on thinking about the other three people she left in the house who could not enjoy this, and she felt guilty.
Her mind wandered that she almost walked right into a group of drunks before side-stepping. But one of them swayed and still bumped at her.
"Hey," one of the three called out to her. The others raked their eyes up and down her body lecherously.
What luck. She rolled her eyes inwardly. This type of drunk was disgusting.
"I'm sorry," she cringed for apologizing, but she had to get out of here fast. She just hoped that they let it go. Lia made an attempt to move, but the other two crowded in on her. Apparently not.
"Wait. To make up for it, you should have dinner with us."
Lia stared at them cooly, keeping her face as blank as possible. She gripped the bag that contained the flasks she bought. These would have been helpful in their journey, but they would be enough to throw at these drunks. Hopefully, it was enough to distract them.
"Raaaaaar!" The sound distracted Lia instead as a shadow jumped in between, all four of them taking a step back. The shadow leapt forward sending the drunks scuttling backward until they were running away. Lia bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.
"Was that 'rar' really necessary?" She lifted her eyebrows, emphasizing the sound the guy made as he stepped into the light and revealed Ed's face. He repeated his version of the roar that sent Lia to tears. A lot of people gave them a wide berth. "Stop that."
"Crazy Lin, you really are a magnet of those kinds of people." Ed gave her a goofy grin. Other than the scary look he gave him when he was injured, he always had this kind of wacky expression that never ceased to crack her up. Maybe that was why she did not feel like he was dangerous at all.
"Why, hello again, Crazy Ed." Lia started walking, and Ed fell into a step beside her as though it was only natural for them to be strolling around the town together. "Are you here to join the festivities?"
He just grinned as a reply. Lia did not push for an answer. After a while, he spoke, "I'll show you something." When she did not move, he showed her a mock hurt expression. "I'm not like them, Crazy Lin."
She felt the corner of her mouth quirk up. "Isn't that what everyone says?"
"That's true." He rocked on his heel, perhaps trying to think, and then gave up and scratched his head. "It will be good. Promise. So follow me, please?"
The crowd thinned as they went farther. Until they reached the part of the river where there were a few people resting and enjoying the silence. They found a spot and sat on the ground. The view was indeed beautiful in that quiet way that brought respite to Lia's weary mind and body.
"This is nice," she said. She turned to him and found him watching her reaction. "Thank you."
"It's nothing." He returned his gaze towards the river.
"I mean, this and with those drunks earlier. And even those men before. I never got to say thank you."
"Don't mention it," Ed grinned, flashing her his perfect set of white teeth. "I remembered you when I found this area a few days ago."
They settled in comfortable silence with Lia emptying her thoughts and really enjoying this moment. She wanted, 'needed', this comfort.
"Do you stay around here? Or do you move from town to town?" she asked.
Ed plucked grass from the ground. "It depends on my mood. How about you? Are you here for the event? Or moving here from the forest?"
Lia narrowed her eyes at him who tried to look as innocent as possible. She chuckled, "I see. Okay, no more personal questions."
Ed snickered. "How about this, are you really not afraid of me?"
She rolled her eyes. "Didn't we establish that already? And not with what you did tonight. Or, what, do you want me to? Is that it?"
"No," his voice was low and she detected a hint of melancholy. "This is fine.��
She felt like there was more to it but did not dare to ask. Maybe he was like her with a lot more baggage. But tonight, this was enough to forget things for a while.
"Yes, this is fine," she muttered.