Addy placed the plastic plate on the plastic table and proceeded to place her bottom on the plastic chair near it. She bit into the soft sandwich relishing its flavours. She had heard too many of her colleagues complain about the zoo cafeteria food but she found it pretty decent. At least, it was better than the trash she would prepare if she tried to cook her own meal.
Technically, she should have been out of the zoo by now but Addy had no idea where she would head next, so she settled on filling her stomach while she could. Chewing her food, Addy stared at the wall in front of her. Protagonists in stories usually had a solid, clever plan by now. She, on the other hand, was aimless, lost and... very very sleepy.
As if on cue, a loud yawn escaped her attracting the stares of nearby people and crows.
Brushing out the fallen crumbs from her clothes, Addy got up, grabbed her suitcase and started walking. She found herself heading towards the narrow brick path near the panther enclosure that only zoo workers could take. She walked until she reached a lonely bench near a broken vending machine that used to sell the saltiest crackers in the world. The bench was probably made from metal or something similar to that. She didn't care enough to fact check but it was quite popular among her colleagues, (or should she say ex-colleagues?). They strangely loved bragging about sneaking off and taking naps on it in the middle of their shifts to the point that it had become quite the open secret among the zoo workers- something they would often laugh about among themselves. Addy felt like she was the only one who hadn't sneaked off to nap there. Even Celine had once mentioned doing so... the thought made her pause. The guilt that she had been pushing back, grappled her, made her tremble. She knew the right thing to do was to go back and say sorry but something in her stopped her. Something in her tied her limbs and sealed her lips. Perhaps it was her ego or perhaps it was her belief that everyone around her was just a figment of her imagination or at least someone else's- mere characters of a book.
Pushing her crushing thoughts back once more, she scooted into a fetal position on the bench and closed her eyes, leaving the suitcase close to her feet. She didn't care if the suitcase got stolen or if she got reprimanded for sleeping there. She only wanted to sleep.
It felt like she had closed her eyes for only a second when she felt someone vigorously shaking her. She grumbled stubbornly, not ready to wake up and face the world. Her tactic worked. The shaking stopped and she hugged herself closer in relief. The relief was short-lived as the next second she was rolling over and-
THUD!
The hard brick ground caught her as she landed not so gracefully. Her breath hitched due to the impact and soon she could sense her feet sauntering. She might have scraped it.
She opened her eyes in disbelief and came face to face with none other than Kevin.
They both soaked into the awkward silence that ensued after their unexpected encounter.
Kevin was the first to shatter it. "You should leave."
Addy, on the other hand, was still on the ground with a firm rein on her silence. She only stared. Hard.
Kevin sighed and opened his mouth again. "A storm might start soon. You should leave before the wind turns crazy." He then offered his hand to her.
She stared at the extended hand for an uncomfortable long minute so he swiftly put his hand into his pant pocket and left without making another fuss.
As his figure vanished in the corner, Addy got up and realized that was the most docile conversation she had with Kevin since she met him. Oddly, the revelation evoked no emotion in her. She just wanted to go home. Was it too much to ask for? Apparently so. Still, what kind of luck did she have to be transmigrated into a non-fiction book? This was TORTURE!
She was incredibly sleepy and losing her mind. If she could not go back home, the least she could have hoped for was something thrilling, preferably bone-chilling to occur.
ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
The universe has a funny way of answering our wishes.
Only a mere hour ago, Addy was hoping for something thrilling and bone-chilling to occur and that's what she received.
A hailstorm.
Heaps of icy stones, the size of golf balls crashed onto the tatty concrete road and the hoods of unlucky cars, occasionally blasting into smaller spiteful pieces. Addy, who had never seen hailstorms up close watched in amazement, not under the spell of sleepiness for the moment. There was indeed a certain charm to the sight of hailstones majestically wreaking havoc in the previously neat and organized city.
For a brief second, Addy wondered how it would have felt if she had stayed put under the assault of hailstones instead of running under the market shed. It was quite the temptation.
But she didn't let the temptation lure her out of the shed. She was not a fan of pain and even if she was there are fewer dumber ways of meeting it.
"You are no fun! Just jump in!"
A sudden rush of wind engulfed her, followed by a push against her back, propelling Addy forward and out of the safety of the shed. She closed her eyes expecting the sharp and harsh pain of being used by ice stones as a landing pad.
It never came.
Had she died?
"You didn't die, silly girl. You are basically invincible right now."
Addy opened her eyes.
A man with a long glorious silver pigtail and notorious smile lines beamed at her. "Remember me?"
Addy walked back under the shed, noticing how her surroundings had turned quieter. "Um... no?" She frowned. "Should I though?"
Her answer didn't seem to surprise the strange man. "Of course, you don't. Let me introduce myself. I'm the Creator."