"You've been rubbing the same cheek for some time now," Serena said and suddenly stopped her tracks. "Wait, did The Bastard Thief hurt you?! That's it! I'm beating him up!"
Just when the fired-up Serena was going to walk the other way, I immediately grabbed her wrist. "Hold it. For the seventh time, he didn't," I told her. "I'm just removing the drool off my face."
If I tell her about the stranger, she'll tackle him in the same way she had done to The Bastard Thief.
It was already noon when Serena took me to a nearby park as the two of us sat down on a wooden bench together. The next thing I knew was Serena kneeling and taking a small antiseptic spray from her purse, spraying on my scrap right knee.
"You know, something small like this won't kill me," I said to Serena, who stared at me with puppy eyes, pouting while putting a band-aid on my knee.
"Whether it's a small scrape or a huge gash, I don't like seeing you get hurt. As a grown-up and your guardian, it is my responsibility to take care of you, Serenity."
Is she sure it's not the other way around? I thought back to what happened 30 minutes ago.
After the stranger disappeared, Serena was going to tackle the police and launch herself toward The Bastard Thief again. If I haven't intervened and explained the situation on time, who knows how many more punches she'll throw at him.
"And besides," Serena continued, breaking my thoughts as she took a pair of brown flats out from her purse. "We're family. It's okay to dislike something, and you don't have to endure it because someone tells you to."
As if I'm Cinderella and she's the Duke, she put the flat on my right foot. It was a perfect fit, as she did the same to my left. "I know you don't like dressing up, but you went along because you didn't want to disappoint me." Serena then sat beside me. "That's why I want you to know that you are your own person, and you are free to do whatever you want. If anything bothers you, you can always come to me, Serenity."
Carefully and quietly, I thought about what she said.
"Then…" I averted my eyes but looked back at Serena. "I refuse to wear any heels."
"Roger that! You get blisters easily."
"Don't wake me up early. Especially around 3."
"...I'll take note of that."
"And… Thank you for the pendant. I really like it."
Serena widened her eyes and responded to me with a bright smile. "You're welcome."
Slowly but surely, the two of us had nothing else to say and stared at the playground. In front of us were bustling with children playing with each other as I heard Serena clear her throat, trying to think and keep the conversation going.
"Thank you for last night. That's very sweet of you," she said. "I'm curious though. Why did you sleep on the couch and let me sleep on your bed? It should've been the other way around."
"I… just wanted to," I replied, thinking about last night. "And you almost broke your nose, and since the bed is spacious, you wouldn't need to worry about hitting your face again."
"O-Oh, I see. Um, that reminds me, why did you run after The Bastard Thief? People normally yell for help, but you took the initiative to go after him yourself."
"Something similar happened to me back in high school."
"It happened to you in high school?!"
"I helped someone to get her stuff back. Like you, Uncle also ended up karate kicking the thief who stole that person's stuff."
"Ah… Well… How are you feeling overall?"
"Tired. I feel tired, that's all."
"I see," Serena chuckled nervously, and once again, the silence deafened us when she immediately stood up. "I'll take you back to your dorm. Would you mind waiting for me here? I'll pull up the car here. O-Oh, of course, if you want to look around here, it's fine too, but I feel it's safer for you to wait for me, you know!"
Flustered and unsure what to say next, Serena dashed away, shouting, "I'll be quick!"
I took a deep breath and sighed, turning to look at the playground; however, all of the children went their separate ways when the sun slowly began to set.
"I could've just ignored her," I told myself. "But that wouldn't feel right."
I scratched my head and looked above at the orange sky, about to close my eyes.
"Meow."
Though it wasn't even for a second, I opened them and waited for the sound. Sometimes a part of me just hoped I was hearing things due to the lack of sleep, but as soon as I stood up, the meow cried again. Only this time, behind me.
I turned around, and what caught me by surprise was a poofy cat stuck in a tree. It looked elegant with its cream-white fur with different shades of brown on it, and it had pretty and unique green eyes.
I think it's a ragdoll cat, but--
"Strange. Don't they have blue eyes?" I asked myself, expecting to answer the question myself until the ragdoll cat replied to me with a meow as if confirming that they too can have green eyes.
"Then, how did you get up there?"
"Meow."
"Why are you meowing back at me?"
"Meow."
"Why did I even ask?" I sighed and thought hard about what to do.
While deep in thought, as if the silence between us deafens the atmosphere, the cat cried a meow the moment I felt a teardrop on my cheek. I looked up at the orange sky slowly turning gray as more tears poured down harder.
"Well, this is a lovely sight."
"Meow, meow!"
I should've ignored the cat in the first place, I thought to myself. But it wouldn't feel right to leave it alone, especially in the rain.
"Hey now, you should come down, or you'll–"
Suddenly, a flash of lightning roared in the sky, startling me and before I knew it, a random stranger, who appeared out of the blue, gracefully got down on his knees.
Where… did he come from?
Funny enough, I have almost mistaken him for the man who pecked my cheek. However, judging by their attire, they're two different people. Unlike him, this one wears a worn white T-shirt and blue smear jeans with black and white sneakers. His hair is as dark as the color ebony, and his tan skin.
In his arms was the ragdoll cat from the tree. I sighed in relief, at least knowing that it was alright and it seemed fond of the stranger as it nuzzled his cheek.
That's when I realized the stranger's right arm was bleeding, staining his shirt.
"He--"
I was about to call him but immediately covered my mouth, stopping myself and bombarded myself with the possible scenarios and consequences flooding through my mind.
What if this person is bad?
What if he's going to take advantage of me?
However, he would've done so himself already.
Unless he's waiting for the right moment?
....
...
...
"What's the worst that could happen?" I murmured myself.
It's not like it's the first time anyway.
And without any hesitation, I walked toward the stranger.
"Excuse me, your shoulder is bleeding," I said worriedly. "Here, let me–"
The thunder roared again, cutting off my words when the stranger turned to face me, glaring daggers at me. I stopped and stared back at him, and I could not help but admire his cat-like green eyes that took my breath away.
Despite his glaring, his expression tells me that he won't show any mercy to me. However, instead of feeling the anger that he probably felt, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It was a strange feeling that tugged my heartstrings.
"You're hurt," I said sadly and walked toward him and placed my hand on his cheek the moment I got closer. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to smack my hand or move his distance away from me because I'm also a stranger to him.
However, and strangely enough, he didn't.
"I won't hurt you. You can at least trust me, no?"
He didn't say anything as I let go of his cheek and unzipped my purse, searching for a band-aid; instead, I took out a lime green with a light pink bandana and wrapped it around his shoulder and carefully made sure that it was not too loose but also not too tight.
If only I had the antiseptic bottle that Serena has.
"Can you… tell me what happened?" I asked.
Once again, he didn't answer back, but I noticed his eyes softened a bit.
"It's okay if you don't. I don't know this area well, but if you like, you can stay with me until my aunt returns. I can ask if there are any hospitals around the area to help take care of your shoulder. But first, we should–"
I wasn't sure if it was the thunder that interrupted me or what I said that made him flinch; the next thing I knew is that he placed the ragdoll cat down, patted its head, and ran as I watched him leave.
Did I say something wrong? He looks so scared.
"Serenity!"
I heard Serena's voice behind me as I turned around, seeing her running towards me and covering me with an umbrella on my head. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "Come on, let's hurry ho–I mean back to the dorms! You'll catch a cold!"
"But the cat… it has nowhere to go."
"Hm? What cat?"
"It's right… here?" I pointed out where the ragdoll cat was to Serena, but it suddenly disappeared from the same place where the stranger left it.
Did the cat run after him? Or did it–
The sad thought dwelled within my mind as a light twinge ached in my heart as I lightly clutched my chest.
"Serenity?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. Let's just go."
The two of us left the area as I glanced back where the ragdoll cat used to be.
The rain drizzled harder throughout the night.