A couple of days after the incident with Rachelle and Fiona, Sienna appears to be doing a lot better. She seems to have leveled out personality-wise a bit more than how intense she was that day.
Zaku says that when someone vows to darkness, their first day of citizenship is the transformation period. Nothing is scarier than what you can't see in the darkness, so essentially, all of Sienna's fears were basically being altered so that she isn't afraid of anything which is why she was able to be so bold that day.
As I predicted, everyone in school thinks that Rachelle and Fiona are crazy saying how I have magical powers and how I'm engaged with a man who also has magical powers. The have been assigned to attend therapy with the school counselor before school from now on, and they have been removed from the cheerleading team since they have a reputation to uphold. To top it off, even their boyfriends broke up with them, so everything ended well.
My issue that I have now is how can I help Zaku find more loyal people to become citizens. It's not like the opportunity to find someone who seeks solace in darkness is going to fall out of the sky.
"Hm?" As I take my rare walks around the forest behind my house, I happen to stumble upon a bridge, but it looks like I'm not the only one here. "What is that person doing?" I whisper to myself as I hide behind a tree.
"Go save him," Zaku commands from my shadow on the tree.
"What?"
"Go save him!" he quietly yells before pushing me away from the tree. "Hurry! You don't have much time left."
I was going to ask more questions, but I realize the urgency when I glance up to see the man climbing onto the other side of the bridge railing.
"Wait!" I shout as I run as fast as I can towards the bridge. "Please don't jump! Let's talk it out!"
As I get closer to the bridge, I witness how deep the ravine actually is.
[This man could really die if he jumps!]
"Don't get any closer!" the man yells. "I have already made up my mind. There's nothing left for me in this world. I'm better off dead."
I manage to reach where the man is standing and grab onto his shirt. "Me!" is the only thing I could say as I catch my breath.
[I really need to exercise more...]
"You're just a kid. What can you do that could help me?"
Standing up straight, I finally catch my breath and grip on tighter to the man's shirt. "Work for me. Swear your allegiance to the darkness, and I can help you fix your life."
Not quite believing me, the man scoffs at my offer. "How can you fix my life?"
"I know you don't know me, and it will be very hard to believe me, but know that I have the power to make some sort of difference in your life that could help you get back on your feet."
The man opens his mouth to say something back, but he notices the determined look in my eyes and takes a moment to think. "This is ridiculous," he mumbles to himself before crawling back over the railing. "So, you got me to not kill myself. You better take responsibility."
Relieved but now confused on what to do next, I hold out my hand. "My name is Lillian. What's your name?"
"Chard," he promptly responds, placing his hand in mine for a handshake.
"Do you wanna sit down and talk about what's going on so that I know how to help?"
Chard loudly sighs then sits down where he is standing, so I follow suit.
"Times have been getting tough recently. I had a major accident a few years ago, and at first I was able to pay the medical bills just fine thanks to my savings, but since I also lost my job after the accident, I didn't have a way to earn more money to continue paying the bills."
"Have you tried government assistance?"
The disheveled man nods his head. "There's only so much that the government will give to help."
"Do you not have a partner or family that could help?"
"If I did, I probably wouldn't be in this mess. I had a friend who introduced me to a job last year, but it seemed shady. I took it anyways because I needed the money, but it turned out to be a scam shop. I lost just about the last of my money because of it. If only I could get back the money I lost, I could have an idea on how to get by."
I take out a little notebook that I always carry around and hand it over to the man. "Write down the names of all of the people who took money from you. It doesn't matter if it's big or small or how long ago it was. I will get all of that money back for you."
Scoffing in disbelief, Chard takes my notebook and scribbles down a list of names. "What can a kid like you do to get my money back? You part of a gang or something?"
"Something like that," I answer with a cheeky smile on my face. "You shouldn't judge others by appearances. They just might surprise you."
"Here. I included everyone that took money from me that I can recall and the amount of money they took. I also took the liberty to add the names of those who treated me horribly after my accident since you seem like a lady with tricks up her sleeves and ulterior motives."
I snatch the notebook from Chard and slip it back into my pocket. "You catch on quickly. That will be useful." I stand up from the bridge then cross my arms as I look down at the man who requires my help. "I will work on gathering information regarding the people on the list. Meet me back here in two days after lunch. We will finalize things then. Try not to kill yourself in the meantime."
"Kind of weird taking orders from someone who is young enough to be my daughter, but I don't hate it." Chard stands up as well then pats me on my shoulder, trying to give his best smile. "If you can help me with my problem, I will be indebted to you."
"Then I should do my best so that I won't disappoint you."