The rain poured down without mercy on a Friday evening. Ethan stood in front of his bookstore, leaning against the glass window, looking outside. He watched as the rain unleashed its fury on the earth. He wondered if he could be like the rain, pouring out his pain on anyone or anything, for he carried so much pain that his body was probably too tired to vent it. One look at his eyes, and you would see he felt empty; he just lived because he had no better option, not because he enjoyed it.
As his mind drifted back to three months ago, before everything hit rock bottom for him, before happiness said goodbye and sorrow took its place in his heart, a dry smile appeared on his lips. He felt like tearing up, but there were no tears left; he had no strength to cry. All he could do was let out a long sigh. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice someone had entered the store, drenched from the rain.
"Hello there, please, do you have an umbrella you could lend me? I would return it afterward," a sweet, angelic voice said behind him.
Ethan recognized the voice and turned swiftly. He saw how soaked she was, and all he wanted to do was hold her, offer her new clothes, and scold her for being out in the rain. But he couldn't. He looked at the girl in front of him, observing her every feature, from her eyebrows to her nose bridge to her plump lips. She hadn't really changed over the last three months, he thought. Same smile, same hair, same way she kept her fingernails clean and short. But what was he expecting, that she would turn into a different person in just three months? You wouldn't blame him, though; after all, the three months felt like thirty years to him. He let out a light chuckle at the thought of that.
Ember heard his chuckle and wondered if she had something on her face. She waited for a response to her request but instead got a staring contest from the man in front of her. She didn't have time for this; she needed to get home quickly to change out of her wet clothes to avoid catching a cold , she really didn't want to fall sick.
"Good sir, please, an umbrella!" she asked again impatiently.
Ethan stopped his train of thought and looked straight into her eyes. Was it true she had no memory of him? Was it true that he would become a faded memory? Was it true that throughout the three months she hadn't missed him, even for a minute? He stood there asking himself these questions, hoping to find an answer in her eyes. From the look in her eyes, he realized the three months had only been a torment to him, not her. He let out a long sigh at the thought of that.
Ember looked at him confusedly. First a chuckle, now a sigh, all for an umbrella? she thought. If he didn't want to lend her his umbrella, he should simply say so, then she could ask someone else. She wanted to be angry at the man in front of her, but she had herself to blame. If only she had listened to her dad, she would have taken an umbrella before leaving the house. It was now her turn to sigh. She snapped her fingers to wake him from his dreamland.
Ethan shook a little and realized he had been keeping the young lady waiting.
"Ehm, umbrella... It's at the back of that shelf," he pointed.
Hearing him speak finally, Ember felt a surge of electricity through her body. She had goosebumps all over. His voice sounded faintly familiar. She lifted her gaze to his face, now it was her turn to stare. She looked at him for almost sixty seconds, examining his features. He was a fine young man, probably in his late twenties. His face wasn't registered anywhere in her brain, but she couldn't deny that his voice sounded a lot like... She shook her head, she must be overthinking. She gave him a small smile and went to get the umbrella.
"Thank you very much, I will return it," Ember said with a slight nod and left the store.
Ethan watched her leave, a dry smile appearing on his lips as he looked at the girl who had caused him so much pain without even realizing it. A girl who had pierced his heart so deeply without wielding any weapon.
"You don't have to," Ethan said, replying to Ember, who had already left. "It's yours anyway," he added, almost in a whisper.
He stretched his hand and touched the glass pane, watching her figure disappear into the unfriendly weather.
Ember couldn't help but turn around to look back at the bookstore. She felt a sense of depression in her heart and wondered why; she wasn't the type to have mood swings. She frowned and continued her way home.