Behind me was that girl, who was supposed to have been unconscious until just a moment ago.
I noticed that her eyes were blue as she stared intently at my face, and I guessed that she probably was a foreigner.
No, that's not the first thing I should think about. First, I should check on her safety and understand her situation.
The moment I was about to ask, "Are you okay?", a sudden shock caused me to utter an inarticulate voice of surprise and anxiety instead of the words I originally intended.
"...Huh!?"
The reason is simple. She had a windbreaker on her... that's all. What would happen to the windbreaker if she stood up? That's obvious. The windbreaker lying behind her is the answer.
"Oh, your clothes! Put them on quickly!"
My voice cracked, and I quickly turned my back on her.
There was no reply, but enough time had passed for me to turn my back to her and put on my windbreaker.
I timidly turned my gaze back to her and saw her looking straight at me, dressed exactly the same as before.
"Why not?"
I turns my back on her again.
I tried to see what she's doing over my shoulder, but she shows no sign of moving.
Do they not speak the same language? Her hair and eye color are certainly far from those of the people of my country. It is easy to imagine that she can not speak the same language, but even so, I do not understand why she is not wearing clothes. First of all, I need to do something about her appearance.
I move to the windbreaker, trying not to let her see me, and pick it up. This time I'll make sure she puts her arms through it properly.
...Here, I notice a problem.
How do I put on this windbreaker?
I hadn't thought about how to explain to her who didn't wear clothes herself and didn't speak the same language how to get her to wear it.
Do I have to put it on? But if I do that, she'll be in my field of vision whether I like it or not.
I try to think of a way to get out of this situation, but nothing comes to mind.
It's a long shot, but I'll try telling her to put on my windbreaker again.
Taking a deep breath, I turned towards her, but my eyes shifted diagonally downwards to the right, and I tried to speak the words that were not yet fully formed in my head, but...
She rubbed her shoulders and sat down.
"Hey! Are you okay?"
I approached her, forgetting all about my worries, and as I put my windbreaker over her, I noticed something. The white flower she was holding in her left hand as she rubbed her shoulders had once shone brightly like a street lamp, but now it was faint, barely noticeable in the dark space.
First of all, are there flowers that emit such a bright light? I've never heard of any glowing flowers existing.
...I'm thinking about unnecessary things again. Rather than worrying about such things, I have to prioritize her safety, as she is shivering from the cold...
Thinking about whether there is anything else you can do for her.
I've been racking my brains more than I can remember in a while, but I can't come up with any good ideas.
Just as I was starting to feel frustrated at my own helplessness, I saw the light of a car's headlights from the direction of my house. The sound of tires rolling on the asphalt and the roaring sound of an engine, as if someone was stepping hard on the accelerator, were getting closer and closer.
The approaching car was definitely my grandfather's.
When he parked the car next to the shrine I saw my grandfather get out of the car, I felt a great sense of relief for the first time in my life, and I let out a sigh of relief, clearing away the tension that had been building up inside me.
"Cherry! here you are!"
"Thank you for coming so quickly! Anyways, where's the blanket !"
"Here... but why is she naked?!"
Although he was shaken, grandpa quickly covered her with a blanket that was in the car. The girl covered in the blanket didn't say a word, but just looked at me and grandpa with a puzzled look on her face.
"Let me put you in the car for now. Can you walk, little girl?"
She doesn't answer Grandpa's question, and her puzzled expression remains unchanged.
"What? You don't understand the words?"
"That seems to be the case. No matter what I said, it didn't get through to her..."
"Well, that makes things even more difficult... For now, I'd like you to get warmed up in the car..."
While thinking about how inconvenient it can be not being able to communicate, I decided to do something about my short-sleeved outfit and headed to the car to put on the jacket that grandpa had brought for me.
When I opened the door to the back of the car and saw my jacket thrown around carelessly without being folded, I realized how quickly my usually meticulous grandpa had rushed.
I put on my jacket and turned towards the shrine again, and the girl who had been hunched over from the cold a moment ago was now right behind me.
"Wow! That's a surprise!"
"When she saw you go to the car,she got up and followed you."
If so, I wish you had told me beforehand.
As I watched her continue to stare, a thought occurred to me.
If her current behavior is due to her following me, then if I get in the car, will she come with me?
Thinking I'd give it a try, I got in the car, sat in the back seat on the driver's side, and tapped the empty back seat on the passenger side twice.
"Hey, just sit here for now."
Watching my actions, she timidly entered the car and tapped the seat twice, imitating the part I had been hitting.
"Oops, I got it!"
However, my relief was short-lived, as she looked at me intently, then got out of the car as if she had noticed something.
"Hey! Why are you getting off?!"
Even though I knew that my words wouldn't be conveyed, she didn't respond to the words that came out of my mouth. She gently placed the white flower she was holding at my feet, and then, she removed the blanket that was lying around her.
The scene was extremely stimulating for a man who was only wearing a windbreaker under and jacket, and my grandfather let out a cry of surprise and confusion that was inappropriate for someone his age.
I didn't understand the meaning of her behavior, but I didn't want a repeat of what had happened earlier, so when I tried to get out of the car to cover her with the blanket again, something happened that confused me even more.
It was her, searching for the sleeves of the windbreaker she was wearing, and beginning to put her arms through them unfamiliarly. She hadn't even bothered to put on a jacket until now, let alone being naked, so I didn't understand why she was putting her arms through them now.
With unfamiliar movements, she put her sleeves on and then wrapped herself in the blanket again. She picked up a white flower at her feet and returned to the car, where she patted the same spot she had before twice before sitting down.
There are far too many puzzling points, but for now I'm happy that my request has been conveyed.
I stopped thinking about it and came to the arbitrary conclusion that she must not have been born in this country, but had come here for some reason from some faraway country where there is no culture of wearing clothing.
"Let's go home and warm ourselves up, then we'll go to the police."
The old man said this as he sat in the driver's seat, turned the key, and started the car.
During the short time it took her to get home, she gazed out the window at the scenery passing by like a child.