***
About thirty minutes before the accident.
'Hm, today was fun.'
I thought while strolling the streets. My eyes shifting from the map on my phone to the view in front of me.
'I'm glad I came out today.'
I had figured something out, something quite important and crucial.
"What were the odds of that happening?", I murmured as I checked the map once more, before making a turn.
'And why today of all days.'
Rumble…
I flinched slightly at the rumbling sound of thunder but looked up after a while.
The sky was dark and lightless, filled with dark and heavy clouds. Occasionally, there was a streak of light through those heavy dark clouds and following that was an especially loud sound that peeved me off.
The familiar scent of rain made it seem like a storm was approaching, but despite all that happening for more than two hours, all that occured was a light drizzle, that barely turned into a cloudburst.
Taking shelter by a nearby store, I went over my situation once more.
Firstly, I knew this wasn't a coincidence. It was odd, I was usually so unlucky but I suddenly found a way out, a solution.
Secondly, I'm recalling more things than I used to. Memories involving his friend group, my unfortunate childhood and Simone.
I paused midway, frozen and in shock.
'Simone? What simone? Why and how did I remember her!?'
I squinted my black eyes, trying to comprehend what was going on, but eventually gave up.
"What's the use of remembering her, I'm dead to her anyway."
I pressed my lips into a bitter smile, but there was not a trace of regret in my words or heart.
Letting myself a moment of silence to gather his thoughts, I continued on my journey to find the gift shop, despite the drizzling rain.
…
I finally spotted the gift shop from afar, and approached it with hastened steps.
After all that hardwork to convince his aunt, it'd be a shame if I couldn't even get her birthday gift on time.
It's a good thing Derrick knew about it or I would've just missed it.
Speaking of that, Ronald was too calm today. Although he had acted out earlier on, he had still come despite his reservations.
That was a stupid thing to do, considering his perpetual bad luck.
As for awesome, she was oddly familiar, but being around her was uncomfortable due to her unusually coloured hair.
'Whatever that doesn't matter, what matters is today's objectives which must and should be completed today.'
I said inwardly as I arrived at the still open gift shop.
'Get aunty's gift, and speak to Jupiter!'
I chuckled to myself at the thought of my second goal.
Speaking to an author about their story. It was something I never thought I'd ever do.
But there's a first time for everything, right?
Drip
A raindrop interrupted his thoughts, and he reached out to touch his hair.
"It's finally raining."
He muttered, feeling relieved.
The rain was like a sore spot that always hurt no matter how long passed, or how hard you tried to relieve it.
Ignoring these thoughts and pent up emotions, I stepped into the shop and looked around.
Recognizing it right away as the shop he had commissioned the gift from.
"I wonder what it is…", I muttered as I approached the counter.
Ding!
I tapped on the bell twice before turning away.
No one was outside so I just wandered around the shop, checking its products out.
Whi- Rumble Rumble
It thundered once more and my hand which was on the shelf paused alongside the rest of my body.
After a while, I looked outside. It had began to rain, and although it wasn't heavy it didn't look like it would stop anytime soon.
Whir whir
'At this rate I'll catch a cold.'
I joked inwardly, but still wondered why the weather had to be so terrible today.
"I'll need to get an umbrella then."
I turned to the counter.
'Where is that old man?', I was astounded. It had been quite a while since I rang the bell, so why wasn't he out yet.
And it was then I remembered the old man had a hearing problem.
"Then what was the essence of the bell.", I muttered to myself.
I walked over to the door beside the counter, and continuously knocked on it.
'I might not get back to the dorms on time. But I won't be able to take a cab, they might not let them into the campus.'
I nudged my glasses which shook as I pondered over what to do next.
"Haa… I'll just walk then. Or I can go to aunt Louise's place early."
'That's not such a bad idea. I'll tell her all about today an-"
Click
Ka- Cha.
The door opened and he greeted the old man.
"Good evening sir, I'm here for my order!"
The shopkeeper had just put out his head to check who was there, but when I greeted so loudly he closed the door and eventually unlocked it before coming outside.
"I'm not deaf, y'know?", he said as he locked the door behind him.
I didn't respond, and just stared at him with dissatisfaction.
'If you know you can't run your store then get a part timer and don't waste customers' time.'
Despite my annoyance, I waited patiently for the shopkeeper, who had walked to his counter after taking a good look at me.
Whir whir
I looked around for a seat, but failed to find one or the seat he previously used.
So I stood in the quiet shop which was livened by the colourful antiques on shelves, packaged gifts on display, the sound that came from the turning of pages, and the sound of the pouring rain on the pavement right outside the open shop.
I looked around the seemingly familiar shop, confused.
Whir whir
I looked up when I heard it again and spotted a ceiling fan.
It creaked as it turned making an odd 'whir' ing sound.
I watched the fan in a daze, many thoughts flashing through my mind. But just then, the shopkeeper called me over, pulling me out of my blank state.
I walked over to the shopkeeper who showed me a huge book.
"Is this it?"
My eyes scanned the name and information under it, then with a simple nod, I affirmed the request.
The shopkeeper looked at me oddly before going back inside.
"I spoke to him yet he's nodding at me. Youngsters this days have no respect.", he muttered as he walked in.
…
I ignored the shopkeeper's mutterings and sat on the stool behind the counter. Then I pulled out my phone as I looked away from the entrance.
'Now let's find that Author.', I thought as I typed out their name and corresponding novel.
I soon found myself on popularnovels.com , a site the Author was active on.
I read through the synopsis of HTFTFL and I found it odd that he, and many others liked such such a simple novel.
I skimmed through the information about the story and discovered four extra chapters were updated today.
"I thought they were on an hiatus.", I muttered as I clicked on the first chapter.
It was a typical story. Of course it had some extraordinary plot twists, but it was extremely bland.
It almost seemed as if this wasn't the finished product.
All the characters roles were rather ambiguous, even the acclaimed villainess, Valeria.
All she did was clash with Anya and she was suddenly deemed a villainess.
"Could there be some sort of backstory or past?", I thought out loud as I clicked on the next button.
But I stopped myself and checked the time.
9:45 PM
'Let's just get this over with.'
I searched for the author's fanfic, and decided to read it a bit before giving a review.
As the story had a more clear pov, it was easy to follow and the distinct roles of the characters were fleshed out. And it all stemmed from their childhood.
It was strange how the author didn't insert all these details into their main story.
But that's not important, right now, I need to leave a terrible review.
He wanted the author to pick up the main story, and stop the fanfic, so he obviously left a bad review.
ITechvan _This fanfic is extremely unnecessary. No one really cares about Valeria, nor do they care about her childhood. Just continue the original novel and let us know how Anya escapes her kidnappers. No offense though, I really love your works._
I set the phone down and watched the shopkeeper open the door and step out.
He handed me a wrapped box and I paid after crosschecking it.
With the gift in hand, I decided to take a cab to his aunt's place.
Ting!
As I walked back home, under the receding rain, I realized I forgot to buy an umbrella but I was distracted from my thoughts by the notification from my phone.
[Thank you ITechvan for your review. But can you tell me just what you like about the main story? And what you dislike most about the fanfic?]
[And yes, while Anya holds an ambiguous position in my mind, Valeria isn't that bad a character.]
I read her response over and over again, I didn't share the same sentiments as he did so it was difficult to respond to his questions.
He stopped by a street lamp on an intersection, and pondered over what to say.
ITechvan _Are you kidding me?! Anya is the best! I expected that from anyone but you. And Valeria is the villainess she's just jealous of Anya's divine powers. I can't wait to see what happens next, so please continue the novel so I don't die of anxiety!_
'I should just exaggerate. After all he liked it this much.'
[Hmm… you seem to really like Anya, so I guess there's not much I can say to convince you otherwise. And sorry to spoil it for you but Valeria is not having a bad ending. Thank you for following my book so loyally, it was nice debating with you.]