It had been a while since Analyn had ridden a bicycle - how long had it been exactly, about 2 years or so? She could no longer recall the last time she had done it, but she was gratified to find that she still had the hang of it. Even better, it was almost as if it hadn’t even been two years since she last rode her bike, which was back at her family’s house in the Philippines, probably rusting away in a corner of the garage, or if not, being used by her brothers.
As Ana zipped down the street on the bike one of her flatmates had lent her, (she was still pretty bad at remembering their names - all she knew was that it was the pretty, rich girl and apparently, this wasn’t the only bicycle she owned.) she found that there was very little difference between riding this bike and riding her own. The way the handlebars felt in her hands was such a familiar feeling and the movement of her feet on the pedal felt liberating for some reason. The wind on her cheek as she turned a sharp corner and sped along the side of the road felt refreshing and just like the wind back at home, when she would ride her bike around the village every afternoon with her friends, laughing and talking and relishing every moment as they watched the sunset sweep past them on the distant horizon.
Unfortunately, the wind here was accompanied by a torrent of rain which Analyn could barely see through and the loud, rumbling sound of thunder. Yes, the girl was currently riding her bike through a storm. Why? The answer lay in her lumpy sling bag, which rested in the bicycle’s front basket, whose top was covered by a small tarp to keep it from getting wet. Ana herself had a large raincoat wrapped around her body, the hood up to protect the top of her head from the fat raindrops falling from the dark gray heavens, along with a pair of black rubber boots on her feet and just in case, the handle of an umbrella could be seen jutting out of the front basket.
But as stormy as the weather was, the young girl found that she really didn’t mind that much. Sure, she was probably already soaked to the bone and who knew how long this storm was going to last, but Analyn loved every moment she spent on her bike and she was actually enjoying it so far.
Until she failed to pay attention to where she was going and crashed right into a pole that she didn’t have the foresight to dodge. She let out a cry of pain as she fell down the wet pavement, her bike crashing down beside her.
She sat there in the middle of a large puddle for a moment, cursing through gritted teeth at the scratches and bruises the fall had caused her, along with the sore pain still shooting across her limbs - before her mind was suddenly filled with the thought of her sling bag and its contents. She wasn’t even aware of the girl who had just approached her, holding a hand out for her. Managing to get to her feet by herself, she stumbled towards the basket and completely tore the tarp off to peer inside.
“Oh thank God!” She breathed in relief as she grabbed the bag and quickly tucked it away under her raincoat. Turning back to the bike, she grabbed the umbrella in the basket and shook it out, holding it over her head before finally giving her full attention to the younger girl. She pursed her lips, glancing back down at her bike, before turning back to the girl and asking her, “You don’t happen to have a garage where I can put this, right?”
✿ —— Akari could only recall a few memories spent outside during the rain. She had gone out in the rain a lot when she was younger, but that eventually stopped when she grew up. Those moments were associated with laughter and jumping on puddles and catching raindrops in her mouth. Nothing like the current circumstances. Some things were the same, like water sticking her shirt to her back and the way that the rain looked like sparkles if you looked at the ground. But it was different now, because this time there were no sounds made by other children’s shoes hitting the wet ground, no teasing voices mingling with the sound of rain. Her parents wouldn’t have let her out in weather this bad. And instead of reveling at the chill she felt when the water soaked her skin and her clothes and her hair, she was shivering and she wanted nothing more than to go back inside and fix herself another cup of coffee.
She dropped her hand when she noticed that the other had already gotten up by herself. Ears that heard the voice that didn’t belong to her and brown eyes now used to the distortion the rain created were able to identify that the biker was a girl with short dark hair. Apology colored her tone. “Gomen. My house is too far to walk to in this weather and I don’t know if the people living in these parts will be able to hear us over the rain.” She had to exert effort to be audible to someone who was a foot or so away. It would be much harder, with walls absorbing sound and the doors being meters away from the gates.
“You’ll have to settle for the flower shop. I work there. I’ll lead you and help you bring your bike, if you want." There was a porch roof above the entrance, sloping down from the rest of the roof. They could bring the bike there and tie it to one of the pillars that stood on either side of the door. Placing the bike inside the shop itself just wouldn’t do. "My boss won’t mind if she finds you when she gets back. She’s really nice.” Except for that time when she and Akari’s co-worker had endlessly pleaded with her to take this shift. That wasn’t very nice. Look where it got her. But, she supposed, there were a few good things about it. Where would the stranger have gone if she hadn’t gone out of the flower shop to help? Selfishness wasn’t a flaw that she wanted to have, and being upset about the situation when there was somebody else in the equation was selfish, wasn’t it?
A glance at the bike that was sprawled on the pavement. Lips opened to release the countless questions— “Why were you riding your bike in this weather? Didn’t you watch the weather report or see the sky?” But she pressed them together just in time to stop the words from filling the damp air between them. They could be taken as rude, and she could pry for answers when there was warmth around them. For now, it would be best to focus on the situation.
✿ —— The warmth from the half-full mug of coffee (which is honestly more like milk with coffee, and not the other way around) does well to chase the chill away from her bones, but it doesn’t do so much in the boredom department. Watching the raindrops slide down the glass window in the employees room of her workplace isn’t very entertaining, either. The tiny TV’s just plain annoying; the storm must be tampering with the signal. She can’t get a channel without the screen breaking apart in static every few minutes.
But she has already agreed to take this shift for a co-worker. Working on rainy days is positively horrid; and this one doesn’t even look rainy. It’s stormy. She doesn’t want to go back into the main part of the shop. She’ll just get splattered with water. Besides, who in their right mind would go shopping for flowers in this weather?
So she just resorts to sitting by the window, fingers flying over the screen of her phone as she sends messages of complaint to Miou and Natsuki. Most of the messages fail to send. With a sigh of resignation, her gaze flickers towards the foggy window.
The sight she sees almost makes her choke on her beverage, which she barely manages to swallow in time.Because behind the shop, a biker has just crashed into a pole. What kind of insane person would go biking in this weather?
Finally, after a few minutes of negotiation, the angel on her right shoulder wins and she dons her jacket and a pair of yellow boots at least two sizes too big. A deep breath, and she heads out. The features of the stranger are obscured by the thickening mist, but that doesn’t deter her. Introductions can be held inside, preferably in front of a heater.
“Take my hand!" Goosebumps rise everywhere, as raindrops assault her body.
