Chapter 3

It was finally fall, leaves gradually and steadily losing their will as they came tumbling down on the earth.

An autumn breeze came brushing by caressing him, as he treaded upon his path, leaves rustling upon his footsteps, as he gazed upon the trees, Rei, Rei somehow felt a correlating emotion towards the partially dense trees, he realized how fleeting happiness has been towards his very life.

The aesthetics that has been robbed off without him even knowing, and along with that his ragged heart about to be brought to ruin, it was really a painful feeling..

With his eyes strained, the only that he can only find solace was but the beauty of literacy, words are the only thing that had helped him revitalized his dull world, the exquisiteness of every words he can find it was a gratifying feeling.

With a change of pace, he decided to drop by to a certain bookstore…

"Girl under the lamppost?"

Sandwiched between shelves of books amounting about a hundred he cant help but feel alive, Taking hold of a new book, he skimmed through it.

"Um"

"hmm?"

Capturing his attention was a girl with a feature that can be called pretty, but for some reason she was spewing an aura which can be called plain, if she properly improve her appearance maybe she can be what one may call a model.

"that book?"

"Hmmm, oh yeah, I haven't read it that much, but here you can have it if you want"

"No, no, take your time, what I mean is do you also like Ryo's Works?" Waving a hand with an expression of 'nay' she rather posed Rei a question.

"Oh, nah, actually this is my first time reading some of his works, but to be honest after skimming through it, I think this work's amazing"

"yeah, I know how you feel, I mean after reading his earlier works, it feels like every words of his just likes to tug my heartstrings unraveling it to a whole new unknown emotion that I never felt before"

"that's pretty amazing, maybe I'll start reading his works too"

"yeah, you should, maybe you might fall in love with his works too"

"got it"

"Well then, that was rather rude of me to interrupt your reading, may you excuse me"

With an expression of an "ok", she fared the unknown girl farewell, a strange girl as one might say, she wasn't that fervent as she elaborated her appraisal to a certain author, but judging from her speech she was also very passionate when it comes to literacy.

Forgetting to ask a crucial question as to ask what's her name was, he just shrugged it off, but the other thing that he can only remember of her aside from her physical features was that she was a student from their school ensuing that she was wearing the girl's appropriate uniform from their institution. There is a neat chances of possibilities that they may bumped to each other at school.

"Well then, maybe I'll buy this"

Skimming for about a while, he shut the book off, and was about on the way on the counter but then was suddenly interrupted by a voice of a coarse tone.

"Don't move!"

"This is a hold up, give us all your cash, if you don't want to get hurt"

There by the counter was two individuals, their face obscured with the banal black guise of which a robber usually wears, within their hands a gun.

"Hurry the fuck up! Want me to shoot a hole to your head!"

the clerk terrified to the bone can do nothing but follow their orders, Rei of course was also afraid of dying, so he can do nothing but witness the scene helplessly.

"huh? What the fuck are you doing? Who told you to move?"

One of the robber's suddenly shouted and pointed a gun towards an aisle which to Rei cant even perceive because of the obscuring shelves, but he can hear it, footsteps with a taping sound.

Then suddenly with a loud echoing bang.

"What the hell did you do? Were not suppose to shoot"

"but that guy...huh?"

Trailing off, with an expression describing a confused sound, both of the robbers looked at the direction in which the gunfire was shot off, even with their obscured mask, Rei can pretty much figure out that their was something wrong, their gaping eyes and mouth are filled with nothing but shock..

Creak… followed by something thumping down the ground-the gun,

Twisted in a horrendous position brought by the sound of bones breaking, one of the robber's fingers wrung to a position where each fingers raggedly tried to reach the back of his palm..

"Arghhhh!" he fell down to the tiled ground, anguishing, writhing, with nothing but screams hollering from his mouth, as he curved hugging his own hands.

"Hey! Are you alright? You brat what did you do?"

Avenging his partner, the robber of still-healthier constituent, pointed his gun towards the certain direction in which the unknown individual was in.

The sound continued once more as if it was the only thing echoing in this tense atmosphere, it gradually grew closer and closer with each tap of their footwear the robber started quivering.

"Arghh, FUCKING SHOOT HIM! HURRY UP! JUST SHOOT HIM! HE'S NOT A FUCKING HUMAN!"

"kuh, AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

unceasing sound of cursing bellowed from the robber that was curled up on the ground, which was then followed by a fervent shout and rapid fires from a certain gun.

Crimson sprayed about on the air, as a river of red streamed down on the cold hard ground, but instead of which the rapid fire was directed at, the sources of blood that was splaying about was the one holding the gun, spewing thick amounts of blood, he had fallen down to the ground, his downfallen body giving signs of a riddled hole.

Then within Rei's monotonous sight reveals a figure of his late teens or his twenties with a blank look within his face, in his hands came a book of somewhat a dark binding, the only thing echoing within this stagnant dreary atmosphere was only the sound of a footfall closing his distant within the reception area.

"Excuse me, I would like to purchase this"

"A… a.. yes! That would be $600"

Rei felt a chill down crawling down within his spine, as he just witnessed a scene that was evoking the impossible.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It was very much a silent environment, and a cool ambience which was evoking a pleasing atmosphere to a particular reader, pages turning, slight amount of breeze can be blowing here and there, but it was still satisfying, it was fairly autumn but strangely the sun still showered the earth.

Rei was on the rooftop of the school, and he was cutting classes in order to read a certain book, but despite such convenient circumstances he couldn't focus as much as he wants, his mind was on a collision, because of a certain incident back then.

"ring"

The door came opening sounding an alarm of a ringing bell, brought Rei back to reality and gazed at the door, the individual was exiting and with his hand a paper bag, and just blended in with the outside surrounding like nothing happened.

After that was pretty much the usual crime-scene thing, where police came and inquired all that had happened, Rei frankly responded with what exactly happened, revealing all the things perceptible to the human eyes, but to Rei, he saw something different in that man, in contrast to the man's nonchalant expression was a scorching color of dark red within his atmosphere.

But now he can finally ascertain the differences, the differences of those who are suffused with palette and those who are not, the puzzles are all within their places.

"thump" a sound of which something just hit something metal ringed within this silent atmosphere.

Disrupting Rei's train of though was a girl standing on the rooftop railing.

Her long hair swaying and carried on by the light breeze, despite being on a place that one false move could even result to death, she remained standstill not even bothered by the ambiance brought by the wind.

"Hey, get down from there! That's dangerous!"

"Hmmm? Never would have thought that there is someone here in this time of the day"

Something brushed within Rei's mind, it was something that he must have heard recently, once and a while he chancily heard the rumors of a ghost story where a girl can be seen standing at the roof's railings within this school, but never had he thought that he can witnessed it directly, and what's more an air of animosity can be perceived within this girl.

"Quite ironic isn't it? Each one of us are capable of solitude, one may said that solitude is our greatest gift, and yet it is the gift that connects us to people, each sequences that is flashing before our eyes are entailed by such actions, what about you? What do you think of this world now?"

With a tone that can be uprightly said to be composed, without even a tinge of anxiety, fear, worry, guilt, and not even moving from her initial position, she rather asked a question.

"The world?"

"Do you believe the world is moving at a steady pace of progressive civilization, without even a sign of inconsistent change? Or can you perceive something different? A difference in which you are predisposed to see"

"Huh? You can also see them?"

"Hmm, judging from your answer, I seem to have reached mine also"

"What do you mean?"

Her hair, her dress being caressed in the air as the girl made a twirling turn, nothing can be described what can be seen but pretty.

"You have been given a purpose it seems"

The girl flung herself within the air, but instead of a reaction where gravity pulls her down naturally, she tip toed delicately in the air, gliding smoothly and slowly as she makes herself on the same ground as Rei, her lips were in a straight line and with her narrowing eyes, she looked straight on towards Rei.

"huh"

"heheheh"

Her laughing felt like a mock to Rei's surprised look, to Rei the supernatural has gotten quite natural for him after seeing those that cant be seen, the only thing that had gotten him surprised was that that girl,

that girl was the one he had chatted to back then recently at the bookstore, the girl who had praised a certain literary author.

"Will you go out with me?"

The girl that was still in question and was full of enigma, along with the momentum of a light breeze suddenly confessed to Rei in calming manner.