Awkward Visit

Before I knew it, I was like one of Mr. Idris' family members. Speaking of which... I was yet to see anyone else in the house. I had heard a girl's voice, who was apparently Mr. Idris' daughter, but I had not encountered her yet.

Mr. Idris had made us some tea, and we were drinking it together down in the book store. I was listening to the sounds of rain and the wooden floor while wandering around the shelves with the tea cup in my hand. Mr. Idris, on the other hand, was watching me with a hint of happiness on his face. I was ocassionally looking at his direction to see what he was up to...

I was feeling a bit weird around him. He was friendly, sincere... but I didn't really know him after all! If we weren't in his house already, I would think that he was trying to kidnap a child or something.

"I have a few things to take care of." Mr. Idris said, leaving his tea cup on the store's checkout table. "If you need anything, don't hesitate, just let me know."

"Of course!" I said, trying to smile. He left the shop and went upstairs.

Now that he couldn't see me, I really wanted to sneak out of the store without seeing him again. The rain? I didn't care. The only thing I wanted was to get rid of the awkwardness.

Just when I was about to put down my half-full tea cup and run away, I noticed someone standing by me. I was startled. I almost spilled my remaining cup of tea.

A short girl had appeared just next to me. Seeing that she startled me, she immediately went red.

"A-ah... I... I wasn't trying to-" she was trying to apologise with a barely audible voice.

"It is okay, it is okay!" I tried to calm her down. "I just wasn't expecting to... eh... you know..."

She looked down, breathed in, and spoke a short sentence. Unfortunately, she was speaking so quietly I couldn't hear her.

"Uh... Sorry, can you please say it again?" I asked, making my own voice almost as quiet as hers... perhaps involuntarily.

"Oh, sorry..." she apologised again. "I was saying... May I help you?" she asked.

I was confused for a couple of seconds, but then, I understood what was going on. She had probably thought that I was a customer. She might not have thought a lot about the tea cup...

"Oh, I was just looking around." I said. "I am not here to buy a book. There is nothing specific I am looking for at this time."

"Ah, then, sorry for bothering you!" she apologised once more. "I thought- I will leave you alone now, mister!"

Such a shy girl... I stopped her when she was about to walk away.

"Sena?" I called her by her name.

"Eh!? Yes?" she turned around. She was obviously a bit anxious.

"May I ask how old you are?"

"I'm... 19." she answered. I was shocked. She was looking a lot younger than she actually was!

"Oh, I thought that-" I swallowed my words up. "You are looking a lot younger."

"T-t-thanks?" she said. "Do we know each other?"

I felt like a lightning hit me, paralysing my entire body for a moment. It was the moment I realised that I was being the creepy one now!

"I'm sorry." I said. "No, I don't know you. I just happened to hear your name, I guess."

I couldn't tell her about all the stuff that just happened; how her father invited me in and all that... The awkwardness! I was never even going to pass by this book store again!

"Are you a university student?" she asked me.

"How did you know!?"

"I never saw you around here." she said. "You must be new."

"I am." I said. "I came here a few weeks ago."

"This town almost never gets visitors except for university students." she said. "Thanks to that university, we have a stable population here. Most businesses around here only have students as their customers. If it wasn't for that, everyone could probably just leave this neighborhood, and the elderly would just die out in a couple of decades, maybe..."

This was definitely an interesting perspective to look at things.

"How long have you been here?" I asked her.

"I was born here, but I want to leave this place as soon as I get the chance." she said. "You see, there is not much to do around here."

As she was talking to me, her shyness was disappearing. The further she was getting into the conversation, the more friendly and sociable she was being.

I heard the sound of a door opening. Mr. Idris was back.

"It is getting late." he said. "The rain is still going on, but you should get underway, my friend. It is going to get real dark soon."

"Why can't he just stay here tonight?" Sena asked. I thought I misheard it, but his father's response cleared up my short confusion.

"Is there anyone waiting for you, friend?" Mr. Idris asked.

"My aunt will probably get very worried if I don't return home soon." I said.

"So..." Mr. Idris said. "You seem like a nice person. Please feel free to pay a visit every now and then. In fact, DO pay a visit every now and then!"

"Uh... sure." I replied.

Sena noticed the little emotional fight in my head.

"Please excuse me and my father." she said. "In this lonely, forgotten town, it is a very big deal to host a guest from outside... We sometimes try too hard to be hospitable and compassionate."

"I can see." I said. We all laughed a little. I was relieved a bit too, since I knew that they had also noticed the weird atmosphere. "Well, I should leave now."

"Okay, but wait a bit." Mr. Idris said. "Let Sena accompany you."

"It is okay, I can go by myself." I said.

"A-are you sure?" Mr. Idris asked. Both him and his daughter were looking a bit worried.

"Hey, it isn't the first time I got caught in a rain!" I said.

"It isn't that!" Sena said.

I waited for them to explain what it was, but no one said anything. I eventually asked myself.

"So... what is it?"

The father and daughter looked at each other.

"You don't know?" Mr. Idris asked.

"I don't know what?" I asked back.

"Even your aunt didn't tell you?" Sena asked another vague question.

"What are you talking about!?"