Library of Rain

Making Friends

When Rain woke, it took her a while to get out of bed. The way yesterday had ended left her in a sour mood. Eventually, she got herself motivated by thinking about the things she needed to do. She needed to gain more information on the state of things. How was the slave trade so brazen? Why was the capital city so depopulated it had an entire ring abandoned? Why had communication with the mainland stopped? Who were the important players?

Rain’s stomach growled. The last time she had eaten was a day and a half ago. Before she could do anything, she needed to find food. 

Swinging her feet out of bed, she sat up. Looking down at herself, Rain realized that her cloak was in better condition than she remembered. Its holes were much smaller, and its sleeves and bottom were far less ripped and jagged. Rain rubbed it between two fingers; if anything, it felt softer than when she first found it.

She wasn’t sure what was happening with the strange cloak, but she was happy about it. The cloak was the first thing she had ever owned, and she was fond of it. Seeing it fix itself was like seeing a friend get better after a sickness; at least, that's how Rain imagined it felt. She had never had a friend besides Mr. Purple, and he couldn’t get sick.

Rain made her way out of the library. Whenever she passed a book that talked, whispered, or screamed, she would wish them a good morning. She figured that if they could talk, they might answer her. She was only slightly disappointed that none of them seemed to understand her. 

The sky outside was overcast and gray, leaving the dark stone and timber city below in a gloomy atmosphere. Rain headed towards a larger market square that she had liked. Today, she was much more aware of her surroundings than yesterday. She wouldn’t allow anyone to jump her again. 

When Rain arrived at the square, she found it far more crowded than expected. In the center was a stage that hadn't been there before. Standing on it was a man in elaborate gold and green robes. 

“These troubles that plague the archipelago will not abate until you repent and show your faith by bringing tithes to Agro’s temple!”

Rain was taken aback by the black pitch of the man's words. The only true thing he said was the name of his god.

“Agro loves the people of the Isles but lacks the power to help us! If the people of this city gave their faith to him with their tithes, he would be able to bring safety to us all!”

More inky darkness poured from the man's lips as he spoke. By this point, Rain was sure that this Argo fellow didn’t care at all for these people and just wanted their money. The crowd, however, were muttering. Things were bad and only getting worse. Rain guessed that more than a few would give their money, hoping it might improve things. 

Poor Fools.

Turning away from the liar, Rain pushed through the crowd toward where vendors had been selling food yesterday. Eventually, she made it to a cart she had been eyeing yesterday. Behind it was a large man selling meat skewers.

A sign beside the cart stated a price of 4 opps a skewer. Walking in front of the cart, Rain reached up to place one of her coins on the cart. 

“I’d like two, please.” Rain said as confidently as she could.

Hopefully, the man would accept her coin as a ver. 

It’s larger than a ver, so I should be fine, right?

The man looked down at her and then at the coin she had deposited on his cart.

“Where in Arkit did you steal this from kid?” the man asked. “What do you think would happen if I called the guards?”

The man reached for the coin with a gleam in his eye that made Rain uneasy.

Trusting her instincts, she snatched away the coin before the man could grab it and bolted away. She heard the man shouting behind her but quickly got lost in the crowd. Despite feeling that she had escaped, she didn’t stop running. She would try to get food again somewhere else.

Rain pelted straight into a young boy as she slid around a corner, knocking them both off their feet. 

Scrambling back up, Rain rushed over to the boy.

“Are you alright?” she asked, anxiously shifting from foot to foot. 

The boy looked up at her ruefully.

“Yeah. Help me up?” he asked, sticking out a hand.

Rain blinked. Did he just answer me and offer to let me touch him?

Rain grasped his hand and pulled him up, walking around him to check for injuries. His brown pants were a little dirty, but he seemed fine. The boy had brown hair and a white flower-coated apron. He looked to be around her age.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” Rain kept repeating. 

This was the first person who didn’t seem to hate her on sight. Would he be mad at her now because she knocked him down?

The boy just laughed. “It's ok. I've had to run from bullies before, too. Do you need a place to hide?”

The boy's eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief. 

“I…” Rain looked behind her. There was no hint of someone following her.

“No, I think I’m okay,” she said tentatively. 

Should I do it? 

There was something Rain really wanted to do, but she had never done it before. What if she did it wrong? What if he laughed at her? Hesitating only for a moment, she clenched her hands and pushed onward.

“My name is Rain, what's yours?” there she did it! She introduced herself using the name she chose. It had been a little stiff, but she did it! How would he respond? He wouldn’t laugh or suddenly decide she was creepy, right?

“I'm Lon.” the boy said with a cheerful smile.

Success! 

Rain was bouncing up and down with joy, unaware of her actions. Did this count as making a friend? Did this mean she could ask him to play the game with the inflated bladder with her? Or maybe the game with the pebbles that the kids in the pen used to play. Was there another game he could teach her about?

A loud growling came from her stomach before she could ask any of these things, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in a while. 

Lon looked at her. “Are you hungry?”

Rain slumped in disappointment. Why? This had been her big chance to play with her first friend. Why had her stupid hunger ruined it?

“Wait here for one second,” Lon said before ducking into a side entrance to the bakery they were standing by.

Before Rain could wonder what was happening, Lon had reappeared holding a small loaf of bread with a burnt end.

“Sorry that it's burnt. I'm still learning.” Lon said sadly. “Pa keeps yelling at me for being a bad baker. Says I'm a worthless apprentice.” 

At this point, Lon finally realized that Rain had already eaten most of the loaf, burnt crust and all.

“Oh,” he said in a small voice, “I guess you were more hungry than I thought. I would give you more, but Pa will get mad at me if I give away good bread.”

“Won’t he get mad at you for giving me that loaf then?” Rain asked, eyes widening. “Here,” she said, offering him one of her coins.

Lon took the coin and looked at it. “What is this? I've never seen a coin like this. It's so big, and there's no hole in the middle; how are you supposed to put it on your string?” 

Rain had no idea how to answer any of his questions. “I don’t know. I found it a couple days ago. It's the only money I have.”

Lon took one last look at it and handed it back. “This might belong to someone important. If they find it and think I stole it, my whole family could get in trouble. Don't worry about the bread. Pa would have had me throw it out anyway.”

“Ok,” Rain answered; mustering up her courage, she decided to ask him to play with her again.

“Do you want to,” before she could finish her question, a voice bellowed from out of the bakery.

“Boy. Get your ass in here!”

Lon jumped and rushed toward the door.

Rain was not going to let this chance pass her by. “Can I come talk to you tomorrow?” she blurted out before he could disappear.

“Sure,” he called as he disappeared into the bakery.

Rain could have jumped for joy. She had done it. She had made a friend, and tomorrow, she would ask him to play with her. Maybe she should spy on the children playing from yesterday; that way, she could impress Lon with how well she knew the rules. Thinking about all the fun things she would do tomorrow, Rain skipped away, glad she had decided to get up this morning.