Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Rainy Nights ❯ Rainy Nights ( Chapter 1 )

Rainy Nights

 

It had been a long day. The once so bright evening had rapidly changed into chaos of grey clouds. Not long after, rain started to pour down over the city of Copenhagen, showing no signs of ceasing.

 

Esben stepped out of the bus he glanced at the sky, annoyed. With a small “huff” he tugged the collar of his jacket tightly against his ears. He hated it when his ears got cold. He hated the rainy nights, and he hated the fact that there wasn't enough streetlamps to light up in the dark whenever he had to walk home at night. In fact, Esben hated a lot of things.

 

Suddenly, a cold wind blew against his handsome brown hair tousled in every direction, Esben shivered. His clear blue eyes stared accusingly in the direction of the wind.

 

`Wonderful' he thought irritated, `Let's have a storm while we're at it'. He picked up his pace, not wanting to be out in the harsh weather any longer that according to Esben, only the small country of Denmark could provide.

 

`I should really consider moving…'Esben thought as a car passed by him in that moment spraying him with water, `…to a different country,' more annoyed now, than ever, as he looked down at his drenched jacket and pants. He shook his head at himself; he should just focus on getting home and get out of these wet clothes before he caught a cold. He hated being ill. He once broke up with a woman because she was always ill…

 

He walked faster with steady steps down the pavement; the bus stop was 20 minutes away from his home. Esben lived on the fifth floor second door to the right. It was a small flat, but comfortable. Esben liked it. For the first time in his twenty-five yearlong life he had found solace in an area his parents hated.

 

Esben had spent his childhood in the so-called "better parts" of Copenhagen. His father was a businessman and his mother a housewife. His mother's life consisted of nothing better to do than to make sure that her only child didn't do anything inappropriate, and encourage him to take over his father's company. A small smirk made its way into his features as he remembered the many rainy nights he snuck out of his bedroom window, out into the nature. Esben halted and came to a complete stop; he gazed out in the night, the rain slightly blurring his sight.

 

As a young child he had loved the rain… he once loved everything that had to do with nature and the peace that came with it. More than once he had tricked his parents into to taking him to the zoo. The cold wind blew against him again, snapping him back into reality.

 

Esben felt like laughing mockingly at himself. He was no longer a child, but a man…A MAN! Not a child with stupid fantasies and worthless dreams of a better world.

 

Esben wiped away the hair that was plastered against his forehead.

 

“I really should get home” he muttered to himself, he was still 12 minutes away from the building he lived in. He was about to continue walking when a chilling feeling suddenly traveled up through his spine.

 

Someone was watching him.

 

Esben's eyes widened a bit, but he forced himself to stay calm.

 

`Stay cool Esben' he thought reassuring and closed his eyes, `It could be nothing but a bird…' he smirked to himself in a cool manner and slowly opened his eyes again, `yes, nothing but a tiny birdie'.

 

Quickly he turned his head to look behind him his eyes frantically searching the place for another presence. Seeing nothing, he closed his eyes in relief letting out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. Esben put his hands down into his jacket pockets and slowly placed one foot in front of the other. He turned his head and his eyes widen to the size of plats when he almost walked into the girl standing in front of him.

 

Esben stood in shock, where had this girl come from? He certainly hadn't heard her footsteps. Who was she? Slowly recovering he simply stared at the girl in front of him. The girl was dressed in a long thick black coat that went all the way down to her knees; her long raven hair was pulled back in a ponytail that was braided. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses, what was a bit weird for this kind of weather. Esben noticed a bandage on her upper left arm; similar to the kinds that blind people would wear. His eyes travel down her left arm to her hand, where she was holding a cane. This was strange if this girl was blind, shouldn't he have been able to hear her when she arrived?

 

The two of them stood silently in the rain; the girl looked patient as if she was waiting for him to speak. Finally recovered Esben managed to form some words to speak.

 

“C-can I help you?” Esben slowly drawled out. At the sound of his voice the girl's face brighten in an over cheery smile.

 

“Indeed you can…Esben,” the girl said smiling.

 

Esben's mouth flew open when he heard the girl say his name. A sweat drop danced down his face.

 

“H-how do you know my name?” Esben slightly stuttered, pointing out his finger at her, even though she wouldn't be able to see it.

 

The girl furrowed her eyebrows at him, her smile change into a confused expression.

 

“Why shouldn't I know it? You told me your name,” the girl stated.

 

Esben took a couple of steps back pointing his finger in fear of her.

 

“I haven't done such thing!” he said outrage his voice cracking, “I have never seen you before today…I don't even know who you are!”

 

The girl smiled her over cheery smile again. A smile that begun to really irritate Esben beyond anything in this world. It felt as if she was mocking him.

 

“Well its true that you have never seen me like this before… but you do know who I am, how else would I know your name” she said in almost singsong voice.

 

Esben just stared at her, still having no clue. His eyebrows met in frustration. He took in a deep breath.

 

“Fine! You know who I am, but I don't know who you are. What's your name?” he asked, his annoyance clearly starting to show in his voice.

 

“Ia” the girl answered.

 

“Ia” Esben puzzled repeated. She looked at him; somewhat expecting him to recognized her name. An awkward silence fell upon the two of them as a curse. Then suddenly Ia smacked her right hand against her forehead and let out a small cheerful laugh.

 

“Of course” she laughed out and then said, “I'm the Goddess Ia”.

 

Esben just glanced at her, as if that answer was going to clear everything up for him.

 

`This is indeed a strange rainy night' Esben thought to himself as he looked at the girl in front of him who claiming to be a goddess. Esben crossed his arms and shot her an incredulous glare.

 

“You're a goddess?” he asked with a fake genuine voice.

 

Ia nodded her head a bit too energetically. The sight was truly amusing to Esben as he was on the verge to bend over and laugh the life out of himself.

 

“Okay, so what element are you the goddess of?” Esben asked sarcastically

 

“This part of the solar system” She responded with a true genuine voice.

 

Esben rolled his eyes at her and almost laughed when he saw Ia looked up into the sky.

 

“There's a lot of haku tonight” she said. Esben looked at her, confusion written all over his face.

 

“Haku?” he repeated.

 

Ia looked in his direction again and smiled her smile.

 

“Haku is what humans used to call water,” she answered.

 

A strange feeling entered Esben's body, there was something strange about this girl, but… these strange feelings he felt… felt nice. His incredulous thoughts about her were fading away. Was he actually starting to believe this girl? Could his thoughts about her change that fast?

 

“I need your help” he heard her say. Esben lightly shook his head he was more confused that he had ever been in his life.

 

“Why would you need help? Aren't you a goddess?” he asked with slight skepticism

 

Ia walked up to Esben and pressed her right hand to his cheek and smiled a knowing smile.

 

It was weird, the way her smile could comfort him. She brought out the same sense of peace he had felt as a child.

 

“I need you to make people believe again,” she said warmly.

 

“Why?” Esben asked silently he didn't understand. Ia smiled her over cheery smile again.

 

“Because I was right,” she answered in her singsong voice, “Now, will you help me?”

 

Esben shook his head amused at her eagerness, in the few moments he had talk to the girl… his life had slowly changed.

 

“Sure, why not” he shrugged at her; After all who would it hurt. Inwardly Ia smiled a secret smile. Ia reached for something inside her long coat. She pulled out a necklace. It was a simple string strapped to a piece of round wood through a hole. Ia placed it around Esben's neck.

 

“A gift” was all she said. Esben lightly touched it with his fingers.

 

“Ia” he said and looked at her, uncertainty showing in his eyes, “What did you mean when you said you were right? What were you right about?”

 

Ia smiled her cheery smile, “life” she said curtly, “That you can live to die!”

 

Esben didn't understand her meaning with the phrase. He looked down at his gift only for a second and as he looked up he found Ia gone. Just as she mysteriously appeared in front of him, so had she mysteriously dissolved into nothingness!

 

Esben stared into the empty space where Ia once stood.

 

“Huh, I guess you are some kind of goddess” Esben muttered to himself his eyes searching around the place while fingering his gift. He didn't know how long he had been standing in the rain and knew he would get ill, but he didn't care.

 

He didn't hate rainy nights anymore.