there must be a happy ending

1

What does it feel like to be helpless and scared at the same time?

Chavi knows. When she was in sixth grade and alone at home, it was raining heavily and there was no electricity due to the heavy rain because of it. The clouds thundered just the way they were doing now. Everything happening now reminded her of the night when she was alone for a few hours.

Her grandmother was asleep then, so like any other sixth grader, what would you do when you get scared about situations like this?

You hide under your bed or a table. And that's exactly what 19-year-old Chavi did as well. Because she knows best that when you are helpless and scared about the situation, you hide. For the time being. It's much better than facing them because then you don't have to worry about the things anymore.

You don't need to fight the storms. But you need to wait for them to go away. That's what she's lived by. That's what she was planning to, atleast.

So all Chavi would be doing until this storm passed was hide. This time, not under her bed or a table at her home. She was hiding under the cash counter of the bookstore.

The bookstore where she has been working as a part-timer.

The bookstore owned by Vibhu, who had said he had to run some errands so he would be a little late. The one who knocked at the door not once, not twice but thrice by now.

And there she was with her ears closed with her palm as she was too scared of the thunders.

So as if the thunders didn't scare the poor girl enough, the twenty one year old thought that scaring the poor girl by banging on the door more would be a great idea. He didn't have any idea about what she was dealing with inside, though.

And that's a different case that he has been waiting at the door for the past ten minutes as he's getting drenched in rain. All he asked was to let him inside the store.

She closed her eyes as he banged on the door one more time.

"Chavi, please open the door," he shouted through the door because of loud it was because of the rain.

She sighed, her eyes teary. She did get scared like this when she was younger, but they had stopped for a while. However, recently, she has been feeling...overwhelmed. So getting scared of the thunders started again.

Because of the pitter patter of the rain, the roof of the store made sounds, too. 

If only...if only she had the courage..

She shook her head. She can't behave like this. She's a grown up now.

But her legs won't move. And she couldn't get up. Her feet froze as she was crouching under the counter. She knew he would be mad at her so she hid her face and brought her knees close.

Thankfully, she heard the door open.

There was no noise heard so she was confused.

Everything got quiet. Even the thunders which were roaring and rumbling in the sky quietened slowly as minutes passed by.

Where is he? Why isn't he saying anything? How did everything grow so....quiet?

She lifts her head up and stares at Vibhu who was crouching in front of her.

He's here.

She can't describe how relieved she felt. To see someone familiar in the dark like this. When you think you're alone, in a storm, and you need to go through it without depending on anyone, that sure did sound scary to her. But seeing him here made her worries wash away. And she wanted to hug him, too. Will he let her, though? She doubted that.

The man glared at the younger girl as his shirt dripped on the floor. His shirt hugging his chest and his hair wet.

He was calm. But she knew he was thinking about various ways on how to tell her off, "Remind me, why did I hire you again?"

Vibhu had kept a spare key somewhere in the backyard of the bookstore. It took him some time to go all the way back and bring the key and then unlock the door. 

"S-Sorry,"

Her cheeks were tear-stained.

Has she been crying? He wondered.

She must've been scared because of the thunder and the rain, he assumed.

He sighed, "Nevermind. Wait for the rain to slow down. You can then leave. If it rains tomorrow, too, don't come."

She nodded. Her hands were jittery. She has been working at the bookstore only for a month now. But whenever she greeted him, she always greeted with a smile. And this was the first time where he has seen her scared like this.

He sighed, "Why didn't you tell me...that you were scared of the rain?"

"I...I..There was no reason to. I didn't know I would be this scared,"

She wiped her teary eyes and the beads of perspiration formed on her head with a handkerchief. She sniffled as she wiped her runny nose.

He furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips, "Get up and wait on the couch, okay? I'll bring something hot to drink."

"That's...okay,"

"It's no problem, wait for me,"

Before she could decline the offer, he left the room and headed upstairs where his belongings are. A couple of minutes later, he put on a new set of clothes and returned with a hot glass of water.

His hair is still wet though, she noticed.

"Drinking something hot will calm you. But um, er, I forgot to buy instant coffee or hot chocolate at the grocery store. So all I have is water,"

"N-No problem. Thank you,"

As she slowly sipped her hot water, the rain slowed down. Then, she heaved a sigh of relief.

There was a quietness around in this room. She preferred this quietness rather than the loud sounds of the rain and the thunder. To just sit and not talk for a while, it made her feel better.

She heard him exasperatedly sigh as he checked his phone. He sniffled and sneezed. He then turned his phone off and stared up at her. His goldenish-brown eyes observing her.

"So. You're...scared of the rain?"

"O-Only when it rains like this,"

He nodded. "Should I drop you home?"

She shaked her head, "That's fine. I'll take a bus. It's just a few minutes away."

"Alright."

Slowly, a smile appeared on her face, "Thanks...for helping me out,"

He stared at her twinkling eyes, which were dull only a few moments ago because of her fear of thunders and heavy rain.

"...No problem,"

She stood up from her seat, "I'll get going now."

Before she headed outside, however, she turned, "And umm, please dry your hair. You'll...catch a cold."

A surprised Vibhu sat inside the store, with his eyes widened and cheeks flushed at the sentence.

"W-Why would she even say that?"