Ink Demonth 2024 Short Stories - Bendy : The Untrusted AU

Day 4 : Umbrella

Audrey walked out onto the city streets, the rain's heavy downpour drowning out the chattering noises of the passing pedestrians. She hid her face under an umbrella, avoiding contact with rain as much as possible.

After discovering the truth about her body's constitution, she began to grew somewhat wary of large amounts of water. Some experiments later, she discovered she could shower, bathe, and pretty much do any daily activities like a normal person, just as she did before. However, the sensation still felt stranger to her, as if the water was slowly dulling and thinning her flesh every time she touched it. Of course, it was probably just some underlying psychological feeling, as no real problems had aroused so far.

Still, she hated being drenched in rain.

Any normal person would!

Audrey walked down the streets casually as a familiar sight of a lush green field slowly came into her view.

Central Park.

She made her way into the public park, being amongst the few people who still remained after such weather.

Audrey's large, curious eyes looked up towards the sky where the sun couldn't be seen.

She slowly took in a breath of her surroundings.

Everything was peaceful.

Just as she lowered her gaze, a peculiar figure caught her eye.

The figure stood in the rain, a distant far away from her, with no umbrella nor coverage besides a brown boater hat, allowing their body to be soaked entirely.

Their hand reached for their hat, and removed it, in the midst of the rain.

Audrey made a puzzled expression, carefully making her way over as to not step into any puddles. But just as she was about to offer the person her umbrella, the rain suddenly retreated, and the sun's warm rays pierced through the gray clouds again.

She couldn't help but look up at the sight in awe.

"I like the rain."

A calm, gentle voice of a young man suddenly spoke up. Audrey lowered her head to find the soaked man speaking to her. Everything from top to bottom of this stranger was completely drenched. He casually wiped his glasses, pushing them up to his nose to look at her with a smile.

"Why?" Audrey couldn't help but blurt out that question.

The man put on his hat again, his smile growing a little solemn.

"Once, a tragedy happened, and the rain arrived a little too late. Since then, I just grew a habit of taking in the weather."

Audrey still didn't really understand, but she understood it would be rude to pry.

The man laughed, his black coat shaking along with the motion of his body.

"Sometimes, I think people despise the rain too much. Humans seem to lose their imaginative minds when they grow older. I find admiring the puddles still an entertaining activity."

Audrey chuckled a little. She also had a habit of watching the puddles, too, albeit from afar.

"It gets cold, though." Audrey said, worried if the man was going to get sick or not.

"I won't get sick." The man replied with a smile again, understanding the intentions behind Audrey's question. "Don't worry. Thanks for looking out though, young lady."

She wanted to refute that the man also seemed to be the same age, or at least a similar age as her. Her mouth promptly shut when she remembered Wilson.

"Say, what's your name?" He asked casually, brushing away a piece of curly hair stuck to his forehead.

"Audrey." She wanted to reach out a hand to shake, but retracted when she remembered the man's state. She also purposefully omitted her last name.

"Audrey.." The man pondered for a second, before nodding. "Nice to meet you. I'm Alan Gray."

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Epilogue (Part 4/5)