Penumbra.

-5-

We're bearly two hours into the flight and I'm already bored, sadly it's not enough to make me fall asleep. I kept looking around, and looking at Barth, who is still sleeping. I pull out my phone and check the time, "5:45pm huh.." I mumble while I put it back into my pocket.

This is going to be a long trip.

I breathe a sigh of frustration and shift in my seat to get a little bit more comfortable, the baby doesn't do as much as yawn and curl up in my arms making me smile a little bit.
I rest my head on the side of the plane, and turn up the volume as far as it can go while the song New Americana by Halsey plays. Without noticing, I start to close my eyes until all I see is black.

I wake up to the sensation of someone patting my shoulder, I remove my earphones and open my eyes, turning to see the mother with a smile on her face. "Did you sleep well?" She asks, I squint my eyes at her, making them focus a little bit more, "Hm? Oh yeah." I say in my groggy voice, I yawn. "Thank you for helping me, I really appreciate it."

I rub my face with my free arm,
"Don't sweat it, it looked like you hadn't slept for days so, I thought it would be a good idea to let you sleep."

What I really wanted to say was, I volunteered as tribute to take care of your dog smelling child while you slept.

"Here's your kid. Oh and um, what's your name?" I hand her the baby. "Thank you. My name is Rose. Oh, and the man in the middle seats over there was taking pictures of you while you were sleeping." She looks over to the empty seat where Barth was sitting. "Huh?" I say confusingly, and look around, noticing everyone was basically gone. "I asked him why, his response was that you were his fiancé and he loved the way you looked like while both of you were sleeping so close together, like a mother cradling her child." she said chuckling, "I do agree with him though, you looked very much like a parent."

I swear, he is so dead.

"It's kinda empty here, did we arrive already?"I ask, changing the topic. "Oh yes, that is why I woke you up." We both get up, grab our things, and walk out of the plane. As soon as I get out I feel a strange feeling, as if something or someone was watching me but I quickly dismissed it when I saw Barth. He was giving me a glare while waiting next to a car that I believe is our ride.

He's probably mad because I took so long.
I look at him with the "Don't fuck with me." Look, reminding him of what he did earlier while on the plane, he gives me the "Oh shit." Face, as if he thought I would never find out. While we're both glaring at each other Rose just giggles and laughs, "By the looks of it, you two are very much in love."

Me and him? In love? That is way too funny.

I start laughing, "Oh yeah, totally." He gives me a confused expression while getting in the car, " I guess this is where we part ways, it was a pleasure to meet you Rose." I say smiling at her, " Same thing goes for you Lucy." Lucy? That's something new. No one has ever called me that before.

She sighs while her child holds onto her, " My rides here, it's a shame we can't talk more. I would've loved to get to know you better." She says as she turns around and starts walking in the opposite direction from me.
You know that feeling where you meet a stranger and you can't help but want to know more about them? Yeah, that's happening to me right now.

"Hey Rose!" I call out, "Yes?" She turns around with an eyebrow raised, "Are you gonna be in Kyoto or Tokyo? Cause if you're in Kyoto we could, you know, chill together?"

"I will be staying in Kyoto, we can meet in Northern Higashiyama if you'd like. It's less crowded than Southern Higashiyama but it contains at least as many first-rate sights, including fantastic temples, shrines and lots of greenery. " I nod, "Totally, um, when do you wanna hang?" She puts her hand on her chin, as if in deep thought. " How about Friday? We can go sight seeing." I give her a thumbs up, " Oki Doki." After that we both say goodbye and part ways.