The Universe and Infinitely More

Bonus Chapter | Caden

Flashback

7 Months Ago
September 27 ~ Autumnal Equinox

I PUNCHED the brick wall in absolute anger, knuckles producing a cracking sound due to the impact and force applied against it.

Damn Pearson, always always fucking things up. That foul move he had pulled earlier out there way off the line, but that wasn't what pissed me off the most. The fact that coach went easy on him was what made me finally snap. With the game just around the corner, this wasn't a time to be slacking off and for the team to fall apart.

The onset of rain wasn't decreasing my foul mood and I was so close to finally losing it. Remembering my run-in with the police officers from my "speeding" this morning wasn't helping my case either.

I clenched my fists, reigning in my rage. My eyes caught sight of a trash bin by my side and without thinking, I kicked it to the curb. The can made a clanging noise as it hit the pavement, contents rolling on the ground but I couldn't care any less. Passersby were huddling away from me, some giving me weird and annoyed looks before scurrying and getting on with their lives.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins due to extreme ire and so I stormed toward the gym, duffel bag slung over my shoulder and focused only on one intent: to let off steam.

The downpour was harsh, causing the mob of commuters to quickly duck for cover inside stores, shops and cafes that could be found on the block. The deluge doesn't look like it would transition into a slight drizzle anytime soon. The onslaught of raindrops against my skin was heavy and uncomfortable and caused me to quicken my pace.

I briskly walked along the cemented sidewalk, mind focused solely on reaching the gym. Just then, a man came barreling down the block and I barely moved away, causing him to ram straight into me.

"Watch it!" I snarled, regaining my balance and turned back to the man, glowering in lividness.

The stranger slowed his pace, hands up in surrender as he looked back at me. "Sorry, man." He then continued on running and the other way and I blew out a breath, brushing back my sopping wet hair in frustration and pivoted around to make my way toward the gym that I could already spot at the end of the street.

However, something across the road caught my attention and made me halt in my spot.

There was a... girl. Covered in a huge sweater, bearing with herself a lot of belongings. But what struck me the most was when she handed over her umbrella to an old man, shivering tremendously on the steps of an abandoned establishment whose entrance was barricaded and locked.

I stared at her, amidst the heavy downpour and through all the passing cars that passed across my view. As my eyes landed on the man that she gave her umbrella to, I noticed his tattered clothes and disheveled appearance.

As the cover lifted from her head, she was immediately bombarded with an onset of drops that had her soaked in less than a second. She held the umbrella over his drenched and fragile form and felt my heart clench at the sight. The old man was extremely starved and was indisputably thin to the bone.

As he noticed the girl's outstretched hand holding the umbrella, he reluctantly took it from her with a look that I could only read as confusion from my location from across the street. My brows furrowed as I took in the man's pale skin and dirty clothes. Then the girl, to my utmost surprise, shrugged off her jacket and laid it across the man's back as a shield from the harsh cold.

His shaking hands slowly lifted to touch the fabric that she had draped over him. The girl seemed to be looking for something as she dug inside her bag and took out something wrapped in tin foil to which I assume must be food. An unfamiliar emotion surged within me, and all my earlier ire, all the anger, the frustration were long forgotten as I stared at this amazing girl who, despite not knowing the stranger and despite knowing she'd be soaked and shivering, still gave what she currently had to a person in need and it touched me in way I couldn't even begin to imagine.

I could not see her face clearly due to the heavy rain fogging my vision, and estimated her age to be around mine. Her back was turned to me but I wanted to see her.

Who was she?

The man shook his head and gently gave her back the food, murmuring something I could not hear due to the distance, the bustle of the city and the unceasing rain. But the girl shook her head and took his frail hand before placing the food in his hold. The man continued muttering something but the girl placed the foil in his hand and gestured for him to take it.

They stayed that way for a few moments with the man staring down at his hand that was wrapped around the food. Then he looked at the girl and I read one word that formed from his lips, "Why?"

My gaze turned to look back at the girl who was shaking her head. And then, as unbelievable as it was, by some splendor, I was able to hear what the girl had spoken despite all the noise pressing around me.

"I once read the diary of a young girl named Anne Frank and if there was one thing that I learned from her, it would be that no one has ever become poor by giving." The girl fidgeted on her soles, hair dripping wet and clothes soaked to the bone as I was but I hardly felt my wet shirt clinging to my skin. "So, sir, please. Take it. You need it more than I do."

Then the girl hitched her bags up higher her shoulders, the wet slipping down the side of her face and drenching her form. Then the girl took a step back and gave a feeble smile to the man.

And there was utmost gratitude and joy in the man's eyes as he squeezed her hand weakly before letting go. I swallowed as the girl was about to leave and I contemplated on crossing the street at that very moment just to meet her. I just couldn't let her leave for some reason without knowing her name. All I knew was I had to know who she was.

But before I could make a split-second decision, the girl turned around and caught my eyes. She looked straight at me and I felt my heart stop for a moment or two. She blinked, confused, but gave out a shy smile before ducking her head and continued on her way.

I was frozen on the spot, dazed and bewildered, for I knew her. I knew who she was.

Julianne Bryson. The shy girl from campus who hid behind her hair at class, always looking down and focused intently on her desk at the corner of the room. The quiet girl who disappeared from crowds, eyes staring solely at her feet and footsteps as she passed by, totally unnoticed by everyone.

Yet it was her, Julie, who had the heart of pure gold that made her reach out to the man in need and I knew not everybody would have done what she just did.

Then and there, as I stared at her retreating form, I swore to myself that I had to get to know her for today, I saw something special and unique in her that made my heart beat and beat like a football pounding repeatedly against it.

My eyes focused on her obscured form, hair down and head bent and I knew then that she didn't realize how truly ineffable she was.

And I swore then that I'd open her eyes to the wonders of the world.