She Who Seemed Heartless

Chapter 14

Armin and Annie stood by the gates of their house carrying knapsacks on their backs. They only stuffed necessary things for their trip. They will just stay for a day so there wasn't too many. Rina and Albert gave them extra cash as well, just in case they need something to buy from the village.

"Send my regards to my brother and dad", said Albert. Rina handed a paper bag full of clothes to Armin. "These are some clothes I don't use. Please give them to your mom. She'll look even more beautiful in those!"

He gladly took it. "Thank you. We'll come home the next morning but we'll probably have breakfast there."

"Alright. Have a safe trip, you two. Take care of Annie."

"Of course, I will. We have to go now. Bye!" Before Armin could completely turn his back, the couple embraced Annie and muttered something like, "Take care" and "Enjoy your stay there". She returned the hug and assured them. He simply smiled at this scene.

And they went off. "It'll be a long trip. We'll take a bus to get to the subway station, then walk to another bus station to get there." Armin explained. The other simply nodded to acknowledge it. He fished his phone from his pocket and dialed a registered phone number. It took a few seconds before the person on the other line heeded the call. "Hello, dad?" Annie didn't say anything from this point.

"Yeah, we're on our way. I'm with Annie. Huh? Okay." Armin faced the front of his phone to Annie. "Say hi to mom and dad!"

"Uhhh... Hello."

He took the phone to his ear again. "Did you hear that?! She's not really good at initiating conversations but she's a nice person!" Annie's mind drifted off.

She wondered how Armin's parents are. She did see a picture of them a few times already, but that was when Armin was still young. He and his father had a striking resemblance but he got his mother's wide cerulean eyes. But now they have aged, she pondered if he still looked like him. And his grandfather as well. How old was he again?

Her mind came back when Armin took her hand and tugged it lightly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking."

"Oh okay. The trip is for around 3 hours depending on the traffic. I brought some snacks with me so if you get hungry, just tell me."

The bus station was not too far from their abode and it took them 20 minutes on foot to get there. Since it was only 7 AM, the buses weren't too occupied. Only adults and some students who are also taking their break were there. Armin and Annie were able to get on the bus in no time. The ride didn't take long and in about less than an hour, they were able to arrive at the subway station. Their stop was next to the last but they didn't have to worry about the travel time. Their last mode of transportation is a bus, which will take them around two hours to get to their final destination. From there, the bus was already crowded so the two had to stand inside the vehicle.

"Just stay close to me. We'll be able to get some seats in a few."

And they certainly did. A few people got out of the bus and not wanting to miss a chance to sit, they hurried to any vacant seats.

"Are you hungry?" Armin took out some crackers with strawberry filling from his bag and handed it to Annie without even hearing her answer. She took the food anyway and consumed it. As they travelled, Armin kept Annie updated of some hotspots as they near the village. The scenery slowly changed from buildings to trees and landscapes. Armin's calculations were right and within two hours, they got to their stop and exited the bus.

"Here we are, Annie. It's quite different from the city, isn't it?"

"Indeed, but it seems like it has been improving."