Until the Sun Falls

Chapter 5

Mikah

The teens had easily been bribed into ignoring my presence with a pack of cigarettes. A voice in the quiet part of my mind told me I shouldn't enable them, but I needed information and a pass to stand waiting in their alley undisturbed. Their initial unease at a newcomer vanished instantly when I offered the cigarettes in exchange for details and their silence.

I asked the tallest teen, who appeared to be the leader of the group, a few questions as he passed the cigarettes around and dug hastily in his pocket for a lighter.

"You talkin' bout that girl with the pasty-ass skin and creep-o eyes?" He asked me.

I shrugged in reply, never having seen her before.

"Yeah, she goes to school here." He squinted his dark and deep-set eyes at me, "Who's she to you?"

I'm sure he intended to be menacing, but instead he ended up looking like an oversized toddler with a thick neck.

"That's my business." I answered and turned to head to the street, but a hand gripped my arm tightly. Thinking it was the teen-toddler my muscles tightened in reaction, but when I looked back it was the red-haired girl who had been leaning against another teen boy a moment before.

"Don't waste your time on her. She's too uptight for someone of your...type." She said, flashing me a mischievous smile that spread her already thin lips before tapping my nose ring with her finger.

Ignoring her and her words I turned my gaze back to the street and walked out of her grasp, leaving the group of teens to whisper loudly among themselves in the dark.

I waited at the mouth of the ally for more than an hour and searching every face that passed by. I received more than a few questioning looks, and an elderly woman actually stopped to ask me if I was lost. The people in this town didn't know what to make of me, that much was evident. I didn't quite know what to make of them either, but it was all inconsequential. The only opinion that would matter was hers, though I didn't know what to expect from her.

Would she be fearful or would she be friendly? Would she be as beautiful as I was led to believe? Would she take one look at me  and steer clear?

These questions and more took flight around in my mind as I scanned the faces of passerby, and I grew more anxious and frustrated with every passing minute. This girl was certainly a lot of trouble to find.

I suppressed the bitter anger that threatened to rise like bile within, idly wondering why I had not yet gotten used to my fate of chasing her. I allowed my eyes to wonder from the street to the baby blue sky above for a moment. It was the type of day I preferred. I had never much cared for the rain.

When I looked back to the street I noticed something in the distance that contrasted with the surroundings. Looking harder I could see a figure dressed mostly in black walking up the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road. I was able to discern that the person was female by the shape and curve of the waist, though her face was hidden. It was a sunny day without a cloud in sight, yet she was walking unabashedly under the shade of an umbrella.

Alarm bells began to trill in my head. This must be the girl my grandfather had described to me. If only I could see her eyes...

I unconsciously took a step closer to the edge of the ally, the tips of my shoes barely concealed within the shadows. Goosebumps arose on my arms when she tilted her umbrella back, revealing her visage to me. It was only when I saw her face clearly as she drew closer that my initial perception of her changed. Her lips were full, and I could see she was chewing her upper lip as she walked. Her oval face was framed by her black hair and her bangs nearly hid her dark eyebrows.