ACHICHIBO~ The little girl I knew

chap1(how we met)

Black-haired, brown-eyed, and slightly tanned, six-point-one man, named Toby. That is me; a twenty-five-year-old florist who lives away from his family to achieve his dreams of having his own business.

I have a dull but simple life where my day starts and ends, fully depending, on one thing only: "Flowers". I wake up quite early in the morning, searching for and sending emails to potential sponsors but also drawing and creating new ideas and new arrangements. Then simply just head from my humble apartment to the shop where I work.

However, today, not like any other, was different. Today was the day that this monotonous life of mine decided to change the category where my life story was included. And that is simply because of one woman.

A "woman", who decided to stalk me on my way to work.

Along the busy streets of New York, small, urgent, and seemingly anxious footsteps followed mine. I pretended not to notice and kept walking, trying my best to make her lose track of me as I kept moving right and left through the sea of people around. But before I could lose her, a commotion took place in the middle of the street right behind me.

I was about to make use of it and keep going, but something tugged at my heart, some voice kept getting into my head telling me to turn around and just have one single, one fast, and one first and final glance at her. I kept rejecting that voice with every step I took forward. But here I was, in the end, facing her from a distance after those steps halted at the seventh; declining my quest for more.

Her flustered face was the first thing I saw, then came her hands as they were fumbling and searching in her bag for something. She took out a phone in a hurry only for it to be snatched and stolen in front of everyone's eyes. Two men ran after the thief, and she backed away in shock and disbelief. She looked at her hands then at the ground, probably still not grasping the situation... But most of us around her did, including me...

She is a kid in a woman's body.

Tears formed and fear filled her expressions, she wasn't looking at people's faces all she did was back away from the women who were trying to calm her and help her ...

"Are you okay?"

"Let us go somewhere to calm you down okay?... We will find you your family"

She kept tightening her grasp on her bag and shaking her head, that's when I noticed that those two women were eyeing her bag, trying to make use of her situation and steal it.

I can't believe these people! 

Nor myself!

Before I thought about it, I found myself cutting through the crowd, walking towards her, finally hiding her behind me, and facing the crowd that started to grow. "Excuse me ...she's wi-" I couldn't utter another word when I felt her grasp on the fabric of my shirt. I turned to look at her only to find her fully focused on my wrist, specifically, my watch... I looked at her face again and noticed how her expression lightened; slowly became at ease.

"What is going on?" , "Who are you?", their voices pulled me back to the situation I had unconsciously but voluntarily put myself into, as the two women asked me, accusingly, with their hands on their waists.