It was mid-spring when I first met the very eccentric and passionate man known as Riot. I remember it very clearly, it had started raining as part of the mid-spring showers. The air became damp, and the beautiful leaves and flowers in bloom were moist from all the rain. The very cool air filled my lungs, and it made me breathless as I stepped off the steamboat. Like any other day, I was never prepared and got poured on quite hard, but a tall slender man held his jet black umbrella over me. It made me look up, only to see the most beautiful crystal blue eyes that glistened like the waves of a crystal clear beach. They seemed to want to suck me into the very depths of his eyes and drown me. And his smile, his very smile held such a warmth that made me forget that I was freezing cold from the rain, and the now wet dress I wore.
To this day, I never knew that that meeting would mark the very beginning of a rollercoaster full of emotions and adventure.
“ Hello, Miss. I can't seem to know where I am. Do you have the slightest idea as to what town we landed in?”, He asked in a deep voice.
His voice sent shivers throughout my body, making the hairs of my body stand erect. Something about his voice was strangely appealing, familiar, and most of all satisfying to listen to. It was as if his voice was asking for something, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
“We are at the town of Davenport”, I remember I had replied quite hastily.
I didn't want him to hear my voice quiver, I didn't want him to know that he made me nervous even though we had just met. I had to get out of there, and I did the one thing I knew. I ran. My heart raced quickly as I took rapid breaths, in an effort to run away from the man. I passed at least 5 stores until I had to stop to catch my breath. Heels weren't meant for running, and the wet dress only dragged me down with extra weight. While I caught my breathe, a set of quick clacking caught my attention, making my head turn to the direction of whatever was making that ungodly noise.
When I turned, my eyes met that of the man who was eerily smiling as he pranced towards me. He galloped throughout the brick paved street, holding his jet black umbrella directly above his right shoulder; Leaving his left shoulder open to the exposure of the rain and soaking the beige colored suit that he wore. I found it strange, every normal person would use the umbrella directly above their head, not their shoulder. It left me speechless and motionless, and the man ended up stopping only a few inches away from my face.
“Hello again miss. You seem to know your way around town, mind showing me around?”.
“Did you just follow me all the way here to ask me that?”.
“Of course not silly! I also followed you to become friends”.
What is wrong with this man?....
It was strange. He was strange. But nevertheless, my instincts trusted him even though my mind screamed violently in my head no.
“Very well then. Follow me”.
Truth be told, I was extremely happy that someone for once noticed me in my life. After my parents had died, it seemed to me that the world thought me to be invisible. I had no friends, no one talk to except the ghosts that wandered the streets of Davenport. Although they kept me company,n most of them were extremely anti-human and caused a ruckus for the people in town. Most of them died a violent death, and most of them were just too attached to something or someone to let go, unfinished business as they like to call it. But, why was it that this man had the guts to come to talk to me when nobody else would?
“I never quite caught your name miss….”.
“Call me Amelia”.
“Miss Amelia!” He said with eyes that widened in intrigue, “Why, that's a wonderful name! My name is Riot”.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance mister Riot”.
Riot had held the umbrella over me for the entirety of the tour around Davenport. Davenport itself was a listless town, with very much to do. The street shops always caught your eye, with wonder over the strange things that were sold. Particularly, this one shop at the end of an alleyway, that only sold protection charms against the supernatural. Of course, I believed in ghosts as I talked to them but, the supernatural? That was a preposterous idea. The thing that seemed to attract tourist from all around the country, was the beautiful gardens that lit up almost the entire town. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that our garden was one of the best in the country, with all the array of flowers and trees that couldn't be seen anywhere else.
It wasn't until we stopped at a local pub, not far from where we landed off the steamboat, that I had noticed Riot was soaked in his suit and the rain had stopped. The sun had begun to shine, amidst the dark gray clouds, and made everything over the horizon twinkle like gold dust.
Riot had followed me into the bar, and everybody's attention was caught by the strange and peculiar man. The noise ceased to exist, as people stopped playing cards, the lively folk music had stopped, and the drunken men's attention was all on Riot.
“ We should go…”. I whispered close to him, “The people here mean trouble”.
“No worries sweetheart. They won't do anything”.
At the time, I was completely unfooled by his antics.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked incredulously.
Nevertheless, he waltzed right into the bar table, ignoring the penetrating stares of everyone inside. Just like in any place, people spoke, and the people here seemed to recognize him. Crazy, they called him. One of the worst ones I had heard was that he was the spawn of the devil himself, that he trafficked with otherworldly things. The insults themselves did not seem to bother him at all, but in his eyes, I saw something other than happiness. They were the eyes of a madman, a collected and reserved one. It didn't send thrills down my spine, it was the opposite. My whole body shivered at the thought of being close to someone like him... someone dangerous.
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