Putting on a black tracksuit with a full-sleeved vest, Wrik left the house. Following him was a lovely kitty with outgrown white fur. An odd combination.
He looked at the sun as he sucked in a deep breath as he approached the street. The sun was shining, and the sky was harsh blue, with no indications of clouds. It's already over nine. There were more crowds on the road than before. A gentle wind was still blowing from the east, carrying a few leaves away. But there's not much silence as before. A few horse carriages could be seen here and there, apart from the fellows on foot.
Wrik picked a path and started to move aimlessly behind him—the loyal kitty followed, lunging here and there.
It took about two minutes for Wrik to understand that he made a terrible decision to wander in this hour of the day. As he walked on, the cacophony of the crowds rose, along with the number of horse carriages on the path. It's the busiest hour of the day.
The weather was pleasant, but the situation was not. His mind was still full of those unsettled thoughts. He trailed on the safe road nonchalantly. Unsure of where he was going.
'Fuck, what I'm hesitating for? It's the only real chance I got. Maybe the only one I'd get over the years.' He thought. 'I need to talk to aunt!'
He finally came back to his senses when he noticed something was lagging his left leg. It was Kathrin. He picked her up, then looked around to notice that he came a long way.
With a few minutes of walking, he might arrive at his university. He calculated that he was wandering aimlessly for about an hour.
Without much thinking, he walked towards the university. In the last two years, the number of times he came here could be counted with both of his hands. He and the university were not on the best of terms. He didn't even bother to appear in last year's annual examination. But that doesn't mean he was procrastinating at his apartment. He had more meaningful stuff to consider first. For starter: money, investigating about the tower and finding the fucking brother of his.
So, you could say that he had his hand full with other important stuff. So, he decided to not bother with the university at all. And apparently, the university couldn't care less about him. Seemed a win-win situation for both of them.
Wrik looked at the gate of the University of Elania. Behind it stood a magnificent erection of aesthetic beauty. It's a prestigious institute, rated as one of the top universities on the planet. Few boys and girls of his age could be seen here and there, flocking together, laughing or having fun, as if they couldn't care less about the world.
He didn't go to the university. Browsing a bit, he found a steel bench near an enormous willow tree. The last time he came here, it had nothing but green with birds, twittering in euphoria. But now it's golden and yellow with more than half of its leaves gone. All the paths were covered in the yellow leaves, even on the bench. Though it gave a euphoric vibe.
He sat down, without minding the leaves on the bench, giving Kathrin her usual comfortable throne—his lap. As she settled there in satisfaction. He looked up at the blue sky from the gaps of the leaves and couldn't help but appreciate its glamour. He remained like that for an unknown amount of time.
"Such a comfy life you have!" Sighed Wrik, caressing his white kitty gently. "Nothing to worry about."
"Meow… " Kathrin protested.
"Really, what do you have to worry about?" He laughed out. "Apart from quarrelling with Ton?"
"Meow," she meowed out. A rather disdainful one, though.
"That's an intelligent kitty, you have there," a serene feminine voice sounded out beside him.
Wrik looked out to notice that there was another person sitting on the bench beside him. A girl, a year or two younger than him. A rather graceful one at that. She was wearing comfortably white clothing with not a single ornament on her body apart from the silver bracelet on her left arm. She had black hair like him, left straight on her shoulders. He could not call apart who's were darker. But her eyes were not black like his. It's emerald, with a lot of curiosity about the world in them. 'That's an odd combination,' Wrik thought. Though it didn't take away any grace from her oval exterior.
"I thought that sometimes as well," Wrik said. "She's rather creative for being a feline."
"She?" the dark-haired girl asked out. "What's her name?"
"Kathrin," Wrik flushed.
"Well, Kathrin is creative," she added a witty comment. "But I can't say that about its owner."
"I didn't name it," Wrik flushed out. While Kathrin meowed in denial as she leapt out of his lap to hers. Tugging in her lap a bit, she laid her little body. That was new to him. Katrin never liked any other lap than his, not even Antons'.
The young woman didn't show any complaint at him. More like she was pleased, as she ran arm the white fuzz of his kitty. The emerald in her eyes glittered a bit. She then smiled. "Don't worry, Katrin is a good name for her." She paused, then added. "Creative too, if you think about it."
"Well, I may not look like it, but I'm one of the smartest people in Elania," Wrik flushed; he regretted the moment he said it. 'Fuck, what I'm saying! Be more humble.' He didn't know why he was trying to impress this girl. Attractive as she may be, he was not that kind of person who would flirt out with strangers on sight. This was Anton's field. Lucas was good at it too.
"Well, Mr One of the smartest person of Elania," the girl asked mischievously, "Mind telling me what you're doing in one of the busiest streets, wearing that long face and weird getup?"
Wrik found out that the combination of his tracksuits was a bit weird after she said it. A man with a black tracksuit and a white kitty, not to mention his mess of hairs in the busiest street at the busiest hour. An odd getup indeed at this time of the day.
"I didn't put much thought while dressing," he shook his head, continuing awkwardly. "And even less while walking…" Wait, why am I flushing? He looked at the girl in her emerald eyes and changed the topic. "Are you a student here?"
"Yeah, the last time I checked, I was a freshman," she answered. "And you?"
"I am registered as a student. But cannot be considered one." Wrik continued, withdrawing his gaze. "I'm not sure how to describe it."
"You seemed to have lots on your plate…"
"And you seemed to have not much to worry about?" He gave out a hollow laugh.
"I don't," she laughed.
"So, how does it feel to have nothing to worry about?" A thin smile appeared on his lips.
"Actually, I have someone who worries for me…" she glanced up at the blue sky. Wrik couldn't make out what she was feeling inside through her facial expression. She continued smiling, "I just go with the flow at the best, I can."
Wrik could not find any words to say. Leaving the decision of your life to someone else. "Is it viable?"
"It did work out for me," she then grinned out. "But I don't think this would work out for you."
"Why?" He asked out instantly. "Wait, don't answer that. I can speculate—why it wouldn't work out for me…"
"You catch stuff rather quickly, as expected from one of the brilliant minds of Elania."
Hearing her, he flushed out again, jerking an arm against his mouth. 'She is not going to forget that, is she?'
They chat for a little more; the topics were rather vague and abstract. But he continued. Wrik still couldn't comprehend what captivated him about her the most. Is it her charm? Or the wit? She smiles a lot. Mischievous on more occasions.
"Good day chatting with you… Mr Long face," she leapt up from the bench and continued. "I'm sure you'll find your way, goodbye… you too, Kathrin." She stroked the kitty in the neck a few times to return it to its owner.
Wrik looked at the graceful leaving figure. Then he remembered he didn't know her name. They talked for about half an hour, yet they didn't introduce themselves. He opened his mouth to ask her for her name, but then closed it again. He sighed inwardly, 'I would leave in a couple of days… might never meet again… No good a name would do."
And at that spur of the moment, Wrik discerned he had decided. It was accepting—that was left.
"THANK YOU," He yelled out, looking at the back of the slender figure.
She halted her steps and turned back. Holding the air with her right arm as if her gown and the left arm at the breast, she bowed with a playful smile on her lips. The autumn wind swayed her dark hair as her lips moved in saying something. Though he heard nothing he could make out, it was: 'my pleasure'.
With a wide curve in his lips, Wrik left the place as well, giving a second look to the scenery of the willow tree and the steel bench.
***************
END OF CHAPTER: A DECISION AND A MEETING.
NEXT CHAPTER: A LETTER FROM A LOST BROTHER.
Have a few Power stones... care to leave them below...
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