Kommi

It's raining. The drops pour down like discarded casings against the earth and leave me to hide under my dinky umbrella as they wash away along the pavement. Despite the expanse of buildings and roads all around, there's no one else. I'm the only one here, walking through a quiet, lonely city. The billboards shine with advertisements, beam with lives I can't imagine, but still make me feel at home. They're from a separate world, yet their inclusion only fuels the reality, if that makes sense. A quiet and reserved reality. That's what Grammy would always say peace was. I can see the appeal. If such a thing truly existed, I could even say I would maybe prefer it to the exhausting reality I'm left to fend for myself in. But, of course, I can't say it's what I want my peace to look like.

Because I'm a greedy demon.

One that has to open his eyes eventually. So I do, left to once more take in everything this world really has to offer. The crowded sidewalks, the people talking and screaming, crushing me between them, only comfortable because of the beanie I keep covering the top of my head. The air, that while breathable, tastes of the contamination of the stressed out smoker, and is left to tar my lungs in the process.

It sounds like whining to take it all in this way, and for that, I feel a bit of shame come creeping into my chest. I mean, I don't really have any place to make complaints when it isn't my world to begin with. My eyes cast themselves down to the feet of the countless people passing by, and I begin to walk once more. I don't like looking in their faces. In their eyes. It feels personal, and really, there aren't many people who I feel safe being personal with. One of them is on the other side of the city, waiting for me to come reup my prescription with her, and the other... well, he's around somewhere close. If he didn't forget where we were meeting again.

It's funny, though. I can always tell it's gonna be a funky day with him when we meet while it rains. It just fits the pattern.

After all, it was raining when we first met, and I'd hardly call anything that happened that time ordinary.
...
The rain hadn't stopped for hours. Closer to a rainstorm than a drizzle, it was making a racket against the gutters and signs. Despite all the noise and strong mist, though, he didn't seem to mind. He just sat there, at the sidewalk's edge, his gaze locked off in some unimaginable distance. It made me freeze. I remember being more scared than anything else. It wasn't my business after all, and I knew Grammy would be really mad if she heard I had talked to anyone I didn't have to. So, better to just ignore him. I walked into the small convenience store behind him to grab the groceries I'd been sent for. Something about that felt really silly to me at the time. Was it a test? Why bother? At the time, I never even considered the idea I'd ever have to leave the house. With hindsight, perhaps it was a small show of controlled kindness. That sounds... just like Grammy.

I grabbed what she had asked me for, just some scallions and pie crusts, and went to the counter to pay. I turned my head to look out the glass of the front door. Through the mist, I could still see him sitting there. He looked really... lonely.

"Sorry Grammy." I grabbed a chocolate bar and put it on the counter as well. Unlucky for me, I had to cut into my pocket money. So much for looking at the paper stand on the way home... once I paid I made my way back outside. I walked up to his back, chocolate bar in hand, and gently nudged his shoulder with it. He turned his head slow, his eyes hazy. He locked his gaze on the candy, then up at me. "Are you sad?" My question hung between us for a bit, before he slowly nodded his head. "Uhm, chocolate makes me happy when I'm really sad. So, does it make you feel better?"

"...uhuh." He carefully took it from me, giving me another curious look, before peeling it open and taking a bite. He chewed on it so lazily, I wondered if he had even an ounce of energy in him. I sat down next to him. "Ish goo..." The words were like tar leaking out his mouth. I remember moving the umbrella over him, so that his chocolate wouldn't get wet. Something I would get yelled at for when I eventually came home with a soggy shopping bag.

"So, why are you sad?" The question went unanswered as he continued eating, while he did his best not to look at me. I could feel a sticky sheen of cold sweat on my face as I started to wonder if I was prying too much. Once he finished his candy though, he must have decided it was worth talking.

"My mom died." I suddenly felt even worse then I did before.

"Oh." I looked away. A guilt had built up in my chest, but even then, another, stronger feeling formed next to it. "Mine too."

"O-oh. I'm sorry." It seemed like just admitting that was enough to get his demeanor to change. His back straightened out as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhm... was it... a recent thing? Sorry, that's kinda fucked up to ask."

"Yeah."

"W-what are you giving me your chocolate for then?!"

"I-I'm sorry!"

"No dummy! No sorrys! Whatever, this just means I owe you!" He sprung up on his feet, knocking the umbrella back over my head. Despite once more being rained on, there was something entirely different in his eyes. Nothing like a haze. Closer to a burning fire.

"You...don't owe someone for being nice cause your mom died." It didn't make a lick of sense to me. Was that just how humans were?

"True, true, but, you did buy me candy. This is simply the cost you'll have to bear for doing so." He laughed while he said it. It's still my favorite laugh.

"I already paid for it though."

"Not what I meant!"

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizingggg!" He started to shake me like a doll and I was left floundering under his attack. I didn't fight though. He was still laughing. So, this was him being kind, then. He let out a satisfied sigh after my refusal to retort and wiped under his nose before pointing a finger at me. I could feel him pointing right through me.

"I'm Kommi! Your name?"

"Meli..."

"Alright, Meli, then this is a promise from me to you! For your kindness, I promise to pay you back a hundred-fold!"

"A-a hundred is a lot-"

"I'm afraid it's non-refusable!"

"I can't say no... ?"

"That's what that means yes!" I still couldn't make heads or tails of it, but, I realized it didn't matter if I did. This was just a human's kindness. It was warm, and it was being given to me.

"Ok... thank you." For the first time since my mom died, I smiled.
...
I'm ripped from my memory by something foreign entering my field of view. A chocolate bar. I smile while I take it, before looking back ahead to see the resident of my memory taking flesh, giving me a smile back.

"Heya Meli, feelin all there?" I pocket the chocolate with a nod before walking up beside him. "Bet. Well my friend, you'll be taggin along for my first visit to the new diner cross town."

"Ahhh. Lucky..."

"You only gotta pay half today, promise."

"Lucky..."

"Ahh, you hate meee." He groans while we both move through the crowd. Suppose the rain was right, I guess it will be a mess of a day. Even then, I feel myself smiling along regardless.