You'd attempted to retreat back into the bar and hopefully hang around long enough for the rain to stop, but as if he was purposefully trying to make your life as unbearable as possible, the boss had locked the door mere seconds after you'd left. You were in two minds whether or not to kick the door down and then violently kick him down as well.
However, forced to accept the situation you were in once again, you hoisted your hood up and began the fifteen minute walk in the rain for the second time today. At least this time, no cars could spray you in the face. There were very little of them on the roads at such a late hour, and practically no people on the streets either.
Putting aside the bad weather, it was at least quite nice to not have anyone around right now. Today had been a nightmare, and although it was difficult to spend time inside your own sadness-heavy head, it was equally tranquil to not have anyone chastising you or screaming at you or throwing bar stools at you, either in anger or celebration from something in the football game. No, all you could hear was the sound of rain pitter-pattering.
As you turned out onto the road that pierced through the local woodland, with nothing but a single bus shelter to line it, you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to appreciate that gentle white noise...
It was very abruptly broken by the sound of sobbing.
Your eyelids swiftly burst open and your head spun in the direction that it was coming from. You found yourself gazing into the bus shelter, but in the darkness, it was extremely difficult to discern if anything was under it. But, as your eyes gradually adjusted, you could slightly make out what appeared to be somebody's hand that was clutching at something obscured by shadow.
You stood in place and simply stared at the hand for a short while, trying to discern whether or not you were simply hallucinating. It had been a long, long, long day. It wouldn't be wise to rule out the idea of your tiredness making you see things that weren't there. However, the sobbing persisted, and the sound was simply way too clear and coherent for it to be your imagination.
You tread over slowly, uncertain whether this was a situation you wanted to involve yourself in. You were way too sleepy to deal with any big drama. There'd been enough of that at the bar. But, considering that the crying seemed quite high-pitched and childlike, another part of you felt like it was your duty as a human being to, at the very least, check if everything was okay.
"Hello?" You gently spoke up.
A head shot up in fear.
You suddenly found yourself staring into the frightened eyes of a little girl. She had unkempt blonde hair that was dampened and layered with patches of dirt, as was the skin of her face and hands. She was clutching a thin brown blanket over her torso, one that was clearly insufficient at keeping her warm, based on how much she was shivering. She wore baggy dark blue joggers and beaten up black shoes, the soles of which were practically hanging off. Almost every part of her seemed to have been drenched by the rain.
Your heart, that was near to breaking, started beating out of your chest.
At first, you had absolutely no idea what to say or do. Your instincts had driven you over to see if a child was in need of help, but now that you could literally see how much a child needed help, you'd frozen up. In fairness though, you weren't alone in that regard. The little girl had frozen up like a deer in headlights the moment the both of you made eye-contact.
After a lengthy staring contest, the shocked portion of your brain started to relax and your better judgement regained control. It was obvious that standing here and freakishly glaring at her was only frightening this kid even more. You needed to ease her fears. Slowly, you raised both hands upright and stepped forward, to show you were unarmed.
She immediately flinched backwards.
"It's okay, it's okay." You stated very quickly, all while trying to keep your tone comforting. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm friendly."
Her pupils frantically inspected every inch of you to ensure you were, in fact, telling the truth. Due to the speed at which she did so, you felt like you were being scanned by a robot. It was almost unnerving. Regardless, it didn't appear to be helping, as her little chest was still rising and falling at a rapid pace. Not wanting to scare her any further, you gave up on approaching for now and simply spoke to her in a silky tone of voice.
"What are you doing out here in the rain?"
Your question didn't garner much of a response. Her pupils shifted and her hands slowly rose to her chest, but that was about it. You pressed on.
"Where are your parents?"
That one received more of a reaction. Her head lowered, and for the first time since this interaction began, she briefly evaded eye-contact. Still, she didn't utter a word, and still, you did.
"Are you...all on your own?"
And finally, that question seemed to break her ironclad defenses. She blinked and slowly untensed her shoulders, the fear in her eyes ever-so-slightly subsiding. After a couple of seconds, she very gently nodded.
You took in a shaky breath. In such a bafflingly short amount of time, the pure hopelessness you'd felt towards your life suddenly didn't feel anywhere near as hopeless. All of it had been replaced by a great deal of sympathy for this little girl. You might've had a really really bad day, but she must've had one ten times worse.
You had to do something. Lowering your hands, you fished into your pockets and took out your mobile phone. This action made her shoulders instantly tense back up, so in an effort to once again avoid any frights, you switched it on and continued forward in a much slower manner.
"Don't worry, you're safe." You said, bringing up the on-screen keypad, where you began typing in the number for the police. "I'm just gonna call some people to come pick you up and make sure you're-"
"NO!"
She instantly jumped up and grabbed a firm hold of your arm, pulling the phone away from your typing finger. Startled, you stared down at the child in shock, who returned the stare in a strangely contemplative manner. There was a lot less fear in her eyes now, and a whole lot more...something else?
However, such a demeanor didn't last long. That odd contemplation vanished and a more pleading expression appeared on her face. Her lips began to tremble and the tightness of her grip on your arm eased up somewhat. Finally, she spoke in a heart-wrenchingly brittle voice...
"Please don't."
A large part of you was puzzled by such a reaction. However, an even larger part of you was struggling to look into such desperate, innocent eyes. You almost felt guilty for even trying to use your phone, if this was how much it frightened her. You really wanted to question why, but under the sudden scrutiny of her gaze, there was only one way you could respond.
"Okay..."
You repocketed your phone. Crouching down slowly, you laid a gentle hand on the side of the young girl's arm, who despite still being evidently fearful, didn't react in panic. From this distance, the dirt layering her skin was much more visible, displaying how long she must've been outside on her own. You could also observe how damp her long, blonde hair really was, which was being rained on even more now that she was stood from out of the bus shelter.
"Well, I can't let you stay out here all alone." You said, soothingly rubbing her arm up and down. Her pupils were still examining you extremely closely, almost like she was watching every tiny movement any part of you was making. "What's your name?"
She didn't answer at first, instead reverting to her silently frightened demeanor. It initially seemed like she wasn't going to provide you with one. However, after she'd seemingly deliberated such a decision in her mind, she dipped her head and faintly answered.
"Ramona."
Her little voice coaxed a little smile out of you, one that would hopefully relax her considerably.
"Well, Ramona..." You tenderly replied. "We need to get you somewhere warm and dry, don't we?"
That seemed to work. Finally, her heavy breathing was starting to normalize, and her eyes seemed awash with a whole lot more hope. Maybe it was the smile, maybe it was you saying her name, or maybe it was the proposition of shelter. Whatever the case, it had relaxed her enough to offer you a much more confident and assured nod in response.
"Alright then." You said, removing your hand from her arm and pulling your hoodie up off over your head, which invited the cold rain onto your skin. It was absolutely freezing and beyond discomforting, but better it be you than her. You lowered it right over her head and over her body, causing her to step back in surprise. "This should keep you warm for now."
Once the hood was securely over her head, you put a hand around her waist and hoisted the little girl into your arms. As expected, this initially frightened her, but with a warm piece of clothing cuddling her and another human being holding her close, that fear gradually turned into comforted relief. She arched her head up and stared at you intensely, as you finally proceeded with the walk home.
The range of emotions inside Ramona's eyes were wide, but overall, it was clear she was a lot less frightened. That alone brought about a huge sense of pride. Rescuing a lonely child from the streets on a stormy night? You were finally bringing some purpose into your life. Despite how freezing cold you currently were, the thoughts inside your head, for once, were massively positive.
If only you could've known exactly what Ramona was thinking as she watched you, as you might very well have reconsidered this decision...
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