Thunder echoed forebodingly somewhere overhead, but the figure in the rain didn’t bother to look up. It walked with painful slowness, head down, not caring that the torrent soaking its black jacket was growing heavier. Now the downpour began to slant, blowing itself horizontally with the strong gusts that buffeted it cruelly.

The girl’s name was Ælfthryth. If one had been able to see through the curtain that now almost completely enveloped the figure, one would have noticed her dark brown hair—nearly black because of the rain. Her eyes were glassy, blue, though rumored to change colors depending on her mood. They were filled with tears. If one had been able to peer through the girl herself and see her heart, one would find it shattered into a thousand pieces.

A car purred serenely through the street behind her, and at the wheel a young man sat pensively. He was perfect, albeit a few mistakes which kept the ego under control. His eyes were a strange blend of brown and green and his hair was worn short. He also had a name, and it was Alec. His Malibu suddenly jerked to a stop as he realized how close its bumper had come to slamming into the knees of the pedestrian that was now standing in front of the car. Just standing.

Even in the torrent, her face remained expressionless. After all, life and death were one and the same to her. It mattered very little if she continued on or if she dropped where she stood.

Alec got out of the car. “My God!” he began. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” she responded, no emotion. “And you?”

“I must admit you shook me up quite a lot,” he held up one hand to shield his eyes. “Do you live near here? Are you lost?”

“I am never lost,” she shrugged. “But I don’t live nearby.”

“Well, let’s get in out of the rain if we’re going to talk.”

“Very well.” Ælfthryth walked to the passenger side and opened the door.

Now that the pair was sitting contentedly out of the grey, Alec turned to his new companion. “What’s your name?”

“Ælfthryth,” she said.

“My name is Alec.”

“…”

“Talkative much?”

She smiled. The rain decreased outside. “Of course not.”

As they talked, Ælfthryth’s smile grew. Her heart picked up its pieces and began to mend itself. The walls were torn down.

She had at last found him.