This is my entry for the Bookworms and Wordsmith's -April Showers Writing Contest- hosted by Fleather

Sorry it's late but I really struggled with it at the beginning bcuz I tried a different story at first :C

It isn't very long but here it is:


It was a gloomy evening. Only the monotonous pouring of the rain dared to shatter the heavy silence that filled the foggy streets. I reached up to steady my flimsy hat that had tipped on one side.

Rain hat indeed, I thought in annoyance. I pulled the useless piece of rubber off my head, letting the rain beat onto my braided hair and drip into my face. I did not care, since I was already soaked under my jacket.

I continued through the streets, enjoying the feeling of cool rain drumming on my head. The marketplace seemed unusually empty. Only a few stands were open, and the scarce shoppers quickly purchased what they had come for, not taking the time to chat or linger. No one really wanted to stay in the rain, of course. Though, some here had too...

Some rowdy children had also come to the market, playing in puddles or laughing as furious vendors chased their prying fingers away from tempting goods. I walked up to a stand and fingered a gray, hooded raincoat that hung from a hook.

“Wouldn’t this have been helpful a few hours ago,” I muttered under my breath, a bitter smile coming to my thin lips. I turned the coat over and rubbed my finger over the soft lining.

“It’s fifty talons, ma’am.” The impatient vendor interrupted my thoughts.

I raised my head and turned to the man, irritated. “The sign says forty,” I replied curtly as I reached into my bag and dropped two shiny, copper yons into the metal bowl. The vendor stared at me blankly, visibly surprised. I briefly wondered if it was the money that surprised him or my bluntness. Either way, I had no reason to care.

“I’ll have this coat, thank you.” I grabbed the garment and shrugged into it, not bothering to remove my brown jacket from underneath. I pulled the hood over my dripping, white hair, glad to stop the rain from streaming down my neck.

As I continued through the marketplace’s streets, the number of people, and children, increased. They were attracted by the goods in the food section, and, for the children, the sweets brought them in. They would hover around the candy-makers and watch them as they sculpted melted candy, hoping that a burnt piece of flavored sugar would be offered by a kind vendor.

There were many people here, all wearing hoods or hats- or, the ones worth mentioning were. Most of them, I recognized, but there were hardly any that I could consider an acquaintance, not even to mention a ‘friend’.

Rumien soldiers were also present. A few were scattered around, keeping a watchful eye on the buzz of the marketplace. Others marched in occasionally, interrupting playing children and earning a spiteful eye from me and the other Durmanian citizens they bothered. I scoffed and averted my attention to the rather loud children.

A few boys were making paper boats and throwing them into puddles, then kneeling on the muddy gravel and blowing at them, trying to get their boat to the imaginary finish line first. The more boisterous girls joined them, letting their hoods fall off their heads carelessly. Others simply watched, cheered, or complained as a boat disintegrated from the rain.

What a silly waste of paper, I thought. I vaguely remembered doing the same thing as a child, though the rainwater was often gutted with mud, and laughs, even from children, were rare during the war.

The war. I glanced towards the Rumien soldiers again as anger filled me. Stupid Rumiens. Why did they need Durmania? Why not just leave us alone? Stupid war. Stupid Rokis. Stupid Rumiens. I kicked an empty cup and watched it blankly as it rolled through puddles, then stopped in front of a building. I looked up.

“Cafe,” the wooden sign read simply. A smaller sign that hung from below said: “Soups, drinks, hot or cold sandwiches, and more.”

I could use a warm drink and maybe a slice of bread. I silently reached for the door handle and walked inside. The warmth of the shop immediately consumed me, causing me to shiver uncontrollably. I had not realized how cold I really was until I felt the heat of the building’s fire.

I stood dumbly in the doorway, dripping onto the wooden floor, until I came to my senses and closed the door behind me. The shop was modest if anything, yet it was comfortable and homey. There were a few wooden tables with comfortable chairs, a simple desk that two employees stood behind, and a half-door to a kitchen from which delicious smells of food came.

There was a strawberry blonde girl with large green eyes and an animated smile behind the counter, and a bored-looking, black-haired boy with an odd sort of smirk on her right. They both had matching aprons and seemed to be around sixteen. They could not have been younger than fourteen, of course, since that was the Rumien’s law.

The girl was currently taking a customer’s order. She seemed like the chatty type, and I was not fond of waiting either. I evaded her and walked to the other employee.

“A hot tea please, with a spoon of honey, and a slice of bread.”

“Just a slice of bread- miss? ”His voice was low and- odd. He had spit out the addressing noun at the last second, as if it had just come to mind.

I glanced at the sign above his head and quickly scanned the menu.

“A cup of creamed soup, then.”

“That’ll be seven
talons and six kiops, then.” I stared at him blankly, wondering if the last word was a mockery. I dropped a yon on the counter.

“Keep the change.”

I walked beside the tables, looking for a comfortable corner where I could eat alone. I noticed a boy, who seemed around nineteen, sitting by himself.


“D-Daiki?





I finally made my entry yay C:

I’m not sure how well this followed the prompt, but well it was inspired by it so whatever. The main character in this story is Rumi L. Chinen.

A little bit about her: She’s (around) twenty-one years old with long-ish white hair and chocolate brown eyes.

I would love to continue this but I needed to find an ending somewhere ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have NO idea how I started writing this. I wrote ONE SENTENCE with no ideas and somehow came to this thing that I am actually proud
of IN THE WORLD OF A STORY I FIND HARD TO WRITE ABOUT + I made a girl OC. 0O0

Thank you for reading this till the end ^^

(link to photo)