The morning began with a gentle rainfall, the sky saturated and the soil drenched. A crisp yet chilly air was felt, making it a challenge to step outside as the wind would swirl the water around, rendering the shelter of an umbrella virtually useless.

In a downtown apartment area, everyone sought refuge within their homes or under bus stops.

While many jostled at a stop to avoid getting wet, a young woman with auburn hair walked by, completely soaked. She carried several bags, returning from shopping. Onlookers treated her as an oddity, for the water was cold and fell with severity.

Some recognized her; she lived in one of the apartments alone.

Her name was Rosemary, barely 20 years old, having moved in just a few months prior. She kept to herself, venturing out only on an as-needed basis.

Reaching her apartment, number 49 on the fourth floor, Rosemary paused outside her door to gaze at the overcast sky, which she enjoyed. "Oh... Rosemary, good morning," said a kindly woman emerging from the next apartment. Rosemary looked at her and nodded in greeting. "Seems you've beaten me to the shopping today, eh. You're all wet; make sure you don't catch a cold," the woman remarked, reaching out to feel Rosemary's damp clothing. "I'll be... fine," Rosemary managed to say. "I hope so, and just so you know, you can tell me if you need anything, okay. See you later," the woman said, departing.

Rosemary offered a smile before the woman left and then entered her apartment.

This lady, Anahera, an elderly woman, was the only one who treated her kindly. Due to her condition, everyone else diminished her and spoke ill, but Anahera was the outlier.

ROSEMARY (narrative)

"Since childhood, I've struggled to socialize... This was a problem for my family...

I was born into an affluent family, my father a prominent businessman and my mother renowned for her modeling career in her youth. They attracted attention and cameras, which meant my siblings and I were also in the spotlight.

My elder brother Amon pursued in our father's footsteps; he was smart and an exceptional athlete, having won several awards in swimming and archery before an accident resulted in an arm muscle injury, halting that path and leading him toward our father's legacy.

Then there was my sister Margaret, beautiful and walking in our mother's shoes, adding to it with her noteworthy acting in movies and television dramas. She was the face for numerous makeup and famous clothing brands.

They were perfect in my parents' eyes, but then there's me...

I'm the youngest sister, the one my parents regret having. I developed a severe case of autism that drove a wedge between my family and me, setting me apart from the media.

Throughout my life, this issue led them to hide me away. I struggle to communicate with almost anyone. I hardly speak unless I feel comfortable with someone. I'm always lost in my thoughts, struggling to understand people.

I've seen specialists, the best for autism, but none could do much. I've tried hard too...

High school was the same story... until one particular day...

...

4 YEARS AGO...

...

At 16, I started high school, finding it hard to fit in at first. I was sidelined, the subject of whispered conversations. Always alone, I yearned to be part of a small group to have conversations... to make friends... but even as I tried to reach out, they recoiled even more... not that I could have done much myself...

I gave up just a month in, abandoning the notion of pursuing friendships... until he arrived."

...

One cool afternoon, the classes proceeded as usual until a new student, accompanied by the teacher, walked into the room. "Good morning, everyone. I'd like to introduce your new classmate," announced the teacher, revealing a young man who drew everyone's attention. "Good day to you all. I'm Jaume Paxley! Pleased to meet all of you," he said, greeted warmly by his peers.

Rosemary glanced at him briefly; he noticed her immediately and waved with a smile. She was the first to greet him this way, which made Rosemary nervous yet excited, causing her to look away. "Alright, there are two seats available, so please take a seat," the teacher continued. One seat was amid a group of boys, the other beside Rosemary. She assumed he would sit in the first but was surprised to see him choose the seat next to her. "Hello, what's your name?" he inquired. She didn't answer, glancing down to focus elsewhere, and he respectfully gave her space.

He assumed she was shy, so he just smiled and turned his attention to the lesson...

Throughout that day, he watched out for her, trying to talk to her while she, unsure of what to do, fled.

He soon learned from other students about her autism, which didn't bother him at all; he kept trying to engage with her...

Weeks passed, and she began to trust him. Jaume welcomed her into his circle, so she even attended meetups with him despite others' disapproval.

It was apparent to everyone that Jaume had a fondness for Rose. Yet due to her condition, she was oblivious.

Within months, Jaume and Rose were dating, unexpectedly happy.

He treated her like a lady, sometimes like a queen, and on occasions, like a teddy bear—as he could be quite affectionate—something Rose, of course, cherished.

...

One morning, she left to meet with him. They were supposed to work on a project, so her backpack was filled. She arrived at their designated spot, a cafe in the heart of the city.

There she waited at a table, head down, until she felt hands cover her eyes. "Guess who!" Jaume exclaimed from behind her. She smiled and placed her hands on his, silently conveying "I know it's you." "I love you," he whispered, removing his hands to embrace her from behind, kissing her head warmly. "I... missed you..." she murmured, looking down. "Really? Join the club. I've missed you beyond words," said Jaume, pulling up a chair beside her.

Together they began their project amidst laughter and joy, with Jaume always ready to break the seriousness with humor and funny stories, clearly displaying his affection. He hugged her suddenly, bestowed kisses tenderly, showered her with affection, and always shared uplifting words that encouraged her... to keep moving forward...

Everything was coming up roses, right until the tail end of the sixth semester, when an incident occurred...

During one evening, Jaume invited Rose out on a date to celebrate their anniversary, so they met at an upscale restaurant. Everything was perfect until they exited the establishment.

The streets were dark, there were few people around, and in that particular street only Rose and Jaume were about to get into the car. When Jaume opened the passenger door for Rose to get in, three men ran up to them.

"Quick! Wallets and phones and give me the car keys!" one of the men demanded. Rose was very frightened, so Jaume took her hand and tried to comply with the man's orders.

Jaume quickly started removing everything of value from their bags. Rose was paralyzed with shock, which made Jaume start to remove her belongings as fast as possible.

However, the men found their pace too slow and eventually pushed Jaume aside to aggressively take hold of Rose to strip her of her possessions.

"Hey, leave her!" Jaume shouted at the men, ending up striking the man who had grabbed her first.

Naturally, the men’s response was also violent, and two of them repeatedly struck Jaume while the third man took Rose's things.

"I've got everything, let's go!" yelled the man, running to the driver's side of the car.

The three men dashed into the car and drove away. Rose saw this and then turned to Jaume, who was showing her his back.

"Rose... are you hurt?" Jaume asked. Rose walked over to him and gripped his hand, which was drenched in a red liquid.

Jaume turned toward her, staggering, and with a smile, embraced her. She immediately noticed a bleeding wound on his abdomen, pouring out blood that pooled rapidly on the ground.

"I love you…" Jaume said. Rose, speechless, began to cry, and he just held her while gradually collapsing. He fell to his knees and then sideways, ending up on the ground. A soft rain soon began to fall.

Rose wanted to call out to someone, but now more than ever, she found herself utterly unable to speak a word.

"The rain is beautiful... When... When the rain soaks your face... imagine it's me caressing your face..." Jaume told her, reaching a hand up to Rose's cheek...

...

PRESENT TIME...

...

After setting some water to boil, she made herself instant noodles, then sat in front of the TV to eat. She watched it momentarily until someone knocked on her door.

She was a bit puzzled but got up and went to the door to find an elderly woman there.

"Hello Rosemary, sorry to bother you but I’ve come to invite you," the woman said with a smile. Perplexed, Rose tilted her head, looking at her. "My son is coming back from New York this evening and I decided to prepare a welcome dinner. I'd like you to be there," the woman said.

"Me?" Rose asked, surprised.

"Yes, you. Come on, say you'll come, my son is very kind, you might even get along with him," the woman pressed.

"Mm... But..." Rose hesitated.

"No buts, young lady. It isn't right for you to be all alone and so young, you should get out more and make friends. My son is a doctor and you told me you were going to study nursing. Maybe you'll hit it off," the woman insisted. Rose didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to be rude, so she simply accepted.

...

Several hours later, Rose left her house in the midst of the rain, heading out to run some errands. She went to the nearest convenience store and began picking up a few things since the thought of being a guest and arriving empty-handed didn't sit well with her.

Deciding to buy some drinks and a cake, she pondered which cake to choose when a man approached her.

"Seems like the rain is quite intense, isn't it?" said the man, noting Rose's drenched condition. She glanced at him sideways and, feeling nervous, just nodded in agreement.

The man respected her silence, offering a smile before picking up a cake from the counter.

"Well, you should take a warm bath once you get home, the rain might make you sick. Excuse me," he said before leaving.

Rose remained silent, deciding not to respond, and simply continued contemplating which cake to take.

Meanwhile, the man reached the cashier where he placed his items to purchase while the cashier looked at the girl.

"Quite the odd one, don't you think? Doesn't talk and always makes this mess during rainy times," said the cashier to the man.

"Maybe she has bad luck and gets caught in the rain," the man replied, maintaining a friendly smile.

"Nah, she always does the same thing, even walks in the storm. Maybe that's why she moved to the country's rainiest city. That woman is a nuisance," the cashier noted, beginning to ring up the items.

Shortly thereafter, Rose approached the cashier with a cake and some drinks in hand while the cashier finished with the man's transaction.

"That'll be 112 dollars," the cashier told the man. The man quickly took out his wallet, extracted the money, and handed it over. As soon as he paid, the cashier bagged his items and passed him the bag.

"Thank you, see you later..." said the man to the cashier before turning to Rose. "Goodbye," he said to her. Rose looked at him and waved goodbye, so the man left the store smiling.

The man stepped outside and went to his car, placing the items in the back seat before walking around to get in. While buckling his seatbelt, he looked back at the store and saw something that took him by surprise.

On the floor, kneeling, was Rose in front of the now scattered cake on the ground, and before her stood that man, seemingly yelling at her. Assuming it fell and recalling how the cashier had spoken of her earlier, he decided to get out of the car.

Inside the store, the cake had slipped from Rose's grasp, now laying smashed on the floor. The cashier, of course, unleashed his fury and began to insult her.

"You're an idiot! You act like a child and look what you've done!" he yelled. "Now I have to clean up your mess!" he shouted again. Rose wanted to cry, feeling terrible for the mistake, and the man's words didn't help.— "At least pick up your stupid mess!" he barked.

Rose didn't hesitate and began to gather the cake pieces on the plate with her hands, which only made the man laugh at her predicament, deepening her humiliation and pain.

"I won't allow you to treat her that way," said the man, striding over to push the cashier aside and help Rose to her feet. She just looked at him with some confusion and then lowered her head in shame. "Apologize," the man demanded of the cashier.

"What? No, I won’t apologize. She’s the one who made this mess," the cashier retorted.

"Will it cover the cake?" the man inquired.

Rosemary pulled out a few bills from her pants pocket to pay for the cake and everything else she intended to buy, then handed it to the man at the counter. The man snatched the money and then glared at Rose with some anger.

"This'll cover the disaster you caused. But you won't get another free cake," the cashier declared, returning to his register.

Dragging her embarrassment, Rosemary walked out of the store while the man turned back to the cashier with great annoyance.

In the rain, Rosemary began to cry uncontrollably. She was embarrassed, humiliated, and sad for having ruined what she was supposed to bring to the welcome dinner...

After spending several minutes inside the shop, the man exited and looked around for Rose. Not spotting her, he got into his car and drove off, hoping to find her along the way. However, Rose was nowhere to be seen, which led him to eventually steer in another direction.

Meanwhile, Rose had detoured to another store, where she encountered only individual pastries, so she bought just two. Unlike at the previous shop, the staff here treated her nicer, but because she preferred not to walk too much, she favored the other place.

Over in the apartment of the kind-hearted Mrs. Anahera, a much-anticipated visitor had brought her joy. It was her son, Claramond—the very same man Rose had seen in the store.

"Indeed... I must confess I wanted to punch that man," said Claramond as he assisted his mother with setting the table.

"Oh heavens. How rude, poor girl. What did you say she was like?" Anahera inquired as she finished cooking.

"Rude and ill-mannered," responded Claramond.

"Not the man! The girl!" Anahera corrected, prompting Claramond to laugh.

"Ah, clarity is key," he joked, heading toward the kitchen.

"Ah, you!" laughed Anahera.

"Well, she was... I must admit, a beautiful girl. A very shy redhead who didn't speak," Claramond explained.

Anahera was pleasantly surprised by his description and smiled before bringing the food to the table.

"By the way, who else is coming?" Claramond asked since Anahera had requested he set the table for three.

"Oh, it's a friend of mine. I think you'll like meeting her. Her name's Rosemary," Anahera informed him.

"I see. You always have such wise friends. How do you know her?" Claramond probed.

"She's our neighbor," said Anahera. Just then, someone knocked on the door, prompting Anahera to answer it.

Claramond was busy taking more pans of food to the table when he looked towards the door and once again came face-to-face with Rose.

"Come in, come in, you shouldn't have bothered bringing those pastries," Anahera greeted her.

With her head lowered, Rose stepped inside and made her way to the dining room, her clothing changed, but her hair still damp. Lifting her head and catching sight of Claramond, her embarrassment was evident as she swiftly lowered her gaze again.

"Son, look. This is Rosemary, our neighbor. Rose, meet my son, Claramond," Anahera said, introducing them.

"A pleasure, Rosemary," said Claramond, taking her hand gently and leaning in to give a soft kiss. Rose turned red and nervously withdrew her hand quickly, their apologies swiftly followed as they noticed her discomfort.

The three of them sat down to eat, with Anahera and Claramond talking about various topics, trying to gradually include Rose. Due to embarrassment and fear, she didn't speak and was nervous.

Rose remained silent throughout dinner, and everything was calm. After a while, she decided to leave, and they let her go without further ado.

As Claramond and Anahera cleared the table, Anahera spoke about Rose.

"She went mute a little over a year ago; she's been living alone, poor thing. Her illness causes others to look down on her, and she finds it hard to interact with other people," Anahera explained.

"Autism, right?" Claramond inquired.

"Exactly. How did you know?" Anahera asked.

"She has several tells... However, I've never seen anyone with that behavior before," said Claramond.

"Her family probably abandoned her here because of it," Anahera speculated.

"They abandoned her?" Claramond said, surprised.

"Yes, those wealthy Farrells... they bought her the apartment and send her money to keep her away," Anahera disclosed.

"Rosemary... Farrell... I think... I remember where else I knew her from..."

...

Earlier that day at the store:

Claramond made his way to the dessert section and there spotted Rose looking at cakes, feeling a sense of familiarity as though he had seen her before, which prompted him to approach.

Upon seeing her face, he was even more stunned because now she seemed even more familiar, but from where?

...

"Know her? How?" Anahera asked.

"A decade ago... when I first started as a psychologist... The Farrells brought in a young red-haired girl... She had a severe case of autism, and they wanted me to cure her like magic," Claramond shared.

"I see... Poor girl. She's endured so much," said Anahera...

In the meantime, Rose was out on the balcony of her apartment. She sat on the floor, sketching in a notebook on her lap. When stressed, she often turned to drawing; it helped her greatly.

She usually drew portraits of people she had seen, boasting significant talent. One thing that stood out about her was a photographic memory, coupled with her excellent drawing skills, which allowed her to capture a person's likeness from a single sighting.

As she continued to draw, she noticed that it had started to rain again. She quickly stood up, leaving her notebook aside to stick her head out the balcony and let the rain soak her face.

Next door, Claramond was unpacking his belongings when he glanced out the window and immediately spotted Rose getting wet in the rain, which piqued his curiosity.

She seemed joyous in the deluge, and rightly so. The rain helped her recall her most distant and happiest memories, and she certainly relished the experience.