2- Under the Umbrella

Ear 1778

Rain fell down from the sky on the land of Bonelake. One drop following the other making the view of the village dark and dull where one couldn't see what was ahead of them after a certain distance. Water flowed down the little street carrying the muddy dirt where a young girl stood under the umbrella with her aunt and uncle.

The young girl's jade green eyes moved left and right in front of her to ask, "Aunt Marion, do you think they will come? The rain is getting heavier."

"They will come, Penny," her aunt rubbed and wrung her hands together. The rain really was getting heavy along with the wind, moving the direction of the rain every once in a while. Her aunt gave a look to her husband who stood next to her. Her lips set in a thin line while they waited for the expected man to arrive.

They had been standing there with a sack of potatoes and turnips mixed in the sack which had to be sold to a customer today. Her mother who had raised her had passed away seven months ago and since then her maternal relatives were taking care of her who owned a little shop at the corner end of the market of the village which sold vegetables.

The shop didn't do well. Her Uncle Larry Moore worked hard, waking up early to be the first one to open the shop. But no matter how early he rose the income was lesser than the expectations. The shop wasn't located at the best spot making it so that the local folks and the people who belonged to the elites finished buying what they had to buy from the closest shops which was the opposite where their little shop was.

One of the customers had apparently requested for the vegetables urgently an hour ago and even after more than an hour had passed there was no one in sight. It made Penny wonder if the man would even come in such rain unless it was a person from the higher society who was holding some kind of party which people like her and her family weren't fortunate to look at it.

"Are you sure he is coming today?" Penny heard her Aunt Marion ask her uncle who didn't respond to her.

"Let me go check the market to make sure they aren't there," said her uncle, readying himself with the umbrella to be stopped by his wife.

"I will come with you. I don't want to find you later with you on the ground with your broken back. Penny, dear," Aunt Marion turned to look over her shoulder to meet her niece's eyes that looked vibrant in the rainy weather, "Your uncle and I shall go see if the man is waiting for us at the entrance. Stay here and don't go anywhere so that we don't come looking for you next. Okay?"

"I can go take a look instead of you. I will be quick," the young girl promised that had her uncle shake his head.

"The last thing we want is you getting lost. Do what you are told," Uncle Larry's words were sharp. He had always been sharp with her which often made her think if he didn't like her staying under the same roof as him.

"Don't worry about the vegetables. I will guard them safe," Penny smiled to have her aunt give a small nod to her before walking away with Uncle Larry under the single umbrella. The rain continued to pour, a light thunder that kept growling up in the sky. The rain was common to the people who lived in Bonelake as the days experienced rain than sun here.

The bell from the tall tower rang loud enough to be heard over the rain and thunder. The sky turning darker as a carriage passed by her without stopping to ask why she was standing alone in the rain or if she needed to go somewhere as she stood under the little roof that reduced the speed of the rain on her black umbrella.

The rain had started to move in the direction where her feet and the bottom of her dress started to get wet. Just as she stood there waiting for her uncle and aunt to return back while also keeping an eye she didn't miss the customer who had agreed to come take the goods, a particular carriage came to pass by which was dark black in colour.

Penny didn't know who it belonged to as every carriage came to appear almost the same which belonged to the higher men and women of the society. The most she had done was travel in the local carriage which was always packed and was used to travel from one village to another.

What Penny didn't know was that the carriage that had come to pass by had turned around to stop not far from where she stood. "Master is everything alright? Did you drop something?" asked the coachman of the carriage who had pulled over.

The man inside the carriage didn't reply to him, ignoring his coachman as he stared at the girl in the umbrella. The rain kept pouring down whilst she stood, her hands clutching tightly the umbrella. Her eyes scanning around her every once in a while until a loud thunder made way past the cloud.

Raising her face to look up at the clouds, he saw her smile which skipped his heart. She was a beautiful young maiden, her blonde hair tied into a single plaid where the ends came to rest on one of her shoulders. Even with the rain, he could still see her quite clearly. When the wind increased, her slender hand raised to tuck the pieces of the strands of her hair that came to cover her face.

Her features were rather delicate and if he could, he would have liked to go over but there other matters to be dealt in hand today. Pressing matters which needed his attention.

"Shall we leave, master?" the coachman asked him, waiting for his word which didn't come immediately.

"Yes," Damien breathed the word, taking a final look at the girl who had caught his eye.

Thankful that he wasn't going to get further wet in the rain, the coachman pulled the reins of the horses to start the carriage.

Penny continued to wait in the rain along with her umbrella until she felt it was too long since her uncle and aunt had left her here. It worried her if they were alright, making her wonder if she should go look for them as they weren't young and one didn't know what could happen in the rainy weather due to the slippery ground.

Thankfully in time, she saw a figure appear through the rain, walking with an umbrella. It was a man and by his clothes where he wore a coat over his body, she guessed him to be the customer. He was late! Penny didn't like that just because they were poor, the elite society could do what they wanted. Their time was as important as theirs.

The man came walking towards her and when he was in a close-ranged distance, she said, "Mister, you are more than an hour late from the given time. Don't you know the vegetables might soak in the water due to your no value for time? You will have to pay extra for making us wait," she raised her brows to make sure he understood what she said.

The customer stared at her, his black eyes scanning her from top to bottom which made her uncomfortable, "Where are your uncle and aunt?" he had a scar than ran across his mouth making her feel suspicious about him.

"They went in search of you as you didn't arrive on time but they should be back soon. Are you Mr Joseph?" she inquired.

"Yes," he said looking around the vicinity to see no one here. Most of the villagers had gone to take shade under their home to prevent themselves from getting wet and catch a fever.

"Your good is right here. Pay the money and you can take it," Penny patted the sack of potatoes and turnips that were stuffed inside the sack and tied.

The man stared at her, a smile coming to form on his lips, "The payment has already been made," it did? Thought Penny to herself. Maybe the man trusted her uncle and shared a decent business with him. Suddenly the man instead of taking the good that was next to her where she had stepped aside went to hold her wrist and pull her.

"What are you doing, Mister?!" Penny was startled by his behaviour, "Let go of my hand," she said firmly as she tried to pull it away from him but he was strong. Unable to budge away from him, she picked the carrot she had previously placed on the slab as it was a rotten one. Taking hold of it, she jabbed it right into his face which dug into his eyes making him yelp in pain. He let go of her hand and she closed the umbrella to beat his head with the edge of the handle before making a run from there.

With the rainwater that had come to fill up the ground, every step she took forward ended up splashing the water on the ground. One of her hand holding the front of her dress, she made a dash through the streets but the man was persistent as he followed her. Running behind her and she had to run with all her might, changing alleys and the little streets to go and hide behind a large pillar.

Penny heaved for air as it had been a while since she had last run like this. The last time she had run this fast was when she was being chased by a cow in the field. For an odd reason, the animal just didn't like her and prefered to chase her like it had nothing else to do in the world. Thankfully it was sold two months ago to her aunt's dismay.

Hearing the splashing sound behind her, she covered her mouth and pulled her wet dress between her legs so that it wouldn't be seen by the man. She could feel her heart pound against her chest out of fear. Carefully she moved around the pillar when the man stopped to see where she had gone. From where she stood, the alley led to three routes and she could have picked any of it but she had hoped he would have picked one of them.

As expected the man did take the straight route and she couldn't tell how thankful she was.

Penny walked around the pillar and started to run in the direction where she had come hoping her aunt and uncle had returned back. When she did reach, they weren't there yet and she wondered what to do. Taking into account that she wouldn't be able to carry the sack of vegetables easily, she decided to leave here for now and started to walk in the road to her home.

On her way in the rain she paused her footsteps to turn and see if she were being followed and when there was no one there, she let out a sigh of relief and turned back to see Mr Joseph standing in front of her. Not a second later his hand came right at her and she blacked out.