After finally devouring all of the bread and gulping down all of the water I gave her, the little girl looked up at me, blushed, and then muttered:
Little girl: [Th-thank you sir.]
Adam: [No problem. I'm glad that you're okay.]
Charlotte had disappeared for some reason after I got the food and drink for the small child. It was hard to believe that she had just dumped this responsibility on me, but I assumed she didn't want to hang around someone who couldn't see her.
Quickly standing up, the little girl made a show of displaying her newfound vigor. That was, before getting dizzy and falling back down on the floor.
Little girl: [~Ugh. How embarrassing.]
Adam: [Take your time, we're not in any sort of rush.]
Switching from a squatting position to a cross-legged one, I patiently waited for the little girl to regain her composure-- Damn, I should get an award for most kind person in existence. After a minute, the little girl puffed out her chest and proudly stated:
Little girl: [Thank you, kind stranger! My name is Raya D-... Just Raya. I swear to you that I will repay this favor some day. Though I would like nothing better than to enjoy a nice chat with you, I need to set back out on my journey.]
Adam: [Right, though it's none of my business, I have to wonder how far you'll actually get in that condition. No money, no supplies, and no rest. How far exactly are your pursuers?]
Raya: [I'm not sure, but they can't be far… Hold on, I never told you that someone was after me–]
Adam: [Hmmm. That's not very helpful. How strong are the people chasing you?]
Ignoring the latter half of Raya's comment, I chose to focus on the important stuff rather than flaunt my incredible detective abilities-- Hold on, am I an incredible person or what?
Raya: […strong,] she said with a solemn look on her face.
Adam: [Well, I have a friend who is strong as hell too. If we can convince her to help us then the three of us could take on pretty much anyone.]
Raya looked taken aback by my forwardness.
Raya: [No offence, but why are you trying to help me?]
When Raya asked me that, the answer immediately popped into my head. And so I forced a smile, and lied to her face.
Adam: [I'm feeling generous today, and I'd been wanting to punch someone… CHARLOTTE! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! COME OUT NOW!]
Honestly, I had no idea where Charlotte had actually gone. I yelled out to her because I thought it would have been cinematic or something.
Just when I'd just started thinking that I'd made a fool of myself, she finally appeared.
Charlotte: [Did you really miss me that much Pax?]
Pax: [Raya, this is my trusty friend Charlotte… Oh wait, you can't see her.]
Raya: [huh? What do you mean? I can see her. She's right there.]
Pax: [Huh?]
Raya: [Huh?]
Charlotte: [eh?]
Raya: [Why wouldn't I be able to see her? She's not even hiding or anything.]
I looked over towards Charlotte for some sort of answer, and after a moment she just shrugged.
Charlotte: [Anyone who's died before can see me. It's usually not this common though…]
Was Raya just like me? Did she reincarnate from another world just like I did?
Raya: [Is that so... Interesting.]
Judging by her reaction, Raya didn't seem particularly surprised by this revelation. She had her thumb on her chin like she was pondering something, but if she had reincarnated like I had, she would have known instantly what Charlotte meant by "died before".
I'm not going to question her about it, but I wonder what fulfills the conditions for "dying" from the perspective of Charlotte's curse… Maybe your heart just needs to have stopped at some point.
Adam: [Charlotte, we need your help to fight Raya's pursuers. I promise to–]
Charlotte: [You mean the weirdos that I found in the woods just now? Don't worry about them, they'll be lost for a while in there.]
So Charlotte had taken care of them already… Way to ruin my moment...
Adam: [Did you do that? Why?]
Charlotte: [Well, it's my job to keep trouble away from this town and those guys looked like they had bad intentions.]
I wondered if Charlotte would have done the same for me. If the assassins sent by whoever sent those assassins to the mansion somehow found out where we were, would Charlotte have helped me too? Or maybe she would have decided that I was also "trouble" and cast me out into the forest.
The idea of getting on Charlotte's bad side scared me. In that moment I also realized that I needed to discuss with my mother what our plans for the future were.
Raya looked as if she were about to cry tears of joy, and hugged Charlotte.
Raya: [Th-Thank you so much. This kindness won't go unrepaid!]
In response to Raya's hug, Charlotte's face blushed and she looked as if she would explode from happiness. Maybe this would be her first female friend about the same age as her.
Charlotte: [First off, let's get some more food in you and then a warm bath. You can come with me to my house.]
Raya: [ah–]
Without giving Raya a chance to protest, Charlotte took her by the hand and pulled her away.
Maybe Charlotte is the one who should be receiving the kindness award today…
Charlotte: [Later Adam!]
Waving her hand energetically, Charlotte dragged Raya off into the sunset. Raya, who was probably overwhelmed by the events that had just transpired also waved a goodbye, albeit a slightly less energetic one.
Adam: [Well that was convenient.]
With that, I walked home with a smile on my face.
A rather eventful day, if I do say so myself!
Some strange thoughts flashed through my head as I walked, so I punched a nearby concrete wall. When that wasn't enough, I punched it again. Blood rolled down my fist and dripped to the floor.
I stepped back from the wall and forcefully unclenched my hand. The pain cleared my mind a bit.
Much better.
Then I kept walking, refusing to ever look at the stain I left on that wall again.