“You’re not really a serial killer, are you?” Yuri asked panting as the girl finally let go of her hand. She was dragged off running by the girl suddenly. She wanted to protest at first but the strong grip halted her.

“You’d be a waste of energy to kill.” The girl said, surprisingly with good stamina, not having any difficulty speaking when they just sprinted for about five blocks away from the park. They have now entered a street with bright lights, people walking around stopping by the food carts on the road enjoying the festive atmosphere.

“Where are we?” Yuri asked, following the girl closely, not wanting to get lost. She wanted to hold the girl’s hand but stopped herself at the last second.

This girl surely is the strangest person Yuri knows. As she blindly followed the girl as they twisted and turned their bodies manoeuvring over the crowd, cruising the narrow ad busy street, she couldn’t help but wonder who this person is. She might be a serial killer, a pretty one at that, or she could be a volunteer at the local parish, a little rude for her taste but she couldn’t be too sure seeing how the girl won’t even introduce herself.

As she stared at the said person’s back, she couldn’t care less for who this person is. She abnormally feels safe around her.

*BUMP*

Yuri’s face met the girl’s back.

“Ow.” Yuri said silently, nursing her forehead. The rude girl didn’t even turn to ask her if she’s okay. Oh wait, that’s why she’s rude isn’t she?

They started walking again and Yuri bumped the girl’s back again. The girl turned around this time, face void of any emotion.

“Could you stop bumping me? It’s creepy enough being followed around.”

“You dragged me here in the first place! Now I have the right to follow you. And I won’t stop bumping you until you say please.” Yuri said, raising one brow.

“Look here princess, if you didn’t notice, I just saved you from whoever’s looking for you. That’s why we ran. So, you can thank me now and leave me alone.” The rude girl challenged.

“Why would you save me? You wanted me to go home didn’t you? As if I know you’re going to sell me into an underground black market.” Yuri scoffed.

“This isn’t Taken you idiot. If I were to sell you, I’d probably die trying. Like who would actually want to buy a brat like you? You’ll just give them a headache.”

They were probably shouting right now but they were in the middle of a busy crowd who didn’t care.

“Oooh, so you want me to be your headache instead?” Yuri still has the guts to tease the other girl. If this rude girl actually leaves her behind, she’ll be dead meat by morning.

“I don’t want you, get lost already.” The girl harshly turned around and left Yuri standing there.

She really left me! I’m going to die! Where is she?!

With people going to different directions, Yuri couldn’t find the girl. She tried to find her way back but she got lost instead. She felt hopeless and sad, terribly alone in the middle of a sea of people.

She tried to run back the way they came but her legs failed her, fatigue and hurt stopped her from taking another step. Besides, her right heel broke off, making her limp her way and eventually stopping by a dark corner to wallow in her tears.

She wanted so bad to blame the girl for leaving her behind but she knew the girl never really had any responsibility towards her. She wanted to blame her dad for never having the time for her, leaving her miserable in the company of total strangers who were only after her money. She wanted to blame her mom for dying on her when she was five, giving her nightmares almost every night for years and prompted her to receive psychiatric care. She wanted to blame the world for being cruel to her, for making her believe that there is a better place than where she was before.

But after all, she could only blame herself. She could only blame herself for being so weak, spoiled, innocent to the point of stupidity and generally clueless. She was educated by the best tutors and schools, but they never took the time to tell her about reality. How can she even survive like this?

She picked up her heels and revelled at the strange feeling of dirt in her feet. It was the least part of her body that she wants to be dirtied but she doesn’t have a choice. The thousand dollar heels must come off. She crouched and let her tears dry, staring at the strangers busy on their own worlds.

“So there you are. How was it being alone for an hour?”

Yuri’s ears perked at the familiar dead-pan voice. She hastily turned and there she was, leaning by the wall with a corndog in her hand, the rude girl made her appearance once again.

Yuri wanted to punch her, kick her, wipe the smirk off of her face but she didn’t. Instead, she launched herself to the girl, entangling her arms around the girl’s neck trapping her in an embrace, while she started sobbing into the girl’s shoulder.

The girl, obviously shocked, didn’t utter a single word; she couldn’t even move a muscle.

Yuri cried for almost an eternity (by the girl’s standard) and carefully disengaged herself from the other person.

“What? I left you for an hour and you’re crying like you almost died?” The girl, clearly recovered from the unwanted shock, voiced out.

“Left me for an hour?! It’s like you were never coming back!” This time Yuri landed a punch on the girls arm.

“Hey! It’s not like I was supposed to be with you in any way!” The girl shrugged. “Here, eat this.”

Yuri stared at the corndog. What if it’s poisoned?

“I haven’t tried eating that before.” Yuri said meekly. She was telling the truth.

“Well, beggars can’t be choosers, so just eat it. I’m not planning on buying you anything else.”

Yuri pouted but held the stick, reluctantly taking a bite.

She looked up and saw the girl’s face who’s silently asking her if she liked it.

“It’s tasty.” Yuri smiled.

The girl just smirked and started walking away. She stopped a few feet away when she noticed that Yuri was not following her.

“What? You want to get lost again?” She asked, slightly irritated by the way things turned out. A few hours ago she was shooing the other away and now she wanted to be followed? She must be crazy.

Yuri took small, unsure steps, not really getting used to the feeling of dirt in her feet. There were gravel and hard stones, making her wince as she tried to walk faster.

The girl wondered why Yuri was walking like a turtle until she saw the heels on the girl’s hands and the feet below.

“You are really giving me a headache. You know that?” The girl sighed.

Yuri stopped walking; feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. She was being a complete drag to a stranger she just met and she felt her dignity fading away. Imagine being a multi-billionaire’s daughter a few hours before and now she’s walking the dirty streets with no shoes on.

She pitied herself and it’s the worst feeling she has ever felt. She felt tears starting to well up her eyes until she saw the girl crouched down in front of her.

“Don’t even think of crying, you big baby and just hop on. We have a long way to go.” The dead-pan voice pierced through the bubble of self-pity she put herself in.

At first she was confused but eventually hopped on the girl’s back, remembering a scene from a TV show she watched before. She has always asked her daddy to let her ride his back but he was too busy. Now, she was too heavy to be carried around yet this rude stranger just carried her effortlessly.

“Thank you.” Yuri mumbled bashfully. The girl just nodded and continued to walk away; away from the dazzling lights and the deafening music and away from the sea of strangers into the darkness. Strangely, she felt peace.