Read Part 1 Here
“WHO ARE YOU?!” The first question that came out of Aiko’s lips. She did not mean to be rude but she was not able to suppress her surprise either. Dream or reality, she could not believe what she saw; a replica of her standing before despite having a different gender.
“I should ask the same! W-who are you?” The stranger replied as he got out of the fountain. His white dress shirt and blue trousers were soaking wet. To be out in the morning cold like that was not part of the plan and neither did this stranger wish for it.
“A-anyhow, let’s get you out of the cold,” She quickly wrapped her jacket around the shivering teen. The poor lad was really soaked.
“T-thanks,” He stuttered as he got out from the fountain.
“My house is close by. Would you like to dry off first before leaving?” Aiko quickly offered without hesitation as it would be bad if he got sick. In his current predicament, the stranger quickly agreed to her suggestion.
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“Here we are,”
As soon as Aiko and the young teen arrived at the designated destination, something felt off to Aiko but yet she just could not put a finger on it. Without further ado, she just shook off that strange feeling and marched forward with her companion. The first thing that came into her sight was the nameplate of her home with another name printed on it.
“Strange, THIS IS where I live,” She muttered to herself as she checked the address and her surroundings. Everything was just as she remembered. Could it be that she wandered off to the wrong street? No, that could not be and that should not happen.She thought.
Fear and uncertainty slowly began to sink in but Aiko forced herself to remain calm and collected. She took out her keys and attempted to insert it into the lock. To her horror, the key did not seem to fit. Her companion however, was silent ever since they reached that area. He fished out a set of identical keys from his pocket and successfully unlocked the gate, leaving Aiko gasping in silent horror.
‘Click,’ went the lock of the door and the young lad entered the house with ease. Peeking into the unfamiliar territory, Aiko cautiously follow the suit. Although the interior of the house seemed unfamiliar, but there were several similarities that caught her attention. The little flower painting on the wall, the antique vase that sat at the corner of the hallway, the maroon carpet on the floor and the white photo frame with a flowery design on it. She peered at the frame and to her disappointment, it contained a family picture that she knew nothing off. What caught her attention was the woman in the picture for she looked just like her mother, minus the hair colour.
“Come on, I would need to inform mom about you as a guest,” He nudged. Swallowing her fear and doubts, she nodded and continued to follow him deeper into his domain.
“Mom, I am home,” He greeted and she could hear someone approaching them. His tall back blocked her view slightly of the person that was in front of him.
“Ah welcome back, dear. What happened to you?! Why are you dripping wet?!” Without looking at the face, Aiko knew very well who was talking to him. She turned her head to the left to hide her face. If it were not for this lad’s height, she would have nowhere else to hide. Right now, if both of them met, she was sure that the person who was talking to him would be in more shock.
-To be continued-