He picked up his usual black umbrella from the stand near the door and stepped out into the heavy rain.
He walked slowly through the flooded streets, the umbrella barely protecting him from the slanting rain. Water splashed around his shoes with every step.
Hiroto wandered without any clear direction towards the little local train station on the outskirts of town. Everything appeared to have a blurred and distant effect from the rain. Upon reaching the platform of the train station, he stood under the limited cover on the platform looking at the vacant track.
As the driver made preparations for the departure of a local service train this morning, he was sitting behind the controls of his locomotive enjoying a cup of hot tea while watching the steam from his drink dissipate into the humid atmosphere surrounding the station. The only other occupant of the station at this point in time is the driver of the train and a series of heavy showers falling to the ground.
Then Hiroto noticed her.
A girl was standing on the platform, a little distance away. She wore a simple bright yellow dress that fluttered slightly in the wet wind. She had no umbrella, yet she was completely dry. Not a single drop of rain touched her.
Hiroto frowned in confusion. In this heavy downpour, how was she not getting wet?
He turned to the train driver and asked, his voice quiet and flat, "Why is that girl not getting wet?"
The driver looked up from his tea, confused. "What? Who?"
Hiroto pointed directly at the girl. "Her. The one in the yellow dress."
The driver squinted through the rain, then shook his head. "There's no one there, kid. You okay? The rain playing tricks on you?"
Hiroto's heart skipped. He looked back. She was still standing there, perfectly dry.
He thought, What is that?
Suddenly, the girl slowly tilted her head to one side in a strange, unnatural way. A chill ran down Hiroto's spine.
Gathering whatever courage he had left in his empty chest, he walked toward her, umbrella still in hand.
"Hi…" he said softly. "What are you doing here? And why are you not wet?"
At the instant when his words reached her, she could not believe the expression on his face as he spoke to her. For an instant, both of their eyes met, and she could feel herself being propelled through time and space. As soon as he opened his mouth to speak again, she disappeared, leaving behind only one sparkling tear of water that dropped where she had stood and splashed onto the wet platform below.
Hiroto stood frozen, his umbrella trembling slightly in his grip. Shock rippled through his numb body.
"Who… is she?" he whispered.
He thought she must be a ghost.
As he became more anxious, he turned his back to the street and quickly headed for home, splashing through the water-filled potholes, completely drenched by the rain. For the first time in a long time, his heart was beating rapidly within his chest.
Halfway home, a bike rider suddenly swerved in front of him on the wet road, brakes screeching.
"Are you mad?!" the rider shouted. "Why are you running like that in this rain? You want to die or something?"
Hiroto stopped for a second, breathing heavily. "Nothing…" he muttered, then kept running without another word.
When he finally got home, he was soaked to the bone and trembling, so he ran inside. He slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against it, trying to regain his breath. He dropped water from his outfit onto the carpet as small pools formed.
The rain continued to pour heavily outside.
Hiroto slid down against the door, sitting on the cold floor, still holding his wet umbrella. His mind kept replaying the girl's shocked violet eyes and the way she had disappeared.
"Who was she…?" he whispered again into the empty house.