Free Web NovelChapter 21: Would You Like a Hug
There was a moment of silence for Yumiko as she considered Julius’s reply. She had deduced the woman in the image was important to him and was curious for his reply.
But that wasn’t what she wanted to ask. The incident at the market district had brought memories she had long since suppressed and she wanted someone to talk to.
She asked. "can we talk?"
To which he responded. "Sure. Could you move back a bit?"
Yumiko obliged and sat on her bed. While he got up and sat on his, both of them facing each other.
There was a silence as she watched Julius, considering what to say but Julius spoke first.
"You alright?" he asked. freewebnoveℓ.com
She considered the words before giving a reply. "No."
"Okay," Julius replied. "Anything else?"
Yumiko paused. She wasn’t used to talking to others about Hannah. Most of her interactions were with people in the village and she didn’t speak much about Hannah to them, aside from Councilor Maeva.
But here she was, in an Inn with a man she wasn’t familiar with asking about her day. She wasn’t used to that either.
"Sad," she replied and brought her knees to her chin.
"Why is that?" Julius asked.
"My sister. Miss her." Yumiko responded before fiddling with the pendant on her neck. She watched Julius for his response.
His facial features softened into a smile. "Tell me about her."
Yumiko spoke about her sister, Hannah: Her appearance, their shared hobbies and how their parents eventually sold her off to pay their debts, the pendant being the only memento she had left of her and how she had searched for her.
She had spoken at length about Hannah, not the short replies she usually gave. She always did, when it came to her sister.
She did not mention the incident at the market district. She did not wish to recall it anymore.
There was silence when she finished speaking, for her, it felt like a load off her chest. Then it was Julius’s turn to speak.
She expected he would sympathize, maybe say sorry or dismiss her and go about his day. But what she heard was different.
"Would you like a hug?" he asked.
The words came as a surprise to Yumiko. The last person she had hugged was Hannah. Councilor Maeva had suggested it one time but she refused.
There was a tension within her as she considered the offer before answering.
"Yes." She hadn’t hugged anyone in a while. She didn’t know if she remembered how
She watched him stand up, watched him stare at an empty space like he usually did before spreading his arms on either side.
Yumiko took in his appearance as she stood up. His black hair with white streaks, his eyes that shared the colour of the earth with a mole underneath one of them. His skin, the colour of cream.
In some way, he reminded her of Hannah. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her body against his while he brought his arm to hold her.
This close, Yumiko could hear his heartbeat. It was steady and slow. But that wasn’t all she could sense. freewebnoveℓ.com
Her nose twitched as she took in his scent. She didn’t have the words for it, all she knew was that it was good.
Yumiko subconsciously tilted her nose for a sniff, almost closing her eyes.
That is until he spoke. "Better?"
"Better." That was all she said. But she still didn’t let go of him.
The exhaustion had caught up with her, she hadn’t slept well since she left the village, or the first night in the inn, she had been awake thinking about how to find her sister.
Darkness slowly filled the edge of her vision. She heard a knock on the door. She could hear Julius talking to someone else. A voice, Mudgob’s, saying something about food.
Doorcome, Gobfood?
She would find out what that was all about later, but for now.
Sleep.
