The Stranger

A moment later, the sisters didn’t notice the hooded figure that came sprinting towards them, until he collided with Brylla, sending her sprawling to the ground. The stranger didn’t stop, but glanced back for a split second.

He wore a dark cloak that hid his features, except for a sliver of his pale face. His sinister red eyes flashed like rubies. Aerin felt a shiver run down her spine. He darted through the crowd, his steps frantic and desperate, as if he had committed a crime and was fleeing from justice. He headed for the city gates, ignoring the shouts and curses of the people he bumped into. She saw him knock over a pile of apples from a merchant’s stall, but he didn’t bother to apologize. He just kept running. Who was he? And what was he running from?

“Are you all right, child?” asked a woman who was passing by, helping Brylla to her feet. “Those damned foreigners!”

Brylla brushed off the dirt from her clothes and nodded. “Yes, thank you,” she said curtly. She looked at the woman. “How do you know he was a foreigner?”

“Wearing all those clothes and hood under this sun? It can’t be anyone from here.”

Aerin turned her eyes in the direction the stranger had gone. There was no trace of him anymore. A foreigner? With blood-red eyes… Had she really seen that, or had her eyes been deceived by the sunlight?

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear Brylla calling her name until she nudged her hard. “Aerin!”

She blinked and looked at her sister.

“Let’s see the fabrics before that stupid blind man comes back!” Brylla snapped, pulling her towards the stall.

Aerin followed her reluctantly, but her mind was still on the hooded figure. She had a feeling that he was not just a random passerby.