We were caught in a downpour of crystal shards, the unbroken patter of the sharp splinters, scattering all over the street and hitting the umbrella in a hard and continuous rhythm doubled, then all of a sudden slowed down to an halt.
"The weather is just like an infant throwing a tantrum, you ought to deal with his momentary fits." Cran remarked and held her hand out in the rain. Small knife-edged splinters dropped down into her hand, but they didn't pierce or hurt her as I believed they would.
"Must've had one hell of a fit to hurl those glass shards against us and all that jazz."
"That's a little too much of a tantrum. It's just a seasonal hailstorm." She threw me a confused glance and I looked the ground over.
The tiny glass shards on the street glistened feebly, then turned trasparent and slowly melted down until they were no longer noticeable. You could easily see through them when they lost their shade.
"Well... let's say I was gifted with a vivid imagination." I mumbled and scratched my head.
"At any rate, we're almost there." she took a left "I suggest you to sleep all day through and restore your energies. Going on a late night walk without getting your share of sleep will burn you out."
"But I only hang around at night when I can't sleep."
"This might be the last time you'll meet me then, because I'm not fond of daywalking."
"I'll pass on the royal baton to you. You can have this dump of a city all for yourself."
We crossed a side street and came out on the road two blocks away from my house. The shops and bars were quiet, and the cats sitting over the walls of the driveways backed away. I heard that stupid dog from the early morning growling farther up the sidewalk.
"Don't step any further, or she'll bark at you next." I said without facing Cran, then turned to meet her eyes. Down the path opposite path, an enormous moon sulked from the horizon and I fixed my eyes on it.
"What's the matter?"
"It's nothing, my house is straight ahead and I don't want to trouble you any longer."
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
"I owe you two lives." I said as she turned her back to me.
"Glad to be helpful, see you later." She stepped down the road and on watching her walking off, a sudden thought struck my mind.
"Hold on, I forgot to introduce myself." I called her out and tried to keep my voice low in the wake of the sleeping neighborhood.
She turned her head to me and sniggered. "What's the point? You aren't seeing around me anymore. At the end of the day, a name is only a label."
"I catch your drift, but it wasn't fair on my part. The name's Allison."
"I'll bear that in mind. Sweet dreams, Allison." She smiled and sauntered down the damp street.