Try and Catch Me

Mr. Rabbit (1)
Lia retreated to her room and studied the books Jeremiah lent her.

After they met, Jeremiah brought her to a house that he said belonged to his aunt. His aunt was to go on a trip but could not find anyone who would look after the house.

Lia could live and use the books in the house’s library to her heart’s content. In exchange, she had to keep the house clean, maintain the garden and fend off the kids that play in front of it. The owner was expected to return after a month, giving Lia enough time to study for her exam which would happen in a month’s time.

The whole deal was too good to be true, and Lia could not help but think that there might be a silent figure manipulating all these. At the same time, she could not deny how helpful this would be. She would no longer worry about a roof over her head and a work to feed herself. Besides, it was not as if it was for free. She would work hard to earn her keep.

It had been a week since Lia moved into this house. It was a simple-looking bungalow outside but beautifully decorated inside. The first floor had the living room, dining room, and the kitchen, whereas the second floor contained the master’s bedroom, a study room, and a guest room.

Lia created a routine to maximize her study time. She would clean the yard in the morning and do some gardening. After that, she would clean the house. Then, she had two to four hours of studying. After her lunch, she would take a nap then study again. In the afternoon, the neighboring kids would be playing outside. Save for one time that they tried to pick a flower, no one tried to trespass yet. Though, they were noisy. So Lia was on guard in case they got mischievous.

In the evenings, she would read a book or study some more.

That night, after taking care of everything, Lia retreated to her room at the back of the house and began studying when she heard the sound from the window. Someone was throwing stones. Lia froze, chest-pounding. She blew her candles out and listened.

Did the Unseen found her? But surely, they were not the type to announce their presence this way, right?

She held her dagger tightly. If anything else, she would not go down without a fight.

After a while, the sound stopped. Lia did not let her guard down. She opened the windows, just a small gap to take a peek at the source of the sound.

Curiously, she saw a person picking something off the ground. It was dark outside so she could not tell exactly, but she was sure that the person was picking another rock to throw.

When the person stood up, she saw a familiar-looking mask. It was the same cute rabbit mask she found in the previous town she had been to. And there was only one person she knew who would wear that.

She pressed her lips together to stop the smile that was threatening to appear on her face and slide the window open. The person paused while poised to throw another rock.

“Just what do you think you are doing here, Mr. Rabbit?”

“Visiting?” Mr. Rabbit grinned, and Lia could not help but grin back.