Rain fell down from the sky on the land of Franklin. One drop following the other making the view of the village dark and dull where one couldn't see what was ahead of them after a certain distance. Water flowed down the little street carrying the muddy dirt where a little girl stood under the umbrella with her aunty and uncle.
The young girl's blue eyes moved left and right in front of her to ask, "Aunt Maria, do you think they will come? The rain is getting heavier."
"They will come, Nina," her aunt rubbed and wrung her hands together. The rain was really getting heavy along with the wind, moving the direction of the rain every once in a while. Her aunt gave a look to her husband who stood next to her while they waited for the expected man to arrive.
They had been standing there with a sack of potatoes and onions mixed in the sack which had to be sold to a customer today. Her mother who had raised her had passed away six months ago she had stayed at the aide of her grave for 2 days straight crying her eyes out and since then her maternal relatives were taking care of her who owned a little shop at the corner end of the market of the village which sold vegetables and grains.
The shop didn't do well. Her Uncle Sammie worked hard, waking up early to be the first one to open the shop. But no matter how early he rose the income was lesser than the expectations. The shop wasn't located at the best spot making it so that the local folks and the people who belonged to the elites finished buying what they had to buy from the closest shops which was the opposite where their little shop was, this made her uncle a very grumpy man.
One of the customers had apparently requested for the vegetables urgently an hour ago and even after more than an hour had passed there was no one in sight. It made Nina wonder if the man would even come in such rain unless it was a person from the higher society who was holding some kind of party which people like her and her family weren't fortunate to look at it.
"Are you sure he is coming today?" heard her Aunt Maria ask her uncle who didn't respond to her.
"Let me go check the market to make sure they aren't there," said her uncle, readying himself with the umbrella to be stopped by his wife.
"I will come with you. I don't want to find you later with you on the ground with your back broken, Nina, dear," Aunt Maria turned to look over her shoulder to meet her niece's eyes that looked vibrant in the rainy weather, "Your uncle and I shall go see if the man is waiting for us at the entrance. Stay here and don't go anywhere so that we don't come looking for you next. Okay?"
"I can go take a look instead of you. I will be quick," the young girl promised that had her uncle shake his head.
"The last thing we want is you getting lost. Do what you are told," Uncle Sammie's words were sharp. He had always been sharp with her which often made her think if he didn't like her staying under the same roof as him.
"Don't worry about the vegetables. I will guard them safe," Nina smiled to have her aunt give a small nod to her before walking away with Uncle Sammie under the single umbrella. The rain continued to pour, a light thunder that kept growling up in the sky. The rain was common to the people who lived in Franklin as the days experienced rain than sun here.
The bell from the tall tower rang loud enough to be heard over the rain and thunder. The sky turning darker as a carriage passed by her without stopping to ask why she was standing alone in the rain or if she needed to go somewhere as she stood under the little roof that reduced the speed of the rain on her black umbrella.
The rain had started to move in the direction where her feet and the bottom of her dress started to get wet. Just as she stood there waiting for her uncle and aunt to return while also keeping an eye so she wouldn't miss the customer who had agreed to come to take the goods, a particular carriage came to pass by which was dark black in color.
Nina didn't know who it belonged to as every carriage came to appear almost the same which belonged to the higher men and women of the society. The most she had done was travel in the local carriage which was always packed and was used to travel from one village to another.
What Nina didn't know was that the carriage that had come to pass by had turned around to stop not far from where she stood. "Master is everything alright? Did you drop something?" asked the coachman of the carriage who had pulled over.
The man inside the carriage didn't reply to him, ignoring his coachman as he stared at the girl in the umbrella. The rain kept pouring down whilst she stood, her hands clutching tightly the umbrella. Her eyes scanning around her every once in a while until a loud thunder made way past the cloud.
Raising her face to look up at the clouds, he saw her smile which skipped his heart. She was a beautiful young girl, her golden hair tied into a single plait where the ends came to rest on one of her shoulders, her blue eyes were very captivating. Even with the rain, he could still see her quite clearly. When the wind increased, her slender hand came to tuck the pieces of hair that came to cover her face.
Her features were rather delicate and charming and if he could, he would have liked to go over but there were other matters to be dealt with in hand today. Pressing matters which needed his attention.