Mamoru smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Usako. What would I ever do without you?"
She reached up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Probably trip over your own two feet."
He groaned. "Usa, I do that anyway."
She chuckled softly. "I know, but I like having to catch you in my arms. It's definitely a turn around from the normal, wouldn't you say?" He smiled again, his hand grazing across her cheek, a thumb running over her lips lightly. He still didn't understand how she could be so tolerant with him.
Usagi glanced at him suspiciously. "You're sure you'll be all right?"
Mamoru picked up his coat from its usual place on the coat rack beside the front door of the apartment, and reached over to give his wife a quick kiss. "Usako, I somehow managed to get along before I ever met you, and even though I do better when you're with me, this appointment with the doctor shouldn't be very long. I should be back within a half an hour." He grabbed the dog's harness, and opened the door, but stopped and turned back as he heard the sudden rustling of a raincoat behind him. "Usa? What are you doing?"
She linked herself onto his arm firmly. "Something tells me that I should go with you, Mamo-chan. I know that you are perfectly capable of getting there by yourself, and even though you have Kage with you, I would feel better if I was there with you too. Besides, I want to know what's so important that the doctor has to call you in so suddenly."
Mamoru began to protest, but then he realized she was right. And Usagi was usually right in situations like this.
There was nothing really different how their day began. Chiba Mamoru and his wife, Usagi, went about the same routines most every day. However, in their relationship, a few things differed from what you might call "normal." Ever since he was seven years old, Chiba Mamoru had been blind, from the same car accident that had taken his parents and part of his memory away from him forever.
The two of them walked arm in arm, hands intertwined in the light rain down the busy streets of Azabu with Kage plodding at her husband's side. As they strolled down the walk to the business district, Usagi began to recall times before, just a few years ago, in fact, when she had been walking down this very street, wishing happier times were in store for her.
----------
With her school bag slung limply over her shoulder, and two extremely long blond pigtails dragging limply behind her, Tsukino Usagi walked slowly out the front doors of Juuban High. She glanced down the long road that led back to her home in Minato-ku, and heaved a huge sigh.
It had been another hard day at school. For starters, Usagi woke up late--something she hadn't done since junior high--shot out of her house without breakfast amidst the tauntings of her little brother Shingo, nearly ran her father over as she sprinted out the door, and made it to the school gate just as the second tardy bell finished ringing. Haruna-sensei (who had somehow followed Usagi to teach in the high school) was not happy with her student's behavior, no matter how much she seemed to improve. She forced Usagi to stand out in the hallway for fifteen minutes holding two very full buckets of water.
Her arms were still sore. She switched her bag back and forth from hand to hand, trying to relieve the stress on her shoulders. Even though it was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon, she could still feel those fifteen minutes like they had just happened. Usagi groaned as her stomach rumbled loudly, a reminder of her hastily-eaten lunch, not to mention the fact she devoured more than half of it during morning classes. Well, there was always dinner. She smiled happily at the thought of her mother's cooking.
She stopped suddenly to stare at the doors of the Crown Game Parlor, which she always passed on her walk to and from school. 'Of course, there's always time for a game or two,' Usagi thought, and she watched with a grin as the automatic doors slid open.
"So, Usagi-chan, how are things going for you in school?" Motoki asked as he placed the chocolate milkshake in front of her.
Usagi hung her head in humiliation. "Oh, Motoki-onii-san, it's just not fair! I thought I studied hard enough, but nothing seems to help. I'll never understand geometry. Why did they have to put all these letters, lines and shapes with the numbers? It doesn't make any sense to me! And this being the last year high school only puts more pressure on me." She slipped the straw into her mouth and downed half the milkshake quickly.
Motoki looked at her in sympathy. "Usagi-chan, maybe you should get a tutor."
"Tried that. I've gone through three different tutors already, and none of them helped me to understand anything!" She crumpled the math test and placed it beside her school bag lying on the counter. "Well, Usagi-chan, try your other remedy for bad test grades. That always seems to boost your spirits," Motoki said with a grin.
Usagi slowly looked up from her empty glass, and glanced over at the row of arcade games on the left side of the room. The chair in front of the 'Sailor V' game-her favorite-sat empty; waiting for a willing and eager soul to pop in a few tokens and begin a new game.
She grinned mischievously and slid off her stool in excitement. Rushing over to the video game before anyone else had a chance to beat her to it, she plopped down on the chair, pushed two tokens into the slot, and proceeded to lose herself in the world of Sailor V once more.
After her tenth consecutive game and passing her own high score three times, Usagi was out of tokens, and out of money. Deciding that it was probably time to go, she stretched her arms high over her head, and got up to say goodbye to Motoki. As she reached the counter where her school bag was still sitting, Usagi the clock on the wall noticed out of the corner of her eye. Its hands were pointing to a quarter to seven, almost an hour later than her mother usually had dinner ready. Usagi's eyes widened in shock at the late hour, and she began packing her bag hastily. She slung it over her shoulder quickly, then turned to run out the door.
WHAP! Books, loose papers and other items flew everywhere as Usagi's body made contact with that of someone just entering the arcade. Both Usagi and the golden retriever by the man's side let out a yelp as she fell over the large dog and hit the floor with a thud, wincing as the pain shot through her tailbone.
"Oh! I didn't see you coming," Usagi exclaimed to the man and his dog that had somehow survived the collision and were still in one piece. She scrambled to pick up her scattered belongings.
"I'm very sorry. We certainly didn't see you either," the man replied with a chuckle, as he listened to a sweet yet very frantic voice apologizing. "But there's no harm done." Usagi blushed, stuffed everything back into her bag, mumbled another hurried apology, and ran out the door.
Mamoru crouched down and patted Kage's head. From the way that the dog was breathing, he noticed he held something in his mouth. Gently as not to startle Kage, he reached down, and took the object from his mouth. "What did you find Kage-chan?" he whispered in the canine's ear. Mamoru's fingers felt around the rectangular object. "A tape recorder?" he thought. "It must belong to that girl."
He slowly slid onto his usual stool, the dog obediently laying down at the foot of it. From the noises he heard from behind the counter, he knew exactly who was working that day. "Konnichi wa, Motoki," Mamoru replied to his closest friend. Motoki grinned, put down the mug he was drying and turn to greet his friend on the other side of the counter. "Yo, Mamoru. Been wondering if you were going to come in today. How's your day been? Can I get you your usual?"
Mamoru nodded. "Not much different than other days, except I didn't walk into any lampposts like I did last week." He grimaced as he recalled that eventful day. Turning his mind to other things, his fingers lightly ran over the recorder now concealed in his jacket pocket. "Motoki, who was that girl that shot out of here just a few minutes ago?"
Motoki chuckled lightly. "The one who tripped over Kage? That was Usagi-chan. She's a regular around here like you, mostly for ice cream and video games. She's like another little sister to me. I think she's a year younger than Unazuki."
"She's 17?" Mamoru echoed. Motoki turned 20 three months ago, and being six months younger than him, Mamoru still looked up to him occasionally. He had, after all, been the first to befriend him. They became friends after Mamoru moved to an orphanage just outside of Azabu shortly after the accident. He enrolled in the local elementary school, and most of the children there had shunned him because of his differences. But not Motoki. By the end of the first week, he became his closest friend, his protector from the bullying kids, and his right hand as Mamoru learned to adjust to his new and often difficult world. It was so hard to believe that had been nearly 12 years ago.
"Almost," Motoki replied, breaking into Mamoru's thoughts. "Usagi-chan's 16, but her birthday's sometime at the end of next month, I think. You know, every time she comes in, no matter what she does, she brightens up everyone's day. Her sunny disposition shines out to everyone, and there's not been a day when I can be mad about something with her around. Today she was telling me about all her final projects, since she's about to graduate from high school in a few weeks. I can't believe how much she has to complete. Seems like it gets harder every year." He placed Mamoru's usual chocolate milkshake on the countertop.
Mamoru carefully picked up the glass, and took a big sip, letting the cool liquid run down his throat. "And you say she's here every day?" He wanted to find out more about this girl, not only to return her possession, but she sounded intriguing from the way Motoki described her.
Motoki took a drink from his own glass, now on a short break since the flow of customers was slow. "Yeah, most every day around three o'clock or so, depending if she gets a detention or not. Why do you ask, Mamoru? I've never seen you get so worked up over one person." Mamoru turned away, as was his nature to do so when someone tried to get too personal with him. Even with Motoki, he had always shut himself off when the situation became too touchy for him. Kage sensed his master's sudden discomfort and whimpered.
Mamoru knew it was time to go. He finished the rest of his milkshake, took hold of his dog's harness and leash and slid slowly off the stool, being careful to keep the tape recorder concealed in his pocket. "Don't worry about it, Motoki. I have to be going, see you around." He motioned to Kage again and walked out the front doors of Crown Parlor.
---------
Usagi was frantic. She hadn't missed dinner after all; Ikuko-mama was kind enough to save her a plate--even though it was cold and needed to be reheated several times to make it edible--but she shoved that aside as she searched her whole room. Her final project in language arts was due in three days, and she couldn't find her tape recorder anywhere.
Since Haruna-sensei assigned her class to keep a detailed journal during a month-long period, Usagi had the bright idea to record the day's events on tape, then transcribe them onto paper when she had the time. Now that she actually had the time, she couldn't find it.
"I know I couldn't have left it at school, I was sure I put it in my bag after class," she thought to herself as she ransacked her closet. Finding nothing in there, she turned back to the bed. Sticking her head under her bed, hoping against all hope that it might be there, Usagi found only dust and three pairs of mismatched socks she had lost last laundry day. Not a single trace of her recorder.
"Usagi, you baka! What are you doing? Hiding from the monster in your closet again?" came a taunting voice. The sudden sound startled Usagi and she yelped in pain as she hit the back of her head. She pulled herself out from beneath the bed and glared at the figure standing in the doorway, massaging her head as she did so. "Baka! You know better than to startle me like that!" She was met by his mocking laughter, which wasn't new. He was always trying to find some way to laugh at her. "And for your information, I was searching for my tape recorder. You haven't seen it, have you?" she asked him, an edge of suspiciousness creeping into her voice. It would be just like Shingo to pull a prank like that and hide her things, then watch with glee as she panicked to find them.
"What would I want with your stupid recorder?" Shingo retorted. "I have better things to do with my time than play with your things!" He stomped out of her room and down the stairs. Usagi sighed, and leaned back against her bed. Little brothers were such pains sometimes. She glanced around her bedroom a second time, having no clue where her recorder might be. And there was no way Haruna-sensei would accept any more of her excuses. What was she going to do now?
---------
Mamoru closed the door to his apartment behind him, unhooked Kage from his harness, and shuffled across the room to his old comfy couch. He knew he had found the sofa when he felt he familiar pain shoot through his foot after stubbing his toes on the leg of the couch like so many times before. Mamoru sank down onto the cushions and closed his weary eyes. Occasionally the bright lights of the day hurt and strained his eyes anyway, though he couldn't see it. He yawned loudly, and rolled over on his side to take a short nap, but a bulky object poked sharply into his side, waking him up completely.
Mamoru sat up, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the object, knowing what it was right away. The nearly forgotten tape recorder, which belonged to the girl who had tripped over Kage earlier that day. The one who Motoki called Usagi-chan. Though their encounter had been very brief, Mamoru knew there was something about her, something he didn't recognize, but something very intriguing.
His fingers felt around for the playback button, but Mamoru stopped suddenly. His actions could really get him into a lot of trouble. It was, after all, an invasion of someone's privacy. But, he reasoned with himself, in order to find out more about Usagi, so he could return her possession, he had to listen to the tape. Finally, he ignored the guilt trip, and pressed the playback button.
"...It's been two and a half weeks since this project began, and not many exciting things have happened to me. I don't know what Haruna-sensei will expect from me, but I know one thing is for sure. She'll certainly be surprised when I hand this assignment in on time!"
Usagi's laughter rang in Mamoru's ears. The sweet sound of every word that came from her lips echoed in his mind, words that he knew he would never forget. He saw Usagi in a whole new light. He listened to her talk about each of her family members, all her friends at school, even how she felt about her bossy cat, Luna. He felt as if he understood her, and now, he wanted to get to know her even more.
The last journal entry, as Mamoru had come to find out the tape was, struck him so deeply that he rewound it and played it back to hear it a second time:
"Today in class, Haruna-sensei read us a quote by someone called Tennyson. It says something like, 'It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.' Pretty powerful, if you ask me. Of course, I don't know what love--true love, anyway--really is; I've never had the chance to experience it. You'd think that in my life, I would understand the happiness everyone else seems to enjoy."
The voice started to waver with emotion. "When will my turn come to feel that joy, that happiness that my friends seem to have every day? I have to be happy all the time because everyone expects it of me. But sometimes, I want more than just happiness. Some people say--mainly my father--I'm still too young to be thinking about something like this so seriously. But they're wrong. Can't a person just be loved, not for what they are, but for who they are? I've seen some of my friends, and what they've had to go through. I think I would rather have loved at least once, even live with the pain of heartache, than to have never experienced and understand love."
Mamoru was close to tears as the recorder shut off. Such strong words from such a little voice. In a way, he knew how she felt, having experienced many of the same feelings. All his life, all he had ever wanted was to be loved. He was sure that his parents had loved him, though he could not remember them now. He remembered the days of the orphanage, when couples seeking to adopt children showed interest in him and his heart would soar. But when they found out about his condition, he could always tell something had changed, even though he couldn't see their facial expressions clearly.
And so it had been that way most of his life. That day three years ago when he left the orphanage to attend a specialized school for the blind was a day of mixed emotions. Leaving behind the younger children who had become his friends was hard, but to finally be on his own was a chance he had waited for.
Sometimes Mamoru had wondered if his life was even worth living, but it always came back to one point: he survived that accident for a reason, and though many things had been taken from him, he knew there was a purpose for his life. And now, more than ever, he was determined to fulfill that purpose.
---------
Two days and counting. Usagi hated to remind herself of such a deadline, but without that recorder, her project would no more impress Haruna-sensei than another one of her daily excuses. And she needed a good grade in that subject to balance out the other grades she was expecting to receive. There was no way she could remember three weeks worth of journal entries.
"Motoki-onii-san, are you absolutely sure you didn't see my recorder lying around from the other day?" Usagi wailed for the fourth time that day, the desperation in her voice growing each time she asked.
Motoki glanced at his young blonde-haired friend from behind the counter. In all honesty, he wished he had found it so he could wipe the disappointed look from her face. "I'm sorry, Usagi-chan. I cleaned the arcade thoroughly last night, but I didn't see a tape recorder."
Usagi sighed and hung her head. "Thanks anyway Motoki. I guess I'll go search my house again, just in case I overlooked it." She gripped her schoolbag in her right hand, held back her tears of frustration, and walked toward the front doors of the arcade. "Could this week get any worse?" she muttered to herself.
Not watching as the automatic doors opened for her, Usagi suddenly found herself in a very familiar position--falling hard onto the floor. 'Opened my big mouth too soon,' she thought to herself. As she turned to look up at the person she had bumped into, she found herself face to face with--a cold, wet nose and furry snout?
With a small, surprised shriek, Usagi stared back into the face of a medium-sized golden retriever. 'Since when does Motoki allow animals into the arcade?' It appeared friendly enough, but Usagi knew looks were often deceiving. Like her younger brother's dislike of cats, she steered clear of any dog as often as possible. She shuddered as she remembered the big ugly dogs that used to live next door to her. As a little girl, they chased her down the block every time she stepped out of the house.
Usagi stood quickly and scrambled backwards in an attempt to get away from the animal. "Nice doggie," she sputtered, trying not to let her fear show. It didn't work. Each step she took back, the dog would advance on her, sniffing about her the entire time. Then, without warning, the dog leaped up. Usagi screamed, sure that the dog was about to attack her.
Her scream ripped through the air and turned the heads of nearly everyone in the arcade, including the two young men at the counter. Motoki surveyed the situation quickly, and grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Mamoru, I think you'd better go get Kage."
Mamoru raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Kage? Where is he? Isn't he sitting by me?"
"Actually, no. Right now, he's over in the corner, licking Usagi-chan to pieces!" Mamoru shook his head in exasperation, and got off his stool to go restrain Kage. His friend's words suddenly stuck out in his mind. "...licking Usagi-chan to pieces!" Looked like Kage had also taken a liking to the girl who had also captivated his master's attention. Mamoru felt a pang of jealousy for his dog, though he didn't understand why. At least Kage could see what Usagi looked like, while he could only rely upon her voice.
Mamoru got up from his seat, followed closely behind by Motoki, and pulled Kage away from the cowering girl in the corner. Motoki took Usagi by the arm, and looked into her eyes, brimming with tears. "Are you all right, Usagi-chan?"
She trembled momentarily, then looked up. "I'm fine. When did you start letting animals in to play video games, Motoki-onii-san?" she replied, trying to relieve the tension, and to calm herself down. He smiled back, releasing her arm. "Sorry, Usagi-chan. Kage here is normally mild mannered."
She glanced at the dog now being restrained by his owner. Usagi stared up at him, trying to get the man's attention, but with his dark glasses, he appeared to be looking anywhere but in her direction. "This has certainly been one interesting day. I'd love to stick around, but... I have to do something at home... yeah, that's it. Bye," she said as she left the arcade, shying away from the dog as much as possible.
----------
The next morning, Mamoru sat silently in his apartment, wondering more and more about Usagi. He felt bad that he kept running into her--well, Kage kept running into her anyway-and wanted to apologize for his dog's behavior, not to mention returning the tape recorder that rightfully belonged to her. But, as Motoki had mentioned to him her fear of dogs, he knew very well that it would be difficult to get her to stick around long enough to actually apologize to Usagi. So here he was, back at square one.
Kage whined softly from his position on the floor. Mamoru leaned over and ruffled the dog's fur playfully, knowing exactly what he wanted. "Wanna take a walk, Kage?" The dog, recognizing the word 'walk,' barked happily in response. Kage sat up and stretched, picked up his leash in his mouth, and dropped it in Mamoru's lap. Mamoru chuckled, and hooked the leash to the harness. Closing the door behind him, he suddenly stopped, went back in, and picked up the recorder from the coffee table where he had placed it the day before. "Just in case," he thought to himself. He put it in his pocket, and with a smile, closed the apartment door behind him.
They walked beneath the shade of the cherry trees lining the sidewalk, taking the shorter of the two routes from Mamoru's apartment to Juuban Park. The golden retriever knew this path very well; Mamoru brought him to the park at least twice a week to let him play around. As they entered the park through the northeast entrance, Kage stopped momentarily, smelling a familiar scent on the breeze. Without warning, the dog took off barking, following the scent's trail in earnest, and dragged his complaining master behind him.
Stumbling helplessly along, Mamoru wondered what was wrong with Kage. Normally the golden retriever was well-behaved; not even the occasional cat or squirrel that crossed his path made him act this way. He commanded him to stop several times, but to no avail. The dog ignored his master's objections for once and continued his pursuit.
Usagi quietly studied the area around her. Juuban Park was one of her favorite places to go to relax or think. Now that she had a specific purpose to think about, she sought out her favorite place in the entire park: the smooth wooden bench at the edge of the duck pond, in the northern end of the park. With only one day left before her project was due, and her original idea missing, she had do something to make up for it. She planned to write up a short story about her adventures of the last month, knowing that it wouldn't be the best, nor would it be perfect, but it was something to hand in, and Usagi couldn't let Haruna-sensei down now, not after all she had done to prove otherwise.
She leaned against the back of the bench, and closed her eyes, trying to collect her thoughts enough to make sense of them to write it all down. She let the various sounds of the park swirl around her; birds chirping amidst the branches of the tree behind her; the waves of the pond lapping against the shore; the barking dog...
Barking dog? Usagi's eyes snapped open. Sure enough, a dog--dragging its protesting master behind him--was headed straight for her! As Usagi squinted to get a better look at the animal, she recognized the dog as the same one that cornered her at the arcade. "Not again!" she moaned to herself. She yelped in shock, getting up to get out of the dog's path, but by then it was too late. The golden retriever and his wheezing owner had caught up to her.
That was enough. "Look," she snapped, "I don't know who you are, but I would appreciate it if you kept that dog away from me." She turned away from them, looking for another place where she could be alone.
Mamoru recognized Usagi's voice immediately, and not wanting to lose another chance to talk to her, he commanded Kage to sit, and was slightly amazed when he felt the dog do so. "Wait, Tsukino-san, please. I assure you he means no harm. Let me introduce ourselves. My name is Chiba Mamoru, and this," motioning to the dog lying in the shade by now, "is Kage."
Usagi was surprised and a little suspicious. "How did you know my name?" she questioned him, sitting back down on the bench, still wary of the dog lying at his feet.
Mamoru grinned. "We have a mutual friend. Motoki told me a little about you. And," he continued, reaching into his jacket pocket, "I think I have something that belongs to you." He held out her recorder in the direction of her voice.
Usagi gasped, and leaped up, staring at his hand. She took it slowly from his grasp, and turned it over and over in disbelief. She couldn't believe it, and turned back to Mamoru. "Thank you, Chiba-san, for returning this to me." She sat down again, and glanced at the tape, another idea coming to mind. "Did you...listen to any of it?"
He hesitated, then finally nodded in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I invaded your privacy." Usagi glanced at him again, then smiled softly. "Well, I suppose you had better call me Usagi, because you know so much about me now. It's not exactly fair, you know. You practically know my life story, yet I know nothing about you except that you have a dog that likes to chase me all over town." She patted the empty bench next to her. "Have a seat if you like, Chiba-san."
Mamoru's smile disappeared for a moment, then returned as he pulled Kage to a stand. "Help me find the bench, Kage," he whispered to the golden retriever. Kage padded over to the bench, and led his master to sit down in the empty space. He sighed loudly as he settled into the worn wooden seat.
Usagi watch with amusement, and confusion. Why had Mamoru needed the dog's help to get to a bench that was not three feet in front of him? Suddenly, it all came to her. The dark glasses, the aid of a dog... Usagi gasped in shock and her hand flew to her lips. Why hadn't she realized it before?
Mamoru looked in her direction. "Is something the matter, Usagi-chan?"
Her hand fell to her lap, and she fumbled for the right words to say. "Are you... sorry, I didn't know... what I mean to say is, um... are you blind?"
Mamoru chuckled lightly, realizing she would have figured it out sooner than later. "I am. And it's all right to talk about it. It doesn't bother me that much."
Usagi looked down at her hands, embarrassed at making such a big deal over it. "Um... how long have you... you know, been like that, Chiba-san?" She didn't mean for it to sound that way and was still pretty nervous asking him, but she relaxed at the sight of a smile on Mamoru's face.
"Call me Mamoru. You don't have to skirt around the subject like that, Usagi-chan. Like I said, it doesn't bother me. I've been blind since I was seven years old, and I think I'm pretty used to it by now. If you like, I'd be happy to tell you the rest of the story. You said so yourself that you didn't know anything about me, so now I'm giving you the chance."
She smiled in response. "I'd like that, Mamoru-san." Her lips curved upwards as she tried out his name. She liked the way it sounded, even tingled on her lips, and secretly hoped to have the chance to say it again and again.
---------
The rain began to come down hard again, and Usagi clutched the umbrella in one hand, and slipped her other into her husband's free hand. She enjoyed walking in the rain--with Mamoru especially--unless it turned into a thunderstorm. In those cases, she would refuse to step outside until she was sure it was over.
She giggled softly at all her memories as she relived them, finding it hard to believe sometimes how she could have ended up with such a wonderful man. Usagi squeezed Mamoru's hand in affection, causing him to look over in his wife's direction, wondering what all the commotion was about. "Usako, what's so funny?" he asked warmly, squeezing her hand to return the gesture.
She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he responded by wrapping his arm around her slim waist. "Oh, Mamo-chan, was just 'taking a walk down memory lane,' I guess. Do you remember the first time we met?"
Mamoru chuckled deeply. "Yes, how could I forget that? I still think it was Kage who really brought us together." The dog barked at hearing his name. "You turned out to be quite the matchmaker, didn't you?"
"You know, Usa, you never did tell me what you got on that assignment of yours after I gave back your recorder," Mamoru replied, lightly teasing his wife.
She poked him in the side. "I passed, and that's all you need to know."
Kage barked again, and Usagi realized they were at the doctor's office. She tugged on his arm. "We're here, Mamo-chan. Do you have any idea what he has to say to you?" He shook his head. "Not a clue. Last time I was here, he told me everything was all right. I don't know why he wanted me to come again so soon."
Usagi sighed deeply, nervous and excited all at the same time, though she didn't know why. "What are you waiting for, Mamo-chan? Let's go find out what's so important." She folded up the umbrella, walked out of the drizzling rain and into the large building.