snow | Page 6

could see that it was very small. A desk and a
bookcase humbly occupied one corner, while the closet stood in front of the
bed. Near the desk was a closed window overlooking the street below. It was
getting dark outside and the snow fell quietly.

"Wh..where am I??" she whispered.
She immediately jumped out of bed, but froze on the spot when noticing
something peculiar: someone had changed her clothes while she was asleep! She
was dressed only in a black, long-sleeved wooly shirt that barely managed to
cover her thighs. Also, the shirt was too big for her slender body; one side
constantly fell off her shoulder because the collar was too wide.
She fingered it suspiciously. Even the sleeves were too long for her arms.
"Why, this is a MAN's shirt!!" she cried aloud.
Aeris turned red at the thought that perhaps a *man* had undressed her and
clothed her in his shirt. Looking around the room again, she hoped to discover
an answer, but found nothing.
Sighing in annoyance, she walked to the door. Aeris cautiously opened it, then
peeked to see what was there.
"An apartment," she thought.
She was, indeed, in an apartment, but the silence weighed on the place so
heavily, Aeris dared not make a sound. Nevertheless, she stepped forward,
determined to explore this strange place.
The apartment, as she soon discovered, consisted of only four rooms, all
connected by a hallway stretched in the middle. Judging from the size of the
apartment, Aeris guessed that only one person lived here, two at most.
She was particularly struck by the amount of books in the living room. The two

bookcases that covered an entire wall were absolutely crammed with books of all
sorts. Some were even placed on the table infront of the couch.
When she reached the entrance of the kitchen, Aeris stood at it, but did not
enter. It was small, with a wooden table and two chairs placed in the center.
Perceiving something on the table, Aeris walked up to check it, not
without some uneasiness.
A disassembled gun lay on a white handkerchief, with several of its pieces
surrounding it neatly. A bottle full of a yellow liquid stood near the gun.
Aeris picked up the gun, then examined it with extreme curiosity. She wondered
who could own such a cold, grim weapon.
As if answering her question, a sound of approaching footsteps reached her
ears. A sudden panic gripped her heart. She couldn't quite explain why, but
this unreasonable terror made her listen intently as the footsteps grew
closer and louder.
When the footsteps stopped, Aeris heard a slight rattle at the doorknob, as
though a key was being placed in it. She dropped the gun and rushed to the
hall, clasping both her hands over her heart in anticipation.
Vincent swung the door open and staggered in with a bag full of groceries.
After removing the key, he shut the door again. Coughing a bit, he stomped his
feet and brushed some snow off his black overcoat while still holding
the bag.
On noticing Aeris standing in the hallway, he finally turned around. But Aeris
jumped back in alarm when she met his eyes. It never occurred to her that

*this* man who had perused her in the alley was the one who brought her here.
What struck her more strange was the fright she felt the minute that man
noticed her.
"Oh, so you woke up, huh?" he asked calmly.
She wanted to answer, but her voice failed her. When she realized that Vincent
had walked up to her and was touching her forehead with his hand, she sprang
back apprehensively.
"Who..who are you?!!" she finally cried.
Vincent looked at her very thoughtfully, but did not advance towards her. She
glared back at him with mistrust and confusion.
"Do you remember me?" he inquired.
"Y..yes..you're that man who shot those men in the alley."
"No, I mean do you remember me from before?"
She fidgeted at her big shirt nervously before making any reply.
"No..I've never seen you before..I don't remember.."
Vincent narrowed his eyes as he studied her face, which made Aeris blush in
embarrassment. But he soon brushed past her and stepped into the kitchen. He
dumped the burdensome bag on the counter and began unloading it.
Though she wouldn't dare come near him, Aeris curiously examined Vincent from

the door. She remembered him fully now, but didn't recall his face clearly
because it was so dark when they met.
He struck her as very handsome, but extremely cold. Furthermore, though his
facial features were quite dignified, he seemed strangely out of place; almost
as if he didn't belong here. His thick, long black hair contrasted sharply with
his pale skin and bloody-red eyes.
He's like a monster..or some demon, Aeris noted as she observed him from the
door.
She spotted his iron claw glitter as he threw a roll of French bread into the
bread basket, and shivered in spite of herself. She instantly remembered how
cold it felt on her mouth.
I wonder why he bothered saving me, she thought.
"Hey," he said, turning to her from the counter,"You want something to eat?"
Aeris blinked at him in surprise, but remained