It was an exceptionally boring day.
Even the daylight itself seemed bored, considering that it didn't even try to reach beyond the grey clouds concealing its brightness. Not to mention the rain pattering against the windowpane in its monotonous rhythm.
Ib sighed for the dozenth time today, while she sat in her room on the first floor of the house, elbows propped on the windowsill, her head leaning on her small white hands, some of her toys laying abandoned in the corners of her room.
It was one of those days that was so depressing that you wouldn't want to do anything in particular, or if you managed to start something, you would abandon what you were doing only a short time after paying attention to it. Like that half-finished crayon picture across the room that showed three stick figures, but only two of them were done properly, the third one had been abandoned after a short try on her blonde hair.
The day stretched on and on in boredom in a way it was depressing. It was a Sunday to boot and there was nothing in particular to be done on such a day.
Suddenly, though, there was a red umbrella dancing on the streets. It wasn't alone, a person was holding it in that greyish world out there, like it was the last dot of color alive and willing to press forward. Ib watched it with growing interest as it came closer and closer to her house. A visitor perhaps? But whom? Nobody had told her that they were expecting any kind of guest today and even then; who would dare going outside in that kind of weather voluntarily? But sure enough the doorbell rang and, since it was the most interesting thing happening today, Ib got up from her seat and rushed to her door to open it and at least listen to their unexpected visitor's demand.
Her mother had answered the door and Ib heard a male voice, too. She couldn't really make out whom it belonged to, though, since from her room she heard the sounds in a kind of blurred way. The visitor seemed kind of nervous, though, and her mom was seemingly suspicious of that person.
Ib's curiosity was piqued enough to get out of her room and to spy down the railing of the first floor to get a closer look on the doorway. Her eyes widened as she finally recognized the person with the lavender colored hair, blue overcoat and greyish pants – all wet up to the knees, too, but it didn't matter.
"Garry!"
"Ib!" The young man's voice sounded like sunshine on this rainy day for Ib, but it instantly turned towards slight panic as he added: "Woah! Be careful there! Don't fall down from that railing!"
What?
Ib hadn't even realized that she had partially climbed the railing wit her belly reaching pretty far beyond it's barriers, one hand waving at her guest, the other just about keeping her from toppling over.
But no time for that kind of details now, Ib slid back down from the railing and hopped downwards the stairs to finally greet Garry properly, but her mother held her back just as she was about to hug him.
"What is going on here, Ib? Who is this man? He said he knew you from the Guertena exhibition, but—"
"He's Garry! He's my friend!", Ib protested against being held back by her mother. How could she not see what Garry meant to her just by her reaction towards him? It was absolutely mysterious for Ib.
This was Garry after all, the man Ib had experienced all the wonders and horrors of Guertena's artwork behind the paintings on that other boring Sunday that lay behind her for a while now, but was unforgettable in many ways. Ib started to pout when her mother still didn't seem to budge after a long stare in her eyes.
"Ahaha... It's okay, Ib, really. I guess it might seem a little suspicious that a guy like me knows a nice little girl like you.", Garry said with a smile Ib still knew pretty well. It meant he put on some kind of act, but was scared nonetheless – probably not that much scared as he was inside Guertena's exhibition, but scared enough to feel the need to do this. Ib understood him, though. Her mother – maybe all mothers in general – could look pretty scary when she was angry. She wasn't willing to give up just yet, though.
"Mum, really, this is Garry. He is not scary at all. We were together all the time inside the museum. He is nice."
"And that's why you told him where you live so he could visit you?" Ib's mother still bore a stern look on her face like Ib had done something wrong in doing so.
"Mum, if Garry wanted to do things bad people do to kids, he would have done so while you were not looking at the exhibition and not visit our house to do it."
That was it, logic. Logic should work here, right?
Ib's mother still didn't seem convinced completely, judging by the way she crossed her arms over her breast, but then she sighed and asked Garry to enter.
Finally!
Ib was overjoyed to be finally able to greet Garry properly after she had to wait that long. Garry liked the embrace, if him hugging her back lightly and patting Ib's head was any indication. Maybe he would have hugged her a little more tightly if Ib's mother wasn't watching him the whole time. Ib felt a little deprived of her happiness on this depressingly boring day, but tried not to show it.
Garry was invited to a cup of tea by Ib's mother, and to sit on the sofa in the living room while he waited for it, so Ib took a seat right next to him. Garry smiled at her and she liked it a lot.
"I wanted to give you something.", Garry started while he reached inside the big pockets of his still tattered overcoat and produced a small plastic bag with a ribbon on it.
Ib took the present and unwrapped it, only to find a laced white handkerchief with her initials inside of it.
"It took me a while to get the blood out without ruining the fabric, but I think I did it.", Garry explained while Ib just stared at the accessoiry and her heart took a beat down, remembering the reason she had once wrapped Garry's bleeding hand inside it. She was about to cry when Garry suddently squeaked and started rummaging around his other coat pocket.
"I almost forgot that I brought you something else, too!" And with these words he handed Ib another plastic bag, but this time she could already see what was inside without having to unwrap it: maccarons of all kind of colours. Ib was impressed. She might have seen these sweets in the cake shop's display already, but they were all sorted straight in line then. Now these sweet things were packed in every kind of colourful combination inside that little plastic bag and sparkled like a rainbow – a colourful rainbow right inside this room!
Ib didn't even realize the way she smiled like a... well a kid with a bag of candy. Garry smiled as well, but his smile was more like that of a well-meaning parent that knew exactly what made a little girl happy on a muddy rainy day with nothing but grey outside her house.