It was only four in the morning but Sophie was already wide-awake sipping her black coffee outside her tiny abode.
"It's a new day! New day to earn money!"
After sipping the last drop of her most favorite coffee, which consists of two tablespoons of powdered coffee and hot water, no sugar and no creamer, she's amped-up to start her day. She fixed her long brown straight hair in a bun and tied her yellow bandana around her head.
"Let's go!"
She carried two pails of processed jellies she made last night and deposited it at the containers attached to the back of her bike. Once she made sure that the door on her semi-basement flat was locked, she hiked on her bike and pedaled to the market.
She smiled as she passed through the shimmering lights coming from the exterior decorative lights of the colorful houses proudly standing beside the paved road. It has been four years since she moved in to this little fishing village called Tobermory and since then, she has been working hard day in and day out.
Her goal to earn every penny no matter what it takes has been imprinted in every cell of her body. She's got a dream. To save all money she could. To become rich and move to the city. That way, she could meet a rich man, marry him and have her happily ever after ending.
At 23, she juggles three part time jobs every waking day. If someone would ask for a favor, she'll do it for a cost. That's how badly she strives hard to reach her dreams.
Every morning, she sells jellies in the wet market nearby. She made her own recipe of jellies and sell it to Mr. Finn, who owns the only store of jellies and condiments in their village. Sometimes, she'll stand in as his delivery girl at times when Lukas, his lazy delivery man missed his duty because of too much drunkenness. After she gets her pay for the jellies, she'll go straight to her next job, as a stay-out cleaner of Madame Boyle, a middle age spinster who owns the largest bed and breakfast inn in the whole Tobermory, the Twin Thistle Inn. She gets paid for changing the bed sheets, cleaning the toilets, replenishing the room supplies and running errands for the guests. She gets huge tip from the guests, free lunch and afternoon tea from Madame Boyle so she never needed to spent money for food. By 5 PM, she'll quickly shop for her ingredients needed for her jelly recipe and go back home. By six in the evening, she's already serving guests, friends, and neighbors in a little pub beside the coastal bay, the Celestine Wheel. The owner, Mr. McGregor named the pub after his younger sister who died of childbirth. He took her child and raised Diarmuid, his 17-year-old nephew like his own son.
Celestine Wheel, sits in the basement of what was once a 16th century tenement. At present, it offers up to eight interesting Scottish ales, a fine selection of whiskey and gin as well as tasty locally sourced food. Sitting by the coastal bay of Tobermory, CW also offers wide variety of seafood delicacies like sea fresh Haddock, Tuna Steaks and Lemon Sole Fillets. Angus beef, Stornoway black pudding and the country's national dish, Haggis are available too.
For Sophie, CW as being ran by Mr. McGregor offers the tastiest Scotch whiskey in the whole wide world.
Well, that's according to her. Whenever she feels like drinking, Mr. McGregor always had a ready bottle of whiskey for her.
She ends her shift by 10 in the evening and biked her way back to her house. Since she already had her dinner at CW's, she'll prepare the jellies she'll have to deliver the next morning. By 12 midnight, she'll retire to bed and reenergize for the next day. That's how her life works and she never complained about it. Being an orphan since young, she only had herself to rely on especially after she left the orphanage four years ago.
"Good morning Mr. Finn!" She greeted the middle-age store owner with all the energy she could muster that morning after she stepped down from her bike.
Mr. Finn was known to have a very bad temperament every morning. His mood swings lasted until lunchtime after he'd taken his meal. After that, he'll be a totally different person, totally opposite of his personality every morning.
"What's good in the morning, Sophia?!" He yelled. His thick grey eyebrows were almost meeting in the center of his forehead.
He likes to call her that.
She beamed her brightest smile.
"Why so upset Mr. Finn?" She took the two containers of jellies from her bike and deposited it inside the stall.
"Do you want me to do the deliveries today?" she coyly smiled at her boss.
If she was right, Lukas the drunkard was absent again.
"Do you mind?"
"Of course, not Mr. Finn!" She exclaimed. "You are my most favorite boss in Tobermory, you know that." Her grin is much wider this time.
The old man pouted. "Really? You'll still do it without a tip?"
She grabbed Mr. Finn's arm and motioned her other palm up facing him. "Business is business, remember?"
Mr. Finn's face lightened as he burst into laughter. People in the market said that she got a charm that could pacify even an angry lion. Obviously, that's seems very effective.
"Here." He gave her the payment for the jellies and an extra purse for her extra duty that morning. He picked up three bags of jellies from the shelves and put them inside the containers at the back of Sophie's bike.
"Deliver them to Mrs. Fenley. They need it for Amy's birthday party later. Don't be late. I told her to expect the jellies before 7 AM today. Understood?"
"Aye! Aye! Captain!" She secured her money inside her purse and hopped in her bike.
"Consider them done, Mr. Finn. Ta-ta!" She waved her arm enthusiastically as she pedaled away and left the vicinity of their village's small market.
Mrs. Fenley''s house was located outside town. It may take at least half an hour of biking. Also, the trail going to the widow's house is quite steep since there are a couple of cliffs and little streams she needed to pass through.
She shrugged her shoulders and smiled sweetly instead.
"I bet Mr. Finn gave me a bigger tip this time."
She noticed that her purse was heavier than usual. She got more excited.
It was only five in the morning but the sun was already out. The day is longer during summer which usually last up to 17 hours a day. It was the 15th of June.
She'll make it to the Fenley's by six and return to town before seven. Then, she'll still have enough time to visit Grainn, her scholar friend living near Madame Boyle's inn. Grainn just came back from a vacation in the city and she knew for sure that her friend brought some good news with her.
"What a beautiful day, indeed!"
She strolled the roughly uphill road people usually take to get to the other side of the village when she glanced at the forest. There was a shortcut, she remembered. If she'll take that route, she could reach Mrs. Fenley's house faster.
Sophie maneuvered her bike to enter the forest. She had used that path before when she was asked to fetch some thistle flowers by a neighbor.
This will be an easy peasy task!
The villagers seldom used this path because of the rough terrain but the clear paths were maintained for emergency purposes.
When she reached a huge broken boulder where streams of water overflows, she paused for a second and stepped out of her bike.
Something unusual was there. There's something with the water. It was supposed to be as clear as the summer sky since it was all coming from the mountain streams but the color was darker.
She moved closer to the small crack in between the broken rock and was surprised when a reddish fluid came out. Blood!
"Oh my!"
Sophie hurriedly climbed up the huge rock and caught her breath in midair.
There was a lifeless man there.
A bloody dead man on top of the boulder!