Ever since they walked through the door into the diner, Ares silently stood beside Maya without making a sound. Her gaze wandered about the diner's interior.
Traffic inside the diner was pretty hectic. Waiters and waitresses passed by her, tending to the customers' orders. She concealed her presence which was why Ellen didn't notice her standing at Maya's side.
Ellen was shocked at the sight of Ares.
As a person who has lived for more than half a century, she has never seen anyone as stunning as her. She was beautiful beyond comparison.
Ares didn't mind her staring. However, Maya and Elias were worried that it might make Ares feel uncomfortable so they both spoke up.
"This is her first time coming here, Grandma. So, why don't you give her a slice of your famous pie?" Elias said.
"Yes, why not. She hasn't eaten a single thing for the past few weeks," Maya added.
The mother and son duo were trying to shift Ellen's attention off of Ares. But they only made the situation worse.
"She hasn't eaten for the past week?!" Ellen looked at Ares and immediately believed her. With just a glimpse, she could almost tell how underweight Ares was. Although her figure looked slim, at a closer look she appeared more lean and gaunt. The longer Ellen looked at Ares the more upset she became.
She steered her gaze to her son's direction, her eyes asking him, "Is she one of your cases?"
Detective Cross nodded his head in reply.
Ellen sighed in her heart. Her gaze was now filled with pity for Ares. She didn't entirely understand Ares's situation. But knowing the cases her son usually works on, she had a good idea about her state of affairs.
"Well, we are fresh out of apple pies. I need to make a new batch of it, and I will need some helpers," Ellen gently said, looking at Ares and Elias with sparkling eyes.
Ares didn't know what to say.
On the other hand, Elias was about to say something but was cut off when his grandma dragged him and Ares away.
Detective Cross and Maya smiled at the sight of the two of them being taken away. Elias's expression was helpless, and Ares appeared more lost than anything.
She didn't resist and allowed Ellen to pull her along. While being hauled, Ares made eye contact with Ellen, and in a blink of an eye, she experienced Ellen's [life]. Those happy and sad moments in Ellen's life, she experienced it all. Not only did she experience Ellen's life she also gained her skills and knowledge.
It was a good thing too that she gained all of her skills and knowledge because Ellen will be making her and Elias work like dogs, baking those famous apple pies of hers.
"Elias, you and Ares go wash your hands first. Then help her put this on," Ellen said, handing him a pair of aprons.
"Okay," Elias replied, was about to lead Ares to the washroom but Ares was already walking away, heading straight to the washroom.
How did she know where the washroom was?
Elias looked at her with a weird look. The washroom was the hardest place to find in the kitchen and he would know since it took him a month to remember where exactly it was located. This was the first time Ares ever came to the diner for sure. But she found the washroom as if she knew exactly where it was. Like this wasn't her first time in the diner's kitchen.
While Elias and his grandmother were pondering over how Elias knew where the washroom was, Ares had no idea that her actions caused two people to suspect her. She properly washed her hands and put on the apron Ellen handed to Elias.
Ellen watched her the whole time with a gentle look.
"Here. Why don't we take this off now that you're indoors?" Ellen suggested, reaching out to remove the burgundy scarf from Ares's neck.
Though Ellen was a spitting image of Detective Cross, compared to her son she wasn't as tall as he was. She barely reached Ares's chest, so she struggled to remove the wrap-around scarf from around Ares's neck.
Ares didn't avoid the old lady's advance and just looked down at her, watching her stand on her tippy toes for something small as taking off a scarf. Ares, for some reason, felt uncomfortable seeing Ellen struggle to stand on her toes.
So, she stooped down, making it easier for Ellen to take off the scarf. At that moment, both Maya and Detective Cross were shocked.
It happened again!
Ares was being considerate of someone else again. The first time they saw Ares act abnormal was when she was with Alexandra. However, after Alexandra, she went back to being her old self.
Until today.
"You made the right decision coming here today," Maya said.
"Well, what do you know! My mom's apple pie can still create miracles," Detective Cross said with a smile, delighted.
The two of them stood on the side, watching Ellen teach the two kids to bake her famous apple pie. Elias seemed to be having a hard time making his crust and the cinnamon apple filling. However, Ares appeared to be a natural at baking. She followed Ellen's instructions after listening to them once and her actions were more fluid. As if she was a veteran baker.
"Beautiful, Ares! You're a natural," Ellen complimented and patted Ares on her head. The more she looks at Ares the more fond she becomes of her. Ares was just so loveable.
After an hour of baking, their apple pies were finally ready. The intense, delicious smell of apple and cinnamon filled the kitchen, causing everyone to salivate and Ares wasn't an exception.
Ever since she was rescued from the basement, she started experiencing different sights, different sounds, different smells. But never different tastes. Don't get it wrong, the smell of the apple pie was heavenly mouthwatering. It's just that she has never tasted anything "delicious", never eaten real food. This would be her first time and she was rather famished.
"Since the kid's baked, you two go ahead and set the table while I quickly whip up some sandwich to go with our pie." Ellen pushed Maya and her son out of the kitchen. Then told Elias to take Ares to their table and wait for her.
The two kids went to their seats. It was a booth seat close to the window with a nice view of the parking lot. Elias sat in an awkward silence facing Ares, whose attention was on the people outside of the diner.
Elias has been in difficult situations but, at this moment, trying to interact with Ares took the cherry on the cake.
"Umm. My parents told me your name is Ares. That's a really pretty name. It's like the word heiress but without an "h". My name is Elias by the way. Elias Kai Cross. But you can call me Elias or Eli. I like writing songs and hope to be a composer in the future. I like the color orange, but I don't like eating oranges. Hahaha," Elias awkwardly chuckled, nervously babbling on and on about himself. "What about you Ares? Tell me something about yourself. Like-"
When Ares heard her name, her ears perked and for the first time since they met Ares made eye contact with Elias.
Elias was at a loss for words and his endless babbling ceased. How could he not stop talking when Ares finally looked at him. He was shaking because he was nervous. But it was mostly due to excitement.
As usual, Ares' [life] ability was triggered and this time he saw Elias's [life]. While Ares was experiencing Elias's [life], Elias could only stare back at her.
Just like what his parents told him, Ares was extremely beautiful.
If he didn't know that she was 9 years old he would've fallen for her. But he knew better.
After the long silence, Ares's voice rang, bringing Elias out of his thoughts but leaving him speechless, saying, "Ares. I'm 9-years-old. I don't know what I like yet."
"Yo-You spoke?!" It must be blood because Elias stuttered his mom's same words when she first heard Ares speak.
Ares didn't mind his shocked state and just stared straight at him.
When Ares was staring too long, Elias blushed and looked down at his hands on his lap, breaking eye contact with her. He mustered up some courage and said, "Nice meeting you Ares. Ummm-"
Elias hesitated for some time but just ended up blurting out to Ares, "Would you like to listen to something!?"
Ares lightly nodded her head.
"Here. Put this in your ear," Elias handed her one side of the earphone.
Ares took it and placed it in her ear just like how she saw in Elias's [life].
Elias scrolled through a list of songs on his phone until he came across one that caught him and pressed on it to play. The song he chose was "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Ares already heard of this song through Elias's [life] and knew how much this song had an impact on his life. However, this was her first time listening to it firsthand and she liked it.
Elias played all of his other favorite songs for Ares and constantly yammered on about everything he knew about the song and its songwriter. Whereas Ares didn't listen to a single thing he said, since she already knows about it thanks to Elias's [life] and listened to the song instead.
Not too far away, Maya and Detective Cross were watching them. Maya leaned into her husband's embrace, "Seems like our plan worked."
"It sure does." Detective Cross looked happy.
"I just hope she will tell us about what she went through," Maya said worriedly, her gaze lingering on Ares's figure.
"What are you two doing just standing there? Get over here and help me carry the food and drinks to the table," Ellen scolded her son and daughter-in-law.
"Coming."
"Coming."
Detective Cross and Maya answered in unison.
It didn't take long for the food to be neatly placed on the table and for the rest of them to take a seat. They sat facing each other. Maya sat in between Detective Cross and her son on one side while Ellen sat beside Ares.
"Let's dig in!" Ellen said.
The food Ellen made was simple. It was a turkey sub sandwich that had slices of melted mozzarella cheese and lettuce. Pitchers of ice water and pink lemonade were in the middle along with the two apple pies Elias and Ares made.
"Here you go, Sweetie," Ellen placed a sandwich on her plate.
The smell was just mouthwatering even for Ares. She stared at the sandwich Ellen placed on her plate with unblinking eyes. She never had someone do this for her. For the first time in a long time, she felt aggrieved.
All this time the thing she was given was only pain and sorrow. She waited for so long for someone to care for her and now there was someone like that. They were sitting right in front of her. Ares's trembling hands lifted the sandwich, and she took a big bite out of it. The sandwich was out of this world and for some reason, it tasted sweet.
They ate in silence. However, up until the point where it was time to eat the apple pies Elias and Ares made, Detective Cross and Maya were excited.
"Now for the moment of truth, it's taste testing time!" Ellen had already cut the pies into slices, and she placed a slice from Elias's and Ares's pie on a plate.
The two pies looked identical. All except for the mini flags Ellen placed on each slice with Elias and Ares's names written on them.
"Let's try the pie Elias made," Maya said and the rest followed.
They took a bite out of it and the second it was in their mouths they choked at the sour taste that spread throughout their tongue.
"Khoff!"
"Khoff! Khoff!"
"Khoff! Khoff! What... What in the world did you put in your pie, Son? Poison?" Detective Cross said before wolfing down a glass of water.
"Ahem! I think he mixed up the sugar with the salt," Ellen said.
"It wasn't my fault. You should label your jars, Grandma." Elias defended himself but he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He mostly heard complaints from his grandma, mom, and dad. But he didn't hear anything from Ares, so he shyly turned to look at her. Compared to his family, who had a bitter expression after tasting his pie, Ares's expression was unreadable.
The worst part was that he noticed that she was still chewing. Elias at that moment wanted to find himself a hole to hide in.
How embarrassing!
Before he could say anything to Ares, she had already taken out another bite of his pie.
Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
Ares finished the pie in just a few bites. Her expressions remained fixed which surprised Elias and the rest.
"Ares, honey, are you okay? Wasn't it salty?" Maya worriedly asked. The rest anticipated her answer with their eyes glued to her.
Ares looked at them then she stopped her gaze on Elias, whose face was almost as red as a rose from embarrassment. Now that she has Ellen's skills, she knew that the pie wasn't supposed to taste like Elias's. And with her heightened senses, she could strongly perceive taste so she can most definitely taste how salty the pie was.
But when she looked at Elias, she unexpectedly didn't want him to feel ashamed, so she finished the whole slice of pie. If only she knew that by doing so, she made him feel what she didn't want him to.
Ares didn't reply to Maya's questions, but she didn't need to. Because Elias understood her intentions.
"Thanks, Ares. But you didn't have to eat the whole slice just to make me feel better. Here," Elias handed Ares a glass of water, which she took, and looked the other way, hiding his flushed face.
"Hahaha! Now let's taste Ares' pie." They took a bite out of her pie and when they did it was like they went to heaven and back.
How can something taste so good! Startlingly, Ares's pie tasted nothing like Ellen's. It was better than Ellen's famous pie.
"Mmmm!" Elias moaned in bliss.
"Oh my God! This taste heavenly. I didn't know you made a change to your apple pie recipe," Maya said with a mouthful of apple pie.
"You have outdone yourself this time, mom."
"I didn't," Ellen mumbled.
"What'd you say, mom?"
"I didn't make a change to the recipe," she clearly said this time. She looked at Ares and said, "Your pie tastes divine, Ares. Did you add something that wasn't on the recipe?"
Ares didn't hesitate to answer, "Cinnamon, powdered walnut, and some cut-up apple peels." Although she only listed the ingredients, Ellen had a good idea of how she integrated them into her original recipe. She had no idea that Ares knew how to bake. Honestly, neither did Maya, Elias, Detective Cross.
"Do you mind if I use your recipe?" Ellen didn't want to use Ares's recipe without her knowledge. It goes against her ethics, and she wasn't about to toss it out the window just so she can earn a few bucks.
Ares knew why she asked, and she didn't see anything wrong with Ellen using her modified recipe. So, like usual, she nodded her head.
"Your pie is really good, Ares!" Elias complimented her.
Ellen and the rest enjoyed Ares's pie, laughing, and chatting while Ares continued to eat her pie in silence. She finished her slice first, but she wanted more. Before the others knew it, Ares ate half of the pie, with only a couple of slices left in the pan.
Ares was about to take the last bite of her pie till Ellen asked her, "So, Ares, what high school do you go to?"