Primrose's usual steady gaze flickered from the device in her hands to the front entrance where a burnt amber rug laid symmetric to the door. In the corner of her eye, she spotted an elderly woman with a frail appearance. Her back was bent and her body was trembling as she took small steps towards the door. Removing her elbows from the hard counter surface, Primrose slipped her phone back into her pocket and walked towards the elderly figure.
"Granny, let me help you out. The door is quite heavy." Primrose didn't directly reach out to hold the elderly lady's arm. Instead, she patiently accompanied the elderly until they reached the door. Unless it was necessary, Primrose would keep her hands to herself and respect the elderly's private space.
Pushing the golden-brown door opened, Primrose's back pressed against the cold material. All along, a genuine smile remained on her face. The second the door was swung opened, the wildness of the city and polluted air brought Primrose back to reality. The library was too peaceful that she had forgotten how life was outside of the store.
"Granny, are you sure you are alright by yourself? There are a lot of people in the city during rush hours. Do you want me to walk you to the train station? If you do, I can go with you." Primrose frowned, listening to the verbal arguments close by. Groups of teenagers were busy chatting, shoving, and laughing that they've bumped into a few pedestrians already. Her concerned gaze landed on the elderly lady in front of her.
Fiona smiled, noticing Primrose's furrowed brows. Though her brows were perfectly drawn to form a unibrow, Fiona could see her bare face under the layers of cosmetics. She shook her head gently, "No worries. I live nearby. You should go back to work. Thank you for helping me."
"No problem. Then, get home safely. The sky is getting dark. Thank you for visiting our store and please come again!" Primrose smiled cheerfully while holding onto the door.
"Then, I'll see you next time. Primrose." Fiona let out a soft chuckle when she caught the astonished look on Primrose's face.
"How did you know-" Primrose didn't remember introducing herself to her. Hence, she felt surprised that the elderly woman knew her name.
Fiona raised her index finger, pointed on her left chest, and tapped on it. "Your name tag, dear. Haha. I will see you next time, then." She slowly walked away, feeling Primrose's eyes still watching her from behind.
After Fiona blended in with the crowd, Primrose exhaled a sigh. She turned around and headed back to the counter where a few customers were waiting for her. "Ah, I totally forgot about the name tag. Oh no! Sorry for the wait! I was attending to another customer just now. I'm sorry for causing any inconvenience!" She quickly walked back into the store, letting the door close on its own.
On the rooftop across the bookstore, Fiona watched Primrose return to work with a meaningful smile on her face. "We'll meet again next time. Hopefully by then, Eros could find you or recognize you. Too bad we can't help him any further. Now, it's all up to fate."
She raised her right hand and spread three fingers outwards - her thumb, index, and middle finger. She tapped two fingers — her thumb and middle finger — and a snap sounded in her ear. She whispered, "home." Layers of fog wrapped around her body starting from her feet. In a matter of seconds, she disappeared from the rooftop as if she had never been there.
While Fiona was on her way home, Axle was halfway through the portal to the underworld. His wings moved swiftly as the portal narrowed in shape, indicating that he has entered the last route towards the underworld. Flapping one wing in front of his torso, he protected his body from dust particles and stones.
Once he passed the windy portion, his wings returned to its original position on his back. He smiled, staring at the book in his hands. Remembering the cashier's delicate features behind the layer of peacock colors, he laughed. "I've seen plentiful girls dressing up on earth to look slimmer and prettier, but this girl is very interesting. She obviously looked beyond phenomenal, yet she chose to scribble all over her face. Is this also part of the human trend?"
Closing his eyes, he could still recall the clear, innocence in her eyes. As if the entire world looked sinless in her eyes, it captivated his desire to see earth through the same lenses as her.
Soon, a distorted oval formed, shimmering brightly into Axle's eyes. He squinted, spreading his wings to cover his entire figure while transforming back into his crow form. With his claws gripping onto the book, he flew in an unbalanced way as he made his way out of the portal.
To prevent himself from smacking against the walls, Axle tried swaying his body until it was enough strength to toss the book through the portal. He parted his beak and cawed high pitches towards the exit. His voice echoed in vibrating waves, shaking the entrance tremendously. The unsettling distortion paused shortly after his voice attacked it. Given the opportunity, Axle spun his body as he flew in midair and threw the book past the exit. Once the weight from the book was gone, he cheerfully raced out of the exit.
Seconds after getting out of the portal, Axle landed on the floor and scratched the top of his head in confusion. "Caw??" He voiced frustratedly as he failed to find the book he tossed a minute ago. His small claws tapped against the floor as he roamed in circles, feeling lost.
"Looking for this?" Eros appeared six feet away from where Axle was standing. Blinking, his eyes shone in excitement. He bobbed his head in response and pointed at the book while cawing.
"When you tossed the book out of the portal, it bounced off the wall and dropped to the floor. So, I took it. Why did you throw it?" Eros flipped the book, seemingly half interested in the book cover.
Axle continued cawing as he expressed his thoughts on how heavy the book weighed after he transformed back into crow form. However, his explanation didn't receive an ounce of sympathy from Eros. Instead, Eros stared at him with a playful grin. "See? I told you to work out. If you worked out, this book would be nothing in your crow form. Haha."
Sucking in a breath of air, Axle held his breath and showed off his broad chest. Eros kept track of the time on his watch and smiled amusingly. Three minutes later, Axle exhaled deeply and covered his face with his wings. Shaking his small body left and right, he refused that his body was unfit.
Crossing his wings against his heaving chest, Axle cawed in response to Eros' teasing. "Let's not focus on my sexy lean muscles and more on your souvenir."
"Even a plucked chicken has more muscles than that..." Eros chuckled, making Axle protest.
"Alright. Alright. I'll stop teasing you. Change back into your human form." Eros commanded.
Twirling in a clockwise direction, he transformed back into a human form where he could speak properly. "Phew! Master! That is the souvenir I got for you! Hehe~ Read it! Didn't you want to read about your love story? Read it and let me know what you think of it!"
"Mm." Eros replied, flipping the book opened.