It's been three days since Mr. Oscar visited us. I had my suspicions, after all, he came out of nowhere. But nothing strange happened. Aalto is doing well with the cafe work. He remembers some of the recipes and cooks the dishes without my instructions.
"Do you wanna take a break?" I asked him while frosting the cake. He was staring at the pastries which were kept on the display. It's already lunch time. Even I feel hungry.
"Don't worry about me." He replied with a chuckle.
"I'm also hungry."
"Then I shall join you." His mouth curved into a sweet smile.
I was taking my time to cherish him but the bell rang up. We have customers to serve.
"Did you miss me?"
"Of course not Mr. Oscar. And who's this cute girl?" Our customers were Mr. Oscar and a little girl who seems to be around ten years old. If I'm not wrong she might be his daughter. Her blonde hair with a pair of deep blue eyes is similar to Mr. Oscar.
"Meet my daughter Aricia."
"Hello there. Welcome to my cafe. I'm Hyeon." Aricia gave me a smile as we shook hands.
"Hello." Her voice is so sweet like a melody.
"I'm Aalto."
"Wow! It's my first time seeing a mermaid. Thank you so much for the pearl. I really loved it. Daddy made me a pendant with it, see." Her eyes gleamed with delight as she showed her necklace.
"No need to thank me. I'm happy you like it." Aalto gently patted her head.
"Okay then, what would you like to eat?" I gave her the menu card. Before we get busy with chatting I should serve her the food. Aricia quickly scanned the items.
"I'll have this one." She picked the Banh Mi sandwich.
"And Mr. Oscar?"
"Nah I'm fine. I'm not a fan of human food."
"Mr. Oscar you should try it. I never tried human food until I met Hyeon. Her cooking is awesome."
"This won't give me any nutrition or any sort of benefit. So, I'll pass." Mr. Oscar cajoled him with a crooked smile.
"Fine. We'll be back soon." I'm not surprised that Mr. Oscar has no interest in human food. It's a waste of time to keep on pursuing him. We came to the kitchen to prepare the food.
"Aalto, slice the cucumber. Not too thin, not too thick."
I took out the chicken from the fridge which was marinated with fish sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, Sriracha and lime juice. As soon the grill pan was heated enough I put chicken in it, along with salt and pepper according to taste. The chicken was grilled until it cooked through.
"Here's the cucumber, green chilly and the pickles." Looks like he remembers the recipe. I was gonna ask for the pickles.
"Thanks. Can you toast the bread? I'll chop the chicken."
"Sure."
This pickled carrot and radish are easy to make. Just slice them into matchsticks then toss them into a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. It's a great side dish.
I cut the chicken into thin slices on diagonal. Aalto handed me the toasted baguette. I started to assemble my Banh Mi.
First I spread the Sriracha mayo on the baguette halves. Place the cucumber slices in the bottom then goes the grilled chicken slices. The pickled vegetables goes on top of it. Add the cilantro and close it with remaining baguette.
Banh Mi is ready to serve!
I should give her a drink to go along with the sandwich. A Ginger lemonade would be nice. I grabbed the glass and put the lemon slices, fresh rosemary, ginger in the bottom. The glass gets filled with ice cubes. I put two slices of lemon on the top. Then goes the lemon syrup. Lastly I poured the chilled soda water until the glass is filled.
"Here's your order. Enjoy." Giving her my best smile, I kept the plate on the table and went to the entrance to close the shop for now.
"So we are the special customers here?" Mr. Oscar laughed softly.
"Yes Indeed. I don't want others to bother us." I took a seat near the counter.
"But Mr. Oscar, is it okay for you to go out at this time?" With a dumbfounded look, Aalto asked.
"Hey! We won't get burnt to death from the mere sunlight." Mr. Oscar rebuked his laudable foolishness.
"Hmm, makes sense. So, you found any news?"
"Sorry to break your heart but no. I'm still looking. Most importantly I need to hear the whole thing. I mean how did Aalto came here in the first place?"
"My brothers often come to the human world. However, I never went outside the mermaid town. Ever since my childhood I was very weak, I easily get sick. So my parents and my brothers are very protective of me. I really wanted to see the human world. That's why I sneaked into my brother's ship. My plan was to follow my brother but there was a big storm. I got separated from the ship and washed up to the shore."
"Oh! That's why you don't know how to return." Mr. Oscar said after hearing the whole thing.
"Where is the mermaid town?" I asked as my curiosity got high.
"It's in the middle of the ocean. There's a powerful barrier that protects the mermaid town. Unless you pass the barrier you can't see the mermaid town. The ship comes near the barrier. Then we have to come up on the surface and get into the ship. A mermaid who stays inside the ship helps us to enter."
"Your parents and brothers must be worried about you."
"Yes, they are. Especially my mom." Aalto's eyes became bleak.
"How many brothers you have?"
"Eight."
"Woah! How old are they?"
"Same as me."
"Huh?"
"Mermaid lays eggs." Mr. Oscar stated bluntly.
"Seriously? I didn't expect that." He rolled his eyes as if this was basic knowledge for me to know. Well sorry for not having enough knowledge since I never knew about your existence.
"You said you're weak but you seem perfectly healthy." Mr. Oscar stated with his inquisitive gaze.
"Yeah. Ever since you came here you have never gotten ill." I added.
"I don't know. I was surprised to see myself being so fit."
"There's only one way to send you home. We have to find another mermaid. That's it."
"No way! How can we find another mermaid?"
"Look Aalto, honestly speaking, I don't think you can return back to your hometown. It's better to settle in here. You already have Hyeon who takes good care of you."
How can we give up hope without even trying? I don't want Aalto to suffer. He can't just give up on his family. I must help him out.
"Mr. Oscar please don't say such a thing. His family must be searching for him. I'm sure one day they'll somehow reach up to us."
"You can be optimistic but the chances are low. How can they find one single person in this world? How will they pinpoint his location? Aalto, I'll try my best but there's no guarantee."
"Don't be sad oppa. My daddy will surely help you. He's just a meanie. Don't mind his words." Little Aricia gave us a big smile as she tried to cheer up Aalto. However, it wasn't enough. His expressions are easy to read. I knew he was feeling broken inside. He misses his family each and every day.
~ to be continued