Just as Amethyst stepped out of her unit, her neighbor Scarlet Miller, the elder sister of the siblings came out as well.
She may be in her wheelchair but she loves coming out at this time of the day and staying outside, just around the condominium proper. The trees were abundant on this side and a part of the property of the condominium has a little park where people could stay and relax.
"Miss Evans?" Scarlet called out after seeing Amethyst.
"Please Amethyst is fine, what is it?" Amethyst replied full of respect.
Scarlet smiled back, her complexion was still the same as before, quite pale and sick. But that doesn't change the fact that she was indeed a beauty.
"Then do call me Scarlet as well, at the same time please allow me to apologize. I know you heard about our little fight yesterday. I'm sorry about the trouble," she then said, her eyes looking apologetic.
Amethyst smiled, "It is alright. You don't have to apologize. Well, if it is a daily thing then I would surely find it troublesome but the two of you rarely fight. From time to time, it is fine I am not troubled by it at all."
"Thank you," Scarlet replied seeing how genuine Amethyst was.
"See you around, Scarlet," Amethyst waved her goodbye and Scarlet did the same.
"Why do you have to apologize? It is not like we did something wrong," just then, Slate, her younger brother, came out.
"Slate since we came here a year after her, not once did she do anything to trouble us. We should know how to get along with our neighbors," Scarlet reprimanded him.
Slate didn't say anything else and just bid her goodbye.
He has wavy hair, not too short but enough to have a few strands falling on his face. He has this light brown eyes indicating that he has foreign blood.
Scarlet just watched him leave and could only shake her head, Slate didn't want to come here. He has a wonderful job overseas, after all, a renowned doctor who was also a sought-after bachelor.
But just like what he had shown, he rarely interacts with people whom he didn't know and was just someone from the neighborhood.
But, Scarlet wanted to do something here, she wants to finish it here, the place where she was born. They have been to a lot of places in the Philippines already and their last stop was Baguio City. It wasn't supposed to be but just as what they were arguing about last night, she could only have this as the last.
The day was long for Amethyst who barely had a wink of sleep after that nightmare, she was feeling lightheaded at the same time her head was aching a lot. She already took some medicine but that didn't help at all.
But despite that, she was still able to smile at the customers who come and bought books from her bookstore.
"You seem sick, are you alright?" someone tapped on the counter just as she was staring into space.
The person in front of her was a woman in her late thirties.
"Amanda, it is nice to see you again," she smiled and her face brightened.
She didn't have any friends here, despite the five years she stayed, she rarely befriended anyone and even her neighbors were people she just smile in greeting.
If she were to say that she is close to someone then it would be this person, Amanda Thompson. A regular in her bookstore.
"Could you be sick?" Amanda asked placing her palm on Amethyst's forehead.
Amethyst shook her head but didn't pull away from her hand, "I am fine, just a bit lacking in sleep but still not sick at all."
"That's good to hear, but you should sleep properly. At the same time, it is already the cold season, the Philippines may not have the so-called snow of other countries but still, December is among the cold months, especially so since we are in Baguio," Amanda reminded placing the book of her choice in front of Amethyst.
"Thank you for the reminder, Amanda. I will always keep that in mind," Amethyst replied with a smile punching in the order and handing it to Amanda.
"Farewell then, we might meet again next year," Amanda then said.
"Gonna go home to your family?" Amethyst asked.
"Yup, been a year since my last visit. How about you? Still spending it here?"
Amethyst's eyes shifted and her smile became strained, "Yup, still spending it here."
"Very well, happy new year Amethyst."
"Happy new year Amanda."
The moment the lady stepped out of the door, the smile on Amethyst's face disappeared before she sighed. Indeed for the past five years, she had been spending the end of the year by herself.
Sometimes, she'd cook something for herself but most of the time, she'd just sleep through the night.
The door opened and she shook her head, she still has her customers, she needs to focus.
When she did look up, it was her neighbor Slate Miller.
From the get-go, she never had the chance to greet this person for whenever they did cross paths with one another, this man was always looking far ahead as if he couldn't see her.
This didn't bother her as she just have to shrug it off, no longer needing to greet him.
But this was the first time that he came by her shop, she just knew he was a doctor at one of the hospitals in Baguio.
He looked around and Amethyst could see some ladies, teen or not, would look at him longer than necessary. But it doesn't seem like it bothers him at all.
'Must be used to the attention,' she thought as she drank more water. Sometimes drinking more water helps her headaches a lot.
"This please."
After another minute or so, Slate came to the counter and placed a book of his choice.
'Yup, thought as much. A medical book,' she nodded and smiled before punching in the book.
"That would be four hundred and ninety-nine pesos, would that be all sir?" she then said with her usual smile.
"Yes," was his aloof reply.
He handed her the payment, she handed him his change and the book before thanking him like the customer he was.
The moment he stepped out, some ladies started whispering to one another.
"That was some handsome young man don't you think?"
"Indeed, wonder where he had been hiding all this time?"
Amethyst could only chuckle while shaking her head.
*****
Slate who was on his lunch break was walking along Session Road when he heard a woman whispering to herself while looking inside a bookstore.
"Wonder if that young one had problems with her family. Always spending this time of the year on her own. She was once again looking pale, same with the past years."
He muttered before walking away.
Slate looked inside and there he saw his neighbor whom his sister was talking with this morning. With a shrug he went inside and looked around from time to time looking at her and true to what he had heard, she was indeed looking pale.
After leaving the store, he shrugged to himself. He was not even interested in the book he bought, why did he have to enter anyway?