Arnacia did not have many happy family memories from her previous life. She lived with her dad, who was busy with work. Whereas her mother only met her a few times after the divorce. She let out a deep breath and concentrated on the present. Naomi was still asleep and there was time left before breakfast.
'How many should I do?' She never did push-ups in her previous life. But they were the first thing to jump into her mind when she thought about exercises to increase her physical strength. And so she dropped down on her palms and tried to do the thing called 'push up'.
It was peculiar now that she had a much larger volume than previous life. But the first push up was nowhere near as bad as she thought it would be. Maybe I am doing it wrong, she suspected, since she felt little in her arms after 5 push-ups, but there was no way to confirm it.
Thus, she stubbornly decided to test her limit. This body was starting to feel more and more comfortable. She did feel a burning sensation in her arms after 24 push-ups and set her record at 29.* Good or bad; it was difficult to judge, but she had an inkling that it was a very good number.
'What should I do next?' She was excited at the prospects that her body was excellently healthy. But suddenly the door was knocked and unexpectedly pushed open.
Arnacia looked towards the bed rather than the opening door. Naomi was neatly covered in the blanket. She stood up and greeted the unwelcomed guest. Who could it be but Uncle?
"I am sorry," Uncle Jack apologized. His hand was still on the door handle and he pulled it back slowly. "The door slipped open when I knocked." He closed the door and loudly said, "The breakfast is ready, if you take too much time, then it will get cold." He waited for a while before adding. "It won't taste good if it gets cold."
Arnacia walked towards the door, one step at a time. She tried her best to conceal the footsteps. Then she gently slid the metal bolt with as little noise as possible. Only after she double checked if the door was locked did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She looked at Naomi's sleeping face and didn't know what to say. The incident from last night got more firmly fixed in her heart now that she knew that it happened behind an unlocked door.
"Naomi," she shook the green-haired girl. "Wake up, Naomi." She said, while not caring if Naomi wanted to sleep anymore.
"Just a little more ," Naomi reached out to hug Arnacia's stomach but was coldly rejected.
"Didn't you say that we had to switch carriages from here? We might now get the best seat if you don't get up now."
"There are many carriages," Naomi said with her eyes closed, made another effort to end up on Arnacia's lap, but failed again.
"No, get up. I want to reach home as soon as possible." Arnacia said, even though she was anxious about meeting her family in this life. "I don't like carriage, let's end this as early as we can."
Naomi rebelled a few more times. At the end she tried to hug Arnacia with open eyes, but her efforts were negated once again. Thus, she reluctantly got up from the bed and began to dress herself. To her pleasing surprise, Arnacia did steal glances at her.
"Naomi, can you do something for me?"
"Yes!" Naomi didn't believe that this was happening. "I will do anything for you." Her hands moved to undo her pants.
"Uncle has prepared breakfast, but I feel nausea just from thinking about traveling with a full stomach."
"…." Naomi's hands froze. She wasn't sure if she should continue undressing herself.
"Maybe you can eat my share of food, since you are pretty immune to motion sickness." Arnacia proposed. "Or you can explain to Uncle about my problem."
Naomi was a little disappointed now that her Plan A failed. But it didn't affect her as much since there would be many chances in the future to be alone with Arancia. She thought about the next chance.
"Let's head home quickly," she said. She knew that Arnacia's house was usually empty during the daytime. It would be perfect if they reached Yanyawn village as early as possible. Merrily, she followed Arnacia to the dining hall.
***
The breakfast was served on a wooden table that had more signs of decay than dots on a polka dress. Exquisite, it looked if you didn't mind or didn't stare at the spots for long. But Arnacia made the silly mistake, and it further lessened her will to eat.
On top of it, only salad and bread were served. Arnacia signaled Naomi as she heard Uncle approaching from the kitchen (which was only separated by a thin wall from the dining room). The smell of strawberries invaded the room as Uncle put down two tall glasses with pink liquid.
"Uncle," Naomi called out.
"Just a minute," Uncle said and quickly went to the kitchen after putting down the glasses. "Yes?" the next moment he appeared with a large tray. He had a big smile on his face.
"Uncle, what is this?" Naomi couldn't help but stray away from the mission as she saw the dishes.
"This is just a small celebration since your grandfather finally decided to buy the place of this poor old man." He put down the tray and then proceeded to put off the dishes one by one.
There were two plates with one triangular sandwich in each. Next, he served two half filled bowls with small cubical pieces drowning in some kind of sauce. Followed by mashed potatoes and two spherical chocolate sweets.
"Uncle, you didn't have to prepare 7 dishes." Naomi said to Uncle worriedly, then looked at Arnacia.
"I will prepare 11 next time," Uncle Jack said. He had exhausted most of his savings for this. A little regret still lingered in his heart, as he couldn't spend it all. He looked at the girls and waited for them to taste the best dishes he ever prepared.
"Let's eat or it will get cold," Arnacia said while looking at the food and then tried to fake a smile at Uncle. "Thank you for the meal."
The best meal she ever had. It was delicious!
***
Arnacia and Naomi waved their goodbye at Uncle Jack in the distance. The shabby lodging looked brighter since its owner was smiling brightly. Or perhaps it was just the morning sun. The possibilities of life truly mess with even the simplest of answers.
The two girls were looking forward to different things. But they walked together with similar expectations. On the surface, it looked like there was much to complain about, but they thought that this could really be a good good life!