Aunt Ursula was not willing to lend some money to Elena even though the girl kept begging. The next day, Elena left for work, feeling sad. Her face was downcast even though she tried to cheer herself up.
That day, she worked the morning shift at the convenience store. She would work here until the afternoon before continuing her work at the flower shop.
As she entered, she saw Mrs. Ballerini counting the money at the cash register which she had not been able to collect yesterday. In her left hand were several bills, and in her right was a pen which she occasionally used to write notes in the small notebook on the counter.
"Good morning, Mrs. Ballerin," said Elena with a smile. The boss just nodded and didn't even look at her. Her gaze was still preoccupied with the money and calculations in front of her.
Elena immediately changed into a shopkeeper's black uniform and took out a mop to clean the shop. She mopped the floor diligently. Seeing the money in Mrs. Ballerin's hands, her mind was immediately filled with new possibilities.
Her pair of round eyes glanced repeatedly at the shop owner who was busy with her money. After counting the money, usually, Mrs. Ballerin would prepare a small amount for change. Not all customers pay by card. Some would pay with cash and needed change.
Elena scrubbed the floor and cleaned it thoroughly. Soon, their shop would open to the public and she only had ten minutes to get everything ready. Once she was done, she went to the cashier's counter and approached her boss.
"Boss..." Elena called softly and slowly while looking at the woman.
"What is it?" replied Mrs. Ballerin. Her eyes were still busy counting the bills.
"Next week is payday, isn't it?" reminded Elena.
"So?" Only then did the woman's gaze shift to Elena.
"Can I borrow 500 euros today, Mrs. Ballerin?" asked Elena with a hopeful look. "I'm in urgent need. You can deduct my salary by 50 euros for ten months straight to pay for it. I promise I'll work harder."
Elena looked at Mrs. Ballerin with all seriousness. She really had no other choice.
The shop owner dropped her gaze in disbelief.
"Don't be silly! Do you think I grow money tree at home?" she asked with furrowed brows. "You know the store doesn't get customers as much as it used to, while rent and utilities are going up. I barely make ends meet."
The older woman massaged her temples sadly, making Elena feel guilty.
"Hey! You know what they say, there is no such thing as free lunch. Don't think you can ask to borrow money just because you see me counting money here," said Mrs. Ballerin curtly. "You're lucky I didn't cut your salary because you often take bread and food here."
Elena was about to say that the bread and food she frequently asked for from this shop were food that had expired and was about to be thrown away, so Mrs. Ballerin had no right to deduct her salary. However, she felt there was no point in arguing with the woman about it.
What if she became upset and fired Elena? Where else would Elena find a job to support herself? The economy was bad and it's hard to get work nowadays.
Seeing her boss never stopped nagging, Elena grabbed the mop again and slowly walked away, leaving the sound of the woman's nagging voice. Elena could only shake her head at that.
She knew Mrs. Ballerin was not a bad person. Elena had been working for her for five years now and knew the shop owner quite well.
If Mrs. Ballerin said she didn't have the money, it must mean she didn't have any extra money to lend. So, Elena had to find other ways to pay for her parents' graves.
After Mrs. Ballerin finished counting the money, she left. Now the shop was open and Elena was working behind the cash register. She kept checking her savings as if it would magically grow if she would just take another look.
Gosh. She only had 570 euros saved and that was barely enough to pay for the college entrance fee. She thought she could add more to it once she received her salary in one week.
However, if she couldn't get any money to pay for her parents' graves, that means, she must take almost all her savings and start from zero.
Elena massaged her temple. It was either her parents' graves or her education. She felt so ignorant about this. She didn't know that graves needed to be paid.
She was just a child when her parents died and wasn't aware of the arrangement. Had she known, maybe she would have worked a second job after the convenience store to make extra money to pay for it.
Finally, after thinking about it for a long time, Elena made a decision.
"Uff, maybe Auntie is right. I can't force myself to go to college if I don't have enough money. I can still go to college next year," Elena said to herself. She tried not to cry and thought about what she should do. "I'm sure next year I'll be able to save again."
Elena decided to spend her money on her parents' graves It was more urgent.
"It's okay, Elena! The important thing is that mom and dad can rest well."
***
Elleard was sitting in his office, accompanied by his assistant Mario. The tall burly man with a short military hairstyle was also Elleard's trusted bodyguard. He was trained directly by Xavier and was assigned to work for Elleard as soon as the man left the hospital.
The large LED screen in front of Elleard was showing Elena's face. Mario was presenting all the information he could get about the girl to his boss. Elleard was very interested in knowing Elena's personality and had assigned Mario to dig everything he could find out about the girl.
Mario started to slide the slides on the LED screen.
"Miss Elena Neri starts working in the morning at the flower shop. On weekends, during lunch break, usually she works as a dishwasher in the restaurant next door to get free food. They always need extra help around that time. In the afternoon, after working in the flower shop, she will go to a convenience store and work there until it closes at 8 pm."
He added, "Her parents died when she was a child. She now lives with her aunt Ursula Arco and her two cousins, Maria and Laura Arco."
Mario swiped to the next slide.
"Is she the breadwinner of the family?" asked Elleard, looking dumbfounded. He didn't expect such a young girl to work so hard. "How old is she?"
"She is nineteen, Master," answered Mario. "Their family lives simply and Miss Elena can't go to college. She had taken a gap year after high school. I got information that she took the college entrance exam this year and was accepted."
"Does that mean she's going to college?" muttered Elleard, nodding. He was still looking at the LED screen that showed Elena this morning, lifting a heavy wooden box filled with goods at the convenience store where she worked.
He felt sorry to see the delicate-looking girl was working so hard. He imagined if Elena grew up in a wealthy family, she would look so graceful and pretty. Hard work didn't suit her petite and fragile appearance.
But maybe, that's what suffering did to people. At nineteen years old, Elena braced a tough life alone, being left behind by her parents and having to work hard to provide for herself.
Xavier was also nineteen when tragedy struck their family. He was just a boy when Elleard closed his eyes and fell into a coma four years ago, but when he woke up, he found his little brother had turned into a mature man who acted so much older than he actually was.
Xavier had trained so hard to protect Elleard and their remaining family. He also worked hard and made it his mission to chase after all the enemies who had killed their parents and hurt Elleard.
Xavier might be only 23, three years younger than Elleard, but sometimes, when he looked at Xavier, Elleard thought his brother had become such an old soul.
***