Chereads / The Bakers of Alcuin / Chapter 9 - Alone in the bakery

Chapter 9 - Alone in the bakery

Thud ! Thud !

I was awoken by sounds of heavy boots slamming into the ground. The chairs and tables shook simultaneously and so did my body. I was scared and curious about the sound.

" Who is there?"

I asked but, I heard no answer. Maybe I was just hallucinating , so I immediately went back to sleep.

Thud ! Thud !

The sound was back again. Who could have been in the bakery apart from me? The loud sounds of feet slamming into the floor continued and grew closer and louder as it seemed as if whatever creature or human being it was, were getting closer to me. Around the corner of the kitchen, I could see vivid dark shadows appearing. The shadow was in the shape of a monster ready to eat me, looking hungry and fierce ready to devour into my flesh. Its face was ugly and greatly scary with brown eyes, it had scars on its face and brown fur with thorns intertwined in its fur. The creature had big, yellow sharp teeth with saliva running down his cheeks. Its arms were up waving in the air with nails as long as Rapunzel's hair and was just perfect to rip through my young bones.

"Aghhhhh! Somebody help me!" I screamed

I yelled, and scream for dare life but, it seems like my voice was mute or unhearable. Could no one hear me?

I shout my eyes tightly and turn my back to the scene which will cause my fair well. I curled my little body forming a "C" with my legs up to my face bent under my butt. I trembled and recited prayers for my rescue. I cracked my eyes open, only to see the shadow right in front me on the wall. My breath stopped, my heart was failing, and I was trapped in my self-consciousness. I knew my physical body was there but my mind was lost. I was unstable. It was like I had forgotten how to speak. I wanted to urinate so badly but my bladder felt like a dripping pipe. My kidneys were trying to hold up the urine but my brain was fighting against all odds. I thought I had died already until I heard a soft calm sound.

Woof ! Woof !

"Could it be A dog?" I questioned myself.

I turned around in disbelief and shock. There it was a little fluffy brown puppy, its paws were tiny and its ears were long covered in brown fur. I couldn't believe that this small dog had such a deceiving shadow. Why did it sound so loud and fierce, nearly making me wet my pants, I wonder. No small animal could ever make such loud sounds. So I picked it up and held it tightly in my arm but, surprisingly, it didn't attack me. I walked with it around to the kitchen, and there was a huge mess. All of the baking flour and utensils were on the floor. As I walked further observing the litter, the puppy started barking. I was wondering why it had such behaviour. Suddenly, the puppy sprang from my arms and ran over to the corner behind the stove. There was another animal it seems.

Meow! Meow!

I spotted a little kitten licking its paws. The kitten had white fur, it was chubby, it had long whiskers and it had a collar. The name on the collar was lucky. Lucky seems like a boy given the name and the space under his tail resembles a colon. The puppy aggressively started barking at lucky. It had not taken long before the two animals started fighting. I tried to stop them but I couldn't keep up with their energy. After a minute or two, I came up with a plan to pour some milk in a plastic cup from the refrigerator to catch Lucky's attention and as expected, it did work. The two animals further turn the kitchen into a worser wreck. It turns out that all the sounds I have been hearing was the fighting between Lucky and the puppy as the pots and pans tumbled over.

For some reason, although these two animals fought, they seemed to be really close as they both fell asleep on the same chair. Maybe they ran away from home or got lost. I ensured that every opening in the shop was closed as I didn't want to lose possession of these animals. Whenever I get picked up in the morning, I hope to go insearch of the owner of these pets.

It had not gone too long and morning had already progressed. I was awakened by the precious voices of the congregation singing, lovely harmonies of opera singers both men and women. The sun was bright as ever, shining through the glass windows. I got up and stretched my bones, reflexing and twisting every joint. I yawned and walked to the kitchen. I chose not to make the unusual state of not being home cause me not to carry out my morning routines. I washed my face and attempted to make some tea. I ate the leftover cupcakes from yesterday which were sitting in the fridge.

I waited hours and hours for my family to come get me but no one came. I started to feel down and extremely lonely with my only company being that of the puppy and lucky. It was surely faith that I had found them. They were lost and lucky I found them but, I wasn't ha no one came looking for me. I felt outcasted and forgotten. I was bored the entire day. I tried so many ways to entertain myself but, my ideas seemed useless. It was already in the afternoon when I decided to quit my entertainment and think of ideas to go home. I knew the roads and the streets of where I live, It's just too far and I don't have transportation money. Walking there wouldn't be safe for a seven year old and I didn't want to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

An idea came to me, since the shoe store next door opened, Maybe I could go over there and ask for a call. I was positive that it would work and so I excruciated the plan accordingly.

I was successful in my plea and the shoe store owner called my father.

"Hello Mr. Maxwell, It's me, the guy who owns the shoe store", said the shoe store owner.

" I found your daughter, Lacey-Ann!"said the shoe store owner.

I did not hear what my father said but, when the shoe store owner hung up, he told me that my family will be coming for me right away. He suggested that I stay in his store with him and wait till my family arrives. After minutes of waiting, they finally came. They were so happy to see me as well as I was to see them. We ran over to hug each other.

" What happened sweetheart? Where were you?" asked my mother.

" Am so sorry. I felt ashamed when I spilled the juice and Lucy-Ann made me feel worse so I ran away", I said.

Me:" I was at the park, when it got later a lady followed me to the main road, because I told her that my family was in the bakery waiting for me but, when I got here it was closed and empty. So I had to find a way to get in and stay here"

My Mother:" Look you should'nt have done what you did, you could have gotten hurt and that was the reason why we forbid you two from serving beverages but, we are glad that you are safe"

My father:"Who's pets are these?"

Me : "Oh I found them in the bakery last night

My father : "In our bakery?"

Me: "Yes, the cat has a collar, his name is lucky but, the puppy doesn't"

My mother: " I wonder whose pets are those?"

Me:" I am not sure, wait ! I think I know the owner !"

Me:" How did I not remember? They are the pets of the same lady who showed me the way to the bakery. She wa walking them when I first ran away then she told her daughter to watch them while she helped me out"

My mother: " Is there an address on the cat's collar?"

Me:" No there isn't, I suggest we keep them till tomorrow then, we go in search for the lady"

My father:" Your right"

My father:" Well thank you so much sir for letting me know that my daughter is here and safe, you have a good day"

The shoe store owner:" No worries pal ! Good bye

When we got home, grandpa was elated to see me and surprisingly, so was my sister Lucy-Ann. I thought she hated me but maybe I was wrong. I have realised that Lucy has a spicy personality and sometimes she can be cold hearted and sometimes he can be aggressive. She is my sister anyways and regardless of the multiple times we have disagreements, the greatest thing is that we care for eachother.

I followed grandpa to the backyard to watch him trying to build a temporary home for the pets. Grandpa was a handyman. He could make anything of his desire. A pet house, school projects and fancy furniture.Grandpa asked me to gather quipments such as: nail, hammers, ply boards, screws, screw drivers, and the hand saw. Grandpa and I grew on rough paper for the perfect plan for the pet house. Both of our designs were very creative and grandpa came up with a excellent plan of joining the two structures together and make a two in on home for lucky and the puppy.

I was curious about the kind of dog the puppy has, I have never seen such a cute dog before. Grandpa Maxwell says she wasn't sure what breed it was but, it could be close to a poodle. Grandpa suggested for me to look for it in a book about dog breeds just to correctly identify the puppy. Whilst reading the book, I discover dogs such as: a bulldog, a german shepherd, a golden retriever, a pug, a husky and a poodle. I looked at the poodle in the book and the puppy. They were both small and furry but they are two different dogs. I searched the book but, didn't find the breed of the puppy so I looked in the index and there I aw the word Pomerian I was curious and strongly believe that this could be the breed and as thought, based on the description, and the behaviour of the puppy, it was indeed a Pomerian.

Me:" Grandpa! Grandpa! I found it!"

Grandpa:" What's its breed?"

Me:" It's a pomeranian"

Grandpa:" Oh it the first time i have come across such a dog"

Even though these pets aren't ours, I was delighted to have them around. The few hours that I have spent with them were precious. I grew a bond with luck and the pomeranian and I loved them dearly. I always made it my duty to feed them, take them on walks and play with them, but when the time came for them to be returned I was sad and devastated. For the past day, my parents have been trying to reach out to the pet owner on the internet and it didn't take long for them to be in contact.

On Monday evening while having dinner, the doorbell rang. It was the same lady who I saw at the park.

The lady at the park:" Hey, is this where the little girl who found my puppy and cat lives?"

My mother:" Yes you have come to the right place"

Grandpa:" Lacey, go for the puppy and the cat"

The pomeranian and the kitten were both in their houses in my bedroom. I was sad and feeling down about giving them away. I have made so many memorie with the two but they belong to someone else so I guess that I should just give them back.

I walked slowly holding lucky in my arms whilst the pomeranian was walking in between my feet. My face was long and I looked as if I was about to cry. Upon seeing their rightful owner, the kitten ran from my arms and so did the puppy from between my feet. The bond between the lady and her pets looked as inoperable as before.

The lady at the park:" Lucky ! Sam ! I missed you both!"

Me:" Sam was the pomerian's name?"

The lady at the park:" Yeah why?"

Me:" I didn't find it with a collar and I was sort of curious about its name that all"

The lady at the park:" Why do you seem so sad?"

Me:" It's nothing much, other than the fact that I have gotten so close with them but, now they are gone"

The lady at the park:" Oh I see, look I knew that you would grow some connection with my pet so here I brought this one from my husbands laboratory"

Me:" Oh really thank you"

As I took the dog cage from here, when I opened it, this animal was creating an illusion. I was confused as to what kind of animal it was.

Me:" Is this animal a dog or a cat"

The lady at the park:" Oh it's a hybrid . My husband is a scientist and he does experiments with different animal breeds. Lucky and Sam were his first subjects and it successfully worked. Take the cross breed as a gift for finding and caring for my lucky and Sam"

Me:" Thank you"

As the lady walked away leaving the cross breed behind, I stood there looking. I was amazed and Happy that I had two pets in one. The cross breed was very small and adorable. She had the small furry body of a pomeranian and a cute face of a cat. Her fur had a very lovely pattern with the colours brown and white mixed all over her body. She was energetic like a puppy and confident, calm and pride filled like a cat so I named her Zolene. Zolene's name meant calm and energetic. The name was a mix of two other names Zoilo which means "energetic" and Galene which means " calm". I sat and stared into Zolene's eyes drowning in her uniqueness and our memories we will share together.