In the morning.....
The sweet smell of coffee woke Yuri up, dragging her sleepy self to the kitchen. She lazily opened her eyes. "Where's Henmi and Kei?" she muttered, her head pounding. It felt like someone had rung a bell close to her ear. Clearing her throat, "can I get a cup of coffee also?" Yuri asked, her voice cracking again.
"They left earlier than expected, but they made breakfast and left a note behind saying thank you," narrated Lucinda, getting a mug from the cupboard, pouring the coffee into the mug. Shemixed milk and sugar cubes for Yuri, just how she liked her coffee.
"Thank you." Yuri croaked, cuddling the cup closer to herself. Breathing in the warm steam, exhaling a sigh of relief, she drinks from the cup. It warms up her inside, "this feels so good, I wish we could stay indoors but we have work to do," she groaned. Lucinda chuckled, dropping her plates into the sink. She hurries to the bathroom to shower...
***
After catching the 10am bus, they met their boss outside the bakery...There were chairs and tables all over the place, and some sign boards had fallen, but luckily theirs was still hanging, but they needed to clean it up, especially the patio, where most of their tables and chairs had been flung by the storm, which was really heavy.
They cleaned up the bakery throughout the morning. By the time they'd finished, they were all exhausted. "Milkshake's on the house," the worker said, coming out of the kitchen with a cup for everyone.
"Courtesy of the boss."
Everyone took a sip out of their cup at the same time, breathing in relief. "Thank you, boss," they all said in unison when their boss walked out of the kitchen.
"You're welcome, after this you may close, it's a resting day," He said, leaving them to go to his office. With this, they finished their drinks and energetically finished their work....
***
"So, where are you headed next?" Yuri asked Lucinda, catching up with her after saying goodbye to her other co-workers.
"Home and you need some rest." Lucinda glared at her, making it clear that she really needed rest, knowing that Yuri wouldn't take a nap when she got home.
Her lips curled into a sheepish smile before she bids farewell to Lucinda. She waves at Lucinda before walking the opposite direction. She said, "If that is the case, then bye, greet okasaan (mother) for me as well." Lucinda shook her head and headed towards the train station.... She finally got home, only to find her mother sitting on the doorstep waiting for her.
"I tried calling you last night, your line wasn't getting through," she said immediately, worry evident in her voice. Lucinda looked at her with tired eyes, knowing she was only worried and nothing more. If she was also a mother, she'd act the same way, or even worse.
"Sorry about that, I tried calling you when I realized it wasn't working and the cell signals got jammed, so I stayed over at Yuri's throughout the storm and I had to stop by work this morning and my boss gave us a day-off," explained Lucinda all in one breath.
Mrs. Hayashi couldn't complain anymore. Giving a satisfied grunt to Lucinda's reply, she let her pass.... On walking into the house, "Can you quickly get changed? I need you to get my order at the fish market. I have an urgent catering job and I'll need to head over to the office to see how things are coming along. I was meant to leave, but I couldn't leave the house until you got back, just to be sure you're safe," Mrs. Hayashi said, taking her car keys from the kitchen counter.
Heading towards the door to grab her coat and an umbrella just in case, she turned "and there's lunch in the microwave, you can reheat it again," putting on her shoes, she closed the door behind her.
As her car left the driveway, Lucinda gave a sigh of relief, she sits on the sofa in the parlor and sinks into the chair wishing it to merge with her body, due to the tiredness she felt, taking a shut an eye for a bit, she thinks back to how she was almost close to kissing Kei, the way his body was so close to hers, his hot breath spilling over her face, the body warmth and how his muscles flexed on their own, like he was trying to restrain himself from doing anything, who knows what if Yuri hadn't interrupted, what might have happened between them, would he have stopped half way or they would've gone further, just thinking about this made her body shiver slightly... Not wanting to sit down and keep replaying the scenes over and over again in her head, she went to her room and changed out of her current clothes to another, before rushing out of the house with a basket and hiding the keys to the house behind the potted plant at the front door....
***
At the fish market....
"You look lovely whenever I see you. What's the secret?" asked the fish dealer, who always supplied fish to Mrs. Hayashi.
"Obasan (aunty), there's no secret, you're beautiful as well, you look so much younger," Lucinda praised the lady, putting her in a pleasant mood. Because of this, she gave Lucinda an extra fish.
"Ah, please don't flatter me, you young ones of today have sweet mouths," said the fish lady chuckling at Lucinda's praise for her, feeling in a cheerful mood. She also offered Lucinda a bottle of water without asking. Lucinda really appreciated this.
"Thank you, Obasan (aunty), I've told you not to always do so much for me. You'll stress yourself out," she said, advising the old fish lady....
"Say hi to your mother for me."
"Sure, bye, obasan (aunty)," Lucinda replied, waving back at the woman, as she walked out of her shop.
Walking out of the congested market, she could finally get a whiff of salty fresh air with a slight hint of fish smell in the air. This smelt stronger inside the market than when one stood outside. Her eyes opened as she saw the same girl again, standing in a white dress with blood dripping from her nose, as she walked towards Lucinda.
The wind tousled her hair, covering her eyes and face; she left a trail of blood behind her with each step she took. Lucinda could see her clearly. Her lips were chapped, blood-stained hands as if she'd played with red paint, but this one didn't smell like paint. It had a rusty iron smell to it.
"Why are you here?" whispered Lucinda, her lips trembling like she had seen a ghost. "Where are your parents?" The girl didn't say anything; she walked closer to Lucinda to hold her hand. Lucinda could feel chills through her body. The temperature had dropped below normal, the basket she carried dropped....