"I come to this bakery often as a kid. The owner is a nice gentleman, and the desserts are even nicer. You see that over there?" Elina directed her eyes to the half-broken wooden table hidden in the corner.
Luciel followed her gaze and asked, "Yeah. Why is a broken table there?"
Elina silently observed the round table and sighed lightly. "It's my seal of approval."
"Seal of approval?"
The circular table was split in half. It was cut so cleanly that no sharp edges dared to poke out. It was a perfect semicircle.
"I broke it," Elina confidently confessed. "I wanted to leave an unforgettable memory about this place, so... I broke the table in half and kept the other half at home."
"Um..." Luciel didn't have any words for this strange behavior. She wanted half of the table? For exactly what purposes?
Elina patted Luciel's head with a smile. "In the future, I'll share more of my stories with you so don't look too confused about my first story now."
Luciel nodded in response. He wanted to ask her to tell the full story, but there was no point. They were going to part ways anyway. It was better not to know. The more memories people share, the more sentimental they become towards one another.
"What are you thinking of to put you in such a daze? Come. Which flavor of cake do you want?"
Luciel walked toward the display counter where dozens of cakes lined up colorfully. He was dreaming about the cakes while Elina interacted with the owner.
"Is that your son?" the owner asked. He was a gentle-looking man with a bulging belly. His white beard indicated his old age, but his demeanor remained as young as Elina remembered.
"I haven't seen you for a while and you started making assumptions already. Does it look like it would be my child?"
The owner looked back and forth at Luciel and Elina and chuckled. "No. You're right. He looks way more beautiful than you did when you were a kid."
"You have time for jokes too? This old man..." Elina trailed off.
Elina glanced at the old man's back which was as broad as ever. The stature of a steadfast man protecting her from the wickedness of the world flashed through her memories. Elina smiled as her eyes were filled with deep affection.
"Tell the boy to choose one. Today's on the house."
"No... I know business has been tough for you. I should pay."
"It's just a slice. No big deal. Besides, you appearing in front of me is already enough for this old man." The man smiled warmly as he looked fondly at Elina and Luciel.
Murphy was a kind soul who once dreamed of having a family of his own. However, his wife tragically died young because of a Hollow Breakout that happened decades ago. Murphy recovered from the trauma and decided not to remarry in remembrance of his dear wife.
He opened a bakery because it was a fleeting dream of the newlywed couple. Murphy remembered him and his wife talking about how the bakery should look like for hours in front of the cozy fireplace. He opened Murla's Bakery for her. This place encased the memories of Murphy and his wife Laella.
Nonetheless, he was lonely. He didn't want to admit it, but his heart would ache from time to time. The feeling of emptiness waiting at the end of his work shift scared him. Before long, Murphy forgot how to smile to himself.
His bleak life continued for years until one evening when he was taking out the trash. Inside the filthy alleyway, a young girl with a frail frame was balling herself up next to the spray-painted brick walls. Her purple hair was disheveled to the point where Murphy couldn't see her face.
Murphy walked up slowly toward her and asked, "Hey. Do you want some food?"
The girl peeked over the arms that were hugging her knees. She only looked at him with expressionless eyes before covering her face again.
"Come on. I'll treat you as much as you like. I have a bakery nearby, so let's eat and talk at the same time. How does that sound?"
That was the day Murphy took in Elina. He became a doting grandfather and took care of her. When Murphy heard about what had happened to Elina, he became more protective and loving.
The pure smile on his face that disappeared at his wife's funeral returned. The smile was even bigger than in the past because he found his little angel.
"Grandpa..." Elina muttered softly as she reminisced about the sweet memories created in this bakery.
"I thought you went back to your old ways of calling me 'old man' again."
"I'm sorry I couldn't visit you often. I know work isn't an excuse." Elina bit her lips as she expressed her regret.
"Aish. Why are you worrying about such a trivial thing? Your job is for humanity. I'm just a single human. Don't look at me with that face."
"I'll be sure to visit at least once a week." Elina knew that arguing with him wasn't worth it. Murphy loved her too much and always wanted the best for her.
Murphy sighed and looked at the boy with serene eyes. He seemed to have known the situation already and said, "Take care of that boy as I did for you. He needs it."
As soon as Murphy finished his sentence, Luciel yelled out in excitement, "I want strawberry shortcake."
Of course, it couldn't be called excitement. There was no expression on his face nor intonation in his voice. Still, Elina noticed it through his small gestures and his gleaming eyes.
"How did you know that this is my favorite?"
"It's your favorite?" Luciel blankly stared at the shortcake while asking.
"I had it almost every day since I was a kid. It's the best seller here too."
"I'd like to eat that then."
"Sure thing. Gramps! Two strawberry shortcakes please."
Murphy happily took out the shortcakes from the counter and put them in a neat little box that he handcrafted.
"Is this your new design? It looks cute."
"I spent a bit too much time on designing this thing. Luckily, it turned out great. People love it and even buy the boxes alone."
When Elina was a kid, she got bored extremely fast and Murphy had to find new things for her to do. He found out about DIY crafting and started to buy materials for Elina to play with. She loved it so much that this hobby infected Murphy as well.
They started to make these cute handcrafted boxes to put desserts in. This helped Murphy's business boom, so Elina and Murphy created a new design every month to earn the interest of the customers.
Even after Elina left the bakery, he was still doing it and had mastered the craft. Luciel couldn't keep his eyes away from the boxes and said, "Can I have this?"
"Of course! Some people go to my bakery just to collect these boxes. It's one of my biggest pride."
"Thank you. Gramps." Luciel repeated what Elina called him. He naturally thought that 'Gramps' was his name.
Murphy laughed loudly. "You're welcome. The design changes every month, so if you're a collector, come to this bakery."
Luciel nodded and grabbed the boxes. If he had to pick one detail that he liked the most, it would be the drawing of a grandfather holding his little granddaughter's hand.