Solanne doesn't know how to respond to that, but she still smiled and put the bread Mrs. Joneson bought in a paper bag before adding in a whisper, "I'm afraid of love." Solanne winked at Mrs. Joneson.
"Oh dear," Mrs Joneson smiled, full of pity for her. Suddenly, Solanne felt conscious. Still, she tried to smile.
It wasn't her intention, but Solanne felt so pathetic at that moment that she didn't understand why.
"I understand that too, my dear, but you'll never know unless you try."
Solanne felt so awkward. She just smiled. "I'll wait for love to find me," she added before ordering.
"I'm sorry about that," Vincent whispered beside her as Solanne continued to attend to the other customer. "She's just a very noisy elder but doesn't mean any harm."
Solanne chuckled. "She reminds me of my grandmother in the province, so it's okay. Besides, I don't mind."
They both continued what they were doing, and Solanne got the hang of packing orders from the older ladies who visited to buy freshly baked bread. Most of the older ladies who ordered had expressed their thoughts about Solanne and Vincent being a couple, while the others wanted to talk about the pandemic that was happening.
The pandemic was rare, and most of these elders believed that it only happened in Science fiction movies, so most of them were still not convinced of what was really happening. They even concluded that it was because the government planned to annihilate the people.
Additionally, they believe that the gods would protect this province from anything that might happen to them. Seems like this province has a good history behind it.
With that being said, she was able to ask the elders about the legends surrounding the province.
Like Vincent had previously said about the forest and those entities that disguised themselves as humans, most elders told her about ghost stories and warnings not to do at night.
Like strolling at the forest because some entity might steal their soul and inhabit their body. Some houses were abandoned but never demolished as the elders believe it was these entities' houses. There were some games that were forbidden to play, and there were also things that people had stories that shouldn't be told by outsiders.
Moreover, there were also days dedicated to them. Others also said that there are festivals are celebrated yearly to give tribute to these entities, and it's only a month away.
Despite the pandemic, they're still planning to hold a small offering for the gods. In this province, they were strict in following the customs and their tradition.
Suddenly, Solanne felt like she was in a scene in a horror movie because of their stories. This was the perfect episode for the series of tourists who got lost in a small village and were never found.
Two hours later, all of the customers were already gone. If Solanne could remember, there were about 30 people who bought the bread, and there were even 30 more to deliver.
Vincent had finished preparing the bread they were about to deliver when Yael went down. From the looks of it, it seems like he just got out of bed. His hair was still a mess.
"Solanne," Yael called.
Vincent and Solanne looked up. A smile appeared on their faces. Solanne was preparing some coffee and Vincent grabbed a few breads for their breakfast. "Good morning."
"Good morning," Yael answered, looking at the place. "You two seemed busy."
Solanne handed Yael his morning coffee, and he gladly accepted it and took a sip.
"Just the morning rush from customers. Also," Solanne added, "we're going to the farm later after delivering some bread so after breakfast you should be ready."
Yael nodded. "Okay."
Vincent put down the bread on the table. "Have some bite. It's going to be a long day."
Just like that, morning has passed.
--
After preparing things, and as they were ready to deliver the bread, Solanne can't help but be amaze seeing a wagon, tied to one horses. "We are using this?" She asked, a smile visible on her face.
Vincent appeared holding the bag full of bread. "Of course. I don't have a car, remember. You don't like it?"
Solanne shook her head. A grin on her face. "Are you kidding? I love it!" She giggled. "Never experience ridding one before."
"Are you that excited?" Yael asked and handed her a straw hat. He was also wearing one.
"Of course I am that excited. I can list it on my 'all the experience I have' journal."
"You have that kind of journal?"
"No."
Yael laughed.
Before Solanne could ask him a question about the hat, Yael had already countered, "It's going to be hot. Put some sunscreen." He added handing the sunscreen.
"Thank you," Solanne expressed her gratitude.
As soon as Vincent was finished loading up the wagon, he said, "Both of you should get inside now." Vincent climbed on the horse.
"Yes, wait," Yael climbed first before offering his hand to assist Solanne. As soon as they were all set, Yael and Solanne looked like a kid sitting there with the bread and their packed lunches.
Solanne was grinning ear to ear as soon as the wagon started moving. She can't contain her excitement that she was laughing so much. Yael shook his head. For some reason, he was already used to this.
He grabbed his phone and took a picture of the place they were going, and she even took a video of Solanne who was happily recording too.
Yael thought that with this pandemic, they'd stay inside the cabin most of the time until they were able to get out, yet since this was a province, there was no heavy protocol imposed here on social distancing.
Still, people were limited to going out and only going out if they needed to buy food. Their journey started, and it wasn't that long before they reached the first house. Solanne and Yael stayed at the wagon, watching Vincent deliver the bread.
Each time he delivered, there was a mandatory stop of 5 minutes or so because the people here seemed to love to engage in small talk. In addition to that, the view was majestic.
There were fields everywhere. It was so vast, and it felt so free. It just feels so different riding a wagon being pulled up by a horse and just watching the scenery while the sun was up. It was so free, and Solanne and Yael never cared about anything.
They were all living in the present.
Right at they stopped in the last house, it was just almost lunch. Just like what they had expected, Vincent was once again stopped for another five minutes as he talked with the house owner and even got their next order for the next day.
"I never actually expected living like this after scheduling my vacation," Yael muttered.
Solanne smiled at him. "Are you having fun? Do you regret it?"
Yael chuckled. "No. This is the best accident that happened in my life. I actually never appreciated this kind of life before, but thinking about it now, it's a worth-it experience."
Solanne giggled. "I'm glad you're enjoying it too."
--
As soon as Vincent was about to leave after getting his customer's order, another question popped up from the house's owner, Mr Williams' wife. "The people on the wagon, is that your guest?"
Vincent chuckled. "Yes. They were stuck here because of the pandemic."
"Oh, that's very unfortunate. How are they faring? Are they okay?"
"Yes. I'm taking care of them, so there is nothing to worry about, Mrs. Williams."
"I'm glad you have a kind heart but I also have another question, I hope you don't mind."
"What is it?"
"The guy on the back, he looks familiar."
Vincent paused for a moment and looked at Yael. He smiled at Mrs. Williams.
"He looks like someone I saw on TV with my daughter one night. Right, is he—"
"My nephew," Vincent interjected as he stood in front of Mrs. Williams, blocking her view. His smile seemed to be imposing. "He's the son of a long-distance relative. He's handsome, but he's not someone who appears on TV."
"Oh, "Perhaps I'm mistaken."
Before Vincent could leave, Mrs. William interjected, "then you can introduce her to my daughter. I feel like they'll get along well."
"My nephew already has a girlfriend. The girl beside her." Vincent casually added, like it was natural.
"Oh?" Mrs. William frowned before smiling pushing aside her thoughts at the back of her mind. "I'm sorry."
Vincent just smiled.
Mrs. Williams laughed. "I'm looking forward for tomorrow's bread."
Vincent nodded. "It's my pleasure."
As soon as Mrs. Williams closed the door, Vincent turned his back. "Are you guys hungry?" He asked them.
Solanne and Yael nodded like a child.
Vincent chuckled. "It's gonna be 20 minutes ride to the farm from here. Is that okay?"
"No problem with us."
--