Aleyah left early in the morning to have her eyes checked. She couldn't sleep last night because of that incident. Lucy called her braggart, so the choice to tell this to her father was clearly a very bad decision. Especially since her father didn't believe in the supernatural at all. Her last hope was her regular eye doctor, she must have seen it wrong. There must be something wrong with her eyes. An abnormality was easier to accept because she could take medicine to cure it.
The doctor held the small flashlight away from her eyes. Then she lowered her mask and smiled at her. "Your eyes are completely fine. It's even better, your eyesight doesn't get worse so I suggest you buy the same glasses as before."
"So you're saying that my eyesight is fine?" Aleyah asked in disbelief.
The doctor shook her head, "No. Your eyes are still bad, very very bad. But what I told you is that your eyes are still the same as usual. Nothing has changed from the previous one. Why? Do you feel unwell about something? Tell me."
This time it was Aleyah who shook her head. She couldn't possibly tell a doctor about seeing a black shadow that only she could see. They are scientists, she will be laughed at and will be considered to be hallucinating. Another bad possibility is that maybe she will be introduced to a psychiatrist. It would soon reach her father's ears and she didn't want that to happen.
So there was nothing wrong with her eyes and there was only one answer that could be taken. Maybe they are real, Aleyah thought as she left the eye doctor's office.
But why her? Of all the people in this world, why does she have to be the one who can see them? Is this some kind of curse?
Aleyah looked at the highway which was quite busy. The optical shop where she ordered the glasses is across the street so she will go there after she finishes picking up her groceries. Today she bought quite a lot of things, she bought more flour and sugar because Lucy would invite her friends to play tonight. Lucy said it is for enlivening her late mother's quiet bakery. She also explained that she did this to help Aleyah so that their father would believe that the bakery could still be saved.
She had quite a lot of luggage and it turned out to be heavier than she had imagined. She was almost out of breath and sweating when she arrived in front of the optical shop. Aleyah put the heavy cardboard on the bench in front of the shop and then went in to pick up her new glasses.
Soon she came out with very clear vision and a bottle of drinking water from the optical shop employee who was always kind to her. The woman with short, shoulder-length hair sighed in front of the heavy cardboard.
"Do you need help?" interrupted the shop employee who had given her a bottle of drinking water. He emerged from the doorway of his shop. The man had always been nice to her.
"Then what about your work if you're going to follow me home?" Aleyah asked back, smiling because the man couldn't reply to her words.
"It seems very heavy. I'll close the shop for a while, after all your house is close from here."
Aleyah immediately took over the cardboard from the optical shop employee's hands. She wouldn't let him sacrifice his salary for her sake. Aleyah immediately walked before the man did anything reckless. "No - no, I can do it myself. You just focus on your work." she said.
Aleyah smiled meaningfully after accidentally finding a solution to her problem. The man who bought the cinnamon roll appeared in front of her. He came out of the men's clothing store with his cell phone that never left his eyes. The man looked more casual today, he wore a gray sleeveless t-shirt with a black jacket which he carried in his right hand. The t-shirt showed off his arm muscles and Aleyah knew he was showing off. She didn't know who he was aimed at, so she decided to find out for herself.
"Are you sure?!" asked the optical shop employee again from a distance.
"Yes, I'm fine. You go back to work, I found someone who can carry this easily. Thank You." Aleyah shouted back cheerfully.
Aleyah gritted her teeth, carrying the heavy cardboard with the last of her strength. It was quite difficult to follow the man but a slight push on her leg could bring her closer. "Hi, would you like to buy some bread today?" She greeted the man cheerfully.
The man glanced at Aleyah only with the corner of his eye then continued his steps wider. Not answering the woman's greetings and questions was his choice to chase her away. But Aleyah didn't give up, she jogged until she was walking side by side with the man.
"Well, if you don't want to stop by again, that's fine. By the way, why are you dressed like this, sir? Aren't you too arrogant?" she asked. Aleyah cheered inwardly when the man finally looked at her in surprise. The man also looked at what Aleyah was staring at, it turned out that what the woman meant was his fashion style. Aleyah continued, "You like to showing off, don't you?"
The man stopped for a moment, "Do I know you?" he said sharply. Aleyah became speechless at his rude attitude. "We met at my bakery, don't you remember?" she asked again. She knew that the man remembered her, he was just trying to chase her away by acting like a stranger. Then he had to know that she needed help right now.
"You smiled at me at that time, I thought we were friends. I'm Aleyah, and you are?" The woman waited enthusiastically for an answer.
"I don't want to be friends with you, or anyone." he said nonchalantly then got ready to cross the highway. Aleyah followed the man's steps again and held on to her arms which were starting to run out of strength.
Aleyah put down the cardboard while waiting for the red light. The man was aware of her deep sighs, complaints, sweat and fatigue but he chose to return his focus to his cell phone. Aleyah peeked and it looked like he was really busy. Then Aleyah's attention was drawn to several women in the car who lowered their sunglasses because they saw the man beside her.
"Showoff, look at those women. They were stunned to see you." Aleyah said in a dramatic voice, hoping to get the attention of the ignorant man.
"The weather is hot, what do you mean by showing off." replied the man while raising an eyebrow. Aleyah felt a little embarrassed after knowing his reason. She folded her arms across her chest and cleared her throat. Looking at the sky, today's weather is indeed very hot. And it makes her need help more than she did before.
"It seems to me that you are showing off. With those arms you could be able to carry cartons of flour and sugar easily, right?"
The man chuckled, apparently that was why the woman kept talking about his arm. Aleyah widened her eyes in shock. The man's laughter sounded a little melodious in her ears.
"I'm more than capable of carrying all of that. But it depends," said the man again incoherently, he managed to make Aleyah frown in annoyance. "I won't do it because of you." he continued and he managed to make the woman put her hands on her hips.
"Nice try asking for help, miss. But that sarcasm won't work on me or maybe on anyone." he said before walking across the street.
Aleyah sighed and knitted her eyebrows in annoyance. She still had her hands on her hips and was standing on the side of the highway while the man was already halfway there.
"Don't you think men should bring heavy things for women? It is called being a gentleman." Aleyah said again full of hope. She was very tired. This was her last attempt, after this she would give up asking for help from that man.
As they say, opportunity arises when one begins to despair. The man stopped walking after hearing her words. The man was facing back, looking at her and seemed like he was apparently thinking. Aleyah made a bet with herself, hopefully he would be willing to help her. The man put the phone in his pocket then stepped back to her. Aleyah was sure that the man's self-esteem was hurt because of what she just said.
The man was willing to help her and carried her luggage with one hand. Meanwhile, his other hand was used to carry his black jacket. Aleyah smiled broadly until her cheeks rose. She fixed her glasses before finally crossing the road. She had to run a little because the traffic lights would change color.
Arriving at the other side, Aleyah walked beside the man again. "Thanks," she said happily as he stretched his arms and shoulders.
"You know what? You could just ask for help directly, instead of being sarcastic and judging someone with bad prejudice." said the man, giving a little sarcastic about the woman's high self-esteem.
Aleyah cleared her throat once again, she rarely asked for help and she was quite bad at it. "Okay. Next time I will be more honest with you."
"This will be the last time we meet, there won't be another time." said the man, he was very good at setting boundaries and shutting people out. Aleyah just wanted to know his name but he was silent, even though it was just a name. Not only that, the man didn't even pay attention to anything she asked afterwards.
Aleyah finally fell silent and just walked without opening any more dialogue. The man turned his head, finally the woman fell silent, he thought. There were about 200 meters left from the bakery and then he could get away from these pleasantries. His hope of getting away from Aleyah quickly disappeared as quickly as the wind carried dust.
"Hey, listen. There are police walking towards us." Aleyah whispered while standing on tiptoe when she found two policemen at the end of the same alley as them.
"I know, shut up. Stop acting so familiar." the man replied sharply.