The days that followed that hearty Tuesday night were simple and devoid of any drama, except, they passed much quicker than usual.
Before Saturday, Jacek had recovered completely, thanks to some herbs Yuki had him apply to his feet. He was now able to walk without any difficulties. For such a reason, he resumed his assistant position beside his florist sister once more.
On the Saturday morning, after the siblings opened and received customers for a while, a mailman stopped by with a letter for Yuki.
"Thank you," Yuki politely said to the mailman after receiving the letter. Since the shop was still busy at the time, she put the letter away until she was less busy.
In the afternoon, when the town square had quieted down, Yuki and Jacek sat in their empty shop to read the received letter.
Neither Yuki nor Jacek were educated; commoners were not entitled to such a privilege. And although, there was no rule which prevented self-taught reading and writing skills; coming by and actually affording books was another reason many commoners remained illiterate.
In Stolz, there was an institution for affluent commoners who wished to work as servants in Beicheden. It was an elite institution that trained commoners to possess skills like reading, writing, and almost every skill a servant of a noble family should possess. Despite the difficulties in entering that institution, only a few ended up being selected to go and work in Beicheden.
Thus, the luckiest of the commoners who were privileged to be selected to go to Beicheden, were the most respected people among the commoners. At their retirement at fifty, those privileged commoners used their reading and writing skills to set up businesses that read and wrote letters for others. Meanwhile, some also conducted lessons discreetly for commoners who could afford the hefty prices they charged.
Jacek was lucky to have had grandparents who were retired servants of a noble family in Beicheden. His grandparents, that is, the parents of his mother, taught him to read and write when he was younger. In their passing, Jacek inherited all their books as their only grandchild.
Jacek passed his literacy on to his sister without any trouble as she was very intelligent and smart. Also, Yuki already had a fair reading and writing potential after growing up with her godfather. Thus, Jacek only helped improve the ability she already possessed.
Yuki scanned the envelope in her hand, there was no name written on it. She opened the envelope slowly and drew out a pink paper from it, then she opened the letter that read;
"Deare Yuki, Ida here. Been thinkin' of ya a lot these days. A'ya alright? It been a while since we last spoke. Parden my hand writin' and gramar, I couldnt let anyone write the letter on my behalf. Thin' is, not too long ago, I got my hand on a real strong drug that make you sleep for several hours. Since your birthday is in three days, I've been worried about ya. Here in the envelope is the drug I speak of. I tryed it and it really work. I slept for fifteen hours! You can test on it with ya skills before taking. I hope it helps. Love, Ida."
Yuki looked inside the envelope and took out a small plastic which contained three tiny pills. She examined the substance closely.
"Are you going to take it?" Jacek asked with a slight frown. Though he hated the idea of Yuki taking any unknown drugs, he was willing to let her consume this one, if it meant she would suffer less on that day.
Yuki without responding to Jacek, folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. "I already told you I cannot let myself sleep on that day. I will pull through somehow." Yuki did not have any major change in her expression.
Jacek eyed his sister from behind, relieved and worried altogether. He patted her gently on her head before walking off to the innermost part of the shop to get Yuki some tea to calm her nerves.
…
As soon as the heat of the sun became tolerable, people crowded the town square once more. A few number of Yuki and Jacek's customers also dropped by to purchase flowers.
"Thank you. Come again!" Yuki bowed courteously to a young couple who had just purchased some white orchids. She escorted them outside the shop and waved at them amiably as they took off in a rickshaw.
"Good afternoon to you…"
Yuki turned to the direction of the greeting. It was Treyton. He walked up to her with a manly gait and smile.
"How are you feeling today?" Treyton asked Yuki, whose face turned sour as soon as she caught sight of him. He chuckled at her honest reaction.
"Don't tell me you are still angry at me for 'offending' that Beichan?" Treyton spoke playfully, though his genuine feelings concerning the incident was all but amusing to him.
"I am not angry." Yuki pouted, turned and treaded into her shop with Treyton sauntering after her, snickering.
Jacek, who was tending to a young boy, beamed as soon as he saw Treyton enter the shop after his sister. "Treyton, hey!" he waved excitedly.
Treyton returned Jacek's salutation with a grin and a slow-paced wave. "You are better." Treyton stated with a contented expression while staring at Jacek's feet.
As if to prove to Treyton that his observation was an understatement, he stamped his feet conceitedly. "I am all healed now! Do you have a talented apothecary for a sister?!" Jacek smirked.
The young boy who had his hands stretched to receive a bouquet which was never coming, wore an appalled look as he stared at Jacek. "You are as sister-crazed as they say," he commented out loud.
Jacek threw a sharp glare at the boy before shoving his bouquet into his arms, "Off you go!" he snarled in annoyance. Very much offended by the younger boy's lack of regard of his age.
Yuki sniggered as she by passed Jacek and the boy to her working space.
"How have you been?" Jacek inquired of Treyton after dismissing the boy from the shop. He pulled out a chair and plunged into it with a loud sigh.
Treyton made his way to occupy the seat closest to Jacek. "I am doing well." Treyton replied while his eyes lingered in the direction Yuki went.
Taking notice of the direction in which Treyton looked, as well as the intensity of his gaze, Jacek observed the busy frame of his sister moving about the shop and asked abruptly, "Do you like her?"
Treyton was visibly taken aback by the question. He glanced at Jacek, who viewed him with a serious face. "What?" he asked, thoughtlessly.
"I asked if you liked my sister?" Jacek repeated without as much as a blink; he held all of Treyton's reactions, along with all his faltering expressions.
"Do I like Yuki?"
"That is what I asked."
Treyton's face bore his puzzlement as he gaped at Jacek. Did he like her? That was something he had never thought of. Not of Yuki of all people. He disliked the thought; he disliked his own reaction to such a simple question. Did he like her?
"Yes. As a friend," Treyton eventually responded with what he believed to be the truth.
Jacek peered into the light grey eyes which were laced with both doubt and sincerity. "I see." He commented superficially and averted his eyes back to Yuki, who was by then approaching them.
Yuki walked towards the men with a tray of two cups of ginger tea, sweetened with honey. She served the tea courteously to the men. But when she realized the two had stopped talking after her arrival, she questioned, "what were you talking about."
"Nothing much, just grown-up talk," Jacek answered with a smirk.
Yuki lowered at her brother. "You are only twenty-one, let me breathe" Yuki retorted in annoyance.
"You are twenty-one?" Treyton questioned with a surprised look.
"Don't look at me like you are any older!" Jacek was evidently offended by Treyton's gaze.
Treyton chuckled before giving Jacek a conceited look, "I am twenty-three."
Yuki was rendered speechless. Both her brother and Treyton were clearly too dramatic about their meagre ages. There was only a three-and-five year gap between herself and them and yet… Yuki sighed.
"Oh right! I almost forgot why I came here. The old man asked me to bring you with me to see him today," Treyton promptly said after recalling his agenda for coming to see the two.
"To bring Yuki? Whatever for?" Jacek asked curiously, looking between Treyton and Yuki.
Yuki's expression shifted subtly. She had a fair idea why her godfather would want to speak with her when her birthday was so near, except, he was the last person she wanted to see before her birthday. Why were all the grownups around her so worrisome?