"I just know she never thought of anything bad about the village, sure she intimidates children, but she's still a good person!"
Martha added, the basket over her head almost falling off and stumbling to the ground, luckily she caught it in time.
Jade nodded vigorously to Martha's statements. Agreeing wholeheartedly, she said, "Violet always acts tough on the outside, but she really is just a soft hearted person."
Now, it was Martha's turn to agree. All this happened behind Violet who was walking with pale colors on her face.
'The f*ck is wrong with them?'
Violet thought wholeheartedly, her shoulders slump, her legs almost dragging her feet on the ground just to continue walking.
The small group eventually arrived at a wooden gate about the height of a small child. The gates were opened wide and judging from the bustling market-like noises coming from inside, a huge group of people were gathered in the orchard.
As soon as they entered, Jade asked Martha a question.
"... What's going on?"
"The village's people always gather here when it's harvest season. The owner of this orchard is very generous, you see. They're giving out free fruits today."
"...Oh."
Jade only watched the noisy orchard with an intrigued look.
As they looked around for something interesting to do in the orchard, a man suddenly called out.
"Martha! Over here!"
"I need to get going," Said Martha to Jade and Violet, and ran towards the man with a wide smile on her face. Violet presumed it was Martha's husband—she did see the man in the same frame as Martha quite often.
"What do you want to do now?"
Violet asked with the same motionless face and tucked her hands inside her pocket.
"Let's just get some of those free fruits Martha was talking about."
Jade navigated her way around the crowd with hesitation in every single step she took, of course, she doesn't know which way she should go. She was expecting Violet to guide and give her directions through the orchard but surprisingly, Violet never complained about her misdirections.
They bumped with several people and apologized each time, making the process of finding the damned free fruits even more outstretched. Who knows how many laps they had made around the orchard, and who knows if they ever did make a lap around the orchard.
Jade finally stopped wandering around aimlessly, sweat was starting to cover her forehead. Then, she turned her body around to face Violet who was still, as expected, calm about the situation.
"Ahem!" Jade cleared her throat loudly before speaking.
"Where do you think they are giving out the free fruits?"
She looked around, switching her gaze between Violet and the surroundings every one second.
"Maybe in front of that huge house that you passed by multiple times?"
In front the house was a crowd, a big one that is. That crowd was the first thing they saw upon entering the orchard. Funny how Jade never questioned why the crowd was gathered there in the first place.
"Right…Why didn't you suggest that earlier?"
Jade's brows couldn't furrow any lower as she looked at Violet. It was shameful to put all the blame on Violet when she was the one leading their way around, but her intuition was telling her that Violet was just enjoying her portrayal of idiocracy. No wonder Violet never complained to her like she usually does, no wonder Violet was calmer than still water with a vexing smirk on her face.
"Oh…I thought you were just giving yourself a tour of the orchard."
Violet snorted, her expression twisting ever so slightly. She was trying to stop herself from laughing, but she found it hard.
"Let-let's just go already!"
Jade took the lead again, this time, with a more confident sense of direction. Violet followed with her hands clasped behind her back.
After bits and turns, they received a basket of fresh, free fruits from the owners of the orchard.
As expected, even the owners of the orchard were fond of Violet.
Jade started to think if Violet's family were funding the village, what other reasons were there to explain this phenomenon? Not only that, but the children were wary and despised Violet—to the mild extent, but all the adults weren't hostile to her. Jade found this very peculiar.
After a day of hauling fruits, they returned to Olivia's house. The sun was already setting, the moon ready to take over the sun's place.
Olivia's mother greeted them warmly, and by the time they entered the house, Olivia's sister was present. She only gave them a short hello, then went back upstairs, inside her room, maybe to study.
Peaceful.
Olivia always liked the atmosphere of their comfortable home. The scent of fresh air, the idle sounds of her mother's laughter, it has been a long time since she felt her heart this eased up. Of course, she knew who made this possibilty happen quicker, she knew who she should thank.
Olivia snapped out of her little daze and began to place plates and utensils on the small, round, wooden table in the kitchen and called the people of the house fot dinner.
Her mother was the first to arrive at the table, followed by her sister who jumped out of her room the moment Olivia called her name. Jade and Violet were the last to arrive.
"You guys can eat first. I have something important to do."
Violet said, a little smile on her face with her eyes closed.
"What could be more important than dinner?"
Mrs. Arialle asked.
"I'll be just making a short phone call, it'll be quick."
"Alright."
After Olivia's approval, Violet went out of the house and looked for a spot with decent reception.
Reception wasn't that scarce in this village, it didn't take her a minute to find a suitable place. There was a huge boulder that was used as a land mark by the villagers not so far away from Olivia's home.
Half of the boulder was buried to the ground so it was easy to climb and reach its top. Behind the boulder was marked as the end of the village—only a vast, green forest could be seen.
Violet made herself comfortable as she sat on top of the cold boulder and started to dial a number. The phone rang.
When the person on the other side of the line picked up, the cold evening wind brushed past her cheeks, her hair flowing harmoniously along with the breeze. Only then did she remember that she was still wearing the same muddied sweater and pants.