บท 3: Newness brought the wind of spring
Lorraine panted. Taking deep breaths in and out. Her anger-filled eyes stared down at her daughter, who was glaring back at her. Her lips sealed, and her eyes glared.
"What are you looking at?" She spat. "Do you ever even realize how hard it has been to give you this life? Yet you can't even do such a little thing? Ungrateful bastard!"
The same old words that had been repeated over a thousand times, which were nothing new to her, and the familiar sentences that she knew like the back of her hand. But each time her mother said those words, the less it stung, but nothing less, it stung.
"I didn't ask to be born. Moreover, I have my plans. I do not plan to stay here forever either." Helle muttered under her breath.
Fuming with anger, Lorraine stomped upstairs, leaving Helle behind.
Just as she was about to do so, the younger woman, Helle, crumbled like a sweet biscuit. So sweet, so dense, and yet she fell apart before she even soaked all the tea.
~
The next morning, at an early hour of dawn, Helle walked out of her bedroom. With puffed eyes, a red nose, and cold hands, she entered the cold bath. As always, there was still no response from the neighboring cities. The companies she had tried to apply for jobs hadn't answered her even after a year of consistent application.
"Is there something truly wrong with me?" She pondered while taking the bath.
Even during her college days, she had changed her name and identity to work at the nearby bakery just for some cash. So why? If only someone had accepted her application, then she could move out of this town with her mother.
Suddenly a notification popped up on her phone screen. Weary from her thoughts, Helle pressed on it, and it was a message from the Blue Jade.
[Are you okay? You've been posting so many videos this month. Take care! ><]
The text brought a warm delight inside of her. The fact that someone out there in the world liked what she made. It was worth a hundred likes!
[I'm fine. I've just been on a creative spree. ;)]
~
"Helle, Be sure to look after the restaurant well." Lorraine sharply commanded. She wore a new turtleneck shirt and a long midi from a few years ago. Acting as if the banter from the night before never happened, she had a calm demeanor.
When Helle walked to the counter from the kitchen, her ragged appearance. She wore the clothes from a few years back, which were shorter, and the cuts on her fingers were prominent; her face was unusually neutral, unlike her radiant self. Just the sight of her daughter's ragged appearance made Lorraine wrench. If only she were richer, or more influential than perhaps...
"Look Helle. I know you do not like Anton, and yes, he is very much older than you, but at least for some time. Do as I ask you to. I'm not doing it for myself. It's for you." Her eyes held the tenderness of a motherly love for her child.
"What you ask of me is too much from me," Helle murmured and returned without even getting a glimpse. She was just a child back then. Barely turned 15 when he started to pursue her. She felt disgusted. It was not normal, but to society it was.
While Helle buried her mind in work, Lorraine was baffled and flabbergasted by the words of her daughter. Since when was this barrier made? They had shared a bond so close, and yet, even within the same house, they were so far apart.
With a bitter taste in her mouth, Lorraine left the house and went to the court. Even if her daughter couldn't see her sacrifices, that didn't mean she would lower herself. After everything, she couldn't let herself get trampled on. Especially by those 'amazing' relatives who were kind enough to take almost everything.
~
Lost in her thoughts, Helle prepared the rice with beef only. The vegetables for the pie were lacking, and she was in no mood to walk to the market. 'Ting~' the doorbell rang, and a thick pair of boots clicked on the wooden floor.
"Excuse me~" was the voice of the man from the day before. Freshly engraved in Helle's mind. Absent mindfully, she left everything in the kitchen and brisked to the counter.
"Good morning," her sweet voice greeted just like the tiny radiance rays of the sun, which were oftentimes bright and sharp but occasionally blunt but still warm.
"A bowl of rice and beef," he ordered. His eyes tad bit dull compared to the past day. It wasn't as haughty. He had sweat on his forehead, and the shirt he wore was slightly wrinkled.
"Sure. Also, Sir. It seems that you have paid more than the—"
"Yes, I did. Think of it as a tip." The man had a proud wording, but the conveyance made it seem as though he made her stand on equal grounds. His hands were relaxed while still looking around the room. He left no corner.
"But—" How could she accept such a large tip? ~
"Um? You feel guilty for being paid more?" The man slightly turned his head, facing her. The depth of his voice sent shivers to Helle.
"Yes," she replied earnestly, which earned her a snare. The corner of his lip turned up. His fingertips tapped on the edge of the table while maintaining his eyes on the Helle.
"Then how about you show me around the town?"
"..." Her eyes suddenly tore away from his long, eloquent fingers to his eyes and then back to the ground!
Although Helle had no idea what the man might demand, his request made her dumbfounded. Fluttering her eyebrows vigorously to ensure she had heard correctly only earned her a smirk.
"You have any complaints, Miss?"
".... No. I shall prepare your order then." Realizing that she had spaced out, Helle quickly answered and returned to the kitchen with cheeks as red as a tomato.
'How am I supposed to show him around the town!' If only she could scream her thoughts out loud.
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