7Chapter 2 – For Mr. Dreyar
It was Market day in Magnolia. Music slowly trickled in the air, mixed with the ever present buzz of people's conversations, of wares clanging and clattering, wheels clacking steadily on the cobbled paths, and horses whining at the distance.
Pop-up gazebos of many kinds and colours were set up early in the morning and soon enough the town centre was filled with people. Merchants paraded the streets, sometimes wearing their goods, tempting customers into buying them with soft-spoken praises and exaggerated truths.
A lady walked past her, barely managing to miss her shoulder but the lady marched on, heeled boots stomping steadily on the floor, muttering curses under her breath.
Market day in Magnolia occurs every Saturday and it was the day that was the busiest. As a consumer, it would've been fun to just wander through the crowd and join the festivities, to indulge in those imported candies and to try all those beautiful 'gypsy' dresses which was the trend nowadays but Lena this year, was not much of a customer. This year, in lieu of her business-driven parents who were gone on their long-awaited trip (honeymoon), Helen was the businesswoman.
So she went to town early in the day to do her grocery shopping. She would've skipped Market day altogether to avoid all the chaos but Market day in Magnolia was not only famous due to the variety and diversity of goods suddenly made available to their city, but is also infamous because of the sales. It seems that to counteract the influx of imported products into their city, Magnolia's local markets put on a nearly 70% sale in most of their products to attract customers. And attract it, it does. By going to the supermarket to do her weekly shop on a Saturday, her family would save so much of their grocery budget every week.
She arrived at the local supermarket at exactly half past seven in the morning and already, the queue had started. Lena smiled and nodded at Mrs. Lox who owned a bakery three blocks away from her family's cafe. It was a place she used to (and still does) buy her favorite cinnamon cakes. Like her, Mrs. Lox knew the importance of this day to businesses like theirs.
''Good morning Mrs. Lox,'' greeted Lena. ''We have a bit of chill today, don't we?''
''Yes, yes, indeed!'' Replied the dark-haired lady. She wore a purple dress today, her legs covered in black tights and her feet in her polished black shoes. The older lady pulled her blue cotton scarf away from her face to smile at the young woman, ''Aren't you cold, Helen? You should dress more!''
Lena awkwardly laughed. Compared to the older woman, she herself only wore a pair of blue jeans, a white turtle-necked sweater, a light overcoat and her usual old and raggedy trainer shoes. If she complains how cold it was, the kind old lady would definitely let her borrow her scarf and who knows what else what. It was kind, but she knew she was young and hardy while the other woman...
''Not really, Mrs. Lox. I'm fine!''
''Are you sure, dear?''
She bounced cheerfully at her frozen and numbed feet and nodded, ''Yup!'
The older woman smiled. ''Well, you're young so you have more resistance to the cold.'' The woman looked around and whispered conspiratorially, tugging Lena closer to her by the arm. ''Did you hear about the men caught last night?''
Lena blinked, slightly surprised at the strength of the thin woman's hold. ''What men?''
''Remember the poor girl who was raped and then murdered a few months ago?''
Lena took a deep breath, remembering the horrid news and tried to stop herself from imagining how it must have been like for the poor girl. She subtly pulled her arm back and slipped a stray hair behind her ear, eyes down at the granite floor. ''What's happened, Mrs. Lox?'' She murmured, holding her breath. Was there another case? Does she really want to know more about this?
''Well! Someone - they say a mage - dropped the three men at the police station! All banged up!'' The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. ''Alive though. Why, whoever he is should've just killed them, you know?''
Lena bit her lip, stopping herself from saying that the mage could've been a woman, but she listened on.
''Men like that don't deserve to live.''
Lena's smile faltered. But she kept silent again, unable to voice an opinion.
It is hard for her to decide who deserves to live or die. While wicked situations like this make her agree that death to some men are justifiable, it is difficult for her to condone the idea of killing another in general. Is it even within men's power to decide who dies and who does not?
Perhaps, but who knows?
She had been brought up religiously that killing her neighbor was a sin and with which she thinks she agrees, until of course she starts to overthink it.
Their society lives to destroy and slaughter billions of innocent lives just so that the public can forgo hunting and preparing their own food and to enjoy life's delicacies. It is all good for her too as she doesn't think she'll be any good at hunting anyway.
'I'll just end up in between some lion's jaws…' Lena thought with a shudder.
So going ahead from this road, perhaps the justice-killing of rapists should be fine. In fact, it would even be more right to do so. If many animals can be killed thoughtlessly and without mercy, surely the depraved ones even more so?
And yet, she is aware that there is more than one road to walk on and she still could not agree nor disagree with the older woman before her whose golden cross proudly hung around her neck. Lena hastily reminded herself that law, theology and philosophy are subjects that are definitely not her forte. She could only pray for the victim's soul and for every woman's safety and happiness in the world.
The tense wait lifted and the people started to buzz as the doors finally opened. ''Anyway, dear. When are your parents coming back?'' The woman looked over her shoulder as she grabbed a trolley amidst the growing hubbub.
Lena smiled, passing a trolley to an agitated woman next to her and then grabbed a trolley herself. When she looked up, the older woman she was speaking to was gone. But she smiled and pushed on, relieved at being by herself again.
She stepped aside in time to dodge a clunking cart zooming into the shop.
Well, as by herself as she can be in a mad sale.
Lena heaved her bags and readjusted them on her arms. She bit her lip and fought to remain composed despite how her bags' handles were digging painfully into her arm's skin. She underestimated her strength.
Again.
Spying a good clean spot to get out of everyone's way, she let her shopping bags drop on the floor to rest a little then paused to make sure the loaf of bread does not slide out. She made a mental note to wash the shopping bags right away as soon as she got home. She has some idea what sort of stuff has already occurred in this particular spot after all, despite its cleaner facade.
She bet the parking pole has likely been spat on, peed on or worse…
She needed to disinfect the bags, wash them and then dry them under the sun, that's it!
Lena pulled at the high rolled collar of her shirt and brushed her hair off her sweaty neck. She quickly gathered her wild mass of hair to a ponytail and tied it with the hair tie waiting at her wrist.
She took a deep breath, deeply relieved at the feel of some cool air against her overheated skin and idly smiled at a dark robed masked passerby - a mage, probably - who happened to catch her eye before resolutely resuming the lonesome and arduous task upon her.
She trudged up the cobble-stoned hill, cursing her overly big and definitely misplaced trust on her strength again and all the while, trying to maintain her composure.
It's not heavy...it's not heavy at all.
At least she managed to save a lot more money from this one shop and there were a lot of good bargains. If she calculated her spending, she might have saved more than thirty—
''Helen?'' She looked up at the voice and as soon as she did, she felt heat, embarrassment and her self-esteem dropping at the sight of Mr Dreyar striding down-hill to her direction. He wore a simple fitted black t-shirt and a pair of joggers.
So simple and yet, it fit him so well.
Too well that it was so unfair.
She imagined an elastic band and snapped it into her mind.
''Uh, Mr. Dreyar.'' She dropped the two bags hanging from her left arm carefully. ''Hey,'' she smiled up at him, silently freaking out when he stood too close for her liking.
She was sweating! Why won't he just stay at least two meters away!
''G-good morning!'' She greeted and unable to stop herself, tried to wipe the sweat on her face – an action that his eyes followed.
''Good morning.'' He greeted back and then much to her further embarrassment, the mage swooped down and easily lifted her bags as if they weight nothing but crackers.
Lena stared at his hands – big, calloused, veined – and for moment, she had not a single thought but damn.
Snap! The imagined elastic band snapped in her mind again.
''Let's go.''
Lena glanced up, blinking before remembering herself and nodding. ''Ah! Yes! Uh, thank you for your help.'' She bowed.
His lips curled at the edges - the very definition of a devastating smile, before he motioned his head to the side. A stray lock of blond hair teased his forehead handsomely.
Reluctantly, she said: ''Do you…I mean, can I at least help you with one bag? I feel like maybe I should…'' She clamped her mouth shut at seeing the slight glint of dry disapproval in his eyes. ''A-haha…Okay! Thanks! Thank you, Mr. Dreyar. Ah, it's this way.'' She pointed out randomly before pulling her errant and awkward limb out to herself.
Lena closed her eyes as she hiked the steep hill with the thunder mage right behind her, squealing deep inside and trying not to breathe too hard.
Oh god, why now?
The Thunder mage stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets and watched her with such intense eyes that she just had to spew out an invitation for, of course what else?
Coffee.
There was an annoying hope inside her that he would perhaps deny her offer politely, excusing that he needed to continue his jog, help more ladies with their shopping, or whatever the Thunder mage did on his spare time.
Defeat some enemies maybe, all manly and thunder-like. Boom! Wham! Ka-cha!
But the mage accepted her offer with a low hum and then proceeded to help her take out her groceries from her bags. And there, Lena had to swallow her discomfort of being sweaty and haggard in front of the man.
She had this weird but completely acceptable notion in her head. What if he could smell her scent like some animal? It was perhaps childish but she really didn't want to be identified to have a sickly sweet or sour scent or something by him. Especially him.
He handed her an apple.
Even an apple looked unfairly strong in his hand.
It was a quiet morning, however. And soon, Lena calmed down. Her mind brought her back to the present and away from her racing thoughts. Birds chirped sweetly from the garden and into her kitchen. Their refrigerator hummed as usual and her groceries rustled as she packed away. Soon, the stranger in her kitchen felt less so.
When all was done, he laid his back against the counter, arms crossing over each other. ''I'll be waiting.'' He said, voice thrumming in the air between them before walking away.
''Of course! Please wait.'' She breathed out before spinning around to prepare all the things she needed for his coffee.
The morning light brighten up their café, suffusing all that she could see with a golden glow. She peeked over her shoulder and watched the man prowl out from kitchen counter towards his usual spot by the window overlooking their garden.
Lena wanted to say that without his usual garb, he looked almost normal but he was disappointingly his same enormous and intimidating self. How Lena wished he smiled more, or perhaps laughed more.
Snapping off her thoughts, Lena shook her head briefly, telling herself that it was no business of hers to be thinking and wishing such things. No, she liked Mr. Dreyar how he was.
Brooding but handsome, quiet but respectful, Mr. Dreyar. He liked his coffee with sugar and his eggs fried and runny.
With a renewed smile, Lena spun on her heel and tied her apron on.
And later, with the coffee ready and waiting, she grabbed a clamp and carefully laid two mini shortcake biscuits that she made herself on her favorite bone china. After a peek at the brooding gentleman, she sneaked another one and casted a wish on it.
'For Mr. Dreyar, I wish him all the happiness, peace and love.'
To be continued.