Mirai

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I walked through the door and into the café. A tiny bell jingled as I stepped inside. The place was filled with mismatched furniture, as if someone had gone to a secondhand store and just bought all that was available.

The counter was a long wooden bench with cakes under glass domes. Behind it stood a man who looked to be in his early twenties.

"What can I get you?" he asked me when I had reached the counter and I felt my cheeks heat up a little.

"Ehm, I... I don't have any money," I admitted. I hadn't thought about that. The whispers had been so sure about me going there that I hadn't considered anything else.

The man behind the counter raised a quizzical eyebrow at me. Then he looked me up and down, before sighing and turning around. He took a cup that he poured some warm water into from a thermos and placed it on the counter. After that, he took a plate and went through a door, into the kitchen, I assumed. When he came back, there were two scones on it.

"They've gone too dry and hard so we can't sell them," he told me as he handed me the plate. "You can pick a tea-bag from over there."

I smiled and thanked him before going to the corner of the counter that he had pointed at. Then I sat down at a table close by. I ate the scones while I absentmindedly looked out the window. A bird flew by and into the oak forest that was across the street.

"Grandpa! What are you doing here? The doctor said you need to rest."

I turned back to the counter to see that the young man had been joined by an old man. The old man used a cane for support. He was completely bald and his back a bit crooked. At that moment he frowned at his grandson, but he still emanated a warmth I wanted to wrap myself up in.

I stood up and walked over as the old man said, "Don't nag me. I wouldn't come down if it wasn't important."

"What could possibly be important?" the young man frowned, and the exasperation was evident.

"She'll come today. I just know she will."

"Grandpa," the young man sighed and shook his head, but didn't say anything more. I had a feeling they had argued about that same thing many times before and the grandchild had given up.

I was at the counter. The old man turned to look at me and I smiled at him. As the young man lost his grandpa's focus, he turned to notice me as well.

"Oh, you need anything else?" the young man asked, but my eyes didn't leave the old man. He was the one, I was sure. The one that needed an answer desperately, and the whispers told me what the answer was.

"She's fine," I told him, and he straightened himself a bit. "Zoe's happy."

It felt weird saying her name. Zoe, that was just like Morana, just like Danae, just like Crimson. Those four were my friends, only they didn't know about it and it was still some time left until we would meet.

My hands rested on the counter and the old man reached forward with both of his, dropping his cane as he did. He grasped my hands and his whole face shone with happiness. In that moment, he looked more like a twenty-year-old than his grandson.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, really," I smiled back.

"Are you a friend of hers? Are you like her?" he asked next.

"Yes, she's very dear to me," I answered and knew with my whole being that it wasn't a lie. She was dear to me. She would be important to me. "And yes, I'm like her."

The man turned to his grandson. "She doesn't pay."

"There's no need..." I started, but he cut me off.

"You need to try our blueberry muffins. I'm certain you're going to love them!" He then bent for his cane, though his grandson beat him to it. Once he had his cane, he walked off towards the end of the counter.

"Don't you dare be lying to him," the grandson hissed at me with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not. To tell him that is part of the reason why I came here," I answered with a smile.

"And what's the other part?"

"That will come soon."

He kept his eyes narrowed at me as I sat down by the counter to eat the muffin the old man brought over. He then went into telling me about Zoe, or rather about the first time he had met her and how sad and lonely she had seemed.

I had just had time to realize that the man knew Zoe was magical when the jingling of the bell at the door alerted me to company. The man also looked up and the warmth he exhibited dropped by several degrees.

"They are here for me," I told him while I knew they walked up to me. "But they won't do anything as long as people, as long as humans are around." I put extra emphasis on the word human to hopefully make him understand that they were magical as well. I knew that asking for his help would put him in potential danger and I needed him to be able to make an as informed decision as was possible.

"I'll help any friend of Zoe's as much as I can," he answered, and I felt my heart swell. He truly was a kind man, and I knew it was good that Zoe had had such kindness around her.

"Not going to run?" the Priestess asked, and I turned to face her.

"No," I answered and let my smile fall, let the warmth and happiness I had felt just moments ago be washed away. It wasn't hard. It was just for me to think about Tamah being locked up somewhere and happiness seemed impossible.

"That's quite a change from less than an hour ago," she scoffed.

"I just needed some time to think before and I've got it now. I won't run, but... I'm not ready to come home. Not just yet."

It was well into the evening and there had only been three other customers in the café, but they had all left by that point.

"No, Mirai, you're coming home with us now!" Her voice rose in volume, and I flinched at it before straightening myself again.

"You can't make me!" I challenged her.

"Oh, yes, I can!"

The man coughed behind the counter. The Priestess turned her eyes on him and I moved in my chair so I could easily talk to both him and the Priestess.

"This place closes soon," the Priestess pointed out to me.

"We live upstairs and have an extra bed." To my surprise, it wasn't the old man that said those words, but the grandson and he had said it with his arms crossed while glaring at the Priestess.

Thankfully, the Priestess seemed to accept the situation without any fuss.

"When will you come home?" she spat at me.

"I just want to go to the Library first. I know it's pointless. I haven't found out anything about the girl. But... I have to try there as well. I promise I'll come home straight after that. Just one last try." I made my voice sound as weak as possible. Brought tears to my eyes and put my arms around myself as if hugging myself.

The Priestess studied me. Looked me over, then she gave a curt nod. "We'll go together to the Library."

I shook my head. "No, please, let me go alone. It's just... If I don't find anything... I'll need to be alone. To have time to accept that... that'll she be lost to me."

The tears I had brought forth went over the edge and I sobbed. It wasn't hard to fake the crying, just like it hadn't been hard to wipe the happiness off my face. Because really it wasn't fake tears, the tears just weren't for what the Priestess thought.

"Alright," the Priestess sighed. Then she placed her hand on my shoulder in an affectionate way that she hadn't done since I had told her about seeing the girl for the first time when I was ten.

She didn't say or do anything more, though. She turned around and left with all the other witches in tow.

When I heard the popping noise, I dried away the tears and collected myself again. Then I turned and smiled at the grandfather and grandson duo.

"Thank you. Really thank you. I wouldn't have been able to get rid of them without you."

"Are you... are you alright?" the grandson asked and his eyes were narrowed again, but this time by concern and not suspicion.

"Not really," I told them truthfully. "But I think I will be soon."

"Will you come back and tell us when you are?" he asked next and threw a glance at his grandpa, who looked a bit ashen by the performance I had done.

"It will take some time, but yes, you will see me again. That I can promise," I told him and he nodded.

Well, now Mirai has heard about all four of the other 😯