Mei and the Sun King

First weeks in Paris

The first given thing that would happen when Mei came to Paris was to see the city. All the things, that she had only heard about until now - The Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysée, Louvre Museum, the Seine Garden had now been seen with her own eyes. Despite not wanting to come here in the first place (at least not like this), Mei still admitted how amazed she was by this beautiful city. No wonder, why it was so popular in the first place.

The whole first week went by with sight-seeing. The following week would be Mei, seeking for a job as the last thing she wanted to be, was being dependent on her mother's purse.
At first, she would of course be seeking something she was already confident in - music. Unfortunately, Mei couldn't find any, as how would she be able to teach piano, if she couldn't communicate with the students?

That's when it hit Mei, she couldn't even SPEAK French. Fortunately, before the second week was over, she had already found a French class. It was a very difficult language to learn for Mei. In fact, she felt like, she struggled far more with French than she did with English back in her school days. Or perhaps, it was something she imagined. Mei was a diligent girl however and also efficient, and wouldn't hesitate to try out her newly-learned French in public. This both gained her confidence, but she was quickly set aback, when she received mocking and humiliation.
Fortunately, Mei wasn't the type of girl to give up and for once, her mother was there for her to help her with the language.

The third week, would be far more turbulent than the second. She was kicked out of the laundry shop, because the owner didn't want her there and Mei couldn't grasp what the reason was. First when she came home, she realized that it was discrimination.

The Tuesday of the third week went far down the hill. Suddenly three men in motorbikes surrounded her and Mei was about wet her pants. She attempted to run away, however one of the men grabbed her handbag. Mei tried to pull it and shouted to let her go in Japanese, however the men wouldn't understand her and even if they did, they wouldn't let go.

"Quit resisting, give us your bag and go back to wherever you came from"

I definitely won't stop. Not to day, bitch, Mei thought and had good reasons to. Her wallet, her cards, her ID, her passport and even her phone - her only access to her friends and family in Setagaya - were all inside and she wouldn't let go just like that.
At last, one of them pulled out a knife and cut her strop over, pushed Mei so she fell hard on the ground and they all drove away.
Mei sat there on the ground with bruised hands and a bleeding knee, crying non-stop. What would she do now?

Just when Mei felt more powerless than ever, someone came running towards her. The person kneeled next to Mei, trying to comfort her.

"It will probably be very difficult to get that back, but if it can help you, then my bakery is right around the corner and perhaps you could get something sweet, whilst I can check your bruises, in cases you needed a hospital"

Mei looks at the person with puffy eyes and a red nose. It was a blonde woman, with shoulder-length hair, not much older than Mei and in fact very pretty. However, Mei didn't quite get what she said.

"Oh...let me guess, you don't speak French?" she says, now switched to fluent English, which Mei understood somewhat better.

Mei nods to her question, yes or no, she did not understand French. So the blonde had to repeat what she said and now in English. Mei wipes her tears and sniffs loudly, like a little girl. Yes, she very much did need something to eat and a bandage after that incident.

The blonde woman then follows Mei to her family-owned bakery. It's a beautiful and classic, yet humble French bakery that sells anything from fresh bread to pastries. The woman handles Mei a couple of éclairs. Mei eats them in silence, whilst the woman looks at her knee.

"It seems to be just a scratch, but if I was you, then I would call a doctor...Oh wait, you said you don't speak French, so that must mean that you aren't from here"

The woman tries to think about, what she can do.

"Hmm....I might know someone who can check it for you, unless you live with someone you know?"

Mei technically had her mother, but she was the last person she wanted to see in this situation. There was no need for her, to play mother now, so Mei shakes her head.

"My friend is a nurse you see, so she might be able to help you"

----------------------------------- 30 minutes later ----------------------------------------

"Ahh! It doesn't seem to be much, just a scratch. But I would advice you to clean it every third day, whilst taking some pain killers and antibiotics to avoid getting infected. Just let the plaster stay for a while and let it relax for now"

The blonde woman, translated for her nurse friend. Once the nurse left, Aurélia looked at her

"What was your name again?"

"Mei Serizawa"

"It's nice to meet you Mei. I'm Aurélia Laurent. Did you enjoy your éclairs? And how do you feel?"

Mei nods at Aurélia's question and replies "Better I guess....I just don't know what to do, now that my stuff is gone"

"I'm sure you'll get it back somehow....did you have important stuff in it?"

"All of my belongings"

"Oh....then it's crucial I see....do you want me to call the police?"

"No, it's fine....I'm going to stay here for a year, I'm sure I can get a new phone and passport....."

"Are you sure....you know they can steal your identity now?"

"....." Mei really felt like, not wanting to do anything.

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