Pronouns: They/them
Tw: Mention of death
Luisa set down a large pile of barrels that had been stacked over her shoulder, and the villager she performed the task for smiled, but didn't say anything as he opened the lid of one of them.
That was the last chore of the day. Luisa sighed. She said 'last' chore, but sooner or later someone would come up and ask her for something else—regardless of if she was done for the day or not.
She quickly walked down the street, glancing around for anyone who might need assistance. No one seemed to—none of the villagers looked in her direction, all of them going about their day without any sign of distress.
Luisa nodded to herself, then snuck through the space between two houses, into the woods surrounding the town. In the woods, there was a small creek where Luisa would go to relax after a long day of heavy lifting for the town.
She reached the creek, and was surprised to see someone else sitting there with their back to her.
"Um...hi," Luisa said as she approached carefully.
They turned around, blinking in surprise. "Hello."
"Mind if I join you?" Luisa asked. They shook their head, and she sat next to them. "I'm Luisa."
They offered a half smile. "Madrigal? I've seen you around—I'm Y/n." They looked back at the water, and their smile faded. They looked exhausted, with drooping shoulders and dark eyebags.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Luisa asked quietly. "You kind of look..."
"I know," they sighed, rubbing their eyelids. "Tired. I am." They looked at her with a small shrug. "I come here to unwind—I have a lot of siblings, and it's my job to take care of them, since my mom works a lot."
"How is it?" Luisa asked.
"Well, it's like this because my dad is dead, so it's not great," they deadpanned.
Luisa flushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know—"
They shook their head. "You couldn't have. It's okay. He's been dead for a while."
Luisa stayed quiet, still feeling guilty. She didn't know what it was like to lose someone close to you, and she definitely didn't know how to offer comfort—no one had given it to her in the first place.
"What about you?" Y/n asked. "Why do you come here?"
Luisa pulled at a loose string on her skirt, unsure whether to answer or not. No one really wanted to know about her, as long as she still had her gift. But on the other hand, she didn't know Y/n, meaning they hadn't asked for her help yet.
"It's just hard," she admitted. "Having to carry everything for the village."
They frowned. "What do you mean?"
She shrugged, feeling awkward. "It's just...no one talks to me unless they need my help. So no one will like me if I can't work for them. It makes it difficult to take breaks."
Y/n looked at her for a moment, and Luisa began to worry. Would they think less of her now that they knew how she felt?
Instead, they nodded. "I get that. Always working with nothing to gain, and no one really cares, no matter how hard you push yourself."
Luisa blinked. "Yeah. It's exactly like that." Surprise overtook her—the first person she opened up to, and they understood completely.
"What do you do for fun?" they asked her suddenly. "When you have free time, what do you do?"
"Um..." Luisa racked her brain, but came up empty. Eventually she was left with: "I don't have a lot of free time."
It was hard to read their expression—pity? Sympathy? 'Oh my God she's so lame'? Luisa didn't know. "Yeah, me neither."
They were both quiet for several minutes. Luisa absentmindedly tugged at a curl that had fallen in her eyes.
"I like to dance," she said quietly. "I don't do it often, though."
They smiled. "I'm sure you're really good at it."
Luisa chuckled nervously. "Yeah, thanks."
"Luisa?" a voice came from out of view, and then Dolores appeared. Luisa hadn't even heard her approach. "Everyone's looking for you—Abuela says someone's wagon broke and needs to be moved."
Luisa nodded automatically. "On it." She stood up and dusted herself off, and Y/n stood up too.
"I'll see you around," they said as Dolores quietly slipped away. "Maybe next time we're both free, we can meet here again?" They sounded strangely hopeful—did they genuinely enjoy spending time with her?
Luisa smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that."
"Luisa!" A different voice, farther away, but more urgent, came from the village, and Luisa suppressed the urge to sigh.
"Um...I'll see you later," she promised Y/n, and then ran towards the calling of the irritated villager.
"Bye!" Y/n yelled after her, and Luisa thought she could hear the smile in their voice.
As she lifted the wagon for the villager, who looked nothing short of impatient, she smiled to herself. The work she did was difficult and draining, but now she had something to look forward to.
