Sienna filled a large blue watering can and carried it towards her potted plants, her babies. It was evening, the perfect time to water her precious plants. She generously watered her plants, even talking to them. Suddenly, she spotted a few white spots on her hibiscus plant and gasped. Mealybugs!
Sienna rushed inside to fetch her organic pesticide spray and ran back outside. She generously spritzed the plant in neem oil mist to get rid of the parasite. She had seen it before, and she is seeing it again. Sienna suspected that one of her neighbours plants must've been infected, with said neighbour being irresponsible enough to not curb the spread of the bug.
She went around the porch, spraying nearly all the plants with neem oil. Suddenly, Sienna noticed something white resting between the gates and went over to have a look, thinking that it might be a pamphlet or a brochure for a new shop or restaurant. But what it ended up being was a drawing.
Of her.
Sienna looked at it in surprise, such a realistic drawing of her standing behind the counter as a barista, a smile on her face as she looked down at the screen in front of her of her. The drawing was so precise, so delicately pencilled with great shading to represent the shadows and lighting.
She looked up from the paper and gazed around to look for anyone who might be the artist. It was clear that the drawing was done only a few hours ago since the flower print blouse she wore earlier that day was clearly illustrated as well.
Who could have done it? More importantly, how did they know where she lived?
Sienna shivered as she looked at the drawing. She didn't know if she should fee awed that someone had so greatly illustrated her seated at the cafe or feel scared that someone had stalked her all the way home. Should she throw this drawing away? Should she burn it? It seemed both a threat and a gift. Sienna wasn't sure what she should do.
In the end, she retreated into the house and shut the door. She put the pesticide spray away and looked at the drawing once more. What should she do with it?
In the end, she decided that it would be a good idea to stick it up on a notice board of the cafe. After all, the drawing was nicely done. Why waste it?
Sierra, her sister, exited her room after having a phone conversation with her boyfriend, and gave her a questioning look. "Is everything okay? You look tense."
"It's nothing," Sienna simply said, discreetly hiding the drawing behind her. After all, her sister worries about her a lot. It wouldn't do to just add more to that.
"Alright, you wanna start on dinner?" Sierra asked.
Sienna shrugged, nodding. "Sure, let's go."
She let her sister go to the kitchen first and then hid the drawing in her handbag before joining Sierra.
Sienna yawned as she perched herself behind the counter. She didn't get much sleep last night, nor did she feel at peace. When asked, she told Sierra that she was kept awake at night due to a mistake of drinking a strong cup of coffee a little too late in the day. She took a sip of the strong double-shot mocha she made herself and waited for the first customer of the day to come in. Her gaze fell on the drawing which she had pinned up on the noticeboard, hoping slightly that whoever it was that left it would be scared away as soon as they saw the drawing pinned up like that.
The first customer of the day soon walked in, a young woman who works in an office nearby. Sienna immediately blinked the sleep away, feeling glad that the caffeine was starting to work, and smiled as she took the girl's order. She wanted her usual bagel sandwich and coffee. Sienna shouted the order to her sister, to which she had to do herself since the workers hadn't arrived yet. It wasn't all that hard, and the workers would definitely come in by rush hour.
The young woman smiled and took her sandwich and coffee over to a table and sat down to eat. Sienna smiled, the girl was enjoying her meal, the way she smiled with every bite.
The young woman soon finished and threw the sandwich wrapper away before leaving, taking her coffee with her. Sienna stretched her muscles and sat herself down on the chair behind the counter.
"You okay back there, Erra?" Sienna asked, glancing over to the kitchen.
"Yeah, just starting on the cakes," Sierra said as she mixed the batter for the chocolate cake.
"Need any help?"
"It's fine, you watch the shop."
"Okay," Sienna shrugged and made her way towards the table the girl had been sitting at.
She left no mess, but there were some crumbs. Sienna was quick to wipe it away. She heard the door open and quickly made her way back to the counter.
"Welcome!" Sienna greeted cheerfully.
A tall man in black entered the shop, someone who Sienna was used to seeing. The guy gave her the creeps the first few times he had showed up, especially because of his long hair that hid most of his face. He usually came in during the early hours such as now, but they had seen the guy come in once or twice in the evening as well. The sisters soon got used to seeing him since he didn't once pose as a threat.
Sienna smiled. "Your usual?"
"Yeah," the guy nodded as he stood in front of her.
Sienna nodded and called to her sister for a chicken croissant before starting on the extra chocolate mocha. The guy paid for his meal with a card and sat himself down at one of the tables with a notebook, seeming as if he was writing something. Was he a writer? Because Sienna had seen many people who came there to do some work, this guy was one of the only few who pulled out an actual notebook instead of a notebook computer that most used.
Sierra soon passed the croissant through the window, just as Sienna was done with the coffee. She arranged the two items on a tray before making her way towards the guy, who quickly put his notebook away. Sienna wasn't even surprised, many of her customers do that, confidential stuff.
"Here you go," Sienna said as she gently placed the croissant and coffee down on the table with a smile. "Alright, enjoy your meal, Sir."
The guy nodded a thank you and proceeded to put his notebook away into the little satchel he brought before starting on his croissant.
The bells above the door jingled again as someone walked in. Sienna was relieved to see that it was one of their employees who worked in the kitchen.
"Great, you're here," Sienna greeted with a wave as she made her way back to the counter. "Sierra already started with the cakes."
"Oh, right," Tiana chuckled as she rushed over to the kitchen. "Sorry for being late. Got a little held up."
"It's fine, you're still on time," Sienna said as she sat herself down behind the counter.
She realised that she forgot to get the music running and quickly set it up to play her favourite City Pop music, which she realised not many around her recognised. There were some who did, a few happy faces who sometimes excitedly told her that they liked the music too. That always made Sienna happy.
"Nice music, by the way!" Sierra called from the kitchen.
Sienna chuckled. "Thank you!"
She ended up singing under her breath too as she cleaned out the coffee machine. The residue still smelled great, which Sienna planned to turn into fertiliser once she gets home.
More and more customers shuffled in, getting some drinks and light meals of sandwiches or something heavier. It was a good thing Sienna had some help too since more and more drink orders bustled in.
The guy was still there, Sienna realised that he stayed quite a long time to finish his drink and and relax. Eventually, he pulled out a laptop and ordered himself another drink, this time a hot cocoa and not coffee. Sienna figured that he worked as a graphic designer or something like that, seeing how he was staring intently at his screen as he worked.
She eventually brought the hot cocoa over to him, which he also paid by card. There wasn't anything unusual going on.
Sienna's gaze fell on the drawing that she had pinned too the noticeboard. It was still so mysterious. Who was it that had drawn her such beautifully, leaving no word as they planted it in the gate of her house. She was eventually dragged back to reality when Sierra and gang brought out the cakes, beautifully decorated, and placed them in the chilled display case beside the counter. Sienna realised how hungry she was and decided to have a piece herself as well.
"Sierra, I'm taking a piece of cheesecake, okay?" Sienna called.
"Okay, but don't finish the entire thing!"
"Just a piece, and I'm paying for it," Sienna sighed as she set a slice of it on a small plate before paying for it.
It felt a little strange, handling a payment for herself, but it didn't matter. She was hungry. It was a good thing that it was kinda chill, with less customers for now.
