The Pharmacy (UNEDITED)

Chapter Two

        By the time we got to my Godparents' place, I was exhausted. On the bright side, though, at least we were in a taxi instead of trudging on the concrete again. I'm quite sure that if we were still walking, I'd be collapsed on the sidewalk. 

    I could've passed out right there on my soft, comfy, taxi leather seat, but I resisted. I made sure to keep the thought of a delicious, steaming dinner in my mind to keep my eyes peeled. The only thing punishing me more than my drowsiness was the gaping hunger destroying my stomach.

    The car purred as it had gotten into a slow, smooth stop, which I was internally grateful for since I lazed out of wearing my seatbelt. 

   "15," The driver simply opened his hand up to the back, barely glancing at us. I was, yet again, internally grateful when his hand was open right in front of Lancaster instead of me. She glared at him for a moment before shoving 15 Reichsmarks into his hand, a price that is superbly expensive, but very well deserved on Elizabeth's side.

   My eyelids have never been so heavy, not even on those nights where I spent hours flipping pages, trying to find out who the kidnapper of my favorite character was, and how he would be punished. Right now, it felt like some kind of sleeping fairy was tugging at my eyelashes, pulling down my eyelids, begging me to sleep and enter a land of bliss and slumber. But because I know that I alone control my body, and I can't take orders, I am resenting this fairy, even though I thoroughly wished with every fiber of my body that I wasn't. 

   "Monica," Nanny Lancaster called me by my alias, that I didn't think was too necessary, but you can never be too careful, "Get out of the car, you need to go eat. And be careful!" 

   I opened the car door and hopped out without a single look back. I needed to conserve my energy. Walking a bit helped me wake up, thank God, and I could finally see with an awareness of my surroundings. I was on the sidewalk, again, as I'd gathered. I promptly scanned the buildings around me, and to my relief, quickly found my destination. I strode towards Medizin Plus, the pharmacy owned by my Godparents, Elena and Hermann Baumhauer. The lights were still on, tinted a warm glaze of gold rather than a jarring white. First good sign.

   I knocked on the door and peered through, seeing if anyone was inside. Everything was still on and stuff, but no one was answering my signal. I knocked again, but still no response, but I could still sense movement in the store. There was obviously someone in there, so I allowed myself the privilege of letting myself in. The glass on the door was cold, which sent a jitter through my body, but the cozy, toasty atmosphere quickly cured that. The scenery was very comforting, there were potted plants everywhere, wooden shelves for the medicines, a few medicinal study books, and a quaint little candy section for children. I couldn't help but smile.

   "Ah, Danique, you're here!" I turned around to see my Godfather, Hermann, greeting me with a grin on his face. He was about as German as you'd imagine; bright blue eyes, white skin, slim-ish physique-- the only difference was that his hair was a very dark tone of brown, kind of graying at the roots. He was wearing a long white coat and organizing some migraine pills of some sort, adding some new types as well.

   "Oh, it's nice to see you after so long, um..." I quickly, and very embarrassingly realized that I had no idea what to call this man. Obviously not dad, pops, pa, or anything fatherly, that would be way too awkward for me. And I couldn't just call him Hermann either, as if he were and old guy-friend of mine, which would be as, if not more, awkward than the fatherly title.

   "Just call me Uncle Hermann, darling," He quickly responded, sending a wave of relief booming through my body. I was saved from a moment that I probably would have painfully remembered for the rest of my life. "I'm going to close up shop, just need to turn off the lights, then we can head home to see what Elena's cooking."

   "Will we need to go in a taxi?" I asked, a little whiny tone grasping my voice. I can't stand waiting in a car for any longer, not now, I require FUEL. 

   It didn't take long for Uncle Hermann to notice the distress in my voice, along with the sound of my stomach quietly grumbling. He laughed for a moment before giving me a response, "The house is connected to this old place. Go over to that door, crack it open, and go get a bite to eat. You're getting paler by the minute."

   For once, I didn't think twice before heeding his orders and ran over to the door he motioned to like a preschooler on Christmas Day. I quickly turned the golden doorknob, finding a quaint living room behind the mahogany door leading to the Pharmacy. It was about what you would expect; Brown sofa, dark-chestnut-brown coffee table, a very small TV, furry rug, gold-light lamps (the best part), and a few paintings. Very simple, but charming.

   "Hermann, is that you?" I heard a woman's voice call out from the next room, which I'd presumed was the kitchen due to the heavenly smell emitting from its direction. It was tormenting me in my time of undeniable hunger. "Who's there?"

   "Uhm, me, Danique," I awkwardly blubbered, not knowing what else to say.

   "Oh! Danique!" I heard her voice yet again, this time getting closer along with her zippy footsteps. 

   My Godmother, Elena, had arrived in the living room, quickly engulfing me in a giant hug. The smell of her rose perfume (expensive on top of that) filled my lungs, along with the scent of roasted chicken. That aroma of the cooked bird was so much better than it had ever been before.

   "Oh, dear, how much you've grown... you've become so pretty... a living doll," She smiled as she lovingly stroked a lock of my dark hair behind my ear.

   "Thank you, Aunt Elena," I grinned. 

                                                                                   °   °   °

        It didn't take too long until Uncle Hermann came in, and we had all gathered to eat dinner. We talked about quite generic stuff-- how our families were doing, the conditions of the world, grades, blah blah blah. My attention was only ever really taken when they had discussed what I would be doing during the extent of my stay; AKA the rest of the year. According to their agreements with Mama and Papa, I was to tend to the customers and pharmacy deliveries during the day, study medicine at night, and my favorite part; neither during the weekend. It sounded perfect. But I was already feeling a twinge of homesickness.

    For a while, before I left on the train to Munich, I had contemplated on why Mama and Papa didn't just send me to a university of some sort. It would have been much more comfortable for me; not needing an alias, no worries of who I find on the streets, not having to hide anything. The question had been spinning in my mind for a week before my departure, and since the curiosity had been gnawing at me to an unbearable degree, I asked my mother. 

   "Mama, why not just send me to a school? Isn't this a bit overboard, and expensive?"

   "I could, but they won't teach you to make medicine as well as your Godparents do."

   It was only then that I recalled that they made all the medicine in the entire pharmacy, which was why everything was so unbelievably expensive. Only the rich and frou-frou would purchase things from them, and they always considered everything that they bought very 'worth-it' as it usually cured them of their ailments. You name it, migraines, skin rashes, coughs, etc. 

    A very sleepy haziness had begun overtaking my body as I laid in bed. My thoughts were running so rampant that I was nearly as exhausted as I had been in the car. Soon enough, my eyes were closing themselves, my body was warm and pleased beneath the silky quilt, and I began slipping into a deep, deep slumber.