Here is the list of what you broke. I expect to have the money before the end of the month.
The message Flora had been waiting for so long arrived. A part of her felt disappointed about the cold attitude transmitted by the words, she spent the whole morning and previous night looking at her phone numerous times afraid she'd miss the message if she didn't check just to be rewarded with the equivalent of an email from work.
"¿Qué querías que te mandara después de romperle las cosas del laburo? ¿Una invitación para cenar?" She reprimanded herself, dripping her cellphone on the table.
A moan left her mouth after she took the first sip of her mate. For the young woman very few things could be compared to sitting on her favorite spot under the Jacaranda and drinking mate. One of the best decisions of her life was to place the garden table next to the tree, her breakfasts became magical just by having them in that place. Although that particular morning a bitter sensation contaminated her happiness.
It didn't matter anyway, after all, she was pretending. Sometimes her act worked and for a short period of time Flora believed her own lies, she believed that the eclipse never happened, and that soon Zygmunt would be eating toasts with her. Other mornings, like the one she was experiencing that day, the base of the tower of lies didn't have enough strength to bear the weight of reality.
Lost in her sorrow, Flora stopped paying attention to her surroundings. Such was her distraction that when her cell phone rang once more she jumped in surprise.
On second thought, I give you time until the second week of January. I'm being nice because of the Holidays.
A smile spread across Flora's face, If Aífe cared enough to be considerate then she still had hope. Before the good humor escaped her body she sent an answer.
Thanks petal, you're the sweetest ;)
Filled with a new conviction she went back into the house to get ready. A long day of investigation awaited her, at least she'll have Clio's company.
She put on her most comfortable sneakers and grabbed her backpack. Flora closed all the doors and windows and took one last look at her living room. The papers and clothes thrown on the floor and the chair told her that she needed to take time to tidy up, the original idea was to take that day to clean since she didn't have to work but Agatha's disappearance changed her plans.
"Ya fue, limpio mañana," she told herself, then she left the house.
The young journalist lived close to the center of the village, about a ten minute walk away. She never used her car when she went there, plus the beautiful sunny weather made her want to walk. The flowers greeted her as she passed by, they held a calm energy for the first time since the eclipse, however Flora knew that their joy would never last long.
Once she arrived at Benny's she spotted Clio's red hair. Holding a laugh she sneaked behind her friend who seemed to be distracted by a stray cat.
"¿Qué estás haciendo?" She screamed.
Clio was startled, she turned around and hit the other girl on the head.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Plenty of things are wrong with me," answered Flora. "As my friend you should know that, I'm offended."
The redhead looked unimpressed, she shook her head and sighed.
"I swear that every day you get worse than the last one. At this rate you'll be at the mental institution soon."
"Great! You can come with me and we can use matching outfits, crazy best friends forever." Flora sent a kiss to her friend. "Do you think I can have a vacation if they hospitalize me?"
"Depends on what you call a vacation, and I'm sure that everyone matches outfits there." said Clio, shrugging her shoulders. "Unfortunately for you we have a job to do now, so move your ass. I don't want to spend my whole day interviewing people. I have a nice bottle of wine and a new Marvel movie waiting for me in my house."
"Ohh, I like your plans. Can I join you?"
"Only if you behave."
"I'm always nice, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Whatever floats your boat, Flo." Clio rolled her eyes. "I'll be faster if we split up. You can take care of this block and I'll take care of the block across the street."
"Let's start then," Flora agreed, taking out a notebook and a pen from her backpack. "Don't cry without me."
"Says the one who has to use her favorite notepad to start an interview."
The firefighter turned and crossed the street. Flora raised her hand and showed her middle finger to her friend's back. What would be the problem if she had a favorite notebook? She liked its hard green covers with glitter and the edges of the sheets that had flowers drawn on them.
Against all her efforts and breaking her notebook's magic, Flora was unable to get any useful information. One by one she visited the stores and asked the workers about that day. Those who weren't angry at being interviewed a second time couldn't recall seeing anything out of place. No matter how much the journalist pushed them, they remained fixed in their stance.
She had only one option left, the store owner who had refused to let Lorcan ask him any questions: Benny.
The bell located above the door rang when the young woman entered the store. She walked through the center aisle, her gaze drifting a few times to the shelves packed with food when something caught her eye.
She reached the counter just as the owner was coming out of the back room. The man parted the purple curtains at the entrance and looked at the young woman who had just entered from top to bottom.
"Good morning," the gray haired man greeted her. "What can I do for you?"
Flora faked a smile, the one she always resorted to when she wanted to convince someone to answer her questions. She leaned against the counter and rested her left arm on the wooden surface.
"Good morning indeed. How're you doing Benny? I'm guessing that you're excited about becoming a grandfather. I saw Sarah the other day at the park. She looked fantastic and a little tired as well, must be hard walking around with a baby growing inside your body."
"What do you want, Flora?" The owner of the shop interrupted her. His brown eyes fixed on her arm. "Move your body away from my counter, I just cleaned it."
The young woman straightened her body, took a handkerchief from her backpack and passed it over the area that her body had touched.
"There, all clean." She put the cloth back in place. "I want to ask you some questions about—"
"Is this about that missing girl, I already told your people that I don't know anything," he interrupted her once again.
"Actually, you said you weren't going to answer any questions."
"Same thing."
"It's not if you saw something and you won't tell us about it."
Benny turned, ignoring Flora's words, and picked up a box from the floor. He came out from behind the counter, went to the last shelf on the right and began to restock the merchandise. Like a shadow, the blonde followed him. She put her notebook in her backpack, then took a packet of cookies out of the box and placed it in its proper place to help the man.
"Please, think about the young woman that has been kidnapped." She tried to convince him.
The sound of the bell announced the arrival of a new client. Benny turned his head toward the door, the seriousness on his face telling Flora that he had no intention of answering her.
"What if it had happened to your daughters? Wouldn't you do your best to look for them?" The journalist insisted.
"That's exactly why I'm not telling you a thing, I have to think about their safety. Sarah is pregnant for God's sake. I can't afford to associate with your group, everyone knows that the demons have something against you. Who can assure me that they won't go after my family if I help you?"
All the words stuck in Flora's throat. Her speeches lost importance in the face of the man's reasoning, he sought to protect his loved ones and she understood him. They had reached the point that she feared, in the face of uncertainty each villager looked after the good of their own and the rest ceased to matter.
"Demons can go after your family even if you don't say anything." A new voice joined the conversation. "You cannot be sure of their safety, but you can ensure that a victim is closer to salvation."
Flora's heart gave a jump once she heard the familiar voice. With a quick movement, she brought her hands to her head and smoothed her hair before turning her body in the direction of the newcomer.
At the end of the aisle stood Aífe carrying an empty shopping basket. The blonde waved at her and sent her a wink, she wrinkled her nose in disgust and shifted her gaze to Benny.
"Still the chances are lower," answered the man. "I don't want to be on the demon's bad side."
"How can you be so sure that they'll know that you help us?" Asked Flora. "As petal said, the demons will go after your family anyways."
"That's not my name," complained Aífe.
"You sure?" Flora kept nagging her
"I'm damn sure, and I'm trying to help you here."
"Está bien, está bien. Carry on."
"Benny, I know you're a good man," said Aífe. "From what I heard she just wants you to answer some questions, if she's this desperate you must be the only one that knows something. You probably know the girl, you saw most of the young people of this village grow up. Think how her family is feeling."
"Please Benny," Flora begged for the second time. "I won't bother you anymore, just tell me what you saw."
The man put the package he was holding back into the box and he passed his hand over his beard.
"Okay, but after that you leave me alone and you owe me a favor."