>>Corvina
I panicked as soon as I heard his words.
How come he knows that?!?! Nobody here knows that!!
"How do you know that?" I felt like I was being exposed and a sense of doom came over me.
The kid stared at me, "You really don't know?" He scoffed, it looked like he was making fun of me.
"How do you know!?" I slightly raised my voice which I knew immediately was wrong. The realization made me slap my hands on my mouth, "Sorry," I whispered and then glanced around. Luckily, no one had noticed.
He sipped more of his juice while he rolled his eyes, "Your roots are showing,"
!!!
I paused, then felt embarrassed.
"Oh!" I placed both my hands on my hair, "Oh, is that so?"
"Mmmhmm," He was unimpressed.
"Boss," Cory peeked at me from inside the kitchen, "Your hair is not naturally brown?"
"Well," I had been caught and if my roots really are showing, I can't lie about it, "Yes," Cory was surprised at my answer.
"I think black suits you more," The boy said, "Why dye it?" He stared at my hair, "The color looks so ugly on you."
!!
"Hey!" Cory walked over, "That's a very rude thing to say!" She stood by the stool the kid was on.
The kid ignored her and continued to drink his juice.
"It's alright Cory," I tapped her shoulder, "Kids are mean."
"Kids shouldn't be mean!" Cory wasn't having it, "Hey," She looked at the boy, "Where are your parents? Did they not teach you any manners?"
The boy put the empty juice glass down on the counter and looked at Cory rather calmly, "I don't have any,"
...
Cory's mouth flew open, then she bit her lower lip in shame. I had a pretty similar reaction.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Cory apologized, "I'm sorry, Kiddo," She crouched down, "I didn't mean to yell at you."
The kid didn't seem affected though. It didn't look like he cared about it at all.
"Okay," He replied and looked back at me.
Hmm
Shouldn't one say something like, 'It's alright?'
Well, I guess these are the things parents teach... And he doesn't have any
"Would you like anything else?" I asked him, "It's on the house,"
He smiled, "I'm not poor,"
!!!
"I-I didn't mean it like that." I said, "I just said it out of kindness,"
"Kindness?" He raised his brow at me, "Because I'm an orphan?"
"I-" I felt guilty. I did offer because I felt bad for him.
"It's fine," He hopped off the stool, "I'm leaving anyway." And started walking away
"Hey... I didn't mean anything bad." I got out of the counter and followed him for a few steps. He paused and looked back at me. No, he looked at my foot and I stopped.
Is he weirded out by the way I'm walking? Generally kids are and they make fun of me. But the kid didn't say anything, he just turned his head around and began walking again.
I wasn't sure what to do when someone else entered the cafe. The guest immediately caught my attention, as well as the attention of everyone else in the place, along with the kid.
Why?
Because the new guest came in with a bouquet of red roses.
"Ahin?" I called his name. Ahin was a long time customer of mine. A knight in the king's guard who comes here for his lunch break.
"Amber!" His face lit up when he saw me and he walked over to the middle of the cafe where there was empty space, "I'm so glad you're here." He stopped a few steps away from me, "I have something to tell you."
"Yes?" I glanced at the boy, he was staring at us with a frown.
"I like you," Ahin said making me look at him,
"Yes?"
"I like you so much, I would love to spend my life with you." Ahin kneeled on one knee as he proposed to me, presenting the bouquet of red roses to me, "Will you please consider me?"
I looked at him in surprise as the whole place went quiet. I didn't think this knight would propose to me like this
I stared at the bouquet of red roses in his hand that he was presenting to me
My heart felt strange.
I looked at Ahin with my eyes wide open. He's proposing to me? I can't believe it. I mean, he was always so nice to me, maybe I should have considered this possibility.
He's such a lovely person. I wonder what life with him would be like? Peaceful? Full of happiness? I'm sure he's the kind of person that'll make sure his wife is happy. This is the kind of relationship I wanted. I'm sure he'll always be there to provide emotional support as well.
That all sounds so lovely!
"I-" I extended my hands towards the bouquet when something frightening happened.
!!!
Windows shatter out of nowhere! A deafening crash shattered the tranquil atmosphere as the windows lining the cafe exploded into a shower of shards. A cacophony of screams pierced the air as startled patrons dove for cover, their faces contorted in fear and confusion.
Glass rained down upon the tables and chairs, scattering fragments across the floor like a twinkling constellation of chaos.
"OH MY GOD!!!!" I screamed and ducked down with my hands covering my head but right then I felt the body of another person come cover me.
It was Ahin, "Amber!" He pulled me under him as he covered me. A sense of warmth enveloped me because of his action while I looked around to see the other customers. It was chaos out of the blue.
But amidst that situation I noticed something odd.
I noticed the kid staring at us. Weirdly enough, he was the only one who wasn't bothered by the glass shattering everywhere as he didn't even flinch. And what was even weirder was that he was so close to the windows but not a single hard came close to hitting him.
People yelled and ducked for cover but he kept his eyes on us.
Only when the glass settled down and the place was consumed by silence, did he start to walk away again
I was not so concerned about the window but looking at the boy whose name I never got gave me a bad feeling.
My heart beat rose when I saw him leave.
There was definitely more to this kid that met the eye. Once everything settled down, everyone got up and started asking around if the other person was okay.
"Amber," Ahin grabbed my shoulders and looked at me as he moved away, "Are you alright?"
"I," I nodded and he helped me up as he stood as well, "Yea," I looked at the door again. The kid was nowhere in sight, "I'm fine,"
"Amber," There was worry in Ahin's voice, "Your hair...."
"What?" I looked back at him, "What about my hair?"
"It's black," He was staring at it.
Dread ran through my veins, "What? How?" I turned around, escaping his hold I limped as fast as I could towards the mirror
But as soon as I came in front of it, my heart fell
It was black. My hair was black. But how?
***
The cafe was closed for the day. I didn't get to give Ahin an answer and he left quietly when he saw that I was devastated.
He's such a sweet soul.
I stood before the ornate mirror in my room, my heart pounded with anxiety, my hands trembling as I grasped the bottle of black hair dye. Desperation clawed at my chest as I stared at my reflection, my once light vibrant locks now a shocking shade of black.
With trembling fingers, I applied the dye to my hair, willing it to cover the black strands. I don't know how this happened but something kept gnawing at my chest. I felt like I had the answer in my mind but it was followed by confusion.
I bent down in the water tub and rinsed away the excess dye, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as I watched in horror as the color faded away before my eyes, leaving my hair unchanged once more.
NO!
I looked in the mirror and my hair was still black.
Panic surged through me, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps as I reached for the bottle again, hoping against hope that this time would be different. But no matter how many times I tried, the result was always the same – the dye fading away as if by some unseen force, leaving my hair unchanged and my spirits shattered.
Tears welled in my eyes as frustration and confusion consumed me, my mind racing with unanswered questions. What was happening to me? Why was the magic resisting my attempts to conceal it?
In a desperate bid to regain control, I scrubbed at my hair with increasing fervor, but with each failed attempt, the truth became increasingly clear – I could no longer deny the fact that someone had used magic on me.
How did this happen? Just how??
I was fine, and then suddenly my hair was black
I bit my lower lip
Did that boy do something? The window shattered and he was unfazed and he kept staring at my hair too.
Was it really him?!?
But why? Why would he do something like this!??