Spring was Label's favourite season. She loved walking through the woods as the cherry blossom petals gently fell through the air. There weren't any cherry blossom trees in the city, or any woods for that matter. She hadn't had much motivation to work on her portfolio, although she knew that summer was just around the corner, and that meant so was her interview.
Spring was also Sable's and Mabel's favourite season as well. It was late in the afternoon and she sat on her bed still in her pyjamas staring at the desk in her bedroom.
Walking over and opening the drawer, she sat and took a long look at the letter that was hidden inside. The letter from Sable that she'd received so long ago. From time to time she would examine the letter, reading it over and over losing herself in thoughts of her time living in Animal Village. It was starting to feel like a lifetime ago, the cherry blossoms, the bike rides around town, her sisters.
Label snapped out of her memories when she heard Pashmina unlocking the front door of the apartment. She put the letter away and got dressed.
The girls were worried about Label. After the incident at the party, Label spent most of her time alone. She'd call into work saying she was sick often and wouldn't eat all that much. They knew it was best to try and give her some space.
Label came out of her room and walked into the living room to say hi to Pashmina who had arrived from worked.
"I was thinking of ordering some take out, are you hungry?" Pashmina asked hoping she'd say yes.
"I'm okay for now, thanks." Label laid back on the love seat and turned on the TV.
Pashmina thought for a moment and then brought Label her spring coat, "Let's go visit Bunnie. You've been cooped up in here all day, some fresh air will do you good."
"I'm not really in the mood to go out." She said with her eyes fixed on the TV changing the channels.
"Look, I understand you're going through a rough time," she sat down beside Label, "but don't forget what you came to the city to do. You're here to fight for your dreams, are you really going to let this stop you from doing that?"
"What happened at the party was wretched, what he tried to do was awful and what he said at the end... He was my link to the fashion industry, and over the last few months I can't help but feel guilty about it and how I may have ruined my chances with the Academy."
"The guilt you're feeling is normal, as awful as that sounds. None of this is your fault and you don't have to be concerned about the Academy. I've been dying to find a publisher who will even look at any of the work I've written. It's been years of doors closing in my face over and over. It's easy to give up and feel like we messed up by coming to the city. We have to be stronger than that. If you really want to enter this industry, then fight for it, even if the odds are stacked against you."
She gave Label a hug, helped her into her coat, and made their way over to he ice cream parlour. The parlour was relatively empty and Bunnie was manning the register alone again.
"Your boss is off again, Bun?" asked Pashmina as she went behind the counter helping herself to a cup of vanilla bean ice cream.
"Yeah, sort of. I tried to make a version of ice cream that was strictly egg flavoured. And I may have used some outdated eggs. He gave it a try and a few hours later he had to rush home."
"You gave your boss food poisoning?" Label asked covering her mouth with disgust.
"Technically it's not my fault. He should know by now that most of the things I've made have sent him home." she replied, hanging her apron up and putting the Closed sign up on the door. She walked over to Label and gave her a squeeze before offering her some ice cream. Label accepted and the three sat on one of the empty patio tables outside the parlor.
"I'm happy to see you're up and about!" Bunnie said spooning some of the colourful ice cream into her mouth.
"Pash convinced me to go out." she said with a half smile, "The last few months have just been hard on me, and it's not just that stupid party. I've been feeling a bit homesick." She admitted.
"You've never really talked all that much about your family. I don't know that any of us have, actually." Pashmina said rubbing Label's shoulder.
"Oh! Let's go around and talk about our life back home before we came to the city!" Bunnie said excitedly, "I'll go first!"
She cleared her throat and began to recount her days back in the town she grew up.
"I grew up with my parents in a town near a beach that had a lot of touristy attractions, like fun shops on the piers and carnivals rides. I used to visit the tea cup rides with my mom every weekend. I would always go multiple times so I could ride in every colour. My parents ran a souvenir shop along the pier. Some of my favourite memories are on that beach where I would collect sea shells and make crafts out of them for my parents. My dad always liked the sea shell necklaces I made and must have thought they were quite good because he'd put them up for sale in the shop. I loved seeing tourists walking around with the colourful sea shell necklaces that I'd made!" She recounted with enthusiasm,
"Every so often the ice cream man would come and he'd give me free ice cream. He was always so jolly, what was his name... Phil..Phiny..Phinea... I can't remember! But that's what sparked my interest in all of this." she motioned to the parlour, "I can bring a little bit of joy by making and handing out such wonderful, colourful frigid delights!"
"When Bunnie first moved in to the apartment a few months before you had, she drove me nuts with the mess she'd make in the kitchen. Giant tubs of ice creams on every surface imaginable." Pashmina laughed as she reminisced on the early days.
"My parents thought ice cream making was just a phase, but after about a year of messing up their kitchen, they were more than happy to send me to the city to explore ice cream making full time! It was a dream come true!"
"Wow, I'm glad your parents were so supportive, Bun." Pashmina said as she got up to toss out her empty ice cream cup.
"Yours weren't?" Label asked.
"Not exactly. My parents had hoped that I would follow in their footsteps and study law. To be honest, they weren't very encouraging about it, but they made the move easy. They live on the other side of the city and they both do a lot of traveling, so they're hardly ever around. I used to do a lot of writing in school and was always part of the writing clubs, winning every school competition and so on. It gave me the confidence to pursue it here in the city."
"So you pretty much grew up here?" Bunnie asked
"Not on this side of the city, but pretty much. It was a pretty lonely childhood, growing up as an only child and having my parents traveling so often. I got used to going to parties when I wasn't at home writing." Pashmina replied, "How about you Label? Did you grow up with any siblings?"
She felt her heart skip a beat and her hands clam up, "No. Only child, just like the both of you."
"Well, we've got sisters now!" Bunnie said as she pulled both of them in for a hug.
"Yeah, it's nice to have sisters." Label remarked, trying to wipe the sweat off her hands, "I grew up with a relative after my parents passed away. It happened a long time ago"
"I'm so sorry to hear that" Pashmina said with a comforting tone.
"It's alright, I was ten years old when it happened. It was hard at first but you just learn to get through it, I guess. It was unexpected really. One moment, they were on their way home from a trip out of town, and the next their car was found on an off ramp. I was home with my... relative, and the police showed up at the door telling us a car had t-boned them. The weather was really bad that night, and the roads were extra slippery. Life can change in an instant." She took a deep breath, "Anyway, it was a really long time ago and I was really young so I can't say I remember a whole lot of those days."
"Well we have each other now. We're in this together!" Bunnie said holding Label's hand. Label smiled at her. Pashmina included her hand on top of Bunnie's, "That's right, we're sisters and we're going to look after each other."
Label felt a tear rolling down her cheek. She wished Pashmina hadn't said those words, the pain was too deep in that moment. She appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
----- Author's Note -----
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