Chapter 1: Unfortunate
1447 Words
Amy
It's already past 10 in the morning. The clear sky suggests that the weather could get much humid. The faint breeze of the wind fails to give comfort to someone disturbed like me.
I've already waited for over two hours. Why Mrs. Cristobal and my co-workers are not still here?
From looking at my 3-year-old wristwatch, I channeled my sight to face the busy country road. Different vehicles are heading in and out of the city.
All kinds of cars are passing by my sight. Yet Mrs. Cristobal's brown Toyota Rush is nowhere to be found.
I heaved a deep sigh in dismay. I continued waiting.
Currently, I am standing at the entrance of the closed 'Sweet and Nice Flower Shop'. The said place is where I'm working as a florist. Mrs. Cristobal is a forty-five-year-old widow and the employer of it. She is a nice woman.
Today is Wednesday. It's the middle of the week. No, there is no holiday to make my co-workers' absence reasonable. I am sure that there's an exact explanation why all of them are not here.
But what precisely is that?
Even though I really wanted to contact all the people that work in the flower shop, I can't simply do that. Even if I am itching to know what is to be known. My cellphone, it was on Monday when it went broken. I don't have a replacement for it since I am just a middle-school-graduate girl and my income is just enough to make ends meet. And one more thing, I am the breadwinner of my family. Up until there is a big-time increase in my salary, I can't have a new phone.
"Amy!"
From the view of vehicles, I decided to turn to my back. Someone did just shout my name in there. It sounded familiar. I think I know who owns it.
At last, I will not be alone anymore.
"Oh, Myrtle!" I shouted in gladness the moment I saw her. She is Myrtle Smith.
Though sadly, the happiness that can be seen in my face has been immediately turned into wonder. I noticed something from my co-worker that isn’t right. She is not wearing our Wednesday uniform of blue tunic with an embroidered detail of sakura tree. I am wearing it at the moment.
Does this mean she will not be on duty?
"Goodness, I decided to pass by here. Beautiful Amy, do you have an idea what happened last night?"
I arched my right eyebrow. "No. What happened last night?"
"Just what I thought, I knew it!" She paused as she came closer to me. "Beautiful Amy, what happened last night is the reason why the flower shop is closed. Also, why no one's here except you."
"Okay, I'm already confused. Enlighten me everything."
"Of course, I will. But I will warn you, this is bad news you will be hearing."
I went stiff on my stance hearing what Myrtle said. My heart started beating abnormally.
A bad news... Never anticipated this one coming.
"What is it, Myrtle?" I asked. My decided voice has failed me.
From her jolly countenance, immediately Myrtle's face showed sadness.
This is really bad news I will be hearing.
I braced myself.
"Amy, it is about our employer. Mrs. Cristobal."
"What about her?" I quickly asked.
A bad news about our employer. What is it?
Myrtle first heaved a deep sigh. She spoke then with a lonely tone, "Midnight when her son posted online that his mother died. Because of cardiac arrest. She is now forever gone, Amy."
My eyes narrowed with what I heard. Also, my lips trembled.
So that's the exact reason why the 'Sweet and Nice Flower Shop' is not open for today. Definitely, it will not anytime soon.
Really, a bad news.
After that event, I and Myrtle decided to bring our talk to the park. The place is located not far from the flower shop. She revealed to me that she is now starting job hunting. Unlike me, Myrtle is a college graduate. She has the high possibility to find a new and better job the soonest. Unlike me that don't even know where to apply.
Don't believe Myrtle when she called me 'Beautiful Amy' a while ago. Although I have my looks, but not to the extent I call it beautiful. I am just your typical twenty-three-year-old lady. I don't have an edge among others of my same profile. 'Beautiful Amy' is just my staff name in the flower shop. My co-workers and customer calls me that. On the other hand, we call Myrtle as 'Lovely Myrtle'.
When my talk with co-worker ended, I then decided to go home. Personal papers are one of the requirements when applying for a job. And yes, just like Myrtle, I've also decided to apply for a job.
Hopefully, I could get hired before this day ends.
"Amy, you're home already?" asked by mother. Although I wanted to hide my presence by stealthily making every step going inside the house, I can't do that. Our dilapidated shelter always creaks whenever you accessed the wooden stairs. My poor room is on the second floor.
"Ahm, yeah," my only reply.
Now that she caught me, what to say?
"Is there something wrong?" she asked. Her tone sounded worried.
I guess lying is inevitable anymore. I can't just blatantly tell her that my employer died. As much as I am concern, I don't want to make her worry about finances. That is mine to mind.
I responded, "No, no, there's nothing to worry about."
I flashed a smile. Hopefully, she will buy this.
"Okay..." she sounded convinced. "But this is the first time you went home midday from duty. So why are you home already?"
Fuck! What to say?
"Ahm, it is because..."
My mother's face all of a sudden displayed interest. Interested in hearing my lies. If she only knew.
Oh well, here we go...
"Mrs. Cristobal told us that we will be doing half-day. But today's duty is still counted 8 hours."
"Wow, that is new. But why is that?"
Fuck! Just f**k!
Mrs. Cristobal, I'm sorry if I have involved you in this. Just please don't hold a grudge. I don't want you visiting me every night.
"I don't know, Ma. But I can tell that she really meant it. She seemed happy when she declared a half-day off."
My mother nodded as if convinced. She then said, "Ah... Now, I see. Maybe she found another love of her life. She has a date this afternoon, that is why?"
I froze with what I heard. Okay, this is going very far.
"Maybe that's the reason," I said while acting thinking. "Who knows? I will now sleep, Ma. I already have taken my lunch."
"Okay," she replied.
I proceeded to my room and collected my personal papers. I secretly left the house and went to the internet shop to print a resume.
An hour later, now I am walking the sidewalk. I turned left and right to look for job opening postings. But just what I thought, this will gonna be a hard task. I can't see one finding what I can do…
"Ho! What a draining thing to do!" I said tiredly as I sit on one of the benches in the park. The current time is 4:03 p.m..
Just fifteen minutes of rest, Amy. You will then resume job hunting.
I placed the folder containing my documents beside me as I satiate my hunger. On my way here, I entered a bakeshop that has no job openings. I bought there a piece of cheap pastry.
But I don't know why this particular thing took place. Perhaps a change of season.
As I full myself, I was unprepared for the sudden presence of strong wind. Because of this, the folder beside me opened. It sent several sheets of my personal papers flying.
I immediately stood up and tried my very best to catch all of my documents the soonest. But it seems like life doesn't like me anymore. My birth certificate remained out of my reach until it hit the road.
I continued catching it.
When I heard a long horn.
My heart skipped a beat when I realized I was about to be flattened by a sedan. Successfully, I now have my hands on my birth certificate. But by looking at the luxurious Lexus an inch away from me, I can tell that another trouble is to be faced.
A guy came out from the Lexus. I can't see his eyes. He sports a black-tinted aviator sunglass. He clenched his jaws.
- Writer
