August's Depart

It's A Small Town After All

Sienna walked into Maria and Scarlet talking. The moment she entered the house, both looked at her—then at her dirty sweater.

"What happened to that?" Scarlet asked, pointing at her sweater.

"Somebody bumped into me and spilled his coffee all over me," Sienna explained.

"Go get yourself changed," Maria told Sienna.

Sienna then headed to their room to get changed. After getting changed, she immediately went downstairs. Scarlet and Maria were still talking.

"Maria, may I ask a question?" Scarlet sweetly asked.

"What is it?"

"Do you have a husband?" Scarlet asked her, picking up a cookie from the plate on the coffee table.

"Yes, but sadly he passed away a long time ago," Maria answered, looking away with sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sienna said. Maria just nodded at her.

"How about your kids? Do you have any?" Scarlet asked again. Sienna glared at her. "Y-you may not answer that question—if it bothers you," she skittishly said, clearly alarmed by Sienna's glare.

"It's fine," Maria said. She paused for a moment, inhaling deeply. "Well, he's got his own world now and I am proud of the man that he has become."

"Aren't you sad that he's not around?" Scarlet queried.

"Scarlet," Sienna warned her. Scarlet mouthed "sorry" in response.

"It's okay," Maria chuckled. She sipped the remaining tea in her cup.`"I can't force him to stay with me if that's not what he wants. I don't own his life, I can't tell him what to do. I gave birth to him so that he gets a chance to see how beautiful this world is, not so I can have someone to take care of me by the time I urinate in my bed. I gave him the life he has right now not so I can take control over it, but because I love him more than my life."

Sienna woke up to the beautiful humming of the birds coming from her open window. Wait. Why is the window open?

"Good morning, Sienna," Scarlet cheerfully greeted her older sister. Her loud and high-pitched voice startled Sienna. Sienna almost fell out of bed.

"You scared me!" Sienna exclaimed, trying to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to surprise you," Scarlet said, looking down.

"Well next time, don't."

"Anyway, breakfast is ready. Just go down when you feel like it," Scarlet said before leaving the room.

Sienna fixed herself before heading downstairs. Just before she entered the dining area, she was greeted by the savory aroma of breakfast hash browns. When she reached the dining area, Maria and Scarlet were already eating the feast that was in front of them.

"Good morning, Sienna. Let's eat," Maria cheerfully greeted her.

"Good morning," Sienna greeted back with a smile, sitting down to the hearty meal that was served in front of her. It had been a long time since she had breakfast this abundant. Ever since her parents died, she and her sister would often eat canned foods. 

"How was your sleep?" Maria asked her, taking a bite out of her hash brown.

"It was good, thank you for asking," Sienna responded, smiling at Maria.

"Anyways, do you have any relatives that might want to know where you are right now? Just so they can have a peace of mind that you're in good hands now," Maria asked.

"Both our parents were an only child, I don't know if there is any relative that would care about where we are right now," Sienna said, not even looking at Maria in the eye. 

"How about your grandparents?"

"My papa's parents died even before Scarlet was born," Sienna said.

"Right, I wasn't able to meet them," Scarlet added.

"Neither did I," Sienna agreed.

"How about your mother's?" Maria asked, sipping coffee from her mug.

"I don't know. They didn't really talk about mama's parents," Scarlet said. She then turned to Sienna "Right?"

"If I remember it correctly, mama said they died before mama and papa met," Sienna said. "Well, that means we don't know any relatives nearby."

"I see," Maria said, obviously feeling more sorry for the girls.

"Uhh. Maria, may I ask a question?" Sienna asked.

"Yes. What is it, hun?"

"Do you know somewhere I can work at?"

"Why would you work?"

"I want to help you in this house and also, I am planning on enrolling Scarlet in the school."

"That's a great plan, but what about you? Aren't you ging to study as well?"

"I would love to, but I think it would be better if only Scarlet start studying for now," Sienna said, trying to hide the fact that she wants to break down. She always wanted to finish studying and become a nutritionist one day.

"I would allow you to work, but both of you have to study. Is that okay with you, Sienna?" Maria said.

"Yes, thank you so much," Sienna said, now relieved.

"I know someone that owns a diner, he might be hiring young people like you."

It was three in the afternoon when Sienna entered the diner Maria told her to go to. It was located at the heart of the town, just in front of the park. There wasn't much customer in the diner and soft, jazz music was playing. Maria told her to ask the manager, Adam if they were looking for new employees.

She approached the person at the counter and asked if the manager was around. "Excuse me, good afternoon. By any chance, is the manager around? I would like to talk to him." 

The cashier she was talking to was a young, petite lady who was most likely in her early twenties.  "Unfortunately, he's not. But I can assist you at the moment. What is the matter you would like to talk about?" the cashier sweetly said.

"Well, a friend told me you were looking for new employees here. I would like to apply."

"Oh, yes we are! By the way, I am Julia, but you can call me Lia. What is your name, sweetheart and how old are you?"

"I am Sienna and I am sixteen years old."'

"Do you know how to take orders?"

"Yes."

"How about serving people?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're hired. We are desperately looking for young people your age to work here, but there isn't much young people in this small town."

Sienna was happy to hear this and immediately answered, "That's good to hear. When do I start?"

"Tomorrow. And about your uniform, we have spare ones at the back. Let me call someone to get it." Lia said. She walked towards the storage room and started talking to someone.

Sienna waited there for a good couple of minutes until Lia returned, carrying a piece of clothing. Someone was walking behind her. Sienna stared at the person after Lia. He was familiar to her, Sienna swore she saw this guy somewhere before but she just couldn't figure where and how. Lia then came to her and handed her the new uniform.

"Here's your uniform, show up tomorrow at seven in the morning wearing this, okay?"Lia cheerfully said, with a smile. Sienna just nodded at Lia in agreement. Even if they just met, Sienna admired Lia's energy and cheerful glamour. She wished she was just as lively as Lia was. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you to someone." Lia turned back and motioned the guy that was following her beforehand to come. He came closer and looked at Sienna. Sienna noticed that the guy looked at her as if he recognized her. 

"Have we met somewhere before?"  Sienna thought.

"Sienna, I would like you to meet August. He is also about your age and you will be working with him pretty much most of the time," Lia said.

Then it hit Sienna. She really had met August before.