I have to say, I'm pretty proud of this one. As usual, I don't own anything except the story. Enjoy!
It's not like Shiro regretted anything. In fact, running away from her orphanage was something that she's been planning for months. But now, two weeks in of living on the streets, she'd been feeling more and more hollow. So hollow, in fact, that Shiro had spent several days tucked in a corner of a cobblestoned alleyway, not sleeping nor eating, but simply staring into space.
And then she smelt the bread. Warm and soft, a little musty, and a lingering hint of butter. When she followed the faint trail of steam, almost in a trance, it led her to a small bakery, hidden away at the end of the street. Drawing closer, Shiro snuggled up beside the store and closed her eyes. Whether she was welcome here or not, she was going to stay, and stay she did.
After a while, Shiro began to grow curious. Sometimes after sundown, she would wake to the everlasting scent of warmth and butter right under her nose and find a loaf of bread simply sitting there on the wet pavement. It tasted even better than it smelled, and Shiro never failed to savour the soft fluffiness of the loaf before falling into a peaceful sleep. Over time, it began to happen more frequently, and in more quantity until the girl was practically getting a full meal every day.
One time, she had found a note scrawled onto a slip of napkin tucked under the loaf, along with a pencil.
'Is it good?' It read. And for the first time in weeks, Shiro felt like smiling. She flipped the note over and wrote on the back, sticking it to the window of the bakery once she was done.
'Delicious. Thank you.' The next day she found another note, along with a custard bun.
'Thanks! No one's tried this recipe yet, you mind tasting it for me?' And so their routine began, with the mysterious person sending Shiro new recipes and Shiro pasting notes onto the window, saying that every one was delicious.
Shiro woke to the sound of footsteps by her ear, which was normal. She had been mid-yawn when she felt a tapping on her shoulder.
"It's nice to finally meet you. What's your name?" Shiro abruptly turned around to see a boy with mousy brown hair and eyes sitting on the curb beside her. She sniffed the air tentatively; the smell of warmth and butter seemed to waft from the boy. Could he be…?
"Shiro." She murmured quietly, deciding not to ask. The boy's eyes lit up and he smiled. "I'm Sora, the guy who kept sending you breads. Sorry about that." He smiled sheepishly. Tears pricked at the corners of Shiro's eyes, threatening to spill out. Why do I feel like I want to cry?
"Don't be sorry. That's not fair." Shiro blurted, regretting her words immediately. Luckily, Sora seemed unfazed.
"Yeah, I suppose it is." The two sat in a somewhat comfortable but tension-filled silence. Sora shifted uneasily, which Shiro had learnt through months of observing to be a sign of choice of words.
"Just say it." She murmured. Sora stared at her, eyes wide with surprise. Then he laughed, a melodious tinkling sound which made Shiro's insides fuzzy.
"I'll have to learn to not underestimate you, Shiro. You're smarter than you seem." He smiled, but his expression soon morphed into one of apology and realization. "Not saying you don't seem smart, I mean that you're more intellectual than you seem- no, no, I didn't mean that either, just- you know what, i'm shutting up now. Forget everything I said." That was it. For the first time in five years, Shiro doubled over and began laughing. Sora simply stared in wonder and soon joined her, until they were both attracting the attention of all the passersby, which is when they decided it was time to calm down.
"What was it you were going to say?" Shiro asked, still quietly laughing inside. What is it with this boy that makes me so happy?
"Well, I suppose there's no point in hiding it now. I was wondering… if you'd want to help us in the bakery?" Shiro's heart stopped. She stared at Sora in astonishment. "You mean… work with you?" Sora quickly became flustered.
"I mean, we'll pay you, and you can stay in the guest room for the time being, and-" Shiro cut him off by crying, small droplets of water landing onto her ragged clothes.
"D-don't cry! That's awkward!" Somehow, this boy had offered her everything she had ever wanted and made her feel like laughing again. Who was she to say no?
"I look forward working with you, Sora." She murmured. The boy immediately brightened up and grabbed her by the hands.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" And as the boy with the name of sky led her into the bakery that had been her light for the past year, she couldn't help thinking that this is where she had belonged all along.
I enjoyed writing this a lot. I may try to make this an one-shot only account if all my drabbles end up being this fun to write.
R&R!
~Nii