The sun rose up high over the tree tops signaling high noon. Sunlight danced through the leaves like shimmering stars in a clear night sky. The grass, or what little you can see of it in the city, was green and smelled freshly cut, wet from the morning dew. The birds sang their hearts out in the trees while strays walked below without a care about trying to catch them. They would find something else to eat so the birds can sing another day. A stray dog turned the corner and stopped when a little girl reached her hand up and patted the dog. Her mother then pulled her hand, scolding her for petting a lovely creature. They passed people on the street, going to work, walking to school or whatever errand they happen to be running. Everything seemed lively and refreshed today.
Marion Phauna gazed out the basement window at the awakened city. She breathed a sigh of boredom on the glass, making it foggy, then she sloppily drew a frowny face in the fog before it disappeared.
"Mari!" An angry woman's voice shouted from above. "Guests are waiting for their laundry to be done!"
"Yes, Miss Anna!" Marion hurried over to the dryer and loaded the clothes into the basket.
She wasn't the young and dark witch she used to be, fifteen years back. Going on thirty, she was becoming somewhat of a hag. Her long blonde hair was now a dirty blonde color, cut to her shoulders and tied back into a single ponytail because it had gotten too long and it bothered the guests. Once, Mari had caught herself in the mirror and observed that her eyes were almost lifeless like the very doll she used to carry around as her medium. She had lost her hourglass figure too that she had when she was young. She looked more like a glass bottle than an hourglass. It was sad how time punishes you.
Kana and Matilda didn't seem like they changed much. As Marion climbed up the basement steps, she met them on the landing, taking a break at the fold-up table in the corner. She stared at them sadly, trying to remember what they looked like fifteen years ago, compared to now.
Kana took a long drag of her cigarette and tilted her head back, blowing a cloud of smoke into Marion's direction. Her face had collected so many wrinkles from the smoking, she looked twenty years older than her forties. Her long blue hair was braided and fell down her left shoulder, covering up the company logo on their white kimono.
Yes, Miss Anna made them wear uniforms while working as maids at the onsen. They were white kimonos with the Asakura leaf logo on the left side of the chest and then on the back was a bigger five pointed leaf with the words, "Funbari Onsen" wrapped around it. Hanagumi didn't quite like the style but they had to wear it or else. They didn't know what "or else" would bring them but they didn't want to try it. They had nowhere else to go so if they messed this up, they would be at a loss.
"What's up Mari?" Kana asked, turning in her seat. "You seem a little tired."
Marion bowed her head, wanting to hide her hag face as if it was like Kana's. "As long as I work here, I will be tired and old."
"Now, Mari." Matilda stood up from her table and took the basket of clothes, setting it at their feet. She put her hands on Mari's shoulders and smiled. "We've talked about this before. People age. People work. People die. It's all a part of life. You have to just accept it as it is."
Mari looked up into Matilda's aging face. Fifteen years brought a lot of torture to their once fair skin. Age lines appeared in the corners of Matilda's eyes and what appeared to be bags under her eyes. Her orange hair was tied to the side of her head in an orange ponytail. There were steaks of white in it. Tears came to Mari's eyes as she observed how old they really looked.
"Oh, Matilda! Kana! We look like hags!" She wailed, burying her face in her hands.
Kana leaped up from her chair and tried to console her friend. "Shush, the guests can hear you." She whispered, rubbing her back.
"Like it matters. They can see we're just old hags," Mari mumbled through her tears.
"Hey, look at it this way, Mari. At least we're old hags with a job. Some old ladies stay at home and live off social security," Matilda grinned, showing her dentures that only she, Mari and Kana knew about.
"Yeah, Macchi's right," Kana used Matilda's diminutive name to try to cheer Mari up. "We're also old hags who are friends."
"Some old ladies live all alone with no friends," Matilda crossed her arms behind her head, an old habit she developed when she had a short broom.
Marion seemed to be calming down. Kana handed her a mug of tea and she drank slowly. "Thank you," she took a deep breath.
"You're just having a middle-aged crisis," Kana patted Mari's back. "Try to think of something else while you work, okay?"
Mari nodded, trying to convince herself that it will be okay. Her friends have always been there for her. Without them, she didn't know what she would do. They will grow old together working at the onsen. At least it was better than dying alone on the streets.
Matilda handed her the basket of clothes with a smile and Mari went off to continue her work, quietly weeping to herself about the lost years.
"Fifteen years is a long time," a large man said to himself as he stepped out of the doorway of the airplane and looked around at the airport.
It was hot, like a usual summer day. You could see the heat radiating off the airport and the planes. The huge, muscular man wiped the sweat off his brow and slung his blue dufflebag over his shoulder before walking down the steps and towards the bus.
Shoulder length, graying hair hung down across his red jersey with "01" on both sides and the last name, "Burton" across the back. His whole body was covered in fifteen year old scars like he had gone through a hall of knives and saws. He never told anyone how he got so many scars, they wouldn't believe him if he said that angels had took their swords and cut him up. He pulled up his denim jeans before stepping onto the bus, his bones aching from climbing the steps. Fifteen years was torture to this man too.