Jude was home alone.
She wasn't supposed to be, actually. Her father was still at work – and wouldn't come back until well into the night. Usually, her sister, Madison, would be home, too… but that day, she had decided to sneak out to be with her boyfriend.
So that left Jude all alone.
Not that she was complaining. As it was, a book was sufficient enough to keep her company for days.
It was around 7pm when the doorbell rang. Jude couldn't remember whether a delivery was planned for the day or not. Even if it wasn't a delivery, it could be a neighbor visiting… for some reason.
She decided to go check it out herself.
She stopped before the front door, and peered through the peephole. There didn't seem to be anyone waiting in front of the door, but it could just be that they were on the side.
Jude opened the door. It made an odd noise – it would need an oiling soon, then. She looked left and right. No one. She huffed.
She went to close the door, but there was another noise. This time, it came from the floor.
There was a book on the ground. Jude took a moment to stare at it with a raised eyebrow. Had the door hit it? She glanced at each sides of the corridor. No one.
She crouched down to pick up the book.
Had it been left here as a delivery? She guessed her father had just forgotten to warn her… or maybe he had just told Madison, since Madison was supposed to be home right now… Whatever, it didn't matter.
Jude stared at the book. It didn't look like anything her father would buy.
The cover of the book was just brown leather – or at least, something that looked like leather… and didn't really feel like leather. There was nothing else. Jude turned it around, but even on the back, nothing was written; no synopsis. She raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged.
Jude went back inside, closing the door behind her.
She was curious, though. What kind of book didn't even have a synopsis? Maybe it was just a fancy notebook.
She knew she shouldn't open it, considering that it wasn't hers in the first place… but Jude couldn't help it. It wasn't like anyone would know, right?
Jude opened the book.
Instantly, a blinding pain erupted in her chest area. She screamed, dropping the book, and slamming her hands on her torso. The burning slithered to the rest of her body, reaching the tips of her toes and her fingers in seconds only.
She felt paralyzed, but in truth, she was twitching uncontrollably; she was a mess, every jostle sending sharp stabs to her chest.
Her vision was fading already. She tried to yell, to call for help, but the pain had even spread to her mouth.
Her last vision was the book's blank pages.
Jude awoke in a startle, a yell half-stifled in the back of her throat.
However, apart from a dull ache in her chest, the pain had completely disappeared. Her brows furrowed, Jude squeezed her eyes shut, clasping her hands together over her torso.
After several minutes of shallow, rapid breathing, Jude finally opened her eyes again. Her knuckles going white from clenching, she looked around.
She was in a nice, homely room. The walls were painted a nice shade of yellow, and the floor was covered with a light beige parquet. Jude herself was laying in a bed, but there were also a wardrobe, two tables, and one chair.
There was a window on her right side, it showed the sea – the sea until the horizon.
Jude gaped, eyes wide. She sat up, slowly, throwing the bed sheets off of her, then stood up, stumbling. Still staring at the sea, she shakily walked to the window, feeling weak in the knees.
Once she reached the window, Jude grasped the window's edges. Her heart was beating frightfully fast in her chest, and she was sure she was sweating buckets.
The sea… The sea!
Jude lived 300 kilometers away from the sea.
Hands over her mouth, Jude continued to stare for several minutes… before finally taking action.
She whirled around, and hurriedly looked around the room. She opened the wardrobe, looked under the bed, checked the tables' drawers. Nothing!
The only things she found were a few retro dresses, and a bunch of books in English. English! She was supposed to be in China!
She patted her pockets, only to realize that she wasn't even wearing her own clothes. Instead, she was wearing a blue pajamas… which obviously wasn't her pajamas. She was even missing her hat! Jude wrapped her arms around herself. Her palms felt clammy.
Her shoulders hunched, Jude looked at the only door in the room. She had no choice. She needed to figure out where she was.
So Jude squared her shoulders, dropped her arms straight to her sides, and made herself stand as tall as possible. She clenched her fists, and took deliberate steps toward the door, stopping in front of it.
The moment of truth, she guessed. Jude opened the door slowly. Thankfully, it didn't creak.
A corridor; no one. And all the doors were closed, too.
She heaved a sigh, slumping. She slowly stepped out of the room, glancing at each doors. But they were indeed closed.
Hugging herself again, Jude walked to the other end of the corridor. It turned out that there was a stairway there. She looked at the closed doors again, before deciding to just go downstairs. No need to sneak around just yet. Plus, there was a chance those doors would creak. No need to try her luck.
Jude walked down the stairs, sticking to the wall. She went as silently as she could, but she suspected that if someone were to be attentive, they would hear her.
At the end of the stairs, was another corridor. Most doors were closed here, too; however, one was wide open.
Hugging herself even tighter, Jude dragged her feet to that open door, and slowly peeked around the corner.
The room looked like an office; there were two big shelves full of papers and other books, an open window, a couch, a desk, a bunch of papers on the desk, and a lady sitting in front of the desk.
The lady was an older woman, with dark brown hair tied in a high and very messy bun, a gentle gaze, and round glasses. She was wearing a simple blue dress.
She was leaning forward on the desk, a pencil in her right hand. Jude couldn't tell whether she was writing or drawing.
Jude stared, before ducking back behind the wall. The lady didn't seem unkind, so there was no need to be afraid, right?
She peeked over the corner of the door again, before drawing her shoulders up, puffing her chest, and stepping out.
It took a few seconds for the lady to notice her. But when she did, she almost fell out of her chair from whirling around, eyes wide. She stood up, almost making a stack of papers fall off the table. "What are you doing up?!"
Jude flinched, cowering back behind the door's edge.
The lady's brows creased. She offered a smile. "I'm sorry," she said, taking a few steps forward. "I didn't mean to startle you." She held her hands up. "My name is Berry. What is your name?"
"U-uh…" Jude looked down. "I'm Jude…"
Mrs. Berry stepped forward again. Jude stepped back, and Mrs. Berry stopped walking immediately.
"How old are you, Jude?"
"I…" Her brows creased, and she glanced up at Mrs. Berry's face. She was still smiling, her arms open, and her palms up. "I'm 13…" well, almost 13. Jude looked down again. "Where are we?"
"How about we sit down and have a chat?" Mrs. Berry gestured to the couch, but she herself didn't move to sit down.
Jude glanced at the couch, narrowing her eyes. Her lips tightened, but she went to sit down. She stared up at Mrs. Berry, who was still standing.
Mrs. Berry stared back. "Jude… What is the last thing you remember?"
Jude frowned. "I, I was at home. Alone. A-and, the doorbell rang… so I went to check who was there. But… there wasn't anybody. There was only a book… And I blacked out when I opened it…" Her frown went deeper. She rubbed her arms, biting her lip. "Mrs. Berry… Where are we?"
"It's 'Miss,' actually," Miss Berry said, quirking up a grin. It dropped, and she sighed. "We are on the Gecko Islands. It's a little archipelago in the East Blue."
Jude tilted her head, furrowing her brows. "I…"
But Miss Berry continued; "A few days ago..." – she walked toward Jude – "my son found you collapsed on the beach, Jude. You've been asleep since then. We… we assumed that you were a castaway."
Jude was frozen. "W-what…? But…" she trailed off, faltering. She looked down at her lap, her fingers clenching her pants tightly.
Miss Berry sat down next to her, leaning forward to be face to face with her. She put a hand on Jude's back. Her eyes were gentle, crinkling at the edges. "I'm sorry, Jude, but… we didn't find anyone else."
Clenching her eyes shut, Jude shook her head. "I've never—! I didn't go on any ship! I was at home!" She slumped, and muttered: "It doesn't make sense…!" She looked up at Miss Berry's face.
Brows creased, Miss Berry just looked back at her, not saying anything.
Jude looked back down. The window had showed the sea until the horizon… "I… I don't know…" she said, voice shaking.
Miss Berry rubbed her back gently. "How about you go back to bed?" Her voice was a whisper. "You must be exhausted." She removed her hand. "I'll bring something to eat."
Jude nodded, keeping her head bowed. Her knuckles were white from clenching at her pants. She forced herself up, and stumbled out of the room, and back to the bedroom she had woken up in.
She stood in the doorway for a minute, just staring at the window, at the endless, blue sea. Her face contorted, and she trembled. Swallowing with difficulty, she turned away from the window, and staggered into the bed, falling face first.
Where was she? Where was her father? And what about her sister? Had Miss Berry contacted the police yet? And what did she mean by 'castaway'?
Her hand went up to clench at her hat… only to realize once again that she didn't even have it. Where were her clothes, anyway?
Jude huffed, and sat up. Miss Berry had said she would bring her food. Jude would be able to question her then.
It took a few minutes of waiting for Miss Berry to appear again. She was carrying a tray, with a bowl of oatmeal, two toasts, a glass of water, and a glass of milk.
Jude stared, as Miss Berry put the tray on the nearest table. She dragged a chair next to the bed, positioning herself face to face with Jude.
Miss Berry stared back. Jude flushed, bowing her head, wringing her hands over her lap.
"How are you feeling?" Miss Berry asked suddenly.
Jude shrugged. "Extremely confused?" She flushed; "Oh, um… Did, did you mean physically?" She glanced up. "I, I'm fine."
Miss Berry smiled. "I meant both." She then sighed, and took the glass of water. "Drink a little, will you? I'm sure your throat must be dry."
Nodding obediently, Jude took the glass. She was only able to swallow two or three gulps of water, before she put the glass down. Miss Berry was still staring. Jude's throat still felt dry. "Did you… Do you have my previous clothes?"
Miss Berry nodded, leaning back in her chair. "We didn't find any shoes, but we have everything else, I think."
Jude nodded slowly. "Do you… do you have my hat?" The request felt ridiculous. She looked down.
Miss Berry blinked. Her nose crinkled. "Your hat? I'm sorry, but… we didn't find any hat."
Shoulders dropping, Jude nodded. She took another gulp of water, though she had difficulty swallowing, once again.
"Was it precious to you?"
She shook her head, slowly. "No… not really. I just… got used to wearing it, I guess. It just feels weird not to have it, now…" She glanced up.
Miss Berry gave a smile, though her eyebrows were creased. She sighed, closed her eyes, and stood up. In a few strides, she went to the wardrobe, taking a dusty, brown cap out of it.
Waving it around (thus dusting it), she turned around, giving Jude an expectant look. "Would that fit?" She turned her smile toward the cap, her eyes crinkling. "It's a bit old… But it gives off a vintage feel, doesn't it? You'd look cute with it."
Jude flushed – her? Looking cute? – and held out her hand.
Miss Berry smiled, and handed her the cap, exchanging it for the half-empty glass of water Jude had been holding until them.
Although Jude's hair was messy (and very greasy, ugh), she was able to slip the cap on in an instant. It was a bit large for her head, but she was sure she would grow into it. It had an elastic band, anyway.
When Jude looked up again, waiting for Miss Berry's reaction, the Miss was already staring at her, mouth open and eyes wide.
"It looks good, but…" Miss Berry began, a teasing smile creeping on her face. "Do you even see anything?" She laughed. "Both the cap and your hair are covering your eyes now."
Lips twitching up, Jude tilted the cap forward. "I'm used to it." At times, it could be a bit annoying, but most of the time, it was just comfortable.
Miss Berry tilted her head, but her smile only widened. "If you say so." She glanced at the tray. "I didn't know what you'd like to eat, so I took a little of everything. Do you prefer salty or sweet breakfast?"
Jude fidgeted, startled at the sudden change in subject; "I, I can eat both…" she trailed off when Miss Berry just continued to smile gently. "B-but… I prefer sweet breakfast…?"
Giving a big smile, Miss Berry clapped her hands: "Really? Most people around her prefer the salty kind of breakfast." She dragged the table closer to the bed, placing it in front of Jude.
They both fell silent. Jude fidgeted; with Miss Berry staring, there was no way she'd able to eat…
Miss Berry suddenly got up, a knowing smile on her face. "Well, I'll leave you to that," she said softly. "Once you're finished, how about you go take a bath? The bathroom is on this floor; last door on the right. I'll put your clothes there, so don't worry about that." She grinned. "Enjoy your meal, Jude."
She turned around.
"Miss Berry!" Jude blurted out, accidentally, stopping her from leaving. Miss Berry turned back toward her. Jude balled up her fists, licking her lips. "A-about this place…" she trailed off.
Miss Berry smiled, waiting silently.
"Which continent is it close from?"
"Continent?"
"W-what about the ocean? Which ocean is it in?"
Miss Berry's brows furrowed. "Ocean? You mean, which Blue? We're in the East Blue."
Jude frowned. "I've never heard of any 'Blue' before."
"Jude… Where do you come from…?"
Her shoulders drew up. Jude had been told times and times again to never share personal information with strangers. However, she guessed, this was a special situation. "I, I was born in the UK, but I was in China when… when this happened." A thought occurred to her, and she frowned worriedly. "Y-you have heard of China, right?"
Miss Berry shook her head.
"What about the USA? I-it's one of the biggest country in the whole world!"
Miss Berry looked down, brows furrowed and lips pinched. "I…" she trailed off, her eyes flickering. "Maybe it's just me," she said, offering a somewhat shaky smile to Jude. "I'll ask my son, once he comes by. He's much more knowledgeable about that sort of thing than I am."
She nodded at Jude. "Remember to eat your breakfast," she said, and left without another word.
Jude stared at the closed door, then looked down at the tray. She didn't feel like eating; in fact, she felt sick to the stomach. She pushed the table away.
Sighing, she got up, and walked to the window.
The sea was still there, stretching until the horizon.
Just where was she? Where was her father? What about her sister? And… why didn't Miss Berry know about neither China nor the USA?
Jude barely managed to gulp half of her breakfast, before she snapped, and hurried to the bathroom.
Once there, she locked the door. The bathroom was in the same style as the bedroom; homely and simple. There was a bath there, but no shower. There also was a small drawer, with Jude's clothes laid on top of it.
She rushed to them, checking over the fabric. Though it looked a bit duller and paler than before, it still was in good shape. Though… there was a hole in one of her socks.
She checked the pockets of her pants, but there was nothing.
Sighing, Jude decided to just take a bath. She turned on the faucet, choosing lukewarm water. She wasn't sure she'd be able to bear warm water.
There was a large mirror above the sink, so Jude decided to take a look at herself. She was only half surprised at seeing how she looked: greasy hair, skin darkened by the crass, and cuts all over her skin.
However, there was a surprise: a bunch of freckles had appeared, over her cheeks, neck, shoulders, and probably other places, too. It wasn't much, but it still was more than before.
She frowned for a moment, biting her lip, but then shrugged it off. She had once heard something about the sudden or overexposure to sun created freckles, for a reason or another. She didn't really know – she hadn't been really interested at the time – but she guesses that was it.
Jude slipped off the pajamas Miss Berry had dressed her in – and flushed at the thought; to think Miss Berry had had to take off all of her clothes…
Once she had taken off her pajamas, Jude looked at her reflection again, and gaped.
There was a weird symbol on her torso: a clock. It was small, placed over her heart, and colored in brown, white, and gold.
However… the truly troubling thing was… the hands of the clocks were turning, seemingly in tune with the real time passing by.
Still gaping, eyes wide, Jude brought a hand up, laying it over the clock. Most of it felt like actual skin, though it felt like upraised skin, like an upraised scar.
However… the clock's hands felt… a bit like metal.
Jude swallowed with difficulty, and looked down. It wasn't just a trick of light from the mirror.
She scratched at the mark, but nothing happened. Nothing changed in the symbol, and the hands continued to tick, without a sound.
She dropped her hand, and looked up at the mirror again. She stared for a long moment, her breath quickening.
Suddenly, she took action, scrambling to take a towel. She tried to wipe off the symbol with it, but even after several seconds of it, nothing happened.
She changed her strategy, and took a bar of soap, wetting it hurriedly, and then slapping it on her chest. She rubbed the symbol.
Nothing happened, and the clock stayed.
It only made the skin around the clock red, irritated.
Jude stared, sniffling, and licked her lips. She suddenly dropped everything she was holding, and started scratching at the clock, trying to… to tear it off.
But the clock stayed untouched, although the skin around it bled.
She must have spent more than a few minutes scratching, because the next thing Jude knew, the bathtub was almost full.
She rushed to turn off the tap.
Her knees gave out, and Jude was left crouching next to the bathtub, out of breath, eyes wide, and her chest bleeding.
Her shaking hands cupped around the ticking clock.
Having changed into her own clothes, her hair dripping wet, Jude went downstairs. She was carrying the old pajamas in her arms, along with the cap Miss Berry had given her.
Once downstairs, she went to the only room where she could hear noise from. It turned out to be the kitchen: Miss Berry was inside, cooking something on the stove.
When Jude entered the room, Miss Berry noticed her immediately. "You're already finished? That was quick!"
Jude shrugged, head bowed. She had thought she had taken a long time. The… thing on her chest had told her she had taken more than an hour.
Miss Berry only smiled. "Why don't you sit down? It'll take a while before I finish cooking." She turned back to what she was cooking.
There was a table in the middle of the room. Jude had assumed that it was used for cooking, too, but maybe it was used as a dining table.
"I decided to make something light, considering you ate not too long ago," Miss Berry said. "But if you're feeling hungry, don't hesitate to ask."
Jude nodded, although Miss Berry wasn't looking. She put the pajamas on her lap, and straightened. It wouldn't do if Miss Berry thought she was lazy or a slob.
"I don't mean to brag," Miss Berry continued, "but my cooking is quite excellent. Even though he's got his own house now, my son keeps coming back to beg me for lunch boxes. Just today, he asked me what was my secret…" She gave a sigh. "But my food is good only because I'm cooking for him, you know?"
Miss Berry abruptly stopped, craning her neck to look at Jude. "What about you, Jude? Do you like cooking?"
Jude, who had been startled at being addressed, shrugged. "I, I liked baking with my mom…" She bowed her head, playing with the edges of the pajamas.
Jude was unable to see her reaction, but Miss Berry was silent for a moment.
"That's good, that's good," she suddenly said. I used to bake with me mother, too. My favorites were apple pies," she sighed, something like longing in her voice. "All this talk is making me nostalgic… and hungry." She chuckled.
They both fell silent.
"M-Miss Berry?" Jude suddenly called, her fists balled up. "Did you… did you ask you son?"
Miss Berry faltered in her movements, before going even more enthusiastically than before. "I did," she said, voice a bit strained. "He passed by while you were in the bathroom." She went silent, faltering again.
She didn't need to say any more. Jude had already guessed the answer.
Nonetheless, Miss Berry continued; giving a big sigh, she turned around. "I'm sorry, Jude, but neither of us have ever heard of that China place or that USA place."
Jude bowed her head, silent, then nodded slowly.
Miss Berry was silent, too. "I'm sorry," she said, then went back to her cooking, leaving Jude to her thoughts.
Jude clasped her hands together, over her lap. "Miss Berry…" Her voice shook. "What will happen to me now?" Her eyes were stinging, and she hurriedly rubbed them, blinking furiously.
But it was useless, she was already tearing up.
Miss Berry turned around again, and although Jude was once again unable to see her face, she heard her gasp. In the blink of an eye, Miss Berry stood next to her.
She laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, and used her other hand to wipe the tears trekking down Jude's cheeks.
"Jude, my dear, please don't cry," Miss Berry comforted, voice soothing. "We'll find a solution, alright? You, you can even stay with me, if that's alright with you."
Jude looked up, blinking. "R-really?" she sniffed.
Miss Berry smiled, the skin around her eyes crinkling. "Of course." Swiftly, Miss Berry enveloped Jude in a hug, squeezing her tightly.
As her current situation truly hit her, Jude broke into sobs, and desperately hugged back.
On the following day, Miss Berry decided to bring Jude to "the village" – which apparently was just the nearest village.
While Miss Berry was busy getting prepared for the trip, Jude was sitting on a stool, swinging her legs impatiently.
"We need to buy you some clothes," Miss Berry told her, as she picked up some bags. "And I also need to take you to the doctor – I was supposed to do that yesterday, actually."
Jude winced; her breaking down had kept Miss Berry from leaving the house, she guessed.
"I was thinking about baking something – a pie maybe? And I need to buy some fresh meat – oh, do you prefer meat or fish? I can do both."
Jude's legs slowed down. "I like both…?" she said; she didn't want to bother Miss Berry, but she also didn't know which one was cheaper.
Miss Berry smiled at her. "I guess we'll take both, then. Are you ready to go?"
Jude nodded, jumping off the stool.
They left the house.
After only a few minutes of walking, Jude was able to see the village from afar.
It looked quite small, with only a dozen houses, a few dirty roads, and something that looked like a farm. There was also a hill nearby, with a big manor on top.
Jude had never seen such small villages. Her whole life, she had lived in big cities; London, New York, Shanghai… Seeing a small village like that was a bit disconcerting, actually.
"What do you think?" Miss Berry asked suddenly.
"It, it's…" She tried to scramble for some sort of compliment; "It has some charms…?" The grass was green, and the sky was blue; Jude was used to gray, polluted skies. This was nice.
Miss Berry laughed.
"What's the name of the village?" Jude asked.
"Syrup Village."
Jude's steps faltered, before almost immediately retaining their speed.
'Syrup Village'…? Like in One Piece? Probably just a coincidence…
It took another three minutes for them to reach the first few houses.
They went to the doctor first. The doctor was a stern looking lady, named Greka.
Of the fifteen minutes they were at the doctor, only five minutes were spent checking on Jude – who was declared healthy. The other ten minutes were spent with Greka and Miss Berry chatting, while Jude awkwardly waited.
They then went to the clothes store.
"Tell me if anything catches your eye," Miss Berry told her, kindly. "Money isn't a problem. And it's better to get something you like now rather than later."
Jude was unconvinced, and decided to just choose the cheapest things she liked: a short sleeved, pastel green shirt (with a hood on it – which was extremely weird, Jude had never seen anything like that before), beige overalls that finished in shorts, socks, and boots. That was enough for her.
However… if Jude were to be honest, that wasn't what she truly wanted.
The clothes Jude truly wanted were much more expensive – and not only that, but they were also girly – mainly dresses and skirts. Girly was a style that Jude had always avoided, as most girls she hung around with avoided girly things… thus making Jude avoid them too.
But… now… Jude was alone. These girls weren't here, right? So who would judge?
Jude sighed, shoulders slumping, and turned away from the clothes.
"Do you like them?"
Jude yelped, whirling around only to see Miss Berry. She was looking at the expensive and girly clothes, a grin on her face.
"U-uh…" Jude looked back at the clothes, and nodded, flushing.
With a large, smug grin on her face, Miss Berry picked up the girly clothes. She winked at Jude. "I think it's enough for now," she told Jude. "We can always buy more later. And you're still young, aren't you? You'll grow out of those soon enough."
Jude gaped, as Miss Berry went to the counter as if nothing peculiar had happened. After a moment, she regained her composure, and followed her.
The clerk greeted Miss Berry with a smile, and then gave Jude exaggeratedly wide eyes. "Would you look at that?" he said, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "My dear Miss Berry, did your little tyke already give you a granddaughter?"
Waving her hand dismissively, Miss Berry laughed. "No, not yet." She laid a comforting hand on Jude's back. "This is Jude," she presented cheerily, but then took a somber tone: "She is far away from her home." She gained back her cheer: "I will be taking a care of her from now on."
Seeing Miss Berry switching between emotions that fast was a bit troubling, to be entirely honest.
Nonetheless, Jude bowed her head toward the clerk, a bit awkwardly. "N-nice to meet you, sir…"
"So polite!" the clerk exclaimed, once again exaggeratedly. "Aah, but Miss Berry, isn't this great? You, who always wanted a daughter…" He smiled.
Miss Berry smiled back… a bit frigidly. "Yes," her voice was cold, too.
Jude looked up at her with alarm. All the emotions Miss Berry had showed her until now had been positive, so this sudden coldness… was startling, and a bit scary.
The clerk must have felt that way, too, because he moved on without another word, giving them the price.
In only a few seconds, Miss Berry paid, said their goodbyes, and walked both herself and Jude out of the store.
"Well," she said, with forced levity, an awkward smile on her face, "that's done. We just need to go to the grocery store, now."
Jude nodded, silent.
They went to the grocery store. (It seemed to be the only grocery store in the whole village.)
Jude was a bit uninterested in that bit. Doing grocery shopping had never been interesting to her (unless she was hungry, in which case she would just ask to buy the whole store), but she just silently followed along.
"What do you want to eat?" Miss Berry asked. "I can even make a cake if you want— oh! How about we bake together?" She beamed at Jude.
Jude shrugged, but then nodded.
"What kind of cakes do you like?"
"U-um… I, I like chiffon cakes..." Was that too specific? Ugh… "...and blueberries…?"
Humming, Miss Berry became pensive. "Hmm… Chiffon cake is pretty hard to make. But I think we could do it, no?" She grinned, and directly went back to looking at the racks, not waiting for an answer.
Jude sighed.
"Oh!" Miss Berry suddenly smirked. "Jude, my dear, I'm sure you must be bored. How about you go play outside, hm?"
This… smelled like a trap.
"Sure," Jude said. A trap was better than waiting in a stuffy grocery store. "I'll be just outside," she told Miss Berry, even though it was unnecessary.
She went outside the store, huffing when the cold air hit her, and waited, arms crossed.
It was… very boring, to say the least.
However… Jude noticed something; someone was staring at her. She looked around, but no one was there.
The feeling persisted, so Jude looked around again, this time also searching for someone hidden, and… There were three kids hiding in a bush, their large eyes staring right back at her.
They stared at one another for a long time, as Jude waited for them to… to do something.
After a moment, Jude got awkward, and looked away, fidgeting. Was it a normal occurrence for the people of this place to do this? Jude sighed, and went back to staring back at the kids.
The kids must have noticed, because they suddenly screamed, falling back (thus this time effectively hiding).
"What do we do?! She noticed us!" one of them exclaimed.
Were they… trying to be discreet? Jude could hear everything clearly. Was that their attempt at whispering?
"We could just— act like it was nothing!" another yelled.
"That's a stupid plan, Tamanegi."
"Yeah, it's pretty stupid, Tamanegi."
Tamanegi? Huh…
"Ugh! W-why are we even hiding?! That guy doesn't even look strong…"
Jude walked to the bush, and leaned over. The three kids were crouching, placed in a semi circle.
"You never know!" The one with the beanie said. "The captain doesn't look very strong either…"
"Don't badmouth the captain!" The other two exclaimed.
"I'm not!"
Jude cleared her throat, as loudly as she could.
The effect was immediate: the kids froze.
"Did, did you hear that?"
"Yeah…"
They slowly turned around… and screamed, scrambling away from her.
Jude flinched, and brought both her hands up, showing her palms. "Wait!"
The kids froze. They stared at one another for a long moment, again.
Finally, Jude cracked. "Are you… are you alright…?" she asked, a bit shyly. For them to flee her like that… they must have been terrified. Terrified of her, though? That didn't make sense. Why?
The kids all jumped up at the same time.
"Y-you think you can trick us like that?!" the one with the glasses yelled, seemingly genuinely offended. "I'm Tamanegi!"
"We are member of the Usopp Pirates!" the one with the beanie said. "I'm Ninjin!"
"The strongest pirates in the whole world!" the one with the green hair boasted. "I'm Piiman!"
Jude stared at them, silent. The Usopp Pirates… was it just kids playing around, or was she really in the One Piece world?
After a moment, Jude nodded, sighing. "Alright… It's nice to meet you," she bowed her head. "My name is Jude."
"Jude?"
"That's a boy's name, right? I was right, then! Ninjin, you lose!" Piiman exclaimed, a smug smile growing on his face.
"What! Isn't Jude a name for both boys and girls?!" Ninjin yelped.
Jude's shoulders rose up, and she crossed her arms, frowning. "I'm a girl," she said, perhaps a bit too harshly.
The kids froze again.
Ninjin cheered, "I was right!" He stuck his tongue out at both Piiman and Tamanegi.
"Why were you hiding?" Jude interrupts, hoping to distract them from going back to their childish squabbles. "And why were you betting on whether I was a boy or not?" She narrowed her eyes, suspicious.
Both Ninjin and Tamanegi took a step back, looking pale, while Piiman blurted out: "Because you're a stranger! We've never seen you here before!"
Ninjin must have gained back his courage from that, because he also exclaimed: "Yeah! That's right! Who are you?!"
Tamanegi just went along: "Are you an infiltrated pirate?!" He gasped, and turned to the other kids. "We need to warn the captain!"
Jude scowled. "You will do no such thing. I'm not a pirate," she gritted out. "I'm just a civilian."
"Yeah, right! That's what an infiltrated pirate would say!" Piiman exclaimed.
Close to just tearing her hair out, Jude gave a distressed noise. "Will you stop? I told you, I'm not a pirate!"
The sound of a door closing stopped Jude in her tracks and she turned around. Miss Berry was out of the store. Jude hurried to her side, and took the bags for her.
"I'm not that old," Miss Berry laughed. "I can still carry some bags." She then grinned teasingly, looking over Jude's shoulder. "Jude, are you already making friends?"
Jude followed Miss Berry's line of sight, and fount out that Miss Berry was looking at the kids. "W-wha—? No!"
"That's great!" Miss Berry exclaimed, as if Jude hadn't said a thing. "How about we invite them over? I bought some snacks."
"U-um…" Now that she thought about it… that whole meeting could have been planned by Miss Berry. She had been the one to send Jude out (with a smug smile at that), after all. "W-we just met, though…"
Miss Berry nodded wisely, eyes closed. "Yes, that's usually the way a friendship starts."
Jude slumped. "That's not what I meant…" She sighed, and looked at the kids.
If… if this really was the One Piece world (which would explain so many things), then… she didn't want to get involved with the plot, so it would be for the best for her to avoid the kids, too…
However… She glanced at Miss Berry. Refusing would mean disappointing her, right?
Jude just looked at the kids again, putting the decision on their shoulders. Miss Berry wouldn't be able to blame her if the kids refused.
The kids were crouched in their semi circle again, whispering… or at least, trying to whisper. Jude (and Miss Berry, too, if her smile were to say anything) could hear them clearly.
"What should we do?"
"Snacks… Do you think she has candy?"
"Ninjin, focus!"
"A-ah… right…!"
"I, I think we should go! If we go, then we can watch over her!"
"Right! Good idea, Tamanegi!"
They whirled around, smiling innocently.
"We'll go! We'll go!"
Jude sighed, slumping, but just accepted it. It wouldn't do if she just came back on her word.
On the route to Miss Berry's house, the children chattered on and on.
"Should we tell the captain?"
"Won't he get angry if we just disappear like that?"
"Angry? You mean worried, right? Right?"
"But if he comes, he'll eat everything…"
Miss Berry piped in, "You'll just have to invite that boy next time!" She had a bright smile on her face. "I'll make sure to plan out more snacks then."
The children cheered, but Jude only fidgeted uncomfortably. 'The captain' meant Usopp, right? She wasn't sure she could handle that just yet.
They reached the house in no time.
Jude carried the bags to the kitchen, and then went back to the living room. The kids followed her, looking like a bunch of lost puppies. Miss Berry entered the room later, having taken the time to remove her hat and her vest.
"You can put your clothes here, Jude," she pointed at a nearby little table (that only had a flowerpot on it). "I'll wash them later." She then turned to the kids. "Baking will take some time. Do you want to help, or do you want to play a game?"
She gained a pensive look, and turned to the closet. "I think I have some board games around here…"
The kids looked at each other, then unanimously decided: "Board games!"
Miss Berry smiled indulgently. She opened a closet, and took out two boxes. "I have chess and… Monopoly!"
Jude startled: Monopoly?! This existed in the One Piece world?!
"Monopoly!" the kids cheered, practically ripping the box out of Miss Berry's hands.
(To her credit, only Miss Berry's eyebrow twitched. Other than that, her smile stayed perfect.)
They pulled the chairs around the table, and sat up on them, taking out the board, the pieces, and the cards.
Jude stared at them. Although Monopoly sounded like fun… it would just be awkward for strangers to play together, no?
She turned toward Miss Berry, who was smiling at her gently, and sent her a puzzled look, wondering what she was supposed to do now. Hadn't Miss Berry said they would bake together?
Miss Berry walked toward her, and whispered, "Won't you join them?"
Jude gaped at her, but then shook her head gently, flushing, head bowing forward. There was no way for her to… She would just make things awkward.
When she looked back up, Miss Berry winked at her, and addressed the entire room: "Well, I'll leave you kids alone. The cakes won't make themselves, after all." She chuckled at her own joke, and went to the kitchen.
Thus, the kids and Jude were left alone, together.
Jude gaped. Had— had Miss Berry just abandoned her?! Oh my God.
She turned to the table, her fists balling up, swallowing. She took a deep breath, and pulled a chair for herself.
The kids didn't protest – they didn't even say anything to her, actually – and just gave her the needed pieces and cards.
Her heart was pounding from the mix of the anticipation of being rejected and the relief of being accepted, but Jude still gave a small smile, trying to relax.
Maybe staying here wasn't so bad…
AN: "What is more precious than time?" I already know the answer. I'm just not eloquent enough to tell you.
Thank you for reading. It is greatly appreciated.