Breathe In, Breathe Out
''Hi Patch!''
''L-l-leafos! G-good to see you, y-you're here to get your fathers m-m-medicine right? Ameena! H-h-h-hi...''
The doctor hadn't even dared to wish that Leafos would bring Ameena with her... That girl... The way she looked, it all was just so surreal! Even now that she had a mask on she looked like the most enchanting thing on the very Island... She was the girl of his dreams... But no way he'd ever be the guy of hers!
''H-h-how are y-you?'' he stammered, heavily hoping she couldn't hear his heart beating loudly. ''E-e-everything a-alright with your garden?''
''Y-yes, thank you!''
Ameena blushed under her mask. Gosh, she was nervous! Why in the world was she? There was nothing to be stressed out about!
''G-g-great! L-leafos, what did your dad h-have medication for again? W-was it hernia or rheumatism?''
''Rheumatism. I feel bad for my father, I think growing old is the worst thing that ever happened to him... He's always lived for the garden and our family, but after my mum's death it was mainly the garden... Great Gods, he loved the outdoors - and he still does! - but now the old man can't even go outside without his wheelchair!''
''T-t-that must ind-d-deed be very dudging-l-ly... He must be glad to h-have you around!''
''Yes, he is, but taking care of him can be such a drag, arghh... He's always been arrogant and self-centered, but after the-accident-he-doesn't-want-to-talk-about it even worsened! He constantly brags about how 'legendaric' he was back in the day, and about the valuable piñatas he's managed to attract... Unbelievable how that man can exaggerate! I mean, he truly DID achieve a whole lot more than the average gardener, but -''
''H-here you are.''
Patch put a small paper bag on the counter, and Leafos started to grope in her pockets for chocolate coins.
''I believe I've spend quite a bit more of them than intended at Lottie's... Is it okay if I pay the rest tomorrow, or next week to the utmost?''
''S-sure...'' Patch'd gotten used to customers who told him they'd 'pay him back later'... But from his sometimes painful experiences, he pretty much learned which customers were likely to rip him off and which held word.
Leafos being one of the latter.
''Thank you so much! I promise I DO have the money, it's just...''
''T-t-that's okay. I-I know my goods are expensive... I w-w-wish I could s-sell them cheaper, b-but if I d-d-did I would go bankrupt and I r-r-really don't want to close my clinic...''
''I understand! And I appreciate the fact you even give your customers credit at all.''
''S-so, how much are you paying f-for now?''
Leafos blushed. ''Only five chocolate coins, I'm afraid'' she said shamefacedly. ''The other 1495... are, er...''
''It's alright'' Patch assured her once again, though he was seriously getting worried about his financial situation now. The lack of work lately hadn't done his wallet much good...
''Wow, is that a Sherbat?'' Ameena asked enthusiastically. ''I've always wanted to attrack one, but I never manage to make me a decent Jack O'Lantern... Argh, ve-ry frustrating!''
''T-t-that's no Sherbat!'' Patch smiled. ''N-not a r-real one at least... It's j-just a m-model, s-so that you can study the pi-piñatas anato-o-omy... I've kept it from my College years!''
''Cool! Can I touch it?''
''O-of course! The wings are... pretty awesome, t-they're made of some ultra thin p-paper...''
''Wow, they're soft!''
''E-exactly!'' Patch grinned. He had her interest. Perhaps he could keep her interested by telling her something about the anatomy of smaller piñatas? He'd never imagined her to care about such stuff! Wow, she was even more PERFECT than he'd...
''Can you tell me more about it? Please? When I was younger I wanted to be a vet, you know...''
Patch's grin widened so much, that his dry lips started to crack.
He immediately stopped. Cracked lips were not attractive. Would it be gay for a man to go and buy chapstick?
''Well, I c-c-c-could... I just could t-tell you... Have y-you ever wondered what makes the Sherbat so different from other f-f-flying piñatas?''
Ameena shook her head. ''Not really. But for some reason I've always liked them!''
''G-great, 'cause t-they're pretty l-likeable piñatas...''
''I think I go ahead and hand my father his medicine! He's ran out since yesterday, the pain must be killing him! I can also water you plants if you want, Ameena, so that you and Patch spend some time...
Alone'' she whispered as she blinked at the doctor.
Patch could just prevent himself from letting out a little squeal of surprisement. Was Leafos hinting that her friend liked him?
Ameena made a face to Leafos and his hopes were kind of dashed. Just a little teasing among girls... No way Ameena thought anything more of him than some random guy in a monkey suit.
''Bye folks! Have a great time together.''
Patch felt like she emphasized the word 'great' in a very strange way... As if she WERE hinting something!
''So, what's so special about Sherbats?'' Ameena gave him the most adorable look.
''I can tell you'' he smiled nervously ''but that might take an ho-o-ur or two... Are you s-sure you have that much t-time?''
''I am, one hundred percent!''
''So, they have like, little sonar systems they can detect small insects with?''
''Yes! Q-quite a-a-asthonishi-ing, huh?''
''For sure!
Patch?'' Ameena asked shyly.
''Yes, Ameena?''
''Well...'' It was half past three in the afternoon, and Ameena had been at Patch's since two. She'd never spent that much time with him before, and the cool thing was, they actually DID get along as good as she hoped they would! After thirty minutes, Patch even seemed relaxed around her, and that was a state she'd never seen him in, relaxed...
Eventhough she really liked him when he was all stressy and shaky, he was MUCH easier to talk to when he could just breathe in, breathe out, like any other person.
''... We've been talking for over an hour now... And I really like knowing everything about Sherbats, but... I... actually don't know anything about you!''
Phew, she finally said it! She'd finally made clear she wanted to get to know him better, - well, clear? More or less...
''You w-w-want to know m-more about... me?''
''Yes, silly, about you.'' Ameena smiled confidently. ''Like, where have you studied, for instance?''
''In the UK'' Patch answered. ''I-I-I'm half British. My m-mother's British. A real British lady who drinks Earl Grey and l-l-likes to read detectives. She's the one I've got my love for t-tea and literature of...''
''Wow, really? That's amaze', does she still live in the UK or has she moved to Piñata Island too?''
''No. Neither of those. Unfortunatelly.''
Ameena's face darkened. She'd said something terribly wrong... What if Patch's mother was dead? She would've felt horrible if hers died...
''Oh, I'm so sorry, is she..?''
''No, no, not at all!'' Patch gave her a warm smile. That poor thing thought his mother had passed away, and that she'd hurt him by bringing up the subject! How sweet... ''She lives in Mexico now! That's where she met my father, I'm half Mexican, and I was born and raised in Mexico, too...''
''Ah! God, I'm so glad she's still among us! She must be a fantastic lady!''
''T-thank you, she is.''
''You said you were half Mexican and that you were born there... What's Mexico like? Anything like Piñata Island?''
Patch shrugged. ''If you add up crime, poverty, gang wars and ignorant tourists... Just kidding, Mexico isn't all that bad, the nature there is beautiful, the food's good and there live some really warm-hearted people there... But the only thing they have in common with the Islanders is their love for piñatas really, no other resemblances culture-wise... They even have a completely different religion; Islanders believe in their 'Gods' while Mexicans are mostly catholic...''
''Oh. I see. The whole 'Gods' thing is really getting on my nerves, to be honest...''
''Why?'' Patch asked, slightly concerned. Was Ameena having a difficult time naturalizing? Were it the masks? He remembered trying to get used to his mask himself when he first came to the Island... Wearing that thing all day had been quite uncomfortable in the beginning!
It had an advantage though, people wouldn't judge him on his looks... He remembered his high school years. He'd been the only blonde kid. Horrible. The older boys always made fun of him, and the girls... The girls really liked his lush, golden locks.
He usually seemed to attrack the wrong types, though... The Petula- and the Fannie-like types in his teens and the Baboschka kind of girls when he was about eight...
''Well...'' Ameena could've slapped herself! She should've kept her mouth shut about the religion thing! Now she had to explain why she wasn't fond of it and stuff... ''... I really respect all kinds of religions - I do! - but this one is... Strange, it has a dark feel to it... I mean... I'm okay with wearing masks and I certainly don't mind religious fiestas, haha, but...''
Shit. She couldn't find the right words... She didn't want to make herself look like some ignorant female Barkbark that said she didn't, but actually disrespected other people's cultures!
''I get what you mean'' Patch murmured thoughtfully.
''You do?'' the girl asked eagerly. ''That's such a relief! That I'm not the only one who has... difficulties with this religion, I mean.''
''It's the whole myth stuff, isn't it? Those folklores? And d-don't be afraid, n-nobody would blame you for being scared after what happened with the d-d-d-dem...''
''The demon. Yes... I'd like to tell you again how thankful I am that you saved Seedos and me... I know I've said it like twenty times before, but I just can't thank you enough.''
''T-that's alright'' Patch stuttered, as he noticed that he was growing more nervous again now that they were talking about that damned night...''I-I can understand t-t-t... that that caused you a light m-m-mental trauma...''
Ameena blushed under her Tigermisu mask. She was over the demon. No, the thing that was worrying her now wat that this lovely place had such a horrifying past... And she was scared to death that that past would repeat itself!
''Look, it's not the entity, okay?''
''I-it's not?''
''No. Bart the Tinkerer's told me a story, today...''
''Bart? A good pal!'' Who I've told how intense my love for you is... I hope he kept his big old mouth shut! Patch added in silence.
''Yes. Certainly. But... you know that legend, about a legendary Mallowolf pack and their human leader, a Priestress?''
''Oh, yes, of course, the tale of Platia and the Canda!'' Patch grinned. ''B-bart is obsessed with Canda City... You know... Where those wolves used live! There are more of such stories, a favorite of mine is one about Cinnamonkeys... I could t-tell y-you, one day, if you l-l-l-like...''
''Great!'' Ameena exclaimed, as she totally forgot her disgust for Piñata Island's history. ''I, you are a really nice person and ehm... I like spending time with you...''
Hell no! Did she just say that?
Patch's legs got a little shaky. ''W-w-wow... I, I mean, ehm... I l-l-like spending time w-with you too, and ehm...''
Ugh. He was hopeless at flirting! He had never done it before, after all, let alone with a girl he was madly in love with... It'd probably be a better idea to talk about something he knew a lot of. Something he had experience with. He HAD to keep it real, otherwise Ameena wouldn't take him seriously anymore and she'd never want to spend time with him again!
He gave her a painful grin. Smiling was unbelievable hard when your heart was beating too hard for the sake of your health! Oh Heavens, this girl would shorten his life with at least a year or ten!
''I-i-if you're interested... I can ehm, you own a Kittyfloss, right? W-well, I'm going to P-p-paper Pets t-to t-take look at M-miss P-Petula's newborn kittens... Wanna come with me?''
Ameena's face lit up. Baby Kittyflosses AND Doc Patchingo! This day couldn't get better, eventhough it had started kinda weird!
''I'd lóve to come with you!'' she nodded.
''Alrighty! Let's go then!''
Patch opened the door. ''Ladies first!''
Ameena giggled. Ohh, she was adorable times ten! He couldn't keep his eyes off her...
He even forgot to lock the door of his precious clinic!