CHAPTER THREE
Stepping out into the early morning dew, Frisk began walking towards her work. Even though she didn't have to work today, she thought it would be nice to grab a croissant from there for her breakfast. There was a park nearby as well, with lots of lovely yellow flowers and an older gentleman who always seemed to be there with his fluffy white dog. So her small plan was hatched. Breakfast of bread at the park.
The neighborhood was beginning to wake up, a few school buses passed by her on her route to the coffee shop, and the roads had begun to fill up with a stream of morning traffic. The walk was not too long, about 15 minutes altogether. Unless she stopped in the dusty bookstore that was on the way to the café. She approached the store front, the familiar atmosphere welcoming her instantly. The potted succulents that lined the windows had droplets of water still shimmering on their stalks, and the sidewalk outside had been freshly swept of leaves.
Hesitating outside of it, Frisk chewed on her lip, debating whether or not she should pop in. She was in the middle of several books already, and after a moment she talked herself out of going inside. 'Maybe on the way home… ', she thought to herself, peeking in the shop window at the rows of book covered shelves more than a little wistfully.
Ever since she could remember, Frisk had loved to read. Mostly fantasy books, with the occasional non-fiction thrown in when it sparked her interest. Recently, she had gotten a few cook books and had been experimenting with baking in her down time. She had come across a recipe for cinnamon butterscotch pie that looked incredible but so far, all her attempts at making it had been disappointing.
All the fiction books she loved had an overarching theme; a girl gets transported into another world, away from her mundane life and into an adventure filled with magic and monsters. Not to mention, this fictional girl character usually found romance too. Frisk especially was fond of slow burn romance tropes- she was a sucker for two characters pining over each other before finally accepting their love and having a mushy happy ending.
It was as she was absorbed in these thoughts that Frisk found herself bumping into someone abruptly.
"Hey!" A small child with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes cried out as Frisk clumsily caught her balance. The little girl had been clutching a balloon, which now was drifting quite idly upwards. Frisk gasped in dismay, eyes following the floating object. It was shaped like a blue heart, a brilliant shade that almost seemed to burn with a cold fire in the light of the sun.
All of a sudden, her head was spinning and the sounds of passing cars and the complaining child seemed to her as though someone had replaced the surrounding air with water. Instead of these dampened noises, another very clear sound reached her ears- a cheerful chuckle that made her heart pound. Frisk felt the phantom touch from her dream, her hand reflexively twitching as she remembered the sensation.
It had all happened at once, and before she could process it, air flooded back, and it was as though she had popped her ears after a plane ride. Sound returned to its usual volume. Blinking in confusion, Frisk looked down at the child, who was now on the verge of tears.
"My balloon…" She sniffled, staring sadly after the vanishing inflated heart. Frisk crouched down so she was eye level with the girl, smiling at her gently.
"Hey now, I'm sorry about that. I should have been looking where I was going!" The little girl shrugged and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. There was no adult around, which perplexed Frisk for a moment before she remembered that there was a school bus stop a few feet away from where they were standing.
Watching the girl scuffle her feet and fidget with the straps of her backpack, Frisk felt rueful for having ruined the girl's morning. Chewing her lip as she tried to figure out what to say to the upset child, she glanced around anxiously. Across the street, she spotted a little convenience shop and through the poster plastered windows she caught a glimpse of some balloons bobbing together in a jumble.
"I'll make it up to you! Wait here, I'll be right back!" She grinned at the little girl, who regarded her with large round eyes. Frisk hopped up and, checking quickly that the street was clear, crossed over into the tiny store.
Pushing open the door to the shop, Frisk was hit with the smell of cigarette smoke and mothballs, not a pleasant combination. Her nose wrinkled as she entered, moving past a few lines of junk food and candy and over to the tied-up balloons. To her dismay, there didn't seem to be a blue heart to replace the one she had let float away. There was, however, a vivid red heart shaped one instead. 'Hope blue wasn't her favorite color,' Frisk thought as she untangled the string from the mass of cords.
Bringing her purchase over to the counter, the store clerk greeted Frisk with a quasi-toothless grin. The clerk was an older woman, bent by age but with shining eyes that peeked out from under the folds of her wrinkles.
"Just that today dearie?" she croaked, pointing a gnarled hand at the balloon. Frisk nodded, offering a smile. "Yup, this'll do it," she replied.
"Two dollars, then." The woman said, holding out her hand palm up. Frisk dug around in her bag, pulling out her wallet and subsequently, two crinkled bills.
"Here ya go!" She placed them into the woman's' claw and was pulling her hand back when suddenly the lady seized onto her wrist in a tight grip.
"Hey—" Frisk started, shocked at the sudden connection. She tried to yank her hand back but the woman's vice like hold just tightened on her, yellowed fingers poking into the thin skin on her wrist. Her mouth opened in a wide leer, the teeth that remained were browning and cracked.
"Seems that you have a lot of determination, little one." The hag chortled, her eyes raking over Frisk's face.
"Let go of me!" Frisk snapped, struggling to yank her arm back. The woman was staring at her in such a disconcerting manner, and her breathing had become heavy and labored.
"But…with all that determination….what good will it do you if you don't even remember who you are?" The woman's voice seemed to have gotten deeper, and her raspy words caused Frisk to feel a foreboding sense of panic.
"I said, let me GO!" Frisk shouted, this time using all her force to rip her wrist from the woman's clutch. The woman was laughing now, an uncanny noise that sent shivers down Frisk's spine. She rushed to the door, pushing it open with a shove and stepping out onto the street. She was shaking, she realized, and looking down at her wrist she saw a bruise beginning to form.
'WHAT in the world was that about?'she thought, her nerves wired. 'Just some crazy woman, you happened to be there at the right time for her to share her crazy with a stranger,' the rational voice in her mind said. 'All that about determination, though. What does that even mean? ' Frisk shook her head, closing her eyes briefly before she very suddenly remembered the little girl.
'Crap! I hope she didn't leave!' Frisk ran across the street, thankful that despite the bizarre experience she just had, she hadn't forgotten the red balloon. To her relief, the little girl was still there, still fidgeting with her backpack.
"So, they didn't have a blue one, but I hope this red one will be just as good!" Frisk tried to sound cheerful, but her voice wavered a bit. The little girl didn't seem to notice though, because as soon as she saw the floating heart her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands in glee.
"Ahh it's so pretty! Thank you, miss!" She was reaching for the balloon, but Frisk had an idea.
She crouched down again and said, "Hang on, give me your hand. This way you won't have your heart fly away."
Taking the girl's tiny hand, she carefully tied the string around her finger, mindful to not tie it too tight. In response, the little girl laughed happily, waving her arm around while the balloon trailed a few seconds behind. There was a honk, and Frisk looked up to see the school bus waiting a few feet ahead of them.
"Thanks again!" The little girl called out as she skipped to the bus, waving the balloon as she went.
Watching the bus pull away, Frisk smiled to herself. Her smile swiftly faded, however, as her mind went back to the weird store clerk she had just encountered. Looking across the street at the shop, she rubbed her sore wrist and nervously chewed her lip.