Village Life

As I walk cheerfully on the rough path, I kept on thinking about my friend's upcoming wedding.

The excitement I had buried earlier in the week suddenly rose to the fore. After all, I had an important role in the upcoming festivities.

I am going to make an amazing cake! It was the sort of thing my friends would never be able to forget. To top things off, a huge celebratory party would be held tonight, and the whole village was invited.

The light penetrated through the network of leaves that illuminated the entrance to the forest. And, with it, came the bustling sounds of the village. 

Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepared myself for the work that awaited me.  

"Good morning Anuja!" said the seamstress.

"Good morning, Madam Bush," I replied with a wave, whilst making my way past her.

We called her that because of her bushy clothes, or as she put it, the 'fluffy attire' that was known to wear.

They were too extravagant for everyday life, but no one could argue about her fashion sense, for it was the best in the entire village.

Next was the vendor.

"Hello Anuja, how is the preparation for the wedding going on?"

"It's going on fine, Mr. Peas. I was just heading to the bakery to prepare the wedding cake." And just as I said, I moved to the bakery, with a bounce in each step.

Then there was a man named after our local library.

"Hello Mr. Liberia, I was gonna visit you today after finishing my work. I think it's about time to return the book I took last week."

"Haha! Good morning, you bookworm! I must say you are indeed the most intelligent and unusual girl in this village of illiterates- er, I mean, metaphorically speaking..." 

And here was his perfunctory amendment, "Y-you know every improvement takes time and at least the people of this village are open-minded..."

He was always like this; careless with his commentary and quick to apologize. But I wasn't the type to get offended on behalf of others.

"So which book are you gonna give me to take home? Are there any new books available?" I asked, rather enthusiastically.

"I didn't mean to pour cold water on your hopes, but this week's shipment is late. But you can always read the old ones again."

"Hmmm, well, you are right. I did want to read the 'Three Female Musketeers' one more time."

"That's just what I expected you to say! Do you have any idea how many times you've read that particular book?"

"Hehe. I've only read it about... fifteen times."  

"Hmmm, sure... just fifteen times eh? Well, aren't you getting late for something?"

"Aah! I'm gonna be so late! Patty is gonna kill me. I will meet you after work, Mr. Liberia."

I brisked and sauntered towards the bakery, or rather, my death.

Ok, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.

As I reached the Gawen intersection, I could feel the anger radiating from Mrs. Bake from all the shouting that came from the bakery's direction.

I increased my pace and practically ran at full swing.

Perhaps, marching towards my death wasn't an exaggeration. I tried to calm myself to get ready to face her wrath. When I entered the shop, I greeted the girl behind the counter and then held my breath. Here comes Mrs. Grumpy Bake.

"Anuja, do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you?! You know we need to prepare the cake for tonight's wedding, bake the bread for the daytime ceremony, and prepare the sweets for the reception." Spittle followed her every word.

I knew it.

I'm dead and no one can save me today. After all, that big grumpy Bake had always hated me, because, in her mind, I didn't belong in this community.

She would definitely fire me today. I shouldn't have wasted my time gossiping around. But what she did next was totally unexpected.

After a long and calm sigh, she said, "What are you waiting for? Get to work! Or do you want to lose your job? Do you think the cake can prepare itself?!?"

I just couldn't believe my ears. The Mrs. Bake who never missed a chance to torture me, and was eager to look for a reason to toss me out on the streets, suddenly let me off so easily.

Well, whatever the reason was, I have to concentrate on my work. So I went to the kitchen and started to make preparations for baking.

But something wasn't right.

That's when I realized that I was the only one in the kitchen. I went to the storefront a moment later to inquire about it, but before I could ask, the answer came by itself.

"What?! Oh, are you here to ask about Katie and Sam? They're on leave, so you gotta hurry it up since we don't have much time."

Grumpy old Bake had spoken in a nonchalant manner and gave me a disdainful look, that was the signal that I should return to my work.

Now, I know why she didn't kick me out. She didn't have a choice. I was the only baker available in the shop today. I thanked the gods for, at least, keeping my job safe before I returned to my work station.

After four hours of heavy baking, I finished what I had to do and left for the Brown household.

I walked on the road with a spring in each of my steps, because being with Mrs. Brown was my favourite part of the day. She was a very lonely old lady. Her children were always busy with work.

Well, it's not like I mind, as I got to spend a lot of time having fun with her, gossiping about the people in the village. 

To be honest, everyone, except Mrs. Bake, actually treated me kindly. Which is not a big surprise.

I opened the door the moment I arrived, using the spare key I always kept on hand. I entered and went straight to the living room, where the sound of music was blasting out of the TV.

"Hi, granny Brownie," I said in a teasing tone.

She hated it when people called her granny or grandma. According to her, she was still young to be called that. But one thing that I know for sure was that she was as sweet as a chocolate brownie, so the nickname Brownie suited her perfectly.

Granny Brownie irritatingly said, "Heya kid, who are you calling granny huh?? Are you looking for a fight or what?!??" 

But despite her sharp words, I could see the mirth in her eyes.

I went to the kitchen, that was adjoined to the living room, while ignoring her death-stare. I immediately began preparing food.

Granny yelled at me while I worked, only a few meters away from her.

"So how was your day Anu??? Did that ugly old fart cause trouble for you again? If she did, I swear to god that I'm gonna teach her a good lesson!"

Well, she is very sweet, but sometimes, her tongue gets a little nasty.

"Don't worry, Brownie. She didn't cause any trouble. Actually, she wasn't that nasty today. She just threatened me once. And it’s not that I'm afraid of her but I just don't want to give her any more attention out of the little time I have. I prefer to use it to do my job perfectly. I don't want to stoop down to her level and be like her."

"Oh god!! You are just too kind. Even though you work so hard and you’re respectful towards her, she still continues to scold you and say such harsh words to you. You deserve much better than this and I know you will definitely get that. After all, look at you. Where can someone got to see such a beauty in their day to day life?"

"Oh no no no!!! Don't start again. I already told you that I'm not interested in getting married anytime soon. Not until I know what happened back then..."

"Darling, you do know that your parents loved you very much, more than you can imagine. They wouldn't want you to waste your life trying to find out about their so-called disappearance and have your love life suffer as a result. In fact, I think it's safe to say that your love life is practically non-existent, as of right now."

I was used to her pushy ways, and in some way, I like how she fretted about me every now and then.

"I know that they loved me very much. I also know they wouldn't want me to be wasted away like this. And I know that looking for them won't bring either of them back."

I took a deep breath and tried to stem the tide of tears.

I didn't want to give Brownie any cause of worries. I prefer to be a brave woman who can handle her problems perfectly without needing much help.

After calming myself, I returned to the conversation, "Anyway, the point is, even if they wanted me to move on, I just can't do it without getting the answers I wanted."

It looked like Brownie wanted to say something to me but she had decided to change the topic. Well, she knew how stubborn I could get if I wanted to be.

"So what are your plans for your dear friend Michael's, reception party? You are going to attend, aren't you???" There was a trace of suspicion in her tone.

"Don't worry. I'll leave the pub as soon as I'm done performing a few songs, then I'll concentrate on my best friend's reception party. I'm not going to work my butt off on such an important day of her life and end up missing it!"

I spoke rather innocently. Well, to be truthful, I was thinking of taking my time at the pub before making my way to the reception whenever I felt like it. But looks like granny won't let me do as I pleased, so I might as well change my plans.

"That's good. Don't forget to take a bouquet for her, OK?! And don't go to work tonight!"

"Y-yes!!! I will definitely take a big bouquet!"

But granny didn't look satisfied with it and stared daggers towards me.

"OK-OK! I won't work tonight."

"Fine, I'll take your word. Since it's Michael's reception, I hope that you wouldn't go back on your word and work all night."

After finishing my work, I looked outside only to see the sun settling down. The reception would start soon, so I might as well leave now. I said goodbye to Brownie and left for my friend's reception–and just as she had said–I acquired a bouquet of lilies and roses along the way.

They were her favorites, and also mine.

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