Chapter Two

As Zeke went over to Leonard, the man clad in business suit was too busy with his laptop to notice the woman who was the reason why he travelled to an unknown town called: “Haven”.

“Mr. Storm? I just called my friend; they’ll be here in a bit,” Zeke said politely.

The man slightly nodded his head. "Just call me Leo." Then, proceeded with the files he was checking on his laptop.

Zeke left Leo with a grumpy mood.

On the other hand, Amelia and the twins are in the kids play pen and study area, waiting for Zeke to serve some snacks.

“Ames, the Maruyama siblings will be here in a bit. The man would most likely to stay here,” Zeke whispered. “What does he want anyway?”

Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “I have an idea but I don’t want to think about it.”

Zeke gave the woman a knowing look. “I’ll always be with you, Ames. Always.”

“I know.”

Zeke then, proceeded to the counter to fix some snacks for the twins.

“Here’s some very berry cookies baked by Little Chef Luke and some milk,” Zeke said serving the snacks like a five-star restaurant waiter.

The boys giggled. “Wow! There’s an ‘L’ in my cookies! And it’s made with blueberries!” Levi exclaimed.

“Of course! Uncle Hide taught us how to write in yesterday,” said Luke.

Levi hugged Luke. “Thank you. I got you potato chips!” said Levi excitedly. Luke’s eyes sparkled because potato chips were one of his favorites. “We have to eat veggies, though,” Levi added.

“I don’t care. I’ll eat all veggies in the world for my potato chips!” said Luke, excitedly.

Amelia and Zeke can’t help but laugh at the scene.

The café door chimed and the two Asian siblings enter. Levi was the first one to recognize the visitors.

“Uncle Hide! Aunt Yuki!” shouted Levi, running towards the siblings with Luke following his twin.

The twins were very close with the Maruyama siblings since Hideo or Hide, as the twins likes to call him, gave them a portrait of themselves for their third birthday and Yuki because she always gives them cute matching costumes that the twins love dressing up into.

“Levi!” said Hide.

“Luke!” said Yuki.

The siblings shared hugs and kisses with the twins. Zeke cleared his throat.

“Hey, business first,” Zeke said.

Hide and Yuki let go of the twins and greeted Amelia. “Hey, Amy!” greeted Yuki, who was carrying a huge paper bag in her hands. “I got some new matching dinosaur onesies for the twins,” she added.

“Thank you, Yuki. I’ll make sure to have a photoshoot of the two and send it to you for your portfolio.”

Yuki beamed. “I appreciate that so much.”

Meanwhile, Hide and Zeke went over the table occupied by Leo.

“Mr. Storm, this is Hideo, my friend who owns the cabins around the area.”

“Good day, Mr. Storm. Heard that you’ll be staying in our town. Are you waiting for the Midsummer Festival?”

Leo shook Hide’s hands and re-introduced himself.

“How many days are you going to stay here? The Midsummer Festival will happen in eight days. Most visitors will be here in five days,” said Hide.

Leonard pulled up his calendar from his phone. “I’ll stay for two weeks.”

“Great! I have here the contract with the rules and regulations,” Hide said, pulling up a black folder with the contract from his bag. “You said you wanted to stay near this café? Cabin #4 is just a few steps away from here. But, there’s stricter rules for that place.”

“I have no problems following rules. It’s fine,” Leo assured the young landlord.

“Alright, the cabin is up that hill on your back,” Hide said, pointing at the direction. “There’s a wooden stair that you can climb to reach it. I will lead you the way if you’re ready to go.”

Leo shut his laptop and replaced it the bag he was carrying when he got there. “If it’s not much of a trouble, I’d like to go there now.”

Leo stood and went to Amelia. He cleared his throat. “Ms. Hawke,” he said, getting the attention of the women and the twins. “I’ll be lodging here for the next days.”

The twins wondered about the strange man. “Who are you, mister?” Levi asked bravely.

Leo stooped low on the level of the twins and smiled at them. “I am your Uncle Leo,” he said. “What are your names?”

“Levi, his name starts with ‘L’ too!” Luke exclaimed.

Amelia was taken aback by the behavior of the twins towards the stranger. “Uncle, my name is Levi and this is my twin, Luke. Did you come from far away?”

Leo was about to answer but Amelia interrupted the conversation. “Levi, Luke, I think Uncle wants to get some rest now.”

“Will you visit again, Uncle?” Luke asked, hiding his face using his stuffed toy.

Leo smiled and ruffled the twins’ hair. “Of course, I’ll see you again.”

"Uncle, have a cookie! It has an 'L' on it like our names!" Levi said excitedly.

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Writer's Note:

Hi, darlings! This is it for chapter two. For the next chapter, I will be shifting in first person point of view style (Amelia's POV) so that we can see how the story unfolds in her mind. Also, please do comment on the things I have to improve in the story.

To avoid confusions, Hideo's name is pronounced as 'hee-de-yo' but his nickname: Hide is pronounced as the hide in hide and seek.

The Maruyama siblings are Japanese but they settled went to Haven for a certain reason. Their story along with other characters will unfold as we go on in the novel.

Thanks for reading!

Hugs and kisses,

mchlabsinthe

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