Weaver Residence
Harriden City
Since the Weavers moved to Harriden City, mornings at their new humble home had always been this way. Unwashed dishes from last night's dinner filled the sink—a small kid sitting at the dining table making her jam and toasted bread for their breakfast. A coughing mother holding a hose to water the plants. In this little house, with two small bedrooms, one common bathroom, a small kitchen, and a dining area the newspaper girl started to build their new life.
"Good morning, Mom!" Merry greeted her mother the moment she arrived at their house.
She tied her bike to the white picket fence before entering the gate.
"Good morning, sweety! How's your newspaper delivery service?" Mom asked.
"It was great, Mom." She lied, then smiled.
It was great. Thanks to that mad, rude, and arrogant man shouting at me in that white mansion. Note that it was a sarcastic notion.
After the newspaper deliveries, she will take a bath and head straight to Barista's Café. It was a small cozy coffee shop at the heart of the Harriden City, where she waited tables.
"Good morning, Sir. May I take your order?" Merry asked as she entertained one customer.
"One Americano. Two orders of pancakes in maple syrup."
"Okay. Nothing else?"
"Waiter, more coffee here." Another customer called.
"Coming!" Merry replied.
Most of Merry's workers, employers, and customers became her friends. Well, maybe. She wouldn't know if others were just pretending. Anyway, what matters most for her is that there were people who also considered she existed.
"Hey, Merry. Wanna hang out with me tonight?" Colt said, one of her co-workers.
"Sorry, Colt. Can't. I have another part-time job to attend." she gets her things from her locker.
"Come on, Merriana Faye Weaver. Since you moved here in the city you haven't been to a bar or somewhere. All you do is work. Aren't you sick of it?"
"I am sick of working too, you know. It's hard and tiring. But my family needs me. I am here to make a living, not to have fun. If I lose one job out of the ten part-time jobs I have, I can't pay this month's bills."
"Okay. Fine. I lost today, Ms. Breadwinner." He said, raising both of his hands in the air.
"Are you still making those bets with who can convince me to go bar hopping?"
"Yeah. And I won't give up. One of these days, you will go out with me and drink at the bar."
"You wish. Prepare to lose, then."
"Whatever you say, country girl." Colt headed towards the door. "Be safe on the roads, Merry. The streets of Harriden City were nothing like those on Camley, where anyone greets each other with "Hi, good morning" without snatching their bag or pointing a gun in their pretty face. Drive safely or should I say pedal safely?" Colt said, pointing his forefinger at Merry before leaving the back door of the shop, where she could see his black motorcycle.
Merry rolled her eyes. "I've been living here for a week now. Don't worry about me! I've adjusted." Merry shouted enough for him to hear.
Colt shrugged his shoulders. "Just saying. Bye. See you tomorrow."
Since it was a Thursday, she didn't have to work after her shift was done at the coffee shop. But not until three p.m., because she had to babysit. Now she had to go back home, eat her brunch, and take a nap. She swung her legs on her bicycle, wore her baby pink helmet, and pedaled with all her might. She reached their house feeling exhausted.
As she opened the main door of the house, everything turned black. She fell on the floor with a loud thud.
"－Erry. Merry, wake up. Merry, you have lost consciousness again. We should take you to the doctor." Emma said with a concerned look.
"No, Mom. It's okay. I'm fine. I just need a little rest." Merry assured her Mom again which never worked on Emma.
Emma shook her head at her daughter. "You always say that. You should take care of yourself more."
"Mom, I gotcha. But no need to worry. I'm fine." She said as she stood and walked towards her bed.
"Do you want to end up like me, London? Or worse than what happened to me? If your dad was here, he wouldn't let this happen." Mom nagged again.
"Mom, remember that the doctor warned you about being upset. It's bad for your health."
"I know, Merry. As a mother, I would get upset. I should stand as the head of this family, but here I am sick and looking like a rotten vegetable. You're just suffering because of me."
Merry sighed and embraced her mother. "Mom, I'm happy that we have each other. I have you and Lucy, right? Besides, I bet Dad is proud there in heaven that her little girls were not little anymore and became more independent."
"I wonder. Why does it have to be your dad?" Emma's voice broke as she remembered.
Merry grunted. "Oh, Mom. Here we go again." She pulled away to wipe her mother's tears.
"It was the other party's fault for driving while drunk. But why does it have to be your dad to pay for the price of his recklessness?" She sniffed.
"Mom, I know you miss Dad so much. But what happened that night in that car accident happened for a reason. There were just things in this cruel world that we can't control."
"Yeah, I guess so. How did you grow up like this?"
Merry shrugged and smiled. "I learned from the best. My parents were a man and a woman of wisdom, after all."
Emma chuckled. "Thanks, honey. I have to check your sister before she burns every slice of bread that we had." She leaned and kissed Merry's forehead before leaving.
"Okay, mom." Merry replied.
Merry sighed, then slammed her body on the soft bed. Her body felt so heavy that she wondered how she managed to carry it the whole time.
'At last, I could rest.' Her mind spoke.
Speaking of her little sister, Lucy rushed inside Merry's bedroom. Her small hands held a piece of white rectangular paper.
"Merry! Merry! There's a letter for you! There's a letter for you!"
"Ow! Lucy, what's with the rush?" Merry cried in pain, feeling her little sister's weight pushing her towards the bed.
"Look, you got a letter." Lucy said, showing the white envelope right in front of her eyes.
"Who would write a letter for me?"
"Maybe your admirer." She teased.
"Admirer? Where did you learn that word, huh? Huh, Little one? Come here." Merry snaked her arms on the little girl's small waist, then started to tickle her.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Stop it! Stop!"
'And who sends letters these days? How old? Ancient, even. We have mobile phones for calling and texting, telephone, social media, emails, and more.' Merry thought.
"Now, scram and go get me something to eat."
"Okay, Merry." She said as she ran to escape before Merry tickled her again.
'She's such an good kid.'
Merry inhaled the paper's scent. The letter had a smell of whiskey.
Someone wrote while drinking. Should I call this drunk writing? I will compliment his handwriting, though. Not bad for a drunkard. The curvy thin lines looked smoothly written in black ink. Anyway, what does it say?
For: Mary
"They got my name wrong. But the recipient's address was right." She said to herself as she read the words written on the envelope.
Dear, Love
If I can enter your dreams, I want to be your worst nightmare. I want to open your eyes to see my suffering.
Wait, what? Love? Since when did I have an admirer?
Merry shrugged her shoulders at that, then continued reading.
I want you to feel my pain.
I want you to know how much it hurts.
I want you to cry 'til you have no more tears to cry.
I want you to know my wrath.
But I can't stay mad at you.
Because my anger came out from love.
You are the one whom I cherish and treasure the most. Who's value is far from any jewels A beloved you cannot measure in numbers. The only person I could love, but now I have no one.
What is this? Trying to be poetic?
I will return this ring to you. You can sell it, throw it, give it away, or do anything you want. For me, no one else deserved this ring, but you. No one is for me, but you. I know you are in a relationship right now. So, please tell Jace not to show up in front of me. I don't know what I could do with that snake.
With all my heart,
Warren
Wow! This person was in total heartbreak. Do I get the feeling that this is for someone else and not for me? Warren. Hmm...Who is this guy? The name rings a bell, though. I think I've heard it somewhere. Where was it?
"Lucy? Where did you get this?"
"I found that at the doorstep this morning." Lucy replied in her little voice, pointing at the opened package.
"You opened the box?! Lucy, you shouldn't touch something that isn't yours. What if it's a bomb?! Or a snake or something!" Merry shouted and couldn't control her voice.
"Sorry, I didn't know that it was bad. I got curious." Lucy said as she looked down, fidgeting her small finger.
Merry couldn't stay mad when her sister felt sad. She kneeled in front of her and cupped her small chubby cheeks.
"Okay. Just don't do it again."
Lucy nodded at Merry then smiled. She skipped back to her seat at the table. Merry looked inside the brown box at the table and found a red jewelry box.
This might be an engagement ring! Is this a real diamond?!
Emma and her little sister, Lucy, stared at the red box with the engagement ring amazed. Like the box had some sort of magic that was cast on them. Emma and Lucy stared at each other.
"You're getting married?!" They both exclaimed.
Merry rolled her eyes at them. "No! Argh! Mom. Lucy. I don't even have a boyfriend. This letter and this wedding ring are not for me but for someone else." Merry said as she held the letter and the box in the air.
"I need to give this back." Merry said looking so serious, she slammed it on the table as she sank herself on a chair.
"Does it have a return address?" Emma asked.
Merry shook her head. "No. It doesn't."
"Then that's a dead letter, my dear."
"A dead letter?" Merry asked.
"Yeah, a dead letter. When a letter has no return address it's called a dead letter. Maybe the receiver was this house's previous owner. Do you still have the number of the guy from the real estate?" Emma asked.
Merry nodded. "Yeah, I do. I'll find a way to contact the previous owner. I had no time to deal with some dead letters. I'm tired." She said as she propped her foot on the table.
"Uhm. Merry, you're on the breakfast table." Her little sister warned.
"Oh, sorry. Where are my manners? What do you have for me today, little girl?" She said as she sat at the table with a princess posture.
Lucy placed the plate on the table in front of Merry.
"We have toasted bread and jam on the menu." Lucy announced.
More like Burned Bread and Jam. But I love my little sissy. I don't want to crush her dream to be the greatest chef. She made an effort. So, I just have to pretend that it tastes good.
Merry smiled at Lucy while she ate the burned bread. She washed down the bitter taste with milk, then smiled again. Lucy ate one too, and then her smiling face faded.
"Bleh! It's bitter! Why has no one told me anything about this?!" Lucy's high-pitched voice echoed around the house.
Merry and Emma exchange glances, and then a sudden burst of laughter comes out of their mouths.
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