Solo The Mysterious Letter - part I Finished

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Harumi's Teashop
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Meyra looked at her reflection on the mirror that decorated the wall behind the counter while putting on her white apron and tied its straps behind her back. Only a year had passed but still...sometimes, it felt like she was already living in another life. As if someone had stolen her and now she was living a life on the other side of that mirror. Because her reflection kept showing that familiar face but the light hazel eyes that looked back at her were foreign, the soul behind them was speaking differently from what it used to speak. Sometimes, she could only see the wolf, that creature of horrors and nightmares that now lived lurking behind the green and amber.

"Mey?" Came her mother's voice. It came from a place so close to her that it startled her, her heart skipped a beat as her focus was suddenly pulled back to reality. "What are you doing? I already called you a handful of times!" Harumi said in a slightly irritated tone of voice. But as soon as they looked at each other, her dark chocolate eyes melted into a warm and compassionate expression as she read her daughter's thoughts written in the small smile Meyra now gave her, a smile that didn't spread with the usual brightness of joy.

Meyra saw the hesitation on her mother, and didn't waited for the words that, for sure, would soon follow. It was worse when she had to deal with the guilt and sadness that her mother showed whenever she remembered that night and all it at brought to their lives. "Sorry mom." She said, as she picked the small notebook from the counter, "I got distracted." She excused herself as she walked past her mother and went to the nearest table to ask the friendly old lady sitting there for her order.

Meyra always liked helping her mother at the Teashop, it was a cozy place, with elegant and charming decor. She knew how much her mother loved her shop, what it meant to her after all she had been through. The walls were painted a soft light pink, the velveted seats and the counter had the same shade of colour. The round tables scattered through the space were dark green with golden details, green that could also be found in some of the plants that decorated the space, some hard book covers meant for the costumers to read while having their cups of tea, paintings and other pieces that mixed the green colours of nature with the colours of cherry blossom trees.

It was Saturday, the afternoon was disappearing over the horizon and after a busy day of serving iced tea and lemon tarts, now only a few customers were inside the establishment. They were having small talks, sharing smiles and gossips. Sometimes Meyra found herself being entertained by the rumours and caught in the weave of stories shared between them. Sometimes she writes about them in her diary when she hears something really funny or otherwise worth recording. She knew she couldn't do it, but every now and then she wished she could publish some of the things she heard. Maybe one day... maybe one day she will actually become a real journalist or a writer and all those stories can finally be shared! In a way at a least...

She was helping her mother place the right herbs in their respective labeled glass jars when the bell on the door rang signalling the entry of another customer. As soon as her eyes lifted from the task at her hands and looked toward the door, Meyra felt as if her heart had fallen at her feet, for a moment she was sure she had forgotten how to properly breathe. She noticed how her mother stiffened at her side, telling her that Harumi was possibly feeling the same. The man that was now crossing the threshold was the same man that had showed up at their garden's gate one year ago. The same man that brought the news of the impending attack that would forever mark and leave an irremovable stain in their family's history.

Meyra's surprise quickly changed into an unconscious rage, as if his presence suddenly had given her the right target for her most irrational and ugly feelings, someone to blame, someone that she could hate without hurting herself at the same time. She wasn't thinking about whether it was fair or not, she didn't want to think about all of this, she didn't want to weigh in, she just felt like a gate had been opened and she could throw out her most painful feelings through it. She hadn't noticed how tightly she held the glass jar in her hands until her mother's voice came in a soft tone as if she was too trying to keep herself under control, "Stay here." She told without looking at her daughter and walked towards the tall man with braided pale blonde hair. For a brief moment, Meyra's judging eyes locked with the green-grey ones from the mysterious man. His gaze was calm, as if he was observing her and her reaction and somehow understanding it all. And just like that, without saying a word, he made her feel ashamed of her thoughts, of the entire whirlwind of silent accusations she had thrown at him during the few seconds that his steps had brought him inside, towards the nearest widow next to the entrance door. Close enough for Meyra to see him, but far enough to provide some privacy to his conversation with Harumi. Mey was sure she shouldn't hear a word they shared, but even knowing that, she kept her focus on them as she pretended to continue finishing the task she started with her mother.

"Lewis...what are you doing here?" Her mother asked in a hushed tone while briefly glancing over her shoulder, towards Meyra, making sure her daughter kept occupied and not giving them her attention. Mey quickly diverted her gaze, her hands quickly getting busy filling a jar with valerian dry leaves. "Harumi, is always nice to see you." He told her in a way of greeting. Even his voice was calm and serene, such a contrast with Harumi's own temper. "Here," He started, then a pause was made while Mey heard the scratchy sound of something being pulled out of a pocket, "This...this is from..." Another pause, and Meyra could not resist her curiosity. Slowly, she looked up and found the man holding a letter which he held out toward her mother, "From him." He finished while giving Mey a brief look. She quickly looked away again, turning to begin placing the teapots on their rightful shelves, while out of the corner of her eye she kept watched their interaction through the mirror.

"Lewis, you know I don't wan--" Harumi started to sharply reply, but the man - Lewis - stopped her mid sentence. He spoke again in his quiet tone of voice, which somehow sounded more intense than the words fired with controlled indignation from Harumi. "I know and respect all that Harumi. But...no, I mean it!" He insisted, when her mother was preparing to cut his speech, "I understand it my friend, but he...he has the right to want to meet her."

"He has no right!!" Harumi bawled out, momentarily forgetting that there were still a few costumers inside her establishment. She looked around apologetically and slightly embarrassed of her impulsive response. "Here is not the right place for this conversation Lewis." She finally said in a lower tone of voice looking back at him. "I'm not here to argue with you." Lewis said. At this moment, the teapots were forgotten, the dried herbs were forgotten, the customers who called for Mey were being silently dismissed as the young girl stopped caring about pretending that she was doing something else instead of listening and observing the conversation between her mother and the stoic man carrying that mysterious letter. Who was the "he" they were talking about? Why did Lewis glanced at her when he mentioned him? Why was her mother so upset with it all?

"I'm here to make sure you received and read the letter." The man told her, his tone not leaving space for new arguments. Then Mey heard him sigh and saw his shoulders bend a little forward as if he also carried a weigh along side that piece of parchment now between Harumi's hands. "Give him a chance Harumi. He's not a bad man. He is just...he's just carrying his own demons, that's all." He turned around and gave the few small steps that led him towards the door. But before leaving, he once again looked past Harumi, to the girl that was now looking at him without pretences, and just silent questions in her young eyes. Mey thought seeing all the answers there, crossing that man's face and she got the feeling he was keep his silence against his own will. As he looked at her, she thought seeing the shadow of sorrow and...and something else she could not figure out. Lewis gave her a short nod in farewell and finally left the teashop, leaving behind a silent Harumi that stood looking down at the letter between her hands as if she had been hit by a freezing charm.

Meyra couldn't see her mother's face and when Harumi finally decided to put the letter inside her pocket and turn around, Meyra could have sworn she saw her mother's dark eyes shine on the verge of tears. But the moment passed so quickly that she doubted she had seen it right, specially as her mother finally spoke to her, her expression showing nothing but disapproval, "I think I taught you that listening to other people's conversations shows lack of a proper education?" She asked, but her tone was soft and weak compared to what Meyra was used to hearing from her mother's scoldings, as if whatever had happened had stripped Harumi of part of her spirit and strength, "Go back home Mey, your...father already arrived. I'll be back later." Her mother told her and left to attend her last costumers.

For a few minutes longer Meyra stood there, fidgeting with the fabric of her white apron, pondering between doing what her mother told her to do or start voicing all her questions. In the end, seeing her mother looking so tired and defeated, such an unusual vision of her mother...Meyra decided that it was enough for that day. Untying the knot from her apron, Mey hung it on the small hanger. But it was only her apron, the dried herbs and the tea pots that were arranged in their proper places inside that teashop, as Meyra brought home many other things that needed to find their rightful place.