Preparation ✧ 5

“Hmm? Miss Rai? You became so quiet out of nowhere. Did you perhaps realize that you forgot something in Tarrin~?”

He gently poked fun at my dazed state. I quickly shook my head, and held up a hand to my head. “Ah, my apologies. I am probably just tired, the long road and all.”

It was a lie, albeit not a completely false one. Switching bodies had made me realize just how much fatigue and discomfort Mimi had been enduring.

Roan pouted like a guilty child and gestured towards the nearest sofa. “Right, I shouldn't have held you up with a conversation. Please rest up, Miss Rai, and Miss Mimi as well. I will catch you two later! I should wrap up my lunch and start working too…”

“That piece of bread was his lunch?”

I approached the cream colored sofa, and lowered myself on it like a tired sea fish. The regret of my sleepless night prior hit me like a truck.

“I mean, I also kinda only had a piece of bread for lunch, since it was a sandwich…? Do you want to eat something, Rai?”

I mumbled that I wanted to rest up a bit. More than the physical tiredness, I especially needed a few moments to myself because of the emotional revelations of the day. Even though she was a mere stranger to me, and other people's lives shouldn't have been affecting me this much, the late director kept on haunting my thoughts. And the pain of the beautiful Rudi… I don't know… all of it affected me so much. Maybe more than it should.

Even though being an Aberrant caused some downsides in my life too, it was nothing to this degree… Why did things have to be like that? Why did Rudi have to suffer and dislike something so beautiful about himself… he hadn't mentioned much about whether people outcasted him or not, but that was probably a reality shared by all Aberrants, even for the ones with ‘hidden’ Divergence types like us.

Disliking yourself… for the very thing that made you beautiful… just like Nilsu.

My eyes snapped open at the thought of her. I scanned the room frantically for a sign of her, but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. That made sense, as I felt like if she were in the room I would have noticed it before.

“W-wait… what if she changed her mind after all and stayed in Balamur?”

“Slow down, don't run into such a harsh conclusion right away. A lot of people from the troupe are absent at the moment, maybe she is handling something at another place. Maybe she is just on another floor.”

Mimi’s words turned out to be true: I heard later on that the hot weather had made her feel unwell so she was resting in her room for the day. Apparently she still insisted that she wanted to work, so she was making outfit sketches even if she felt weakened from the heat.

Aww… my cute hardworking friend…

Fighting the urge to visit her, not wanting to disturb her in any way, I filled up the day with other activities. I had lunch with some other circus members, enjoying lively chatter. Afterwards, I helped with some errands and went shopping for some materials needed for the tent preparation. There were two weeks until our show, but Ivone told me that things would get hectic real soon, so it was best to handle as much shopping as we can while things were still tranquil.

Rudi had accompanied us as well, and he seemed concerned whether I would prefer to rest instead. As Mimi had noticed earlier, he had a very unique way of showing care. It was endearing. She was definitely not the only one who wanted to be friends with him! I reassured him that I was stronger than I looked, and if anything, some time outside would invigorate me.

He smiled and politely nodded. “Of course, if you say so. I wasn’t doubting your strength, though. Keep that in mind.”

I blinked with a confused smile. I hadn’t thought of such a thing at all…?

Noticing my expression, he explained that a lot of people tended to doubt his body strength and assumed him to be frail, so he would feel bad if he made me feel something similar. Awh… he was truly a considerate one.

I also found that he was actually easier to talk to compared to my first impression of him. I assumed that he would be this… sort of unreachable, god-like figure but actually, he was just a young man who happened to have a distant vibe.

“...and gorgeous visuals. Like on some other level type thing.”

Yeah, that too. Reader, please believe me that it’s serious if someone can get even Mimi to praise them!

After the day’s shopping was done with, what followed was dinner with everyone else. Nilsu was still absent, but one of the troupe members who went to drop off her share of the meal informed us that she was feeling much better, and would be able to join everyone else tomorrow.

“What a relief to hear…!”

“Mhm, that’s nice.”

I noticed that our dinner table had dishes from all sorts of cultures, which made my eyes sparkle brightly. It was only suitable for such a diverse crew to have such a colorful dinner table! Ivone told me that Rokuta was an amazing chef, and the meals from their country were made by them.

“Woah, really? I have to try them, in that case!”

I didn’t know the names of the dishes, but I realized that seafood was a staple in that particular cuisine. Their Section was near a large ocean, so it made sense…! I also had to mention that meals were definitely more tasty with a lovely crowd surrounding you. The atmosphere was warm and lively, everyone treated each other like a family member.

“Yeah, the bickering included.”

Indeed, some members acted like they were siblings, teasing each other and playfully arguing. Ivone and Roan were such a pair.

“All of this food and you will still fill your tummy with damned bread only…”

“Hey, it’s not only bread! I ate a little bit of everything.”

“Really? I only see butter and bread on your plate… being a picky eater gets old after 5 years of age, for your information…”

“I just eat too fast for you to see, trust!”

Ivone rolled her eyes and seemed to give up. Saying that it’d be more food for her, she turned to talk with others. I chuckled. I really liked it here…

Mimi could tell how excited I was already for tomorrow to come, so she firmly reminded me to unwind properly so I could get some muchly-needed sleep in. For that reason, after deciding on which room to stay in, I went out for an evening walk all alone. The weather was now a bit cooler, and the lively atmosphere of the capital city filled my being with a content mood. All the people, all the buildings, all the cars rushing around, all the little birds… I walked and walked, until the sunset painted the sky pink. As it gradually turned darker, street lamps lit up our path. Even though I wanted to keep on walking, I didn’t want to worry people. I decided to turn back at that point.

In the corner of my eye, something white flashed. I stood in place for a few moments, but then shrugged it off. Maybe it was the reflection of a car light, or perhaps a white stray cat jumping from a trash container. I rubbed my eyes. Indeed, I was tired…

“Whew, I guess that means you will sleep well. Right. Right?”

“Yes, Mimi… I promise… I am truly tired now. Oh, and I won’t chat with our roommates.”

Too much, that is…

“...I can hear your thoughts, you know.”