Stranger's wisdom

"People are like dumplings." Karaza said as the smoke rose to the sky from her pipe.

"I used to eat watermelon seeds on purpose when I was a kid." The surgeon blabbed.

"Psycho."

"Girl go have breakfast."

She stayed on the bench after his break ended, Somewhere between five at the morning breeze and discovering he turns a ghost in his off days her already thin filter drop.

Somewhat about the weak rays of light slightly brightening the color of the stone road was worth watching so she looked down when walking.

The training was over, no work at the apiary until further notice. The community warehouse had brainwashed Momo inside it.

She walked to the food waste management system, a quite day with familiar tasks. All familiar except the last interaction when she was heading out.

"Um, I was wondering if you're free for dinner today..." The man who she did porting duties with asked.

She looked behind her thinking he's asking someone else.

"Me?"

The man nodded yes, clearly nervous. She looked at the beautiful green eyes and tall muscular form, some melancholy washed over her.

"Sorry. I have feelings for someone. It's not going away. I don't want to waste your time."

Men and woman loved playing games in these affairs and moping when they get hurt at the end of it. She realized that, this was better from them both.

What she didn't account for in her response was the fact that the poor guy was as socially awkward as her and now they were looking at each other, trapped in an inescapable orbit of an awkward interaction.

"But...I could use some food, on me!"

Dinner here meant a strangely timed meal since restaurants closed at sunsets like everything else.

The stress of eating at a restaurant with someone passed quicker than she thought, she played it safe and ordered what another person ordered.

Lucky for her the guy wasn't as quite as her, he told her how he came here after his village was attacked and he almost got sold to slavery, getting separated from his family for years.

"And then the government worker snatched me from the fire hole, raised the hexagono weapon at them and they retrieved immediately."

"How did your family found you then."

The conversation continued past the desert though she just listened attentively. They talked and walked.

"What about you? How did you come here?"

"Nothing crazy, I came with injured leg and after the surgery they told me I can be a citizen."

"So where you're from?"

"Outside."

"Outside, you mean the wild? Holy does it actually exist?"

She looked at the intrigued face.

'Pre Henry era I would've got a crush on him in a heartbeat.' She mourned for a second before telling that the wild actually exists.

They parted ways as the day came to its end.

"So, um that was fun."

"Yeah...thank you."

They shook hands for some reason, she got the guts to ask.

"Why me though?"

"Ah..Well. When I saw you working you strike me as someone very earnest. I just thought I could build something with you."

"Build?"

"Yeah, I really want a family. Make up for my lost time, don't you want that too?"

That question unraveled an explored territory in her consciousness.

"I didn't figure that out yet."

She looked at the dimming sky as she walked alone. Thinking about that question.

'Lost time..I don't my clock was ever ticking.'

Nonetheless it was nice to hangout with a stranger.

"What's wrong with me?" She laid in the grassy ground of the park, looking at the night sky.

"Um.. Instant freeze response when interacting with more than one person. Overreliance on nicotine to regulate your mood." The surgeon floated back to her, holding two juice bottles from the vending machine for a change.

"He was so fine, and I felt nothing- woah!" She grabbed his leg as he floated a bit too high, but he didn't go down like usual, threatening both to float up.

"Let me try something, hold this." She gave him her miniature axe keychain.

"Woah!" His body became of flesh again, falling to the ground. She causally protected the back of his head with her hand.

"What?"

"Wishes influence each other sometimes."

"So that's your wish?" He fidgeted the axe between his fingers.

"How did you deal with this floating thing?"

"Eh, I just take a nap till my day off end." He sits back, rubbing the fall impact on his shoulder.

"Sad-" She paused, looking at him in disbelieve under the street light. Disheveled braid, white tank top and a lip piercing in the corner of his bottom lip.

"You're hot..."

"Why thank you~" He smirks at her.

"...I take that back. You're smoking hot."

She punched the poor ground with mad frustration.

"All this time! A hot dude was next to me and I didn't realize it?!"

"Romantic love is a bitch."

At that same day Antonio's sunglasses slipped down, looking in disbelieve at a restaurant window were a woman with lilac hair and orange dirndl was eating with a man.

'Oh Cherry blossom! You're finally moving on!' He almost shed a tear, little did he know.

He was alone under a new wig today. No agenda, just walking around thinking.

The Feronika info book and the receipt folder in his hand.

'Can't do much alone, and can't do much without the right helper.' He contemplated.

Remembering the cute munching face of the wild creature in a suit he realized something.

'In all those years I don't think I saw Cherry eat more than couple times. It make sense when you think about it, she was away for missions months at a time.'

'Maybe we were not as close as I would like to think.'

'And now she's gone I'm very limited in my trips to the wild.'

'Henry isn't to be trusted, nor that he can stand on his own in the wild.'

' Had my money on Roxanne, but she's too unpredictable.'

'And I can barely swing a sword for show.'

He walked up to a station but they were changing the hexagonal board that displayed the stations and lines. He noticed a government worker walking an elderly woman to the outside.

He watched the engineers work while government workers guided people. He sat down, enjoying a surprisingly rich ice cream from the vending machine. The station almost empty.

"I'm sorry sir, the installation will take time. The station is working still though, would you like me to guide you?" The government worker from earlier approached him.

He looked at her, small polite smile and a birth mark on her face.

"Thank you m'lady. I think I'll wait here."

"Are you lost sir?"

"Yeah, lost in my thoughts." That was a perk of this land, one can say an outlandish thing or two with little judgment.

" I see. Please tell me if you need any help!"

"I don't know, what would you do if you're at crossroad of decisions, m'lady?"

"Hmm, zoom out and assess the situation. Then choose the decision that obeys most protocols or violate the minimum of them." She told the perfect answer for a government employ.

"But It's not that clear most of the time. Sometimes I ask my mom for advise." She rubbed the back of her head with an embarrassed chuckle.

The pragmatic part of the advice scratched an itch in his brain, providing clarity

"Zoom out huh. Thank you for your wisdom, m'lady."

"Not sure if that's helpful but happy to help."

He gave her a last look. It was subtle but her mannerisms resembled certain somebody, polite smiles, swift movements. But he decided not to overthink it.

At the his balcony in the duke palace he looked at the dark horizon of the wild.

He looked at his wish scroll.

"I think I'm ready."