Vinegar is a solution

The white cockroaches became unbearable.

People in the shabby apartment building felt a shiver down their spines, a tinge of terror for a millisecond.

"My glorious king!" Roxy hailed more enthusiastically than usual.

After Ryu lashed his actual present for a fraction of a second, the floor cleared of the pesky cockroaches and they managed to continue their daily life.

The human woman wasn't that lucky though. The days were fine since she was out and about but the nights were terrible.

The lemons' fear grew with the number of cockroaches. She hung a wide shelf on the wall for them. It worked temporarily, but soon enough the lemons' appetite decreased, they didn't emote much, and their eyes were teary.

She felt a twist in her stomach.

'I can't even fix this simple problem...'

She took them off the shelf, turned them into a mini keychain, and barged to the apiary.

"Don't worry, after work I'll go to the wild. Must there be an artifact or something to fix this."She whispered to them the only solution her mind knew, she barged to find elixirs every time the duke's kids collapsed, and it worked after all.

Even if her own life wasn't so safe in that pursuit.

The plan didn't fall through. She got drafted and worked well through the night, at least she and the lemons got some quality sleep on the floor of the government warehouse.

The next day two hives in bad shape were delivered to the apiary, they were forgotten about on another property apparently.

She worked till night and slept in a corner of the apiary. If someone asked she prepared a simple lie of being too tired.

The two days away helped the lemons vastly, but something was buzzing in the back of her mind.

'I can't keep running like this. I have to find a solution.'

She didn't have work in the apiary, but they needed a volunteer in the warehouse.

Some injured newcomers started living on their own, but their slow recovery prevented them from maintaining their place. It wasn't uncommon, so she did her laundry duties per usual.

"Nothing wrong with asking for help, we are here for each other." Yasmin told the newcomer, a sentence she had heard often.

Natasha told it to lost newcomers.

The Vietnamese restaurant owner told it to whoever looked down on their luck.

Momo told it to his own subordinates.

But a flicker of doubt always ignited in Karaza whenever she heard it, even if it was for a millisecond.

Not doubting these people's genuineness, just doubting if that sentence will ever include her.

Before leaving, she went to throw the recycling in the hexagonal shaped dumpster. She notices a movement between the throwaways.

She was ready to be jumped by a raccoon, but the movements were much weaker. A snowman toy surfaced, she thought the broken toy was turned on, but she soon came to register that such movements were much more deliberate, with life behind them.

'It's a parasite.' She concluded after picking it up.

'Controlling a thing instead of a creature…' She raised an eyebrow.

"You people are too interesting."

Realizing the weakness in it she gave it some water. The lemons emoted and she put them near the snowman.

"Tell me what it eats if you can understand it."

She watched as the lemons emoted, after a while the snowman started moving its wooden arms, establishing a connection.

The nonverbal communication continued until the lemons emoted back to her.

"...Vinegar? That's its food?"

While looking absolutely flabbergasted, she picked the toy up and walked.

The night meant the closing of grocery stores, but some stayed open for necessary situations.

In another alleyway she was holding the bottle of vinegar to the snowman's mouth of dots.

'I have no idea what is happening in my life.' Her face was a portal to her thoughts.

The parasite looked replenished so she placed it on the ground.

"Well, good luck then."

The snowman seemed to understand human speech. It clung to her legs, shaking its head.

The lemons emoted, translating to her.

"What makes you think I can take it with me? I can't even protect you from stupid cockroaches." She whispered, not proud of the admission.

The snowman moved its arms, the lemons emoted again.

"It can help with that?"

They shook their heads. She didn't know if it was a yes or no till the lemons emoted it was a positive.

The human was confused, doubting, but something inside her wanted to believe.

"Well, please help me then."

At the apartment the roaches were covering the floor, she hugged the lemons, and they buried themselves in her embrace while she eyed the snowman, interest and doubt mixed in her expression.

The snowman stood in the middle of the flat, ordered its wish scroll to appear, and started moving it like a fan with its thin arms.

The roaches hated the contact with the scroll, pulling away from it.

The afraid lemons glanced at the scene, the snowman shooing the roaches like flies.

They gathered some courage, levitating the scroll further than the snowman could. She summoned her scroll too, and the lemons did the job. She stood there with a stupid look on her face.

'It was this easy?' An hour later she looked at the empty ground and tried to lie on it.

The snowman looked nervously at her, afraid of being thrown again, she let out a soft smile.

"Thank you for your help. I didn't know the scroll was the answer."

She ate dinner, leftovers and some fresh cucumbers. The lemons chewed the charcoal, enjoying the first calm meal in days while the snowman sipped on some vinegar.

"Since you're white stay away from the charcoal corner, I'll bring y'all something to sleep on."

She chewed her food, thinking about helping and being there for each other.

She remembered how the surgeon sheltered her a couple days prior, no questions asked. Perhaps she is included.

'I should thank him next time I see him.'