In the End

“Mr. Blume!” Albert called out to Lucy’s father as he reached the stand.

The rest of the family was already gone, and there was only him in the hut. He was reaching up, about to close the window that stretched the width of the building.

“Ah, Albert!” He was pleased to see him again. “Give me a second, please. I’m almost done closing up.” Mr. Blume gave a tug at the top.

There was a big rattle, as a shutter rolled down, dividing Albert’s view from the inside of the compact room. Within a few moments, Mr. Blume stepped out from behind the shack and onto the street.

“I see business has been good,” commented Albert.

“Yes. Indeed it has. Didn’t expect that many people to buy during the early hours.” The tone in Mr. Blume’s voice seemed proud. “But, of course, it was probably nothing compared to your daily workload. Hahaha,” he roared with laughter and gave Albert a few hard pats on the back.

Albert smiled politely. “My workload is nothing much.”

His reply made Mr. Blume chuckle some more. Everyday, Mr. Blume saw the volume of the customers at Albert’s shop during the busy hours. “Now, now. There’s no need to be so modest about it. I see the amount of people you serve everyday. You are a one man army in that shop.”

“An army is useless if it only knows how to fight,” Albert whispered to himself. The remembrance of how much he worked only reminded him about one of the reasons why he pushed Lucy and Camie away.

“What was that?” Mr. Blume couldn’t quite overhear Albert’s muttering.

Flustered, as he was lost in grievance, Albert refocused on reality and his present conversation with Mr. Blume. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”

Mr. Blume wasn’t fooled. He had known Albert long enough to discern the glimpse of fallen sorrows on his face. “You look down. What was the reason you stopped by today?”

“Ah, um. Lucy. I was looking for Lucy,” Albert stuttered out.

“That girl? You missed her a half hour or so ago.” Mr. Blume let his gaze fall out onto the crowd. There was a moment of contemplation within both minds as Mr. Blume and Albert kept their thoughts to themselves. After choosing his words carefully, Mr. Blume finally spoke out to Albert. “Say, Albert. What is Lucy to you?”

His question wasn’t something that could be answered easily for Albert, especially because he still had yet to reconcile with Lucy. He took a while, about as long as Mr. Blume took to choose his words, to think.

Before, when he would be dragged along on adventures with Leo, she would always tag along. She helped make sure Leo wouldn’t be excessive in his escapades and looked after both of them to be sure they were fine. After all three of them took up jobs, there was less time between all of them. Although Leo somehow found the time to visit him regularly, he gradually lost contact with Lucy, even though she was across the street.

Then Camie stepped in. Lucy, who was now given a reason to visit, also became a part of his daily life. It felt better, having someone there, when compared to the times when he was busy working, or when he was alone at night. It was as if they were living under the same roof. He also wasn’t sure if he would be left again. Lucy would focus on Camie, and Camie indulged in that.

“She is a friend that is close enough to be considered family,” he finally said.

“Wow. Bold,” Mr. Blume remarked. “I don’t remember being the one that adopted you.”

Albert suddenly felt embarrassed by his answer. “I- It’s not like that, Mr. Blume,” he tried to explain. “It’s just like how it was back—”

“It was just a jest.” Mr. Blume interrupted. He tapped Albert’s head with a candy flower. “I saved one for you. It’s a bit early, but take this. We think of you as a part of our family as well. Happy birthday.”

Albert was stunned. “Th- Thanks.” He had forgotten. Tomorrow marked the day that he was brought into the shop. He gratefully accepted the candy flower.

“Lucy left with that doll,” continued Mr. Blume. “I don’t know where she went, but she’s probably trying to find a secluded place again. I don’t know what happened between you two, but it’s best for you to reconcile with her. That’s what families and friends do. They argue, but in the end, they mend their relationship and make their bond stronger.” Mr. Blume turned towards Albert. The wrinkles on his face folded, and his eyes twinkled. This was Mr. Blume’s smile.

Seeing Mr. Blume’s trust in him, Albert was once again motivated to find Lucy and fully mend things over with her. “I understand, Mr. Blume. That’s what I plan to do,” he responded.

Mr. Blume’s grin could not stretch any further. “Go on, soldier,” Mr. Blume joked, giving Albert a nudge in the back, as he took off into the crowded streets.

Everything around Albert turned warm after his conversation with Mr. Blume. The lamps and lights dotting the streets seemed to be winking at him. FIcus’s lecture allowed him to set his direction straight. Mr. Blume’s advice gave him confidence to hold firm with his choice. Albert felt ready to face Lucy. He was the one who told her to leave, so he must be the one to tell her it was fine for her to come back.

Albert weaved his way through the crowd, sometimes bumping into other’s shoulders in his rush. Wherever he was, it was the wrong place to be. There were too many people. According to Mr. Blume, Lucy should be in a place with less people. Though Mr. Blume probably didn’t know why, Albert suspects that Lucy would head towards such a place for Camie’s sake.

Gradually, Albert slowed his steps until he came to a stand. He racked his brain for the best place for Camie. It was hard to think. People around him were talking to each other and calling out to someone in the crowd. Left and right, the staff in the stalls would speak out to the crowd, trying to entice them to buy one of the items on the shelves. Bells tinkled as orders from stalls selling food were ready to be picked up.

At the corner of the street, Albert noticed an empty bench. Maybe it was time for him to rest a little bit. Taking that moment to sit down, Albert stared at the flower that he had held onto since Mr. Blume gave it to him. From the colored glass petals to the fibrous stem, it was apparent that Mr. Blume made an effort to create this one. Rather than using molds, which were practical for mass production in order to sell at the festival, this one was crafted by hand, piece by piece.

Feet shuffled by from the top of his line of sight as Albert continued admiring the work of art before him, thankful that he wasn’t forgotten by Mr. Blume and his family. Suddenly, he felt a prodding at his side. It was Ficus’s bird, nudging him. The audacity of this bird always irritated Albert, but her message was clear: get up and search. He reluctantly rose from his seat, waving his hand at the bird as he did so in an attempt to shoo her away. Unbothered, she stayed there on the bench, motionless, until Albert fully stood up. Considering her job done, it let out a trill as if mocking Albert and flapped off to the sky.

Albert walked back into the boisterous crowd, wandering aimlessly in an attempt to locate Lucy through sheer luck. Everyone was colorful. Bright clothes were everywhere, creating a mosaic of vivid colors. There was no way for Albert to find Lucy in this crowd. That is, if she was even in this crowd in the first place.

Suddenly, everything dulled. Albert looked around. Everything turned into a shade of light pastel and blurred out of his vision. Everything except for one person. She was carrying a doll in her arms.

“Lucy?” Her steps faltered when he called out. “Lucy!” Albert called out again. It has to be her. Albert rushed to the lady’s side as she turned to look at the person behind the voice.

“Albert?” Lucy was surprised at the sudden encounter. “I was looking for you!”

“I was too,” Albert replied through pants.

Lucy scanned Albert’s body and noticed her family’s candy flower in his hand. “I see…” said Lucy. “But didn’t you say we shouldn’t see each other again? Why were you looking for me?”

Albert had no time to hesitate. He required none as well, for he had rehearsed the lines and points he should say as he searched for her. “I thought about it, Lucy. And, it was my fault. So I thought I should at least apologize first.” Albert paused as he realized on the spot that he may have been presumptuous for thinking that everything would be fine from a simple apology. “You can hate me all you want. You have every right to.” He took a breath before admitting his fault. ”Truth is, I guess in the end, I was venting out my frustrations and worries on you.”

Lucy walked towards him. Her steps echoed off the streets as if they were empty. Before Albert realized it, Lucy was hugging him in a tight embrace with Camie in the middle.

“I would never hate you. No matter how petty you may be,” Lucy said, trying to hold back her tears.

Albert didn’t know how to move, but his hands slowly decided to rest around her. The two stayed in that position for a while. People passed by, but they didn’t notice. They appeared to have unconsciously walked around the pair.

Camie noticed their ignorance as well as the dulling of the surroundings. Recognizing Ficus’s hand in this occurrence, she determined that no one would pay attention to her and spoke out.

“Albert,” squeaked Camie. As grabbing hands reached for him and tugged at his shirt.

Surprised at her sudden movement, Albert and Lucy questioned in chorus, “Camie?”.

“Why are you moving right now? It’s dangerous,” asked Lucy

Camie turned to face her, fists still holding onto Albert. “It’s fine. Ficus helped again.”

“Oh.” Lucy, realizing her shameful act in public, made quick glances around her. No one stared at her. No one noticed. “You’re right.”

Albert was confused. “So you met Ficus?”

“Yes, just a little while before we met you,” Lucy replied, appearing very pleased with her encounter.

“Huh.” Albert wrinkled his nose. Ficus was so mysterious, but even if she had a hand in everything he and Lucy did, she acted for their benefit.

“That doesn’t matter right now, does it?” Lucy said in reaction to Albert’s face at the topic of the mystic lady. “Want to enjoy the last hour of the day?”

The festival was still alive, even if it was turned into a pastel color. “Sounds great,” replied Albert.

Lucy laughed and grabbed his hand. Hand in hand, they walked through the streets with Lucy in the lead, one arm holding Camie and the other pulling Albert. The streets were once again lively in Albert’s eyes. Vivid. Joyful. Happy. All because Lucy and Camie were there with him.

“I smelled something savory on my way here,” noted Lucy to Albert. “I think it’s the butcher down our street selling sausages. Let’s go there.”

“What about the bakery’s cookies? I heard that they’re pretty popular this year.”

Lucy smiled at Albert. “I have a bag right here,” she said as she finally let go of his hand. She patted her purse.

“Sausages it is, then.”

As they headed towards the center of the city, where the butcher’s stand was, the street turned into an avenue, widening enough for another line of stalls to be set up in the middle. Finding the stall was no problem. It was the only one that was round and colored like a circus tent. Steam and apple chip flavoured smoke billowed out from the shack, drawing in a crowd.

Lucy led Albert under the presence of a tree.“I’ll buy the sausages. You can stand here and watch over Camie.” she ordered. “Let me do the work for once.”

“I’ll gladly take that offer.” He finally smiled back.

Lucy handed Camie over and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Albert and Camie alone. The brightly colored lights made sure that there would be no darkness around the two. Camie clung onto Albert, and refused to let go.

“Albert! Albert!” she called out repeatedly.

“What?” answered Albert.

“Hehe. Nothing.” She laughed off his confusion. “Albert’s still someone who’s harsh but caring.”

He couldn’t think of a reply to that. Instead, he let Camie continue snuggling up to him and turned his attention to the festival again. It was still pastel colored.

Sooner than he had expected, he sees the clear cut Lucy emerge from the crowd with a sausage in each hand. Following her were Leo, Mr. Percy, and, to Albert’s surprise, Ficus. It would have seemed like Lucy had met Leo and Mr. Percy by coincidence if it weren’t for Ficus appearing alongside them. They certainly did become patrons to the butcher’s shack though. Leo had eaten his share, as shown through the sauce at the side of his cheek. Ficus had a cup with one of their drinks.

“Albert! guess who I met!” announced Lucy upon her arrival.

“Me of course!” Leo didn’t wait for Albert to answer her question and threw an arm around him, swinging the man in a circle.

“It’s been a while, Leo,” Albert smiled, weakly albeit.

Leo was stunned. “The old Albert’s back!” he declared. “The one before taking over the shop.”

“How pleasant,” Mr. Percy chimed in. “Did something good happen to you, Albert? Change in work conditions?”

“You can say that,” replied Albert as he finished swinging from Leo. “Well. I still have a huge load on my shoulders when I get back to work. But it’s more bearable nowadays.”

“That’s good to hear.” Mr. Percy. He turned his attention to the doll in Albert’s arms, who had begun to show signs of dizziness from Leo’s wild gestures of friendship. “So is this really Dolly? Ms. Ficus?”

Now it was Albert, Lucy, and Camie’s turn to be stunned. “What does he mean?” They asked her in unison,

Mr. Percy chuckled and answered them for Ficus. “I’m an important enough figure to know about Ficus.”

Ficus smiled and said with bravado, “I’m considered the highest authority in this city.” She stepped up to Albert's ear. “Does it bother you, Albert?

Albert squirmed in her presence. “Well, in the end, you always help me. So it doesn’t matter to me,” he admitted.

Ficus winked. “You’re welcome.”

Albert’s uncomfortableness was interrupted by Leo’s attention to the soul in his arms. “Dad’s told me about you. So you are Camie,” Leo reached out for her, which made Albert deftly avoid him.

“Hey!” complained Leo.

Albert shook his head. “I’ll be honest with you. I think you’ll drop her.”

Leo protested, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I won’t—”

“Yes, you probably will.” interjected Lucy. “You’re such a child. Look,you even have sauce on your cheek. Come over here.” She grabbed Leo’s arm and produced a handkerchief from her handbag. Pulling Leo’s face towards her, Lucy began to wipe aggressively.

“Stop it! I was saving that for later!”

“Yeah right!” retorted Lucy. Leo continued to be at the mercy of her parenting.

At the sight of the three children together once more, Mr. Percy chuckled. “They still are energetic.”

“They resemble you,” observed Ficus. “You and your friends.”

Contemplating her words, Mr. Percy stroked his chin. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he replied. “However, it seems that Dolly has grown to take on some of your points as well.”

Ficus scoffed. “There’s no way,” she said as she took a sip from her cup. “How.”

Mr. Percy and Ficus watched the three take turns pampering and admiring Camie. With the constant attention that Camie had never experienced before, she quickly became exhausted. Climbing up to reach Albert’s ear, Camie complained to him. “I want to sleep,” she whispered.

“That particular action I suppose,” pointed out Mr. Percy. ”The lack of space between people.”

“I’m not childish like that,” Ficus said with an undignified huff.

“Back then, you were.” Mr. Percy gave Ficus a spry smile and the two of them laughed.

“Mr. Percy, Ficus,” Albert walked up to them.“I’ll have to go home early with Camie,” he informed the two.

“Mhmm,” Camie was already drifting off to sleep in his arms.

“That’s fine, Albert,” Mr. Percy replied. “Take care of the younger child first.”

Albert bid his farewell to them. “ Then, I’ll leave early.”

Lucy and Leo watch Albert leave with Camie. At that moment, the pastel veil above the festival lifted. Brighter colors once more seeped into the atmosphere. The harsh hues sharpened their minds in contrast to the lighter colors. Even with the magic gone, they could still identify where Albert was clearly. They watched his head turn small and into the crowd.

“So, what are you going to do with Albert?” Leo finally said as Albert disappeared.

The question was vague to Lucy. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“His day is tomorrow, right?”

Lucy fiddled with the strings of her purse. “Ah, yeah. If you have any plans, please let me in on them.”

From the center of the city, the clock rang out, notifying the crowds that it was late enough to consider leaving. As the people shuffled out, and the shacks began closing shop, Leo slipped a piece of paper into Lucy’s hand in preparation for tomorrow.