comforting words

I hadn't seen Carol around since the incident in the alley with the thugs, and I wanted to talk to her and explain what happened. However, I was so preoccupied with school and hadn't gotten the chance to speak with her yet.

I still had the guts to continued working in the cafe after making the staged act

“I can't thank you enough for what you did for Radia yesterday," luca said.

I glanced away and replied, "It's no big deal."

"It is, dadia never fight back for herself and if you hadn't gotten involved, god knows what those bullies would have done to her." Daida.... I must have misheard radias name once again

“She’s like my sister, my best friend. Thank you for saving her Errol" Saying that, Luca smiled at me again. This time, I knew it was genuine.

I silently watched him leave the café and just wave him goodbye

“I need more caffeine” I was so tired and sleepy that I sat down on the floor leaning my back against the counter table

“Luca just called me Errol... “

"I wonder who this real Errol was." I whispered to myself. "It's been weeks, but the real Errol hasn't shown up."

I was starting to feel the weight of my deception. How long I could keep it up just to keep this job that was supposed to be for a guy named Errol? Why hadn't the real Erroll shown up yet? Was he even planning on coming? And what would happen if he did?

What would have happened if Lesley didn't give me her umbrella during that rainy evening? Would I have still ended up at the cafe? Would I still have been offered the job if I told luca the truth the moment he mistook me as erol? The possibilities were endless...

"Things would have been very different," I whispered to myself. "If only I hadn't been there that night... everything would be different."

It was like a domino effect; if one small thing had changed, everything else would have followed. It was a frightening thought, but at the same time so interesting and alluring.

"I finally got Luca to notice me, but at what cost...." I mumbled, remembering how hard I had worked to impress Luca and keep my job.

But as I lost myself in my thoughts... I didn't realize that I had fallen asleep.

I was lost in thought, thinking about the past and the path that had led me here. I didn't notice that I was starting to doze off until I smelled a sweet scent like shampoo and vanilla.

“Hmmmm”

As the melody filled the room, I found myself feeling overwhelmed with nostalgia

"Canon in D?" I thought to myself. Her voice was like a mother humming a lullaby to her child, sweet and soothing, and I could feel myself being carried away in her song.

Before I knew it, I had rested my head on Lesley's lap. She was slowly running her fingers through my hair. I slowly opened my eyes, but I was too tired to make any move.

"errol?" she asked softly. "Are you okay?"

"I... I'm fine," I replied. "I was just”

"You seem very tired, enroll," she said, continuing to brush my hair. "You've been sleeping for an hour straight."

"I could hardly believe it when I saw you asleep on the floor," Lesley said. "And then I took the customers' order while you were asleep," Lesley continued. "I didn't want to wake you up, so I just let you rest .Good thing the counter area is carpeted. It's very comfy here"

"Lesley?" I asked, turning to look at her while still resting my head on her lap. "What if I don't really belong here in the cafe? And that I shouldn't be here in the first place?"

It was a strange, random thought that had come to mind. but I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong here. Like I was intruding on someone else's place.

"Don't worry," Lesley said with a smile. "You belong here just as much as anyone else. You have as much right to be here and work here as anyone."

"It was fate that led you to be here," Lesley whispered. She leaned closer to me, so close that I could feel her warmth and breath. "This is your home. You belong here, and you have nothing to worry about."

"But what if I'm just a fraud? A complete stranger?"

"The first time I ever saw you, it was a dark cloudy evening," Lesley started to recall. "I was at a convenience store looking for a bottle of shampoo when I saw an awkward cashier run away from the counter area just to block a kid who turns out to be stealing baby products."

I could vividly recall the scene in my mind. The cashier had managed to catch the kid before he could get away. He stood firm in front of the kid, blocking his escape. And the guy who I thought was the manager had ordered him not to let the kid go. But he stubbornly refused to comply and instead let the kid escape from his grip and lost his job for showing mercy on the child by letting him get away with the stolen baby products.

His boss was furious that he hadn't followed protocol and had let the kid off the hook. He didn't care that the cashier had been compassionate and caring. All he saw was a cashier who had failed to do his job properly.

It was a harsh punishment for a good deed, It was a thrilling scene, and it had definitely made an impression on me.”

"That was the day I met you, wasn't it?"

As the memory of that day and my meeting with Lesley flooded back, I was overcome with emotion.

"Lesley.... " I whispered

"It doesn't matter if you’re a stranger, you're such a wonderful person and I couldn't help but to admire you."

My eyes widened as I realized that I had never met anyone like Lesley before. She was so kind, thoughtful, and honest

“You can go home now Errol”

**

I suddenly remembered the flute that Radia broke because of the thugs, and I felt a sense of guilt overcome me I couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that haunted me. I needed to do something to make up for it, to right the wrong I had caused.

I was riding my bike and stopped by an antique shop. When I noticed a wooden music box displayed at the glass wall at the store, It was a beautiful box, with a smooth, polished finish and carved with intricate patterns.

"What could be inside that music box?" I wondered to myself. Felt the urge to go inside and take a closer look, to imagine what the music might sound like.

The antique shop was filled with vintage belongings that appeared to be from several different decades. As I walked around, I saw a variety of objects, from furniture to artwork to decorative items. But the music box was the most intriguing to me.

An old man walked towards me and asked what I was looking for. "Can I have the wooden music box?" I asked politely

"Ah, the wooden music box," he whispered, as if he walked towards the box and opened it with care, revealing the beautiful music box beneath the glass display.

I followed the old man as he went towards the wooden music box. My heart skipped a beat as he opened the lid slowly and released the soft, melodious music within. I was stunned.

"Cannon in D?" I said, surprised. This was the same music Lesley sang for me

I couldn't believe it. I felt like fate had brought me here that day, and I knew that I had to take the music box home. "Unfortunately, this wooden box isn't for sale. The materials used to create it are precious and it has a very high note movement, which takes much longer to craft and create''

''you cant have this box my boy'' "