Mei stepped out of her house, stretching a bit before straightening her outfit. She had picked up a job and that was to granny-sit someone’s mother and that someone was the owner of one of the bars of Orchidia. Mei knew as she had been there with some of her friends, even though it was sort of against her will. She enjoyed the night and the booze did its job to make sure that happened. It didn’t make her want to go again, though, since her parents didn’t like her going to bars and things like that.

“I’ll be back before dinnertime!” she shouted for her mom to hear, who was cooking in the kitchen. Their house wasn’t that big, so if you shouted from the entrance, someone in the tiny backyard could hear you. Her mom used the backyard to grow some fruits and vegetables so that she wouldn’t have to spend too much at the market. Her dad liked the idea, too, so he would help grow them as well, watering the plants regularly and making space for new ones. Their backyard was like a tiny vegetable farm now. Mei suggested to sell these vegetables to the neighbors once there are enough to, so they could do this as a side job, another source of income apart from dad’s job and Mei taking requests. So that was good. Mei also helped water the plants and stuff, just not as regularly as her mom or dad since she had her own schedule.

The streets were pretty much packed that day for some unknown reason, maybe because it was a holiday and people were out and about, but this many people? Mei felt like she was missing out on something. She didn’t mind, or paid attention to what they were all doing, and focused on finding Mitya and Rynah’s humble abode. It was still early so the sun wasn’t in its scorching mode, so she just walked instead of taking the bus. The address seemed familiar, but she couldn’t be too sure. It was in the type of neighborhood where the streets were so confusing to navigate through. When she got closer and closer to the given address, Mei asked the people she met on the way if she was going in the direction to make sure she didn’t get lost. She would probably have to do the same thing on her way back.

It was easier than Mei had expected. She reached the correct address and knocked on the front door as the front gate was open. A middle aged man opened the door, looking sleepy and tired. It was a familiar face, the bar owner. Thank God, she was thinking she had knocked on the wrong door since it took about three or four minutes for Mitya to finally show up at the door. “Hello!” she greeted enthusiastically while Mitya nodded lazily and gestured for her to come in. He seemed to know what she was here for.

As she entered the house, the first thing she did was look for the grandma, but she was nowhere to be found, so she waited for Mitya to close the door and lock it before he gestured for her to follow him further into the house. She nodded again and laced her hands behind her back, studying the bar owner’s house as she entered what seemed to be like a part of the house made just for a grandma. Rynah was sitting in her rocking chair, rocking back and forth slowly as she stared at the television screen. Mitya cleared his throat and started speaking in his lazy, dragged tone, introducing his mother to Mei and letting her know that Mei was here to take care of her for the day. Mei waved hello and smiled the whole time, waiting for Mitya to finish. Once the bar owner was done with introductions and decided it was time to leave for work, she dragged his feet out of the house, almost tripping over something on the way.

“Hello,” said Mei in a very soft voice, the voice she used to talk to elders. The grandma greeted her back enthusiastically, giving her her name again even though Mitya already introduced them to each other. Mei started by sitting at the sofa next to the rocking chair. She watched what Rynah was watching for about three minutes before turning to the old lady and observing her knitting. It was pretty cool, to be able to pay attention to two things at the same time. Although Rynah’s attention seemed to be on the TV, she was also knitting like a machine, not missing any of the loops. If Mei was in her place, she would have messed up like a hundred times already.

“You’re very good at knitting,” Mei complimented. She wasn’t that great of a conversationalist, so that was the best she could do, although this seemed to have grabbed Rynah’s attention.

“Yes, my child. Do you know what else I’m good at? Crossword puzzles! How about we solve one while you’re here?” was the response from Rynah who was more than excited to play with Mei. So of course, she didn’t refuse to play with Rynah. The crossword puzzle was actually harder than she thought. Mei wasn’t very interested in word games like that, so Rynah did most of the solving while Mei just said random things that weren’t really the answers.

When they finished with the crossword puzzle, Rynah headed to the kitchen telling Mei to follow her. The teenager followed without a word, wondering what the old lady was up to this time. But as soon as she got there, Rynah had already started baking. With eyes wide from shock, Mei just watched her spin around the kitchen, adding all the ingredients, as well as something blue crushed into the mixture. She was going so fast Mei had no idea how to help, so she simply waited for her to finish. It didn’t take long for the cookies to be ready. Rynah took them out of the oven and set it on the counter, collecting the cookies into a plate and offering it to Mei who ate almost all of the cookies. She was a big eater, after all. Rynah seemed to be very pleased by this, offering to make more but Mei said she was full already. She helped clean up the mess and went back to the TV place. Mitya only arrived in the evening, giving her the payment.