Snow tilted her head upwards to an angle and felt her silver locks tumbling over her back even further. The large apartment towered above her small physique, casting a shadow behind her. The tower was old, almost antique with moss and vines growing around the building. ”Is this the place?” she questioned to none other than herself and glanced down at the paper held between her fingers. The brittle sheet of paper contained information to the location of her client – drawn in a rough sketch. It was a tough place to search for since all the buildings were similar to each other, albeit there were numbers written on the walls to distinguish each apartment building.

Approaching towards the entrance, the youth curiously glanced around the vicinity. With just one look, she could tell that the place was cheap and it appeared that the buildings were not even maintained properly. Gorses of bushes, trees and wild flowers grew beside the building and the plants seeped through the gaps of the walls, creating larger cracks among them. The scent of damp soil and mud wafted into her nose and Snow didn’t like it, from the sour look on her face. The blue haired girl entered the building and was immediately greeted by the friendly receptionists sitting at the counter. Despite how horrible the exterior of the building was, the interior was lovely on the contrary; nicely painted walls and clean curtains and mopped white tiles.

”May I know if you could direct me to this room number?” she enquired, her finger pointing at the words written on the piece of paper.
”Turn left and it’s just right in the corner, ma’am.” Her eyes drifted towards the direction of her finger, which led to an empty hall aligned with oaken doors. The numbers that were carved on the doors increased as she walked down the hall until she finally came to a halt in front of a particular door. ”Number 24”, she read before rapping on the door gently with her knuckles. The door eased opened, within a couple of seconds and Snow was greeted by a rather young man who was likely to be in his late thirties. Tousled hair and sunglasses, the person appeared rather strange to her. She could tell that the person had been out drinking the previous night since the scent of alcohol reeked from his body.

”Ugh...Are you the one that I called for?” His words were lazy and slurred, almost forced as he idly leaned against the door.
”Uh, yes. Granny-sitting?” She blinked owlishly, wondering if she had knocked on the wrong room.  
”Come in, come in.” The man gestured her to enter the room before stumbling upon his own feet. ”I apologize...I’m having a bit of a hungover.” The youth nodded, ignoring how foolish he looked when he bumped over the objects in the room. The girl seated herself at a random spot on a large couch. In the meantime, the man was busy gathering the items messily scattered on the floor. ”Right, you know what to do. Take care of my mom. I have to leave now.” Without saying anything else, he slammed the door behind him and Snow was left staring at the door with no words to speak.  

While Snow was left stunned in her seat, an elderly woman walked out of her room, holding a ball of yarn and a tapestry needle. She seemed to be knitting a scarf although it was still in progress. ”Ah, you must be the one Mitya told me about.” The old woman was a bundle of joy, seeing how the corner of her eyes crinkled as she spoke and the genuine smile on her lips. Snow could not help but return a smile back, as infrequent as she does so. The lady approached towards the couch in an attempt to take a seat next to her but before she could do so Snow would rush by her side to assist her slow movements.

The old lady was a stranger to her, yet she felt comfortable around her as if she was her own grandmother. Snow had never met her grandparents before, for they passed away at an early age just like her parents although she had seen a couple of pictures of them. The two sat in silence while the elderly was busy knitting away the scarf. ”Is it for your son?” She asked, breaking the tranquillity and the old lady would smile without looking away from her work. ”Yes, sweetheart. I knitted some for my neighbours as well. A scarf might be useful even though it may be spring.” She commented.

Stormy hues glanced around the apartment curiously, taking in the sight before her. The apartment was small and cramped, albeit it was extremely cozy and it reminded of the place she used to live with her parents. The corners of the wallpapers had already begun to peel off the walls that were covered with mold. She liked how the family made good use of what little space they had inside the apartment. On her side was a fireplace that had been put out long ago that it had already started to collect dust. Photographs and statues were decorated on the mantelpiece above the hearth. ”That is the only family picture I have left.” Rynah began. ”Mitya was the only child in our family so everyone loved him dearly. But, he was always playful and mischievous. I assume he is still the same until now.” The smile still lingered on her lips as she reminisced her past.

”Come on, dear. Bake some cookies with me.” Rynah casted her knitting work aside and slowly got up from her seat. Snow would gently place her arms around Rynah’s body as they walked into the kitchen. The mage did not have any experience with baking, although with the assistance of the old lady, she was able to be of good help. Rynah would mould the dough at an incredible speed; a technique that even surprised Snow. She sprinkled some blue crystals into the dough as if it was her secret ingredient before placing them inside the oven.  

An hour passed and the two of them spent their quality time, sharing about their own stories from the past although it was mostly Rynah who did the talking. Somehow, Rynah seemed to have forgotten that the cookies were still in the oven as they chatted away. ”Should I get the cookies for you?” She reminded.
”Oh, yes! I completely forgot about it.” The woman exclaimed, chuckling at her own mischief. Snow gathered the hot cookies on an empty plate before bringing them out into the living room. ”Have one for yourself, darling.” She smiled down at her in a way of encouragement to do the tasting of the cookies.
With just a bite, she could feel a surge of energy flowing within her body and she would stare back at Rynah, confused, before she finally figured out that the crystals were likely to be the ones that was doing the job. Apart from it, the cookies were crisp and delicious since it was baked fresh out from the oven. Before she knew, the day had almost come to an end as Snow reflected upon the things she did for the day. She enjoyed staying alongside Rynah, taking care of her and the thought crossed her mind – family is a lovely blessing.