Chapter Three:
Rose Says:
That Devil had
an effect on me. He was just a boy. I would probably never see him again. So,
why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? Instinct warned me to run away. My
parents told me to stay away from his kind. But, I wanted to learn more about
him. Looking back now, he’s probably the reason I saw the truth.
The next day, I
went to work like I normally did. I hadn’t thought much about what I would do if
I ran into that Devil again. I didn’t see him again yesterday. I hadn’t expected
to either. We had just opened for the day when I saw him approaching us. My
heart jumped in my chest.
“It’s you,” I
said. He raised his eyebrow at me.
“Yes?” he asked.
I shifted my eyes away from him.
“Uh… well… uh…”
I said. I didn’t even plan on what I was going to say to him if I ever ran into
me him again. I blinked and rubbed my eyes.
“Something
wrong?” he asked. I shook my head.
“No,” I said. I
moved aside and walked by me. I could’ve sworn he whispered something beside me.
When I turned my head, he had disappeared. Did I imagine him there? I turned
walked into the bakery.
Sure enough, the
Devil sat on the bench near the door. He whistled loud enough to make me jump.
He sat like a proud kind, smirking at me. I folded my arms across my chest.
“Okay, what do
you want with me?” I asked. He shrugged his shoulders. I breathed to stay calm.
“Look,” I said.
“I don’t know what you are playing at, but I don’t like it.” He pushed back his
black hair.
“I’m not playing
a game,” he said.
“Excuse me?” I
asked. “Then… what are you doing?”
“Wouldn’t like
to know?” he asked. I didn’t know whether to slap him or scream. I breathed
harder as I rocked on my feet.
“Look, are you
going to buy something?” I asked.
“Nah,” he said.
“Then can you
please leave?” I asked. “This is a bakery. You shop here. If you are not doing
that, you can’t linger around here. So could you please get out of here?” This
Devil put up his hands.
“Fine,” he said.
He got up and walked past me again. For a second time, I froze and turned
around. This time, I heard him just as clear.
“I will be
seeing you again,” he said. By the time I turned around, the glass door had
swung closed, making the bell ring above. A chill ran down my spine. My mind
went blank.
“Rose?” I heard.
I whipped around to see my grandma walking from the back office. I cleared my
throat and pressed my lips together.
“Yes?” I asked
in a squeak. She raised an eyebrow.
“Who were you
talking to?” Grandma asked.
“A customer that
came here yesterday,” I said, pointing to the door. “He just left.” Grandma
pushed up her glasses.
“Did he want
anything?” she asked. I shook my head.
“No,” I said.
“He just showed up for no reason and told him leave.”
“Is that right?”
Grandma asked.
“Yes,” I said,
bowing my head. When I glanced up, I caught a cold look in her eyes. Something
about her facial expression made me shiver.
“Grandma?” I
asked.
“It would be in
your best interest to not associate yourself with that boy,” she said in a
growl. I stared at her, wide-eyed.
“Grandma…” I
said.
“That boy will
lead to your ruin and tarnish this village!” she said. “Stay away from or you
will be shunned.” I didn’t know how to response. I had my mouth opened, but I
doubt that any words came out. Suddenly, Grandma smiled.
“That’s all I
wanted to say,” she said. She clapped her hands. “Come on, let’s get going.
Today’s going to the be a busy day. The festival is coming up this weekend, you
know?” I slowly nodded.
“Yes… Right…” I said. I followed her around to the back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Grandma look so angry before. I didn’t like it.