Chapter 53

“Stories…? Hmm…” the woman pulled out a nearby chair and sat down. “Maybe I have a few.”

“Really, I wanna hear! I wanna hear!” Anya jeered before quickly recomposing herself. “Oh right, what would you like to order?”

Seeing how the child tried her best to act professional, the woman smiled and briefly squished Anya’s cheeks.

“What was that for?”

“No particular reason. So what’s on the menu?”

“Well,” the girl cleared her throat. “For this rotation, we have Mushroom and Jerky Stew with a side of Roasted Roaches.”

A moment of silence followed as the woman waited for Anya to continue.

“And…?”

“That’s it.”

“Just one thing…?”

Anya nodded.

“That’s not really a menu.”

“That’s what I said!” The child gave an exaggerated shrug.

“Well, I guess I’ll be having that then…”

“Got it.” the girl turned around and hastily ran to the kitchen. “Boone! We got an order!”

“Well, what is it?” The man shouted in response, already pouring the soup into a bowl.

“... What is it…? But we only serve one thing…”

“Tell me then, missy! You goin’ to practice for when we get more thangs on the menu!”

“Umm… it’s Mushroom and Jerky Stew with a side of Roasted Roaches…”

“Good, already have it ready. Bring it to the customer.” The man slid the two plates toward the girl, one containing the bowl of stew and the other an assortment of the crunchy roaches. “The soup ain’t cooled yet, so wear them mittens when you take’em.”

“We have mittens…?”

Sigh. Boone pointed at the same corner where Anya got her apron. “It’s right there, ain’t it? Same place where the apron was.”

“Oh, understood!” The child dash to retrieve the pair of mismatched mittens: One colored red, while the other was black. “Was… was this here before…?”

“Girl, why are you forgettin’ ev’rthan’?”

“Right… sorry!” the girl apologized. After sliding the mittens loosely onto her hands, she carefully wrapped her hands around the bowl of stew.

“Better not spill that, missy. You been actin’ weird, forgetin’ and fumblin’ like this your first time or somethan’!”

Anya suddenly paused as her head slowly turned to face the man. Her expressions changed to match her internal disorientation.

“What you lookin’ at? Somethan’ the matter?”

“...No… it’s just that…” Her gaze shifted to her hands, then to the stew. “Sorry… my head feels weird…”

“Your head feels weird…? Do you needa lie down or somethan’?”

The child shook her head, careful to not spill the soup she was holding.

“I think I’m fine…” She turned around slowly and exited the kitchen. There was a sense of cloudiness within her mind. Anya did not understand why, but whenever she attempted to think about particular things, a slight but noticeable headache plagued her. At the same time, her recollections were blurred, as if she saw her thoughts through a fogged window. Even the voices of her mind were slurred, she could barely make out what she was thinking.

“Anya, careful!”

“Huh?” Anya was once again set free from her trance, just inches away from bumping into a nearby table. “What was I…?” Then, she noticed the woman who stared at her with worry. “Oh right! The soup!” Anya hurriedly walked toward the woman, spilling some of the hot liquid in the process. Luckily, the mittens proved as an effective barrier in preventing her hands from being burnt.

“Here you go!” The girl said, placing the bowl on the table. “Be careful, it’s hot!”

“Anya… are you alright…?”

“What… what do you mean?” The child responded, tilting her head.

“You seem out of it, are you feeling alright…?”

“I do…?” Anya forced out a smile, as she did not want the woman to worry. “I’m feeling fine, maybe a little weird at times… Actually, maybe I got a cold or something.”

“Are you overworking yourself? If you need to, take a break!”

“But I just started working….” The pain returned. Anya pressed her palms against the sides of her head. "Wait… but I just started… huh…?”

“Anya...” the woman called out. “Why don’t you sit down for a bit.”

Having no reason to object, the girl pulled out a chair and sat down. The migraine vanished as quickly as it came.

“I think I really am getting sick…”

“Here,” the woman voiced, pushing the soup in front of the girl. “You need this more than I do.”

“But it’s yours.”

“I can always order another.”

“... is this…” Anya leaned in for a whisper. “is this coming out of my paycheck…?”

“Of course not, it’s my treat.”

“Phew!” Hearing this, Anya immediately grabbed the spoon and began to dig in. Unlike before, the soup was warm when it touched her lips, thus the girl did not have to blow on it. Her free hand reached into a nearby plate, where she retrieved a few roasted roaches before casually tossing them into her mouth.

“You must really like those things…” the woman commented.

“The roasted roaches? Do you want some?” The girl grabbed a handful and offered it to the woman. A few fell from her grip and onto the table, to which the woman glanced with distaste.

“No thanks, not really into anything involving roaches.”

“They’re not bad,” said Anya as she tossed another handful into her mouth. “They’re crunchy and nutritious! I think.”

“Right…” said the woman hesitantly. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

In between each mouthful of crunches, Anya occasionally choked and pounded on her chest to push the food down.

“When was the last time you ate?” the woman asked as she stared at the child.

“A few minutes before you came in.” the girl casually responded.

“The way you are eating, you almost seem starved. Tell me, how are you still so small?”

“I dunno.” Anya reached her hand back into the plate only to notice that it was empty. Although she had eaten more than her fill, the hunger still lingered. In fact, it felt as if it grew a bit. “Hmm, I’m still kinda hungry.” she placed her hand over her stomach and felt it grumble.

“Anya, where does all the food go?”

Anya shrugged, then she gathered up the plates.

“I’m going to clean this up.” The girl placed the bowl atop the plate and gathered her mittens. “Wait…” she suddenly said. “The mittens… when did I take them off?”

“What do you mean…?”

Anya’s attention then shifted to the plate of crumbs.

“The roasted roaches… how did it… I thought I only brought the stew…”

“Anya,” Seemingly worried, the woman placed her hand on the child’s head. “Are you alright?”

“I… I just feel a bit weird…” Anya turned around and slowly made her way back into the kitchen. The unnoticed pain in her right arm, though bearable, grew more intense with every step. She was not sure what caused it, but its prominence began to occupy her mind. Before she even noticed, she was already in the kitchen and in front of the sink with no recollection of how she got there.

“How did she like the food?” the man asked, still busying himself at his workstation.

“Oh… I... kind of ate it…” Anya shyly replied.

“Girl, what?!” the man stopped what he was doing and turned around.

“If it makes it better... she offered it to me…”

“Look, this ain’t gonna work if you keep eatin’ our customer’s food, missy!”

“I keep eating the customer’s food…?” The child scratched her head. “I keep eating the food…”

“You alright?”

“Umm…” Anya opened her eyes. The man kneeled in front of her with his hands on her shoulders.

“Do you need some rest? You actin’ weird. If you ain’t feelin’ well, just go upstairs and get some rest.”

“We… we have an upstairs…?”

The worry on the man’s face grew.

“Anya, you needa get some rest. I’ll handle the shop, alright?”

“Okay…” Anya said in a weakening voice. “I’ll go lay down for a bit…” A window suddenly caught her attention. It was situated next to the stove where the man cooked. Bewildered, Anya slowly raised her hand and pointed at it.

“That… that wasn’t there before…” she said. Beyond the cracked glass passed an orange light. It flickered and flared as if an intense fire burned on the other side.

“Window?” The man turned around, “what window?”

It was gone. Anya hand only pointed to a crack within the concrete wall.

“But there was…” the child mumbled.

“Just get some rest, alright? Come back once you’re feelin’ better.”

Anya nodded and made her way to the door. She could have sworn that the restaurant only had one floor. Yet, when she passed the door frames, she was faced with a staircase. The stairway was carved into the wall, pushing past a thick layer of concrete before twisting back to reach the second floor. Its steps were covered with planks of hazel brown wood, which made it stand out in contrast to the rest of the restaurant. She could not quite put her finger on what about it made her feel uncomfortable besides its abnormal design.

“Anya,” Emma’s voice called, “ you look really pale.”

“I do…? I think I’ll feel better once I get some rest upstairs…”

“Don’t overwork yourself.”

She turned to the woman and gave a courteous smile.

“I know, I know.” Before she took her first step toward the stairs, the girl noticed that a new face had entered their restaurant: It was a lone woman with silky, long black hair at shoulders length. The woman’s hair was a bit disorganized, which seemed odd considering that she wore a pristine and well kept white dress. The color and style seemed very familiar, especially with the small white bow sewn to its side. When the woman noticed Anya’s gaze, her rose-red lips twisted into a slight smirk. Anya could not see the woman’s face but somehow knew that it was directed toward her.

The girl awkwardly smiled back, feeling slightly unhinged.

“Boone!” she yelled, “we have another customer!”

“Got it!”

The child made her way up the stairs, and with every step upwards, the wooden planks squeaked. It was an irritating sound, something that she quickly grew to despise. Halfway up, her right arm began to numb. The pain was gone, but so was all other stimulation. Anya wiggled her fingers to see if she still had control and she did, but the hand did not feel like hers. Instead, it felt like her hand was listening in on her thoughts and moved according.

Once on the second floor, the girl searched around and found only one door which she presumed to be the bedroom. Surprisingly, the room was larger than she had initially thought. It was quite spacious by bedroom standards, perhaps further enunciated by the fact that it only held a single bed. The bed was of a considerable size, able to hold at least three people, much like the one she and her dad had slept on.

“This looks like...” she muttered under her breath before the pain returned to her head. As the pain intensified and her consciousness began to waver, Anya quickly made her way to the bed, lying face flat on the puffy bedding.

The coolness coupled with the sheet’s smooth texture near instantaneously relieved any troubles that the child had. Even better, the mattress underneath was unnaturally soft, allowing Anya’s body to slowly sink in. She laid still, enjoying the serenity until she had to reposition her head to breathe. Before long, her eyelids had become heavy and sleep tempted her at every second. Her hunger began to subside. Though it bothered her greatly before, like magic, the bed washed it all away. Anya sighed as her muscles relaxed. She knew that she did not do much, but the girl felt extremely worn out nonetheless. Slowly, her eyes closed as her mind wondered loose.

“I’ll work harder once I wake up…” she told herself, feeling guilty that she had ditched her responsibilities. “It’ll just be a quick nap…”

"..."

“Wake up, Anya…” an alluring voice whispered near her ear. Since the room was completely quiet just moments before, this easily captivated what remaining attention the child could afford.

Drained of energy, Anya simply groaned weakly in response.

“Wake up…” it called again, this time laced with a mocking giggle. “... before you’re eaten…”