Followers of the Light

Chapter 1 - Days & Weeks Earlier

After a year and a half, Roscenta's business went pretty well. We even had several returning customers. I, who helped my friend cleaning up the shop wished that I could be more like her. She had all the rights to be spoilt by the cushion of the family's wealth, except she chose not to. That, I can say, was truly remarkable.

Meanwhile for me, I hooked on a new hobby to spend an hour at a gym just around the neighborhood. I go there at evening after the shop was closed for the day. The staff there once asked me, "Do you even have any other clothes to wear?" Duh, I did! I mean, that ensemble of gray tank top and black track pants with a vertical red line on the sides with a pair of bone-white shoe was the best! I kept a couple of those at home!

One night while we were having dinner, Roscenta asked me something.

"Rey," she soft-spokenly called my nickname. "What would you do if I die?"

"I would look for the cause!" I confidently answered. "If you were murdered, then I will find and kill the murderer!"

"Ummm, well, thanks for that," she paused. "You would kill someone?"

"Hmm, yeah..." I said while munching. "I could kill someone, for a cause."

"You didn't even fight bullies," replied Ros. "How would you kill someone?"

I sighed at her. "That was in the past, Ros! I'm different now!"

"Oh?"

That oh from her... Like a wake-up call from my bullshit that stopped me from talking.

"Nevermind on that," Ros continued. "What I meant was, realistically, how would you lead your life without me? Can you take over the shop?"

My eyes gazed at the cream-colored wall on my right, trying to find the answer from it. "There should be someone else to take over and I'm going to work under them," I replied few seconds later.

"I don't... want anyone else to take over this store," Roscenta replied. "Can't really trust my other friends."

I was really touched on how she cared me like her own family. Hell, not even my parents cared like she did.

"So tell me, what would you do?"

"Uhhh..." I scratched my hair. "Become a model? For magazines?"

"I see. You really want to become one huh? Make sure you're smart though!"

That words coming from her mouth hurt my heart at its best. I looked down on my crossing legs, sitting on a round pillow, trying to mentally stroke my own back. Across the table, Roscenta took a boiled long bean she cooked with her fork and munched it before she started asking me again.

"How do you think you can pass as a model nowadays?"

"What do you mean?"

Roscenta put down her spoon and fork on her empty plate, then looked at me.

"You have red short bob hair, a bit out of shape, pale, deep eyes, chiseled jawline..."

"And so? That's how you look as well, other than the longer brown hair, being shorter and thinner..."

"Yeap, but I sell clothes, not trying to be the model for it. Meanwhile you - you like to wear tank-top and track pants! That's just so not Prosperistus-Top-Model at all!"

"You mean I gotta look like those in Pearla magazines? Oval face, narrow jawed, blunt chin..."

"Extremely skinny, tall, no flabby arms, and legs as thin as chopsticks." Roscenta added. "How tall are you?"