Daffodil's Sunshine

Chapter 5 - Silent Compassion

Irene wanted a nice family outing at a cabin-like restaurant with good food and funny jokes. She wanted to happily chew on some pancakes as all of life's worries were forgotten. She certainly did not want the girl to be the waitress at said restaurant. Ah, but what can she do about the universe wanting to laugh at her? She was only human, after all.

"I told you you would jinx it, you little son of a-"

"Language. Pick something to eat already. I'm only treating you because it's a Friday," Casper interrupted.

Irene took a moment to look at the menu, but when she couldn't decide, she decided to start looking around for a quick escape while nervously sipping on her coffee.

The restaurant had a warm, cozy feel to it, obviously, like a cabin. The tables were made of wood. The chairs were made of wood. The decorations were made of wood. And whatever wasn't made out of wood was made out of red cotton, including the tablecloth and the staff's uniforms.

"You know, you can feel free to order pancakes for lunch. No one's gonna judge you." Casper sighed.

"Yeah, but should I go for blueberry or strawberry pancakes?"

"Strawberry pancakes."

"Blueberry pancakes then!" Irene clicked the buzzer at the end of the table before hiding her face with the menu.

Areum arrived at the table less than a minute after. She wore the typical staff uniform, with a black skirt right above her knees and a dark red shirt.

"Have you decided what you want to order?" she asked politely.

"Uh, yeah. We're gonna have a cheeseburger with fries and uh, some blueberry pancakes. That would be all. Thank you." Casper snatched the menu from Irene and handed it to Areum, forcing Irene to shyly put her head down.

Casper shook his head. "Don't mind her. She's weird like that."

"Ah, no worries!" Areum took the menus and left.

Casper sighed again. "I'm pretty sure she recognizes you. It's not everyday you see someone wearing heavily padded gloves."

"It's not my fault my skin is this delicate," Irene muttered. Little by little, she peeled away from the table and let her face be known to the world.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying that...maybe you should let your guard down a little. I can tell that girl has no ill intentions, honest."

Two plates of food were placed on their table. A cheeseburger with fries, and a set of blueberry pancakes, with a fork and...a knife. A cold shiver crawled down Irene's spine.

"Will that be all?" Areum's kind sounding voice slid through Irene's uneasiness.

"Uh, yeah. Everything's fine," Irene mumbled.

Just ignore it. You'll be fine, Irene thought to herself. Areum bowed politely and left.

As Irene was about to eat, she noticed that the knife had gone missing. Immediately, the feeling of uneasiness began settling within her, cutting into her lungs.

"C-casper, where did that knife go? Please tell me you have it," Irene whispered.

Before he could respond, Areum came back and silently placed a plastic knife on Irene's table.

"Wait, why did you-"

But Areum was already gone, serving the other tables and passing food and drink around.

"Well, that was certainly strange," Irene remarked. Using the plastic knife, she cut away at her pancakes.

"Strange, but nice. I'm telling you. I think that you should become friends with her," Casper urged.