The Fifth Season

CHAPTER NINETEEN: BLESSINGS OF JOURNEY

SNOH

             Several days had gone by and passed relatively standard to what I thought would be for such a significant change in my life. I worked up until my last day at the Corner Leaf and was surprised in the evening when Mr. Wasip and all the colleagues threw a going-away party for me.

             It was a heartwarming moment that left me feeling appreciated as a worker that had stayed there relentlessly for isos; I was going to miss the shop and all the tasty treats and meals curated by the exceptional chefs, but I knew a greater journey was destined for me in Oaocene.

           Poppy, Lulu's mother and owner of the Hourglass shop got word from Mr. Wasip that I was leaving and paid a visit at the house to ensure that I was fully stocked up on the shop's handmade items such as their botanical flower soap bars filled with herbs, jars of rose milk bath tea, their popular salt scrubs—all of which had different flavors such as lavender, coconut chamomile, and white sage cedar. She also gifted me with bottles of shower and bath oil infused with native Etherian flowers that left a long-lasting shimmer and mesmerizing fragrance on the skin once it was applied.

           I thought it would end there with the number of shop things she could bring me, but Poppy definitely made sure I was all set with crystal and flower-infused soy wax candles; some of them having the properties of being burned solely for mood and smell, while the others had more magical properties such as bringing forth, luck, fortune, peace, and romance into one's life. I was so overwhelmed by everything she had given me; nearly all the stuff had to be put into its own suitcase in order to compensate for the sheer number of it all.

           My thought process instantly went to giving some of them to Enid if I ever got the chance; I had enough things here to last me into the next three seasons!

           Speaking of which, thanks to my quick thinking of writing a letter to both Enid and Lulu, they were now well aware that I was making my way down here in a few days. Lulu wouldn't be able to greet me once I reached there due to conflicting class schedules, but Enid had enough time in his schedule that he could come to get me and show me around a bit. I couldn't wait to see his face, it had been dusses since we've come in contact with each other that wasn't in the form of a back and forth letter; though Enid was good at staying in touch, nothing beat seeing my best friend in person.

            It took two days by hydrorail to reach the city of Oaocene and after picking up my ticket from the station, I realized I was going to be boarding via the first-class or "premier" suites. It seems the Empress had ensured that my entire journey to the academy would be as comfortable and scenic as possible. I've never ridden a hydrorail train before so this was going to be my first time experiencing something like this!

           Currently, I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom, surrounded by the many suitcases and trunks I had stored with all the items I would need to take with me on my trip; mom had helped me organize everything securely and smartly so I wouldn't have to worry about where everything was once it was time to take it all out and place it in my new room.

           "This is a lot of stuff," Saam noted as he hobbled around the trunks eyeing them curiously.

           I agreed with a simple head nod, "I think everyone went a little overboard with the gifts." I said to him as I closed one of the trunks; I had just finished placing the last item of clothing that I had been gifted by the Empress, commencing the never-ending cycle of folding and packing I had been doing prior. I think I had maybe one more suitcase left with space to put anything I may have forgotten to do so in the past couple of days.