Modern Pen Pals

다섯 'dasot'

It's finally Monday. I can't wait to go to the post office today and see if I've received my first pen pal letter. I haven't been this eager in such a long time. The adrenaline of knowing something I've been waiting for is arriving makes me feel younger and I love that.

Oh, to be a teenager again...Being an adult sucks most of the time. I know being a teenager isn't always easy, and I certainly do not want to return to all the high school drama, but times were simpler. I miss simplicity.

'Hello,' Elisa says, walking inside the bakery.

'Just you this time?' I grin.

'I came from the gym, but yes, today it's just me. Elijah is grounded.' Her firm tone tells me she hasn't forgotten yesterday, and even though it didn't happen with her, I appreciate how supportive she is of me. How supportive she's always been.

I watch her walk away from the door. The blue matching sports bra and leggings she wears pinching in all the right places. Elisa's shape is amazing, but I know she worked hard for it, as she goes four times a week to the gym to lift weights on top of doing yoga every day. Her golden skin glows from the sun outside, and a few of her curly strands frame her face while the rest is in a bun.

Instead of going down the rabbit hole of comparison, I remember her words of bad days, bad thoughts. They don't reflect our life but are a trigger to recognise what's wrong in our mind and life so we can improve it.

Returning to reality, my eyes catch Elisa sitting at her usual table, looking out the window.

'I'm sorry, I got distracted...The usual?' I ask her and she nods.

A few more people walk into the shop, and my thoughts focus on work. Work is always the best way to not stress about the little voices in my head.

Right before I close for lunch, two very familiar faces come by the bakery for a few cupcakes and a latte.

'You are seriously the best baker I know, Delilah!' Becca says with a mouth full of chocolate and flour.

'That's impossible; I'm no Master Chef.' I look down and take a small breath in.

'No, you are a five-star Michelin,' she responds, making my head lift and the breath I'd just inhaled to be expelled as a chuckle.

This small, red-headed girl always makes me laugh. Her Scottish accent helps with the enthusiasm.

Jeremiah has been silent since he came into the shop. He's looking at his latte, swirling it with the straw as he stands behind his sister, closer to the cream wall.

Does he remember our conversation? There was something about the way he walked towards me that felt different, although I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's just my imagination, now that I'm more focused on him. Maybe he's feeling a bit blue today.

'We have to make a collaboration again soon,' Rebecca says, shifting my gaze from her twin brother. 'Everyone loved your desserts in Greener's and it was a full week we had.'

'Indeed, I got more clients that week.' Many of my now-regulars came from the week I collaborated with the twins a few months ago.

Their restaurant has a lot more movement than my shop, since many people try to stay away from sugar but never skip meals. I'm trying to incorporate healthier goods in my bakery for those who avoid sugar and flour, but it's already all vegan, so that checks the lactose-free box already.

I need to think of more marketing strategies to bring people here.

'Then it's settled. Let's talk about a menu this week and prepare things to make it happen. Maybe a two week collab instead of one?' The small woman getting up from her table bats her eyelashes.