A World With/Out Home

Chapter 1: A Baker's dream (Part 2)

By mid-morning the deliveries were done and the cart was now significantly lighter adding in the extra purchases of the villagers passing by. Aside from the slight spat earlier it was shaping up to be a regular day. Kyle would go home, tidy the house, bake a few extras and prepare for lunch. From there he would probably do some shopping and maybe even work on some extra studies as his father would take care of the store. It was however not quite meant to be as he passed by the village's main avenue and spotted an unfamiliar sight close by the square. A truck larger than any vehicle had seen before and something very rare in these parts. With multiple compartments it was bigger than a small house and could carry more goods than the village had to offer. The sleek metal sides were sparsely decorated aside from a smiling decal of a cat and ball. Though the trucks occupants were missing the children of the village crowded nearby, lost in their innocent curiosity.

"Boo!" Kyle came up behind them causing them to jump in fright.

They quickly turned around and gathered behind a single girl sporting a pony tail. Her eyes were fierce despite the sudden scare, "We're not doing anything I sw-... oh it's just Kyle." She relaxed.

"What do you mean just me?" Kyle pressed his hand against her head. "Shouldn't you be in the school at this time? I'm not going to save you if you get yelled at."

"But look!" she pointed towards the truck. "I've never seen something so big before. Where do you think it came from?"

Seeing as it was 'just Kyle' the other children also began to relax and chatter, "Do you think it's from Central City?"

"Or maybe it's from beyond the fog," another squealed in excitement.

"Don't be silly," the pony tailed girl poked him. "All the adults say there's nothing beyond the fog. Right Kyle?"

Kyle forced a smile. The fog which surrounded the world and kept the bad things out. Although he had never seen it up close himself he knew the stories of how dangerous it was. "That's right. The fog is somewhere far from here anyway. Now stop gawking and go to the school house. If you're lucky you'll only have to stand in the hall."

At his words the children quickly nodded and ran off. The apparent notion of punishment trumping their curious minds. Kyle scratched his head, it really was strange to see such a large vehicle this far out considering how expensive they were. More mysterious still was the fact that its owners were nowhere to be seen. Regardless it didn't matter to him and like usual he strolled home pushing the cart along.

Not too far from the square and just down the road away from the main avenue sat the Barker Bakery, as announced by the ramshackle sign plastered above the door. A small shop front attached to their home, it was where Kyle had lived all his life and where his father had made a living for the past eighteen years.

With the unsold bread in hand Kyle entered through the front door.

"Hey dad did you see the-," he paused as he noticed the shop was not empty. If it had been a regular he would have continued to talk but the sight of the customers surprised him. To be honest it even startled him as the pair were quite the rare sight. Both wearing hats with their hair tidily hidden away they were girls and ones that seemed to be his age. "Ah... umm, welcome." A sense of embarrassment spread through his chest only further pressed by his father's knowing smirk. The girls however didn't notice and smiled.

"G-good morning," one replied surprisingly flustered. She seemed to be quite shy though there was a strange strength to her gaze that Kyle couldn't quite place. A bit shorter than himself she was dressed relatively plainly however it didn't detract from the fact that she was undeniably quite attractive and cute even, or at least Kyle thought so. He had never met a girl his age aside from Marisha who hardly smiled and didn't quite know how to act. Thankfully he didn't have to think too hard as with a sudden step the other girl was right beside him.

"Hey you made these right?" a cookie was thrust into his face. Seemingly younger than the other, the girl was on the small side but a genuine brightness lit up her green eyes.

"Um yes," Kyle nodded while stepping back.

"That's amazing!" the girl exclaimed. "These are delicious. They're not too sweet or salty, firm but at the same time just chewy enough. I could eat a hundred of these."

"Umm thank you?" confused he flashed a look to his father who just shrugged. Still not sure what to do Kyle placed down the bags of baked goods and offered his hand, "I'm Kyle. It's nice to meet you."

For a moment the girl stared blankly at his outstretched hand before grinning and clasping it enthusiastically, "Yes your father told us. My name's Jana and my friend over there is Lillia. Do you do a lot of the baking here?"

"Dad does most of it. I handle the smaller things as well as the pastries and cakes. Where are you two from? I assume the truck in the square is yours?"

"Yep," she nodded. "We're here to ki-."

Quicker than anyone could have expected Lillia grabbed the blabbering girl and interrupted, "We're performers. Our truck started having some problem on our way to Trentheim so we decided to take a pit stop here." Finished she slowly released Jana.

"I was just going to say we were here to kick back and relax," she mumbled indignantly.

"Just making sure," Lillia replied in a whisper.

Kyle scratched his head unable to hear the two properly, "Well if you need a mechanic you're not going to find one here. The closest proper town is a few hours by car and the only one who owns one here is the Mayor. You can ask him but he's a bit hard to deal with."

"It's fine," Lillia said. "We can fix it ourselves. I hope it's not a problem if we have to stay a few days in the village."

"It shouldn't be," Kyle looked towards his father again. Although quite aloof he had some sway with the town's adults.

He smiled, "It won't be a problem at all. However you should still talk to the Mayor, he lives up on the hill. Big mansion can't miss it. Also if you're not adverse to it would you mind performing for us in the square?"

"What, you'd let us?" Jana piped up before Lillia could say a word.

"Of course. The kids would love it, most of them have never left Tomph. It's even rare for traders to pass by this area."

Lillia pulled against Jana's coat, "I'm not sure if we can-."

Jana's eyes however glowed with life, "If I ask the Captain it should be fine. We're not troubling anyone so-."

Before she could finish the chime of the bakery door rung and in entered a single man. Tall enough that he had to duck beneath the door he seemed like the ideal specimen that defined strength. His dark hair matched his serious expression and stern eyes giving him a sense infallibility. Kyle widened his eyes. Compared to his own physique and appearance it was easier to call himself a women. He had heard of strong man acts within the circus and was sure this man was one of them.

"There you two are," he grunted. "Didn't I say to stay with the truck?"

"Well yes," Jana began.

"But we thought we'd buy everyone a late breakfast," Lillia finished with a smile as she showed a basket of goods. It was predominately filled with the cookies Kyle had made and not what you would call a healthy breakfast by any means.

The man's gaze swept over the interior of the store as well as the two men inside, "I apologise if these two troubled you."

"Not at all," Kyle's father said easily. "In fact they brightened our day. If you do end up performing in the square we'll be sure to make it."

"Performing?" the man raised his brows.

"R-right!" Jana quickly grabbed the man's arm and tugged it towards the exit. "I'll explain back at the truck." She paused and did a small bow, "It was very nice to meet you both."

"Likewise," Kyle's father nodded in reply.

"Um yes. Nice to meet you," Kyle responded as he watched the three strangers leave. Once they were gone from sight and the door closed he heaved out a sigh. It was surprisingly nerve wracking talking to them.

"Smitten?" his father smirked.

"No," his reply was blunt.