Terrified

Chapter 5: Light in the Dark (Part 2 of 3)

Henceforth, the next day happened. The morning is bright but not for the YG Cakes and Coffee as it starts its day with a disaster that no one would see it coming. Shocking the entire area as the bystanders gathered around and media are already on the area to cover, the café is destroyed. The windows are broken, the walls were vandalized, the door was cut in half and all of these are just the damage done outside.

It's a whole lot worse with the damage done inside the café. The glass racks used for the displays were smashed into pieces, leaving it completely useless and unusable anymore. The walls are vandalized as well but worse than what's seen outside as different paints were splashed all over, also staining the once shining floor. The decorations, the tables and chairs, all are broken into pieces as if the entire dining area has gone through the war.

Not only those things happened, but the equipment and tools at the coffee station were all stolen, nothing was left behind. The kitchen that Yumi has been taking care of, that one kitchen she treasures the most, it was mercilessly destroyed as the ovens and materials are all wasted. The damage done is something unimaginable that the café almost turned into an abandoned and old area of the district. And in the middle of all these modern buildings and trendy businesses, there's the destroyed café tarnishing the good image of the town.

"Oh my God! Yumi! What happened here?" The ultimately shocked Fatima dashed in urgency into the destroyed café when she sighted the disaster from afar.

Fatima didn't bother going through the back door as she just bumped into those media blocking the way and passed through the caution line surrounding the front area of the café. Hearing her heart stopping its beat, she witnessed how the café turned into a complete tragedy and almost unrecognizable with the naked eyes. Nothing is left to be saved, not a single piece of chair can be sat on. The place she considers her second home is now in a total breakdown and seeing this happening in an unexpected day tied her heart so tight she couldn't breathe easy.

"Fatima..." Chris coming down from the second floor found Fatima frozen in her stand in the middle of the café.

Fatima breathes heavily as she asks, "Kuya, what the hell happened here? Why is it like this?"

"Yumi came here at dawn to start baking like she always does together with her assistants but unfortunately, she already found the café like this. She immediately reported this to the police and until now they are doing investigations all over the area. So far, we only know that there were armed men who came here past midnight to do all of these things as caught by the nearby CCTVs outside but sadly, we cannot confirm their identity as they are all masked and the car they used doesn't have a number either." Chris explained well but in a frown he couldn't make his voice louder.

"Where's Yumi then? How is she? Why didn't she call me immediately about this?" Fatima immediately thought of her best friend who is a hundred percent the most heartbroken at this unfortunate moment.

Chris looks over to the stairs and said, "She's currently being questioned by the police on the second floor. She's in a total shock and she couldn't talk well earlier that's why I also rushed here to back her up."

Fatima wasted no more seconds to go to her best friend. However, as soon as she entered the second floor, there she found more damage done by the perpetrators. And the most notable one is the rack where the trophies of her mother from her achievements used to be displayed, now empty and only one left yet broken on the floor. Just when she thought it couldn't get worse from what she has seen so far outside, it's now the worst.

"Fatima..." Yumi ran towards her best friend enveloped her in an embrace as she cries onto her shoulders and let her tears flow freely.

Fatima made sure Yumi feels secured and so she hugs her as tight as she can do. She's so rumbled from what she's seeing and even more now that Yumi is in her arms, broken and dejected. "I'm here, Meng. I'm here." She whispered to her gently in hopes to calm her hard sobs but it's no use as Yumi's cries became louder and she can feel her getting a lot weaker and she's starting to be dependent in her hold.