Three Means Coffee

78

Monika and Krystian ran out of the other room, disturbed by the noise, not understanding why suddenly Błażej and Makary quickly got dressed.

"What happened?" Tymek's mother asked.

"Baśka saw us kissing," answered the nervous first year. "She ran out without a word. I need to find her. He doesn't know the city and it's cold."

"Wait." Krystian firmly grabbed his hand. "Let's figure out what we're going to do quickly before you run like a fool too. Did you take your phone with you?"

Błażej patted his pockets and shook his head. Makary stood next to him ready to act, but with a sense of guilt that he could not stop himself and perhaps contributed to the deterioration or even destruction of their relationship. Monika managed to wake up Tymek, who still did not understand what was happening and was still rubbing his eyes when his mother was dressing him.

"You see?" the first-year's friend grunted. "We'll all help look for her, if we split up we'll have a better chance of finding her sooner. Phones charged, do we keep in touch with each other?"

After assurances from the whole group, Krystian finally ordered the beginning of the search. Although Błażej has always been the most reasonable among the three friends since childhood, in crisis situations it was the future physiotherapist who took the reins and led the rest.

He and Błażej, due to their knowledge of the area, went on foot, and Monika and Makary got into the cars, they agreed more or less on what neighbourhood they would check. Tymek finally got in the know and started to worry about his aunt, so he looked around with maniacal stubbornness, he also wanted to show off so that they knew that the adults were right to accept.

Everyone felt bad, each struggling with their own remorse. Monika did not want to regret that she brought the girl here. Krystian begged inwardly that this would not lead to Błażej's breakdown, he had the impression that he had failed to protect him from suffering again and had once again failed as a friend. The elder brother just wanted his little sister to be safe and sound, even if she hated him now, so long as they found her. Every minute worked on their psyche worse and worse, everyone was worried about the girl.

Suddenly Tymek got up in his seat and told his mother to look to the right. Baśka was sitting on a swing in a small playground, shivering from the cold and crying. Monika parked in the nearest spot and pulled a blanket from the trunk. In the meantime, she let the others know where she had found her and asked for a moment to talk to her.

The woman and her son approached her cousin, who did not notice her presence until she felt the soft material on her shoulders. She looked up and was glad it wasn't her brother, who she wouldn't even know how to react to. She burst into more tears.

Tymek climbed on the swing next to him and began to swing slowly. Monika let her little cousin cry, standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders gently. She knew she needed to calm down a bit before they could talk. But she wasn't sure how this conversation was going to go. The only thing the young woman was sure of was that she had to be patient and wait for Baśka to set the tone for their conversation.

She noticed that after a long while everyone else had arrived and breathed a sigh of relief, but they waited politely at a distance, sitting in silence on a bench. The girl finally felt that there were no more tears to shed. She blew her nose but then sat in silence for a while.

"Why can't my brother be normal?" asked Baśka, directing the question into the darkness.