FAR FROM ERIS • FreenBecky •

THIRTY

-🎶-

Becky had gotten up early, although it wasn't like she had slept much. She had been tossing and turning in bed for hours after sending the last message. She would lie if she said she didn't open her eye every now and then hoping that Freen was also suffering from insomnia and would reply at five in the morning. But no, it didn't happen. In fact, Freen didn't reply to her last message. And Becky couldn't really blame her.

So, assuming she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, she got up and got ready to go to the Flower Shop. There was still a lot of work to be done at there, and she really didn't have any other plans, so spending the day moving furniture, cleaning, and painting didn't sound too bad. After all, the weather wasn't great either. Dark clouds had been approaching while Becky had her coffee leaning on the kitchen counter, once again with her eyes on the phone. If she didn't hurry, she'd probably end up getting wet on the way, so she grabbed her backpack and hurried out the door, praying to get there before it started raining.

She barely made it. Patty's house was relatively close to the Flower Shop, and yet Becky had to trot the last twenty meters because, suddenly, huge drops began to hit everything. She entered the back room with a shiver, took off the red checkered shirt she usually wore to work, and hung it on the coat rack, then dried the drops that had fallen on her hair and face while she went out to the store. Truth be told, between one thing and another, she wasn't dedicating too much time to the project of renovating the place. She had been more focused on other things. And by -other things,- Becky knew she clearly meant Freen. Suddenly, a lightning bolt illuminated the room even though it was daytime, followed by a thunder that indicated the storm was right over the city. She heard the rain battering against the glass windows of the shop, which were still covered with brown paper so that the interior couldn't be seen from the street. It seemed as if a hurricane were passing through the door right now, and Becky was glad she had gotten up early, or else at this moment she would be trying to get to the shop swimming.

-For God's sake, it seems like the world is ending,- she said to herself.

She looked around with her hands on her waist. She didn't know where to start. There was too much to do, and she could only pay attention to the exaggerated number of chained thunderclaps she was hearing. It seemed like the sky was about to split in two at any moment. She was moving some boxes from the side of the counter when another sound, creeping between the thunder, caught her attention: the bell on the door. She automatically turned, wondering who in their right mind would come to the Flower Shop in such a storm, and then she realized that there weren't many people who knew the shop wasn't closed.

She had time to think all of that while turning, as if everything were happening in slow motion, and when she finished turning her body toward the door, there she was, indeed, the only person who knew it.

Freen was there, breathing as if she had run from another city. Or rather, swimming, because saying she was soaked was an understatement. Her dark hair was completely wet and dripping down her back and shoulders. She was wearing a yellow hoodie with a sun on the chest that was completely stuck to her body. -Freen, what...?- Becky began to say as she approached the girl. -Can you tell me what you're doing here in this weather?- Freen didn't speak. She just looked at her while Becky approached her more and more, worried that she might end up with pneumonia, or that her brain wasn't functioning correctly.

-Are you okay?- Becky asked, reaching the girl who seemed to have just come out of a swimming pool. -Talk to me or I'm going to start hitting you.- Freen smiled. -Well,- she sighed in relief, -at least I know you're understanding me and you're not in shock or something.-

Without knowing what she was doing, Becky raised her hand to brush away the water droplets that were running down Freen's forehead and falling down the sides of her huge eyes, which were completely open, looking at Becky. When her thumb touched the top of Freen's eyebrow, it was as if suddenly everything had been muted, because Becky no longer heard the thunder, the traffic, or the rain beating against the building. Suddenly, she only heard the beats of her heart and Freen's irregular breathing confirming that the girl had indeed run there.