Strawberry soda at night

CHAPTER 3. shadows lurking

''I'm off!'' Eva chirped from the entry, pulling on the off-white sneakers which once upon a time were clean and spotless.

''Miriam's gonna make some vegetable soup today! We bought the bread you love to go with it.'' Sara came to send her off while old Miriam held the babbling Tommy in the living room, happily showing off a jingly little toy over his head.

''Nice! No wonder I woke up feeling so lucky.'' Eva swayed her hair back as she got up from tying the shoelaces, ''Can't wait! Not sure when I'll finish though so don't wait for me, i'll just reheat it when i'm back.'' She raised a hand to a quick wave before heading out.

It was a typical Thursday, a full day of work ahead by the warehouse. The air was chilly, the streets caressed by an early morning fog. Her favorite time of the day, empty and quiet streets.

''Fall is starting to show, finally..'' Eva walked by the carefully planted trees separating the car road and the sidewalk once she got out of the alleyways and on to the main road. The leafs were turning color into lovely shades of orange, starting from the tips.

It had been a couple of weeks after the incident. Nothing changed. Over the weekend after it happened, Eva went by the area to search for the umbrella which she had dropped and left behind, but with no avail. The following Monday she felt terribly guilty having to confess the old man of the store that she lost it, after receiving such kindness from him in the first place. After all he had done for her.

But to her surprise, he did not say even the smallest snarky comment, nor did he seem to mind at all, saying how it was just an umbrella and how she was making a huge deal out of nothing.

The next Wednesday Eva still came into her usual shift with a brand new umbrella as an apology. The feeling of being in debt for someone was one of the worst feelings she couldn't stand. Thus the old man accepted the umbrella, saying she could borrow it when needed.

Eva sat on the bus seat and placed earphones in while leaning her head against the window. The bus would be empty for the following three stops before starting to fill with others pursuing their destination. Though her life was hectic, there were these tiny predictable moments which always played out the same, knowing what to expect.

One stop after another people got on and out. Before arriving to the side of the city center, the bus was packed with travelers. Eva kept her eyes staring out the window, watching the café shop owners placing out the signs of the days special offers, those in smart suits carrying briefcases glued to their phones despite the lovely view of the building roofs embraced with a deep yellow halo. A smile caught her lips as she watched a mother walking with her child, holding hands and laughing at something so cheerfully in the early hours. As her eyes followed the two, something else caught her eye from the reflection of the window. A dark shape. Behind her, no, a few seats back.

Eva felt a shiver run through her spine as she adjusted herself straight. And in that moment, she slowly turned her head on the side to take a peek, yet saw nothing as the bus stopped and a wave of people left by it's back door. A strange feeling, indeed. She wondered why it caught her eye. What was it that drove her skin crawling as such.

Uneasy is how she felt. Restless, somehow. She brushed it off as unnecessary caution, her mind playing tricks. Maybe the events a couple of weeks prior had left some unwanted lingering discomfort at the back of her unconsciousness. She did worry about the man who was being extorted back then. Whether he was doing well now. She knew the loan sharks let him live back then, they wouldn't risk not getting paid by the one in debt for them, that's for sure. But what happened to him as the month switched to another. She had no idea. And the thought of it made her uncomfortable to say the least.