The Final Home

Chapter 10 | Suspicion

"Here you go," said Tiana, placing two white boxes in front of me.

A soft sugary aroma arose from the boxes, hinting at the fresh beignets inside.

"Tia, what am I going to do with two dozen beignets?" I asked.

Tiana rolled her eyes. "Eat them of course!"

"And you think I can actually eat all these?"

"You better," she said, shooting me a deadly glare.

I sighed and slowly lifted the top of a white box. Immediately, I was greeted by the overwhelming scent of honey and powdered sugar. Reluctantly, I took out a beignet.

I glanced upwards to see Tiana looking back at me with an encouraging smile.

I took my time eating the beignet, slowly taking a bite and then chewing and chewing it until I finally swallowed the sticky lump in my mouth.

"Tiana, you're needed at table three!" A male voice rang out from behind the counter near the front of the cafe.

Tiana smiled apologetically at me and quickly grabbed a tray as she made her way over to a table situated near the back of the cafe.

"Your coffee, sir?"

I turned to see a guy who looked about sixteen years old. His brown hair was a bit messy and one part reached down to cover his left eye. I could tell by the nametag pinned onto his yellow shirt that he also worked at the cafe. I looked at him, confused as he held out a styrofoam cup full of coffee.

I shook my head. "Sorry, but I didn't order any coffee."

"I know," he said, putting the cup down beside the beignets. "The guy at table three told me to give it to you. He said it looked like you needed a boost."

"Uh, I guess..." I answered, looking in the direction where Tiana had gone. She was serving a guy who sat there in a dark leather jacket with a somber expression.

"No problem." He winked at me with his uncovered eye (or maybe he just blinked and I only saw his right eye close) and headed back to the counter up front.

As I turned back to the coffee he left on my table, I spotted a note about the size of a small receipt taped to the side.

What's this? I thought, taking it off.

There was a small message written on it in neat handwriting:

This one is for sorrow.

The note shimmered in my hand and the words merged together to form a glowing crescent in the center.

Taken by surprise, I dropped the note and watched as it fluttered to the ground before it crumbled to dust.

"Wow," said Tiana, suddenly back at my side.

"Wait - you saw that too?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she told me, shaking her head. "But I can't believe that you barely ate anything!"

"Sorry," I apologized, not wanting her to be offended. "I got distracted."

Tiana smiled. "I see my beignets are working already."

I frowned. "That's not what I-"

"My shift ends in a couple of minutes." Tiana interrupted. "I'll just grab my stuff and then we can leave."

"I thought you said we'd be here for a while." I stood up, purposefully leaving the coffee and beignets behind.

"Sorry, I lied."