The Cafe Around The Corner

2

The boy looked like her. Quite a lot, besides the fact that he wasn't quite so pale as her and his hair was dark. But he had blue eyes and pale skin, a relaxed, slim frame and cold smile. He wore a cravat over a white shirt and he crossed his legs relaxedly, as if he didn't have a  care in the world.
"My name is Levi"
"Mia, Mia Rachoski"
" I know." He smiled coldly, empty and expressionless, the action didn't reach his eyes and it was intentional. He smiled to show that whatever they were doing, he didn't care. This was a mistake and he knew it.
"Mia，why don't you take Levi upstairs?"
"Why?"
" I want to talk with my sister for a while"
It sounded so strange, those words coming out of her mouth. They were sisters,  meaning that Levi and her were cousins. Couldn't they see that this was wrong? Cousins weren't supposed to marry for a reason and they were breaking that rule again. If Levi and her did get married and have children, no doubt they would be disformed and ill, like her - like their mother. Mia didn't want that. She didn't want to see her children going through the same pain she did every day. She didn't even know if she wanted children but her mother and father would insist. ' to carry on the bloodline' her dad said fervently. No doubt that Levi had no say in this either, he was taking this like some joke. Not that seriously and this was his life as well. Didn't he care?
She didn't want to get married to him. He was so snide and cold, Levi was like a puppet pulled on strings. He was just doing whatever he was asked to do , no doubt for a price.
The air of the house was cold and being upstairs in her bedroom was even colder.
"Can't your family afford heating? It's like a damn blizzard in this place."
" Yes we can but my dad doesn't want us to." Mia coughed quietly.
"You're pathetic. You shiver and
cough but you can't even persuade your dad for heating? Do you do everything he tells you to?" He growled disdainfully and tugged at his cravat. Mia felt angry at him for pointing it out but she knew it was the truth. She had known it all along. She felt pathetic but he was being horrible to her, picking out her flaws and sneering at them.
"Shut up! Why did you agree to this marriage anyway? Aren't you being forced as well? Doesn't that make you pathetic?"
He sniffed and crossed his legs on the bed. Like Mia, Levi hardly weighed anything, his weight barely dented the bed. The duvet didn't sink down underneath him.
"It's not going to effect me that much. Worry about yourself. You're going to be the mother, not me."
Mia flushed. This guy. Who did he think he is? She walked over to the bed and sat down as well, back against the wall. Somewhere outside, a lone bird lamented sadly. A mourning ballad.
"You really think I'm going to have kids with you?" She wasn't angry anymore, just curious.
"You don't have a choice do you?"
" That doesn't mean you can say things like that. We've only just met."
His face showed realisation of what he had said, the first emotion he'd shown today, a pink blush spread across his cheeks. It was infectious and Mia blushed right after him (it must of looked awful against her pale skin).
"I didn't mean it that way." He looked so uncomfortable, shifting away and leaning against the wall, shivering. He pulled the blanket next to him over his shoulders.       " Doesn't the fact that we are cousins make you feel weird? I mean, it's culture but it's still strange. I can't put my thought into words" he shivered again "sorry."

"I understand. I mean it does" Mia spoke softly " it does feel weird. That is why we shouldn't get married, if- if , we did have kids I don't want them to be like me. I don't know if you understand, but it is painful. My skin hurts and my bones ache. I'm ill all the time. I don't want anyone to have to feel that . I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy .I wouldn't make a good mother either. I'm too undependable"
"I wouldn't make a good father, I'm to cold and harsh. I wouldn't want our children to hate me." He looked over to Mia "if we ever have children".

They sat companiably for a while, in the freezing cold, in a comfortable silence. Mia made no attempt to start a conversation. The truth was, they had both discovered what they wanted. The most they would ever be able to do together was to listen to each other's worries, that was all they would ever be. No more, no less.
It wasn't until two hours later that Levi left. And the house was colder than it ever was.
"Mia." Her mum opened the door, shoving it wide open. She had a rare smile on her face, only slightly tainted by the tightness of her jaw and the fixed, precise rows of teeth."Mia"
"Yeah?"
"How did it go?"
" Fine."
Her mum sat down warily on her bed, her mouth twitched disappointedly.
"It was just fine?"
"Yeah."
Mia looked at her carefully, at the way her shoulders were rigid and her eyes didn't dance and they were cold. Like the house. Raising one elegant leg, her mum crossed it over and rested her hands on her knee.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
All of a sudden, her mother snapped, left eye twitching angrily and red nails digging grooves into her skin.
"You are such a bitch. All you can say all day is 'yeah' and 'no' like a stupid child. I never wanted you, you m- mistake. " Her mum hissed, towering over Mia. There was a sharp slap and then she left the room. The door slammed behind her and the floor boards groaned loudly. Mia slid on the floor and cried to herself, white hair draping a curtain to hide her face. If she ever wanted anyone to feel the same pain she did, it was her mother. It would always be her mother.