The Gem of Olympus

Chapter I

I ambled across my rose garden, taking in the fresh scent of dewed flowers in the morning. I pondered over the flower field, my mind away from the world I exist.

"If only", I mumbled softly.

Quietly, I hummed the tune of a song that reminded me of what life used to be. The wind sang along as it ran through my long brunette hair.

"Peridot. Peridot. Peridot", I heard my name being called out in whispers. The unfamiliar voice echoed through the field.

The wind became silent and my garden started to wither as my eyes slowly scanned across the field with decaying roses. I furiously blinked my eyes when I felt it beginning to swell up with tears.

It was getting harder to breathe but I forcefully took in a deep breath as much as my lungs could take in and shouted across the open land, "you promised you'd set me free!"

No answer.

I walked straight with no sense of direction. I kept walking even though knowing there was nothing in plain sight, knowing I wouldn't see anything no matter how further down I walk. I just kept walking. The wind started to sing again, and the voices came back to whisper. I looked around with my eyebrows furrowed, I quickened my pace and held my chest to feel my heartbeat.

I steadied myself and as I stopped my tracks, I looked ahead and was greeted by the sight of my old home. I blinked and suddenly I was transported to the front door. I looked down at my feet where the welcome mat was. My eyes looked up when I heard the front door slowly being pulled open.

"Um..hello?", I muttered and took a peek inside.

"Dottie, dinners ready!", my mother's voice came from inside.

"Mother?", I quickly ran in through the door and to the dining room, only to be welcomed by an empty table.

"Dottie?", her voice coming from behind me.

I turned around quickly but was hit by darkness and saw nothing but the lights that were piercing through my eyes as I was struggling to open them.

"Eri, Are you awake?", Elia asked softly.

"Where am I?", I asked as I stumbled to get up.

"Apartment 258. Also, what we call home. Do you always have to ask that every time you wake up?"

"Just making sure."

"You have the weirdest habits." Elia shook her head.

"Thank you." I flashed her a smile. "What's weird is we've had this conversation before."

Elia raised her eyebrows and threw a towel at me.

"Hurry up and get dressed or we'll be late for work."

I hurried over to the bathroom. The cozy apartment we live in fits perfectly for 2 best friends. Elia and I just moved in here ever since we opened up a café bookstore. We were lucky enough to find a convenient place near our humble business in Inklebed, a town surrounded by rivers and cafes along beautiful walkways lit up by fairy lights. This place has always been a dream of mine to visit and now here I am, living in it.

I took a quick shower and got into my uniform. It was a soft brown apron over a white polo tee with black jeans and a small flower enamel I pinned on my apron just because I thought it looked too dull.

Elia swiped her bag from her desk as soon as she sees me and took her keys out. "We have 15 minutes to get there."

"El, first of all, we own that business which means we're our own bosses and second, it's literally just across the street. Even if we're late, no one is going to give us hell for it."

"I will. Now hurry up!" Elia motioned me to exit the door.

We exited the building and walked a few blocks down the road. There it was. Vivlio, our café bookstore. It's a 2 story shophouse with plenty of potted plants carefully aligned near the entrance, the café sits nicely on the first floor surrounded by shelves with books for people to read. Upstairs is where I mostly sit at the cash register, buried in books just sorting them out if I'm not downstairs helping Elia out.

We opened it 3 months ago after we graduated from University and decided to set up a business together. Nothing too fancy, just something we both enjoyed doing. Elia handles the café part as a barista while I'm the book lady. We had not thought about hiring extra help around here since the business has never gotten too busy.

Elia looks the part to be a barista. Her black hair is always in a messy low ponytail and she wears these big vintage glasses that complimented her face well. She's always been into latte art and has wanted to share it with people. And that she did.