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It was getting close to midnight. The clock that hung above the wall on the other side of the store told her so. It was taunting her, really, the seconds hand moving slower and slower at every noise it made.
Either way, as the clock struck midnight - in around fifteen minutes - Aera would be able to lock up the shop, and return to her small apartment above it.
She didn't even own the shop - just lived above it. And sometimes, instead of paying rent, she would look after the shop for a few night shifts each month, which she would happily do.
It was almost silent. Just the ticking of the clock, the sound of the refrigerators, the noise from the cars on the road nearby. In some form, that was silent - the silence that Aera was used to anyways.
It was a comfortable silence, one that was promptly interrupted as soon as Aera even thought of it. The door into the shop swung open, the bell noise sounding.
It closed with a slam, and Aera frowned, leaning over the counter to try and see who came in. Other than her, the shop was once empty.
Now, not so much. A slight twinge of fear appeared in her brain, the paranoia arising that maybe this was something a lot more sinister than just a customer hurrying in.
She still couldn't see anyone, and confused, Aera went to step out of the counter, gently pulling the latch that kept the seperation down. Pulling it up, she was about to go through, when she saw a boy staring back up at her.
"May I help you?" She asked, and before she could say anything else, the door opened once again, and the boy pushed past Aera and into the corner of the counter area, his knees pulled to his chest, making him look as small as possible.
She was about to repeat the question when the boy raised a single finger to his lips. Shrugging, Aera leant further over the counter, seeing a rather rushed looking girl in the doorway.
