My Words Are Law

Not for my own interests (2)

It's been a few days since the incident in Taylor's unit, so Amaryllis' cold definitely improved. Honestly, if it weren't for a kind old lady that helped her, she would've been bedridden the next day. Her focus automatically drifted to the paper bag beside her. It was the reason why she came out on another Sunday. To return the white knee-length dress, the kind stranger offered out of pity after having met Amaryllis, who was soaked the previous Sunday in the condo's lobby. 

It looked costly, and the lady said it was for her prospective future granddaughter-in-law, so she promised to return it in pristine condition. She wondered, however, if it was alright to just return it like this... The prospective future grand-daughter in law might feel bad knowing someone had worn it before.

Amaryllis sat inside the cafe, feeling thankful that she wasn't among the people braving the rain outside. Drops of water started to fall as soon as she stepped inside the cafe, and in just a few minutes, it began to pour hard.

She thought she had taken her umbrella with her, but she must've remembered wrong because there was no sign of the item when she checked inside her bag earlier after sitting down.

Sighing, she looked away from the big window to take her mind off the bad weather.

"Did you wait long?"

Amaryllis' back straightened at the familiar clear, mediated voice.

"No, not at all..." She sheepishly smiled at the old woman as she stood up to greet her.

The lady hummed in a good mood before asking her to sit back down, while sitting.

She then looked at Amaryllis for a good while and said, "You look fine now, it seems."

Amaryllis nodded as she passed the bag across. "...I immediately washed it and made sure to remove the wrinkles. Thank you so much for lending this to me. Otherwise, I would not have only ended up with colds..."

The lady glanced at it, then as if she had just heard something interesting, her eyes returned to Amaryllis in a flash. "Oh my... Are you very sensitive to water?"

Amaryllis raised her line of sight to meet the mysterious amber eyes. Her hands began to fumble around until she clasped them together under the table. Biting her lips, she almost sighed as guilt bloomed in her chest. It's an entirely different person... What's more, she's a kind old and harmless lady. And Taylor wasn't anywhere near her name.

The calling card she gave her had Geneva Simmons written on it. And even if the case isn't so, she isn't so terrible that she'd write her off just because she might be a relative of Chryses.

"Yes... A bit..."

"I see... Your boyfriend must take care of you very well." The old lady's eyes crinkled as she smiled meaningfully. Amaryllis laughed and shook her head.

"Not at all. I don't have a person like that."

"You don't? But you're such a sweet young girl! Young men, these days are too slow..."

"Aha-ha... I'm not in a rush. I'm still young, and studying is my priority right now..." Besides the fact that guys don't pay attention to me. Which is also a good thing. "Anyway... is it really fine to return it just like this?" She gestured at the paper bag between them.  

"What do you mean- Of course, it's fine!" Mrs. Simmons waved her hands in the air with a snort. "That child isn't petty at all. It's okay."

Amaryllis smiled dubiously as she slipped some bills into the paper bag as soon as Mrs. Simmons turned her eyes away. The recipient might not be petty, but who would want to wear a gift that's already been worn by someone before..?