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“How many more stairs?!” A young woman belted while carrying a large package as she climbed her way up a set of creaking stairs. She cautiously balanced the phone she was talking through between her ear and shoulder, even when she could barely breathe and her legs felt like they were about to give up despite her best efforts.
“I told you that hiring some extra hands would make it way faster.” The tone of her friend’s voice sounded amused. “But you had to refuse, even when I offered to pay for it.”
“And I appreciate that, Ada! But I told you, I am more than capable of handling my move…but still, thank you for driving me to this place.”
“No problem.”
Soon enough, Windsong managed to get up the final set of stairs and put the final package down with the others. As she stood in front of a clean black door, struggling to catch the last breaths still escaping her, she held the phone towards her ear again.
“Okay…urgh…I have finally got all my things. Gotta unpack it too before work starts next week.”
“Best of luck with that. Remember that there are some projects coming your way.”
“Yes, yes. Don’t worry, I won’t forget it. See you soon.” Windsong closed the call and slipped the phone back in her pocket. The multiple back-and-forths she took for each box of stuff drained all her energy, as evident by the sweat glued on her forehead and how her throat was as dry as sandpaper.
Despite them containing her personal possessions, she sighed at the thought of needing to unpack them all. Still, Windsong steeled herself for the unavoidable. With shaky legs, she sat down on the hard yellow couch in the middle of the room – the only furniture that was set aside from her bed.
“I am beat…” she groaned. The tired woman leaned back on the seat and closed her eyes.
Okay, moved in. Luckily, I still have a few days left before work, so I still have time to unpack…but I REALLY don’t want to! Urgh! Moving is such a pain… and I don’t know anything about this place… but that’s okay! I’ll just have to meet my coworkers again, get a nice new office, and psyche myself up to take this incoming huge work opportunity! Everything should go well, right?
“...I hope this won't go wrong.”
“Go wrong how?”
“Oh, you know, just- AAAAAAAAAHHHH?!” She jumped from her couch and stared with a horrifying look at what was next to her.
A young boy.
A young boy with short, white hair adorning his tiny head was casually sitting there, wearing a cute shirt with a sunflower print. He looked rather young, about five, four, or even less, and he held a little toy car in his hand while looking at the startled Windsong with a bit of curiosity.
“What…w-why are you in my apartment?!” she shouted in confusion, half-willing to believe him as the ghost of a hallucination born from her exhaustion. “Who are you?!”
The young boy responded with nothing but a giggle, which was admittedly very cute but was no help at all in removing the utter shock to her system.
“Wait!” Windsong walked – almost ran, even – behind the couch to see that the door was open, letting some light from the apartment complex shine into her tiny place. The tired woman sighed and rubbed her hands against her forehead, now figuring the troubling scene was likely caused by her own exhausted ignorance.
Did I forget to close the door? Is that how that boy came in?
Silently cursing herself, the woman wrapped her hand around the doorknob, ready to close the door, before a loud shout made her halt the action she was about to take.
“Avgust! Avgust, where are you?!” It was the voice of a woman, not too far away and clear to hear.
The woman’s voice echoed through the hallway outside, not too high but also not too deep. Her gentle but worried tone sat somewhere in the middle, a comfortable mezzo-soprano with the delivery of someone used to projecting her voice, resonating with youth but with enough hints of maturity to clearly belong to another adult. Yet, something that stood out to Windsong was the clear traces of a strong and familiar accent.
She sounds like…
The door Windsong was holding a moment ago then swung open to the woman backlit by a bright, warm glowing light. With narrowed eyes, still waking up from their tired state, it took the apartment resident a moment to realize that the light was actually the woman’s long blonde hair, shining like pure gold. Immediately, Windsong’s attention then drifted to the stranger’s other qualities.
As if in slow motion, she took in the scent of her hair, smelling like a mix of linseed, seaweed, and white birch. Apart from her bright, golden hair, Windsong noted how her light face framed a pair of dazzling silver eyes and a determined pair of lips in which she could swear she saw an ivory-white fang. The stranger dressed in cold-weather-appropriate clothes. A long-sleeved cream sweater comfortably warmed even her neck and thin wrists, and a thick, earthy brown long skirt hoisted by a darker brown belt conservatively cut just above her ankles.
Windsong gawked towards the woman, her mouth unconsciously agape. Her eyes wandered from the stranger’s wavy hair to her sparkling eyes and then to her gentle face. Meanwhile, Windsong’s heart almost stopped working before it decided to beat rapidly like it wanted to eject from the trappings of her body. Then, when her mind finally managed to coordinate all her functions together again, her hand reactively clasped the doorknob even harder.
“Uh…I…ahhh…” she said breathlessly.
“Huh?” the stranger said, noticing her.
Windsong, what the heck are you doing?
“I…I…”
“Mama!” All of a sudden, the little boy waddled from the room’s inner space and stood next to Windsong. Tiny hands grabbed onto her leg and his eyes were shining with a similarly sparkling innocence when he looked at the blonde woman.
Mama?
“Avgust?!” Now she spoke up.
“I-I can explain!” She blurted out loud enough that both people stared at her in surprise.
Oh. Oh dear. Oh no. This is not what it looks like!
“Hi! Ma’am! I swear I did not kidnap him! He just suddenly appeared in my apartment. I think I didn’t close the door properly or something, and maybe he was curious! I just wanted to bring him back!”
Nice save…?
The woman blinked twice as if patiently processing Windsong’s weak explanation before she sighed, slightly bowed down and rested her hands on her knees with a smile.
“Avgust? What have I told you about visiting other people’s homes without asking?” she asked in a sweet voice.
Avgust just started to giggle before he let go of Windsong’s leg to jump into his mother’s arms. He immediately put his head on her shoulder before closing his small toddler eyes.
“I am sorry about him,” the stranger said. “Avgust actually does that pretty often. Whenever there is a door, even a tiny bit open, he wants to get up and run in. You don’t know how many neighbours he scared like that, and making him listen doesn’t always work either.”
“Ah…I see.” Windsong could barely muster a reply, but she started to calm down after realizing that she wasn’t being accused of kidnapping. However, the pretty woman in front of her was no help in regard to being in peace.
“Oh, I should introduce myself.” The young mother raised her hand – easily carrying her son in the other arm – for a handshake. “I’m Vila, and you know my son Avgust already. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Windsong.”
Vila. It's a beautiful name.
Windsong finally let go of the doorknob, feeling her hand numb and cramped in pain, and she shook her neighbour's hand. She silently prayed that her weak handshake went unnoticed by the generously polite Vila.
“Hello, Ms.Vila–wait, how do you know my name??”
“I have a friend who works with the landlord, and they told me about the new resident that was coming. Apparently, you made a good impression on them, so I was curious,” Vila answered. “Also, greeting and helping new residents is something I often do! And, well, I guess my son scaring you was his way of saying hello.”
“Oh, well…” Windsong couldn’t shake the nervousness off. “It’s fine. I actually am new to this city, so I do appreciate having a nice face helping me.”
Nice face? Seriously? That’s what you say first???
But Vila just smiled at her.
“Oh, Avgust and I have lived in this city for only a few months ourselves, but I would say that we have pretty good knowledge about where to go. I would recommend going by bike or train if you want to go around the city. It’s way better than by car, especially with all the traffic.”
“Haha, I believe you. Just a few days ago, I visited the office, and even by train, it took me almost an hour to arrive. Traffic is a nightma–”
From Vila’s arm, Avgust’s loud yawn interrupted Windsong’s small talk, causing both women to focus on him. Eyes half closed in a more adorable manner than Windsong’s were a few minutes ago, he cuddled even closer to his mother, who demurely laughed.
“Aha! Looks like our little arctic fox wants to go to bed.” She lovingly stroked his hair before giving her neighbour an apologetic look. “I am sorry, Ms. Windsong, but I have to cut our conversation short.”
“T-that’s totally fine!” Windsong guiltily felt somewhat disappointed that she couldn’t continue talking with the pretty woman in front of her, but she didn’t let it get a hold of her. “I should go back and unpack my things anyway. Especially since work is tomorrow.”
Vila’s eyes seemed to light up at that. “I assume you will be busy then, but do you have time after work?”
“Oh?” Windsong was surprised. “Yes, I will be free in the afternoon.”
“Perfect! Would you like to meet me at a cafe? There are lots of things you should know about this city, so I thought you would appreciate some help with getting to know it.” Windsong almost gasped over the surprising offer but managed to hold herself together.
Going to a cafe with Ms Vila? A beautiful woman asking to meet up with her? Her!? Was she dreaming?
“I would love to!” She said, almost a little too loud – cringing at nearly disturbing the snoozing toddler. But luckily Vila didn’t react – or was she just being nice? – and little Avgust was still asleep. “I mean, I would love to meet you at the cafe and appreciate the help!”
If Windsong were lucky, she might even get to know her better too.
“Perfect!” Vila cheered, and Windsong noted the soft way her motherly eyes closed and tilted when she smiled. “Would you like to exchange numbers? I can send you the location of the cafe too.”
Awesome!
During their exchange, Windsong noticed Vila’s phone case was done in a bright ocean blue with cartoonish stickers of mermaids and seashells attached. She thought it was very cute, especially in contrast to her plain black case.
“It’s time for us to leave now,” Vila said after they exchanged numbers. “See you tomorrow Ms. Windsong! We hope you will enjoy your new place.”
“Thank you…” Windsong resisted smiling a bit too obviously. “I’m sure I will. See you tomorrow.” Both women waved goodbye to each other, and Vila paced towards the door that was just a few meters next to Windsong’s, who watched her curiously.
She heard the mother’s keys jingling and realized that this woman wasn’t just a neighbour; she was her next-door neighbour.
Holy shit.
She quickly closed the door and ran back into back to her apartment, leaning on the wall. Windsong buried her face deep in her hands, knowing she wasn’t able to control the deep blush that colored her face red. One could mistake the beating of her heart for a rock concert’s drum solo with how intensely it pounded against her torso.
While her body betrayed her, Windsong’s thoughts also kept wandering back to the breathtaking woman who appeared in front of her new home.
A beautiful woman…who also wanted to exchange numbers with me so fast. This feels like a dream– Calm down! She just wants to show you the city. She probably just wants to be your friend, right? She said she did this often with the other tenants. But…she is so pretty, and she has a cute son…
A cute son…
A cute…son?
“WAIT, SHE HAS A CHILD?!” The desperate scream she let out from the realization was probably loud enough to break the sound barrier.
She also hadn’t noticed how she stood up fast enough to knock over one of the stacked boxes.
“Does that mean she is married?!”
At that moment, the young woman did not hear the loud ping from her phone, in which a young mother had sent her the location to a cafe where they would meet again tomorrow.