Explosion on Hawkins Road

The atmosphere on Hawkins Road this morning was tense. Black smoke soared so high that it almost covered part of the road. Causing limited visibility for road users. Conditions were getting hotter and made everyone in the horse-drawn carriage start to panic. They were afraid that there would be another explosion from the half-destroyed archive building.

One by one, they chose to get off the carriage, which could no longer move forward. In a situation like this, walking was the best option. Nivea jumped off the carriage followed by Seri and her coachman. Before that, Nivea had to force the coachman to come with her, leaving behind the chariot that could not possibly move again.

Nivea and the two people who came with her walked quickly through the sidelines of other horse-drawn carriages that, it seemed, had also begun to be abandoned by their owners. But the girl in the blue dress stopped walking when she heard the sound of a passenger struggling to open the carriage door from the inside. Meanwhile, the coachman was struggling to control his horse, which was about to run amok.

Seeing this, Nivea approached the carriage and easily opened the locked lever with her hand. Even though the lever lock had been broken before, the carriage door often locked itself. Nivea walked away after she rescued the passenger. And the passenger hadn't had a chance to thank her. The man only saw the backs of Nivea and Seri who were still following her.

"You? Nivea?", he muttered to himself when he got out of the carriage.

"Sorry sir, I still have to tame this horse. You'd better leave now!"

"What? Fine, run away if you can't control the horse!"

As Matias Vander Lawrence left the carriage and the coachman, he decided to return home, abandoning his intention of going to see Rodrigues. Upon arriving home, he went straight to his room. She still couldn't understand what Nivea had done. With just a flick of her hand on a lever that was impossible to open with her bare hands, the girl was able to open it in no time.

The man who was now sitting on his sofa while supporting his head with both hands, he brought back memories of many years ago. When he first saw Nivea reading a book in their school library. Since that day, he often visited the library, hoping that his cute little sister would be there.

---

After walking for several hundred meters, Nivea finally arrived at her shop. Seri quickly brewed a cup of tea for the lady. She wanted the girl to feel more comfortable after the long walk.

"Here's your tea, miss.", Seri placed a cup of chamomile tea in front of Nivea who sat on one of the customer's chairs.

"Hmm. Thank you Seri."

"I'm going to the kitchen, miss. You can call me if you need anything."

"Hmm.", while nodding Nivea only replied briefly.

Nivea sipped her tea while it was warm, savoring it little by little. While looking at the road that spread out behind the translucent glass. The morning sun warmed her heart. Now Nivea is ready to continue her day, although it seems that the crowd out there has not yet appeared as usual. Only a few people have been seen going back and forth in front of her shop.

"I guess... it won't be crowded today, so we shouldn't make too much bread. Because of the explosion on Hawkins Street this morning, most people probably chose not to go out."

"Alright miss!", replied Seri accompanied by the nods of the other two workers.

Then they went to work on their respective tasks.

"Where did you buy these berries, David?"

"Ah, that... I bought them at Mr. Robert's shop, miss. As usual."

"Hmm. I guess the quality of his berries is getting better now. I thought... you bought it elsewhere."

"I wouldn't have bought elsewhere without your consent, miss."

"Hahaha. You're so smart David!"

"Seri, could you please get me some water with that black container?", she continued.

"Yes ma'am."

Two hours later Nivea was done with her bread for the day. The others seemed to be quite preoccupied with other tasks. The store opened just a few minutes ago. Behind the ordering counter, Seri has been serving at least three customers since earlier. Nivea moved from her kitchen, approaching Seri's presence to join in serving the customers.

"They seem to like my bread, Seri?"

"Of course, ma'am. I think so. That girl sitting there with the two of them, I've seen her come here a few times."

"Really? You know, what do you think... what made them come back here?"

"Of course, it's because your bread is so delicious and... soft. Not only that miss, I think it's also because the service we provide to them is so good."

"Is all that true, Seri? It's not uncommon for me to feel scared... unable to hide the look on my face that is sometimes sad or upset."

"Ah, no ma'am! You've done your best so far. I don't think you have anything to worry about. They won't come back if our service isn't good."

Before we knew it, the afternoon was over and the sun was still strong on our skin. Nivea approached her coachman who was sitting drinking his lemonade in a corner of the shop's kitchen. The tall man got up from his chair when he saw Nivea coming towards him.

"Mr. Willy, could you please go back to Hawkins Street now? I have to go home soon. Please take a look at your carriage first."

The man bowed slightly before Nivea, "Yes ma'am. I understand."

"Thank you, Mr. Willy. You don't need to run over there. No need to rush, walk carefully. I will wait until you return."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be going now.", the coachman bowed once again out of respect for his interlocutor. He hurried away to do what Nivea had just told him to do.

After the coachman left, Nivea returned to the booking table. She was still eager to serve the upcoming customers. She was humming softly, not far from Seri who was tidying up the lemonade bottles on the cabinet against the wall.

"Are you in a good mood, miss?"

"Hmm. I guess... not really."

"You're humming as if you're in a good mood."

"No Seri, you're overreacting if you think so. I'm just avoiding boredom."

"Are you bored here, miss?"

"Ah, no! Of course I'm never bored here. I mean, it's just not as busy today as usual. My prediction was right, they must still be reluctant to leave the house because of the incident this morning."

A few minutes later, Mr. Willy had returned to the shop in his horse-drawn carriage. Nivea had also finished serving the three customers who had come. He immediately closed the shop operations after seeing the appearance of his coachman out there. Then invited Seri to hurry home with him.