Chapter 3 Joyful Cafe
I was scared out of my mind, struggling to break free from the giant snake's grip, only to realize my mom and dad were nowhere to be found.
"Mom..."
I started bawling my eyes out. After what felt like forever, I slowly opened my eyes and found myself back in my own bed at home, still wrapped up in my dad's arms.
It was just a dream. My mom was only a part of it.
My dad held me tight, as if afraid I'd vanish. Suddenly, it dawned on me - my eyes were healed! I could move them and even shed tears!
The room was super quiet, and I could hear the wind and snow outside the window.
Great, it was snowing again on my 12th birthday.
In the darkness, something felt strange. I glanced around and furrowed my brow, "Why can't I hear dad's snoring?"
Usually, after a few drinks, my dad would snore like a freight train. Why was it so silent tonight?
I scrambled out of bed, shaking my dad and calling out to him.
But he didn't respond at all.
Panicked, I leaped out of bed barefoot and dashed out to find Peter.
When I opened the door, I saw a clear trail in the snow, showing a snake had just left my house.
It hit me – the astrologer had told me to keep the snake that showed up on my 12th birthday. I slapped my forehead, Damn, I slept too soundly and didn't keep the snake!
Without thinking, I quickly found Peter.
As the villagers said, I caused my mom's death when I was born, and on my 12th birthday, I caused my dad's death.
Peter had my dad buried next to my mom's grave, and then they started talking about my future.
The village chief, representing the villagers, didn't want me around the village, and Peter, fearing me as well, believed I was the cause of his brother's death.
So, they quickly decided to send me to the county orphanage that very night after my dad died.
At 12 years old, I was always getting picked on in the orphanage.
Because of long-term malnutrition, I was really skinny and weak. Plus, being isolated for so long made me pretty reclusive, which made people see me as an outcast.
The older kids would knock over my bowl of food or push me down while running.
Until Fiona Howard, who was three years older than me, showed up.
She was really tall, and when I got pushed to the ground again, she stood up for me and chased those kids away.
From then on, she became my sister.
On my 15th birthday, Fiona got me a cake and a bottle of red wine.
She explained that she had been an orphan since childhood and was unaware of her own birthday. She declared that starting from that day, she would celebrate her birthday on the same day as mine.
That day, we finished the cake and the wine.
After drinking, I couldn't help but think of the night my dad died and cried myself to sleep.
When I woke up the next day, it was already afternoon.
Fiona was gone. She had turned 18 and left to make a living on her own.
She asked the director to tell me that she would come back to find me on my 18th birthday.
I felt a surge of loneliness, alone without family or friends. However, a few days later, the director informed me that someone wished to adopt me.
I was both nervous and excited. The director said the person was a coffee shop owner, a middle-aged guy in his fifties named Lorenzo Williams, who had a daughter.
The director helped me pack up, and Lorenzo came to pick me up that afternoon.
The moment I saw Lorenzo, I was floored. He was the astrologer the village chief had brought in back then!
Lorenzo took me into his car and explained that his daughter had grown up and wanted to adopt a son. When he came to the orphanage to check out the kids' profiles, he recognized me right away, even though it had been years.
Maybe it was fate.
I told him about my life over the years. When he heard my dad had died, he sighed deeply.
He mentioned an event from eight years back that led him to cease practicing divination. Subsequently, he established a coffee shop named "Joyful Cafe" in the county.
And his daughter's name was Alicia Williams. She had graduated from college and made a living by game boosting at home. She had no interest in running the coffee shop.
In other words, he wanted me to eventually take over the coffee shop.
Soon, I found myself inside Joyful Cafe.
It was my first time in a coffee shop.
The modern decor made me, in my simple clothes, feel out of place.
The coffee shop had a two-story layout. The first floor served as the reception area and main hall, while the second floor was split into two sections: one with private compartments and the other where Lorenzo and Alicia resided.
As dinner time approached, there wasn't a single customer in the coffee shop.
I was a bit puzzled. Could a coffee shop really make money in our small county?
Lorenzo bought some ready-made food and cooked two dishes, calling Alicia downstairs for dinner.
That day, Alicia was wearing pajamas with cartoon patterns, listening to music with her headphones on. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her delicate, fair face was marked by dark circles under her eyes, making her look like a naive young girl deeply obsessed with games.
Lorenzo introduced us, but Alicia didn't seem very interested in me. She greeted me briefly and then started wolfing down her food.
In just a few minutes, Alicia grabbed a meat pie and went back upstairs.
After dinner, Lorenzo took me to a storage room on the second floor, where there was an old wooden bed, which would be my room from now on.
Then, he showed me around the entire coffee shop and taught me how to make a few instant coffees.
In the following days, Lorenzo had me stay in the shop to help, but there were very few customers.
As January came to a close, Lorenzo informed us he needed to leave for a few days and requested that Alicia and I take care of the coffee shop.
Before leaving, he specifically told me that after January, a few people would come to the shop every Monday to play cards and drink coffee, and I had to meet all their requests.
I kept this in mind, but on the night Lorenzo left, something strange happened.