The market was beautiful.

The streetlights and the lights installed in the stores and stalls illuminated the whole market. ​​

At this time of the day, this market was one of the most boisterous places in the city. Be it, locals or foreigners, the one thing this street wasn’t lacking was people and entertainment.

The first thing that caught my eye is the illuminated signs. The pubs would have neon signs with drinks, but these weren’t the fluorescent kind that was hard on the eyes. These lights were just as eye-catching, but not nearly as bright.

The street stalls would have smaller signs with their name and menu written in glow in the dark ink.

This just went to show how a lot of the activities occurred after the sun had already set.

I do wonder how this market would look like in the morning.

There were silks and mats displayed at the first stall I stopped at. The lady who was behind the stall was talking to the owner of the stall to her right.

I could see that everyone else was talking to each other with familiarity, both the shop owners and the customers.

Though there did seem to be some people who were not as familiar with the market, they were all following people who were.

It was hard to tell if this market was targeted at foreigners or locals, it just seemed like there was something for everyone.

I walked straight past the mat store to the skews stall beside it. The scent from the stall was permeating to its surroundings and you could tell it was popular from the number of people standing around. I took a ticket like all the people before I had and waited.

When it got to me, I just ordered whatever the specialty was.

Malalaka wasn’t exactly known for any of its food.

I know, shocker. I didn’t pick the place with the best food to go to first. But it was quite known for its variety of spices.

I took a big bite of the meat skewer I had just paid for, and I must say.

This is what I was reborn for!

This was the life I wanted to live. If I could just forget about everything else, this would be perfect. Without any of those other worries, without any of the burdens. Just me, my family, and all the wonders of the world.

How perfect would that be?

How perfectly unrealistic.

I ate what I called my dinner as I wandered around the stalls looking for anything interesting.

Then I chanced upon a stall that was selling books. All the books looked rather old but well kept. I scanned through the books available when one caught my attention. The title was just two words, “Messenger’s Diary”. It was a peculiar title.

It reminded me of a messenger that would go around listening to secret love affairs as he passed around letters in the royal palace if you know what I mean.

Then every day, he would write those secrets in a diary. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Or maybe, a romance novel of some sorts, that would be even better.

But what really caught my eye was the symbol on the cover of the ‘diary’.

It was a compass that had the sun of the Malalakan country as its symbol. The sun was on the national flag, but that same sun was being held by the crescent moon. The sun that was a golden yellow on the national flag was a dark blue, nearly black, on this compass.

Somehow, this compass design looked familiar.

The chances of this being a coincidence were low, as the design was very unique. The whole thing only had a few strokes, yet the design looked terribly complex.

How peculiar.

I wanted to reach out to open the book to look at the contents when another hand pressed the cover down.

“Girl. Can you even read this cover? If you can, then you should also be able to read this sign.” The shopkeeper gestured at the sign that I had missed.

The sign was written in both Makin and the International Language, English.

[THIS SHOP HAS A TOUCH BUY POLICY. IF YOU TOUCH IT, YOU BUY IT!]

It was no wonder that there was no one in here.

I look at the shopkeeper who was no longer paying me any attention. She had a tan, caramel brown skin. It looked very well cared for, smothered in skincare products. Even I had to admit, it looked way too smooth. She wore a long black cape that hid most of her figure, but most of her face could still be seen.

Her hair was dyed a dark blue, the same shade as her beautiful, ocean blue eyes. I was a wonder why people weren’t swarming here to hit on her.

But then again, it wasn’t my business. That is what I said to myself, but deep down, I wanted to know all the juicy details.

Sure, I pretended to be oblivious in front of my brothers, but what other choice did I have?

It’s not like I had any interest in my classmates, it wasn’t a bad choice to act like I didn’t know what they meant.

Plus, I’m sure that neither Big Brother Theo nor Big Brother Nathen truly believed that I knew nothing. It’s just acting that way and believing such things gave us all peace of mind. Even if that was the only reason to keep up the act, it was enough of a reason.

I had bigger problems to deal with. Let’s not talk about dating someone, if I can’t even hold a conversation.

But even so, who could live in this world for 15 years and not know a thing or two? The amount of innocence and that kind of sheltered life was neither one I had, nor one I could afford. And frankly, it wasn’t one I wanted either.

My hand once again reached out for the book, but this time, I stopped myself just before touching it.

“How much?” I ask the shopkeeper, who I believe to be just about my age.

Yes, just because she owns a book shop, doesn’t mean she has to be an old granny. She was a very hot woman. Well, teenager. But when you’re around that age, it’s hard to define you.

Should I use girl, woman, miss, or lady?

The choices.

“The book is in Makin, will you be able to read it?” I had used the same English that she used to speak to me, so it was only normal for her to doubt my ability to read the language. Plus, she didn’t exactly use a very condescending or belittling voice, just one that pretty much said ‘don’t waste my time’. But in more of an annoyed tone rather than a, ‘you’re not worth my time’ voice.

“Yes,” I say in Makin.

The young miss just nods her head.

I feel as if someone was grabbing my heart when I try to open up to her just a little more. I feel my brows tighten due to the pain, but I don’t want to show it in any other way.

Maybe it does have something to do with the age of the other person, but it seems like ethnicity doesn’t matter too much.

I automatically opt for my poker face in this scenario so that I don’t make the situation any worse.

“I’ll tell you the price if you buy it.”

Me: “…”

Just…

‘Are you even trying to sell these books??’

“Okay.” I wasn’t even buying the book because it seemed interesting anymore. I just wanted to know what kind of prices she sold at.

She handed me the book without batting another eye. “All yours.”

“How much.” I felt like I was playing a cat and mouse game just to find out the price of this stupid book.

“Just take it. On the house.”

?

I’m sorry what? I think I might be going deaf. Surely, I didn’t hear that right. After all that, and you were going to give it out for free? Is this even a business?

“You’re my first customer so I should be giving you a discount. There. 100% discount. But don’t expect the same thing next time.” She waved her hand as if signaling to me that I could go now.

Well. I’m not even too shocked that I’m her first customer. Even though in my head, all I could think about was how… unique, this miss was.

Even the poker face that I had trained years for couldn’t prevent my lips from twitching.