the fairest

By now, Silvia was more or less familiarized with the streets of Fabletown. The town had a welcoming atmosphere, after all. It was easy to believe that this had been her home, or that it would be home now. It felt right, even if she often felt incomplete. Even after finding Julia again - which rocked her whole world, but in the best possible way, making everything fall into place - there was still something missing, or someone.

For whatever reason, that feeling always became more intense when she passed by the Gem Hut. She had never entered the store - it was not like she had enough money to buy anything from there - but, looking at shop windows, she couldn’t help but feel like there was a connection there, a hidden meaning that she really, really should remember.

Her hand unconsciously touched the ruby necklace under her sweater. It was the only personal belonging she had with her upon waking up in the hospital, and she was still no idea what it meant, but it had to be important. She kept it on all the time, hidden but close. The gem, shaped like a heart, made her own heart ache, as if it was a souvenir given by a very important person.

She was just no idea who that was. She walked closer to the store window, the shiny stones catching her eyes. She could name all of them, somehow, noticing the different shades of a garnet and a ruby like hers. “How do I even know this things?” She said to herself, more confused by each random thing she could identify about the gems.

IT WAS STRANGE, HOW MUCH one could know about a person through other people’s mouths. Contrary to what he’d claim, Sanhyuk was not insusceptible to the title-tale that went around in small towns. How could he be, when all teachers seemed to do in the teacher’s room was drink coffee, complain ( rightfully so! ) about the government’s disregard towards public school teacher’s and gossip about the lives of other residents of Fabletown? So maybe Hyuk wasn’t a teacher yet but he did have access to the teacher’s room as an assistant… Sure, he could spend his lunch break somewhere else but the microwave there heated the food a lot faster… Besides, he’d never added to the gossiping himself and took whatever he heard with a grain of salt, rarely ever paying any mind to any of it! Most of it was fallacy anyway – make-believe of the mundane to entertain those who grew out of the fantasy of fairy tales. But adults, they were supposed to stay informed, weren’t they…? And like it or not, the name Silvia Neves had been brought up many, many times these past two weeks, and not only in the privacy of the teacher’s room walls.

Hyuk didn’t like it. At first, he was as curious as any other person, but the longer the discussion around the woman went, the clearer it became no one was concerned about what happened with Silvia or the distress she must’ve been going through now; their only concern was how to make engaging small talk out of somebody’s life. Eventually he’d begun to tune out of the conversation whenever Silvia’s name was mentioned, but by that time he already knew more about her than he’d have otherwise. As much as she knew about herself probably, taking in account the memory loss. Hyuk hadn’t been sure how true was that before, but he could see it now in the way she held herself, hesitant and then abrupt in her movements, and how utterly and completely lost she seemed as she signed to him with the effortless skill and expertise of someone who was used to sign every day, perhaps to someone like him. And his expression must’ve be mirroring some of her own shock then, but he couldn’t help it.

Sanghyuk could count on the fingers of one hand how many people in Fabletown knew sign language well enough to reply to him in it, and to think someone he spent so long hearing about was one of them too made him wonder just how much of a person was lost to the mouth to mouth idle talk that took place in break rooms and taxi cabs.  Maybe it’s only the bigger, more important parts,  he mused as he took in the earnesty in her disposition, the kindness reflected in her beady eyes, his own softening into something more receptive. And that was just fine by him! He’d much prefer to get to know Silvia Neves through Silvia Neves, anyway.  Here’s to hoping the sentiment will be mutual…

Assuming he was not about to be kicked out of the diner anymore, Hyuk stepped further inside and let the front door close shut behind him with a slight shiver before adressing the waiter. THANK YOU FOR SIGNING BUT I CAN HEAR,  he signed back, a little clumsily since it had been a while ever since he had to sign longer sentences and couldn’t use both hands properly just yet, though the grateful smile on his face never faltered.  I NOTICED YOU’RE NEW.  He crossed his fingers.  HOPE YOU’RE HERE TO STAY. NOT HIM. HE CAN GO,  he signed hastily to the front door, glowering towards the kitchen’s door once more before letting his expression become gentler again, amiable.  THANK YOU. PUT THE UMBRELLA SOMEWHERE DRY, PLEASE?  he circled his hand in front of his chest with pleading eyes, then added:  SORRY FOR THE MESS. RAIN CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD.  Then, to answer her last question, he fingerspelled his name, holding the K up a little longer and bit his lip to hold back a chuckle, reminded of the many times people thought he was throwing peace signs randomly while spelling his name. He couldn’t be sure Silvia knew how to fingerspell as well as he did… But he could always just type it on his phone later. For him, it was thoughtful enough that she had asked.

.

Silvia was still wrapping her head around the fact that she didn’t even know she was bilingual, but she got to work in a second. “Oh, no problem! Yes, I’ve started working here this week.” Then, with the guys, next comment, she couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Frank is allergic to politeness, but he’s got a good heart. Deep, deep down, I believe.” She whispered, feeling just a little guilty to be talking ill of her colleague, but he had been unnecessarily rude to someone who did nothing wrong at all, so she believed it wasn’t so bad.

She carefully took the umbrella and wrapped it in a plastic bag she kept in her apron’s pocket for emergencies. “I’ll take care of this, no worries! And you absolutely do not need to apologize, there’s a storm out there and you are always welcome here, Sanhyuk.” She said, checking his name as he spelled it. “Come in, please! What would you like to eat? Or maybe I could bring you some coffee, or hot cocoa?” In that rainy weather, Silvia would always welcome a warm beverage and a good plate of food. She hoped that Frank’s indelicacy wouldn’t scare Sanhyuk away from Granny’s from now on, so she would try her best to be extra welcoming, making sure his experience at the diner was a good one regardlessly of how messy it started. 

Julia had just finished work after her last kindergartener was picked up from school when she decided to visit Granny’s diner afterwards like she always did, especially since she had never been the best cook in her family. Smiling at Granny as she entered the door, she sat down in her usual spot.

Upon hearing someone call out to her, the young girl turned around, only to see someone she hadn’t expected to see in a long time. Julia remembered all the time her and Silvia had together, it was one of the happiest moments of her life, but she hadn’t expected to see her here again especially since she saw her fall into her coma. As the raven haired girl got closer, she couldn’t help but tear up, glad she was awake again. “S-Silvia, is that you?” She asked, getting up from her booth to take a better look at her. “Do you know who I am?” She added, remembering that some people often suffer from amnesia after they come back from their comas usually. 

Just hearing Julia’s voice again made Silvia want to cry. Seeing Julia’s tears, she could feel her own starting to fall. “It’s me, it’s... It’s me, Julie.” She answered, her voice shaking when she said the nickname she had for her girlfriend. Silvia didn’t know what to do, overwhelmed by the memories that took over her in just a few moments. How could she have forgotten such a beautiful feeling, the kind of love that she felt with every bone of her body?

Julia’s next question made Silvia lose her voice for a moment. She did, didn’t she? Of course she knew who Julia was. She knew what she felt for Julia. She had to know, but then, why was her brain so... All over the place? “I do, Julia, I know you, but...” That word burned her tongue, that ‘but’, the cue for admiting to Julia how broken she was since waking up.

“When I woke up in the hospital, I could remember nothing but my own name. I didn’t know this town, or... Or anyone. I couldn’t tell who I was. Nothing.” She took a deep breath, trying to recompose herself to continue, but that sensation of being completely lost, a stranger to herself, hadn’t quite left Silvia yet. “And I got this job at Granny’s, and nurse Dafne and a few other people helped me, but I still... I didn’t have anyone from before, and I still couldn’t... I still can’t figure it out.”

Even through the tears and the fear, she kept talking, unable to stop now that she had the chance. “And then I saw you walk in, Julie, and I remembered... I remembered you, I remembered us. But I still don’t understand... what’s happening to me. The details are all lost, and I guess so am I.” Silvia wanted to hug Julia so bad, to hold her as close as possible and let herself believe this was real, that she was no longer alone, but she was still not sure if she could.

It was just another evening at Granny’s, and Silvia was already used to the routine. She kept going back and forth between the tables and the kitchen, hands almost always full, the usual smile perfectly steady in her face. Just about an hour into her shift, Silvia was carrying a plate of burgers to a table near the door when she saw her enter the diner.

The name came so easily to her tongue, as if it had been hidden in Silvia’s mind since she woke up from the coma, just waiting for that face to show up and bring it to the surface. “Julia.” The waitress whispered, because if she didn’t control her voice she would scream. Silvia left the plate in the nearest empty table - the clients would have to wait, just this once - and walked in the direction of the girl, her entire body shaking.

Along with the name, a bunch of flashes invaded her memories. Julia’s hand on hers, the scent of a fresh baked pie over a kitchen counter, a single flower left over a pillow, pretty handwriting on a note on the fridge - a heart as the only signature, Silvia’s fingers playing with the other’s dark hair, two colorful mugs left in the sink, a red lipstick stain in Julia’s white shirt - a shirt that smelled like Julia, a smell Silvia would recognize anywhere.

Silvia thought she would faint, at the same time she felt more awake than she’d ever been. Her head was taken by this confusing collage of them, them all over, and Silvia asked to herself how could she ever have forgotten. And then, the scariest thought crossed her mind. What if Julia had forgotten her too? It seemed impossible, but Silvia had been in the hospital for who knows how long and nobody ever came looking for her. What had happened? Weren’t them in love before? What were they now?

It all rushed through her head in a matter of seconds, just as long as it took her to be standing right in front of Julia. They were blocking the diner’s door, but Silvia didn’t care. All she wanted was to touch Julia, to hold her tight and never let go again, but the shock and the fear stopped her from moving any further. She had so many questions, so much she needed to say, but only one phrase left her lips. 

“I know you.” It was the silliest, most obvious thing to say to one’s own girlfriend. Maybe ex-girlfriend? Silvia couldn’t know, but she couldn’t think of that right now, less than a minute after remembering Julia’s existance in the first place. Still, ‘I know you’ was the most profound declaration she could make. In such simple words, there was a lifetime of meaning, an entire soul finding it’s other half. 

Since Silvia woke up, she had been confused not only by her own lack of memory, trying to figure out her own identity. At every moment, she was bothered by the unsettling feeling of someone missing, of a part of her heart that was nowhere to be found, of searching the crowds for a face she didn’t know and could only hope to recognize. She was always waiting for them, for her love, for her soul to come save her, but she wasn’t sure the feeling wasn’t empty, a figment of the imagination of a lonely girl in denial.

The moment Julia entered the diner, it all made sense, every piece falling into place. There was her heart, looking back at her, finding her at last. How could she ever have doubted? She still didn’t know the detail, she still had so many gaps to fill and so many questions unanswered, but she had one fact to hold on to. I know you meant finally, finally coming home.

Lunara always enjoyed meeting other people with a love of flowers. She felt like nearly half of the customers that came into Game of Thorns were either looking for any old red bouquet for a date or a little houseplant since succulents and the like had become trendy. As the other woman spoke Lunara cast a glance out the display windows. The trees outside still retained their autumn colors, though many of their leaves had fallen off this late into the season. Lunara loved autumn for all of its beauty and as the harvest season, but that morning had been particularly cold and she wasn’t exactly looking forward to going back out in the evening.

“They’re four dollars a stem,” Lunara answered, hoping the price wouldn’t keep the other girl from buying them. Individually that cost wasn’t too much, but as a bouquet it started to add up. Especially since they usually contained at least 8 stems. “Pleased to meet you too, I’m Lunara,” She introduced herself in turn with a smile. 

.

Silvia did the math in her head. It wouldn’t be the cheapest item, but the bouquet was worth the price. Just a few more tips at Granny’s and she would make up for it. “I will have it, please. And maybe some cornflowers, too, if you have them?” The bright, blue flowers would be a good addition to the small collection she wished to start, and they would go perfectly with the yellow lilies. They also had the added advantage of their food coloring use. 

“That’s a beautiful name, Lunara.” Silvia loved the way it sounded, with something bright about it. The florist’s warm smile give her the courage to continue talking, hoping she wasn’t a bother for interrupting her work with the orange bouquet. “If it’s not to much trouble, I would also love some tips or suggestions for someone starting a little garden at home. I don’t have a lot of space, but I’d like to make it as colorful as possible.” 

The other girl didn’t seem to be a fan of Neva’s drink. Or perhaps she’d just been expecting something entirely different. Like when you mistake an oatmeal raisin cookie for one with chocolate chips - not bad, but a surprise to the taste buds. Perhaps a dark roast wasn’t for everyone. Her displeasure towards the drink quickly turned into embarrassment when she turned to Neva. 

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. It was a simple mistake—” Neva tried to stop Silvia but the girl was already at the counter reordering her coffee. The only reason she had even said anything was in the hopes of stopping the woman before she drank it. She really didn’t need a stranger to buy her a drink. Neva could certainly afford a replacement and she hated getting more involved with other people than she needed to. “Just the drink will be fine, thank you,” Neva made an attempt at a small, polite smile despite how awkward she was feeling inside.

.

Despite her wishes to bake a whole sweet pie for Neva, Silvia settled with just buying her a new drink. It wouldn’t be a good idea to buy the girl some cookies anyway if she didn’t even know if Neva liked cookies, right? “Alright, it’s just going to be the coffee then, but I insist.” She said, just as the person at the counter took her order.

Luckily, there was nobody else in line, so Neva’s coffee would be the next drink to be made. Silvia was a little less embarassed by now, and she allowed herself to give the other girl a genuine smile. “No problem at all. I’m sorry to take more of your time, but I hope the coffee will be ready soon. You know, I’m not a big coffee person. I think I have a bad case of sweet tooth.”

While all the confusion happened, Silvia’s hot cocoa had already showed up at the counter, and she double checked before taking it this time. She felt a bit silly holding two drinks at the same time, but she wouldn’t let either go to waste. She took a big sip of the coffee. It was a better experience when she knew what to expect. 

“Maybe I should start having more coffee, though. It must be helpful when working night shifts.” She commented, trying to get used to the taste. It wasn’t bad, just different. Then, with what was left from the nervousness from her coffee mistake, Silvia started asking herself if she wasn’t talking too much, and tried to stay quiet until Neva’s new coffee arrived.

A small smile crossed Rosemary’s face, a part of her grateful it was just a girl, whom she didn’t recalled seeing around. “It’s okay, as long as you’re not a creep hiding behind a tree, is safe to say we’re good.” she said with a simple shrug. “Oh you’re working at Granny’s? I love that place for a go -to they have the best pancakes, ever!” she exclaimed turning towards the other fully. Her face was awfully familiar but couldn’t recall much. She was certain she’d never met Silvia, but why did it ring a bell? Somewhere in the news perhaps? Definitely not kindergarden.

“I’m Rosemary, pleased to meet you.” she said before looking at her watch, “If it’s open you think I could catch up for a milkshake or something? I mean if you want company too that is.” after all, it didn’t mattered how much she liked taking walks, always when it came with two or more made it even better. Reason as to why it was common to find Rosemary around with her dog as well.

.

Could Silvia have known this girl before... Well, before the coma? She wasn’t sure, but things made sense when the girl mentioned Granny’s, eyes lighting up at the thought of their food. Silvia understood the reaction all too well, and she imagined she might have seen the girl’s face at work before. “I have just started there, but I already love everything about it. The pancakes are indeed delicious, and our cook is very dedicated.”

Something made Silvia’s heart tug when she heard that name. “That is a beautiful name, Rosemary. It is very nice to meet you too.” She checked her own watch when she noticed the other’s gesture. “Oh, that would be lovely! We should probably head there already, if you don’t mind. What milkshake flavor is your favorite? I personally love mixing up chocolate and strawberry.” 

With every kind person that Silvia met in Fabletown, she became happier to make this her home, even if she wasn’t sure it had been her home before. She felt good around people, and better yet when she made friends. Maybe it was too early to consider her new acquaintances as friends, but that is how they looked in her eyes.