Eatery

"Shall we go in?" Max asked as Shia appeared behind them, running with Dorran.

"Winner!" She shouted, jumping.

"You cheated." Ran struggled to catch his breath as colour flushed all over his cheeks and his eyes creased while he smiled. He got to his knees, still gasping for air.

"You are the one that cheated." Shia laughed, watching him struggle to stand up with all the snow.

"Here." Carlotta walked to him and held her hand out. "Come on."

Ran took her hand as she pulled him up, almost falling back again but they caught themselves in time.

"Why did you choose to race with Shia?" She asked, wiping some snow off her.

"It was just fun." He answered.

"Good job, Shia," Max said, doing a fist bump with her.

Their conversation faded behind her as Kaia watched the door, her nervousness returning. So many things could go wrong.

Before, she was alright with it because she has the book and her diary, but this time … she knows next to nothing about them or what happened prior to it.

Should she try to prevent their death also? But it is hard to predict what will happen if she does.

For her friends, she could work and make plans according to her memory but now it's a lot trickier.

"Kaia!" A voice pulled her out of her thoughts, she turned to look and saw all of her friends smiling at her.

"You ok?" Max asked and she nodded.

Whatever happens, at least she isn't alone anymore.

"Let's go in." She signed.

"Finally, I am starving." Shia pulled Carlotta and Dorran behind Kaia as they made their way to the door. Max stood beside Kaia and held the door open for her and the others.

As soon as they entered the café, a warm blast of air hit them and Dorran was happy instantly, "I like this place."

"Welcome!" Two very familiar voices greeted them and Kaia couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face as Layla came out of the kitchen to greet them. "Oh, we have a lot of guests today. Which table would you like to sit at, dears?"

She hardly cast a glance at Kaia this time but she didn't mind. They met under different circumstances before, now they don't remember her but that's ok.

Just seeing her smiling face is enough to make her happy. That's all that matters now.

"Hello, could we get a table that would fit all five of us?" Shia asked, stepping up instantly as the oldest in the group.

"Of course," Layla said casting a curious glance at Shia. Carlotta seemed worried that she may something but Layla didn't utter a word.

Kaia thought that the way she can see if people traded their lifespans or not was gone but it would come back now and then, especially when she feels overwhelmed with anything.

Layla's face isn't as bad as a lot of other people she has met but it is still a little bit lumpy. She shivered. The image she had of Layla has always been that she is a woman satisfied with who she is as a person.

While they were talking, she showed Kaia her ears. She had no pinna, though she could still hear.

'It was a birth defect.' She had told her. 'Fortunately, it is easy to hide.'

''Have you ever done that trading your lifespan thing?' Kaia had asked her.

'No.' The woman answered, though she looked a little uncomfortable after she said that. 'Don't ever do it, ok, dear?'

Kaia nodded that day but the thought always came back to her in the end.

She sighed as they walked to their seats, Carlotta intertwined their hands and gave her a slight smile. She always knows when Kaia needed to grasp onto something real in that moment.

Sometimes she can't differentiate between her memories and what is really happening right in front of her. So far, Carlotta has been there to remind her of which is real but she isn't going to be by her side twenty-four seven.

Get a grip, Kaia. You can't bother them all the time.

She sat down on her seat and looked over to Layla, who was talking with Shia and Max as they sat down on the round table.

The table they sat in has a semi-circular seat made of wood and filled with little cushions, with the table right in the middle of it all. There is just one way to enter the seats and that is a raccoon sized gap that stopped the circle from connecting with each other.

It is big enough to fit more of them but they just sat comfortably there with the extra space. Carlotta entered in, then Kaia, then Max followed by Shia and, lastly Dorran.

They made eye contact and she walked to her, "Is something wrong, dear? You look lost in thought."

Kaia began sighing but remembered that she couldn't understand sign language so she took out her phone and typed, "Could you put up the partition?"

"You know about the partition?" She asked as Kaia internally smacked herself for forgetting about it.

"We heard about this place from a friend of ours." Carlotta quickly said, "He told us about the partitions and everything. I heard the hot chocolate is to die for."

"To receive such high praise. We are honoured." She said, with a bright smile on her face. "Now, the menu is there, ring the bell when you are ready to order."

Kaia nodded at the woman and she pulled out the partitions and closed it for them.

"Thank you." She signed to Carlotta.

"What was that about?" She asked, "I have never seen you struggle to answer before."

"I was just surprised. I didn't calculate my moves." She sighed, resting her head on the table. "I was too careless."

"It's ok, Kaia," Max said as Dorran took off one jacket from the four he wore.

"Yes." He said, putting the jacket on his lap. "You can just tell us about them back home. Unless you want to do that now."

"I don't think I ever will." She signed, smile faltering when she remembered what awaits them.

"Do they die?" Shia asked, observing her expression. When Kaia's eyes went wide and quickly turned to her, she knew that she was right, "Kaia, let me tell you this. It may sound rude but I'm just going to say it anyway. You cannot save everyone."

"Shia." Carlotta started, frowning at her but Kaia stopped her.

"I know. I could do anything about my father." She answered, "I didn't even say if I will try to save them or not."

"You don't have to," Shia answered, looking at her with the vase of flowers in between them. "I know you."

"I am not considering it now." Kaia insisted, "It may cause more problems than not if I tried to involve myself. Time is tricky."

"I will believe you for now." She said, taking the menu from the table and skimming through it. "Wow."

"What's wrong?" Carlotta asked, taking another menu. "Oh, wow."

"What is it?" Max asked. Dorran was too busy basking in the warmth of the café to pay attention to anything else at the moment. "Too expensive?"

"It so cheap," Carlotta said, leaning forward. "Everything is so cheap."

Kaia took the menu from her and saw the prices, it is still the same as in her past life but they felt so much cheaper now. Is it because she has money now?

"Cheap?" That word pulled Dorran from his momentary bliss. Shia handed him the menu and concern flashed over his face. "It is really cheap."

"Is this place good, Kaia?" Carlotta asked but the other three seemed to share her concern as well. "Places this cheap aren't usually good."

"Don't worry. It's really good." She reassured them. Damien's cooking is almost unmatched, had Shia not existed. They are pretty much on par, more or less.

"If Kaia says so," Max said, taking the menu from Dorran. "I will have …"

After they have all decided on their orders, Kaia tried to stand up and make the order but Carlotta grabbed her hand, "Where are you going?"

"To order."

"The bell's here, Kaia." Ran said taking the little bell and ringing it.

Kaia cringed hearing the little ring from that bell, she will never be able to do that, not even in her second lifetime.

"Yes?" Layla came with an amused look on her face as she saw how embarrassed Kaia looked watching Dorran ring the bell.

Shia began to recite off the orders like she is reading a poem off a piece of paper.

"Is that all?" Layla asked after confirming the orders. Kaia wrote something on her phone and showed it to the woman who raised an eyebrow, looking at her. "Are you sure you want this?"

Kaia nodded her head furiously behind the phone she held up. This made Layla burst into a good-natured laugh.

"Ok, dear. I will be right back with all your orders."