It had been a long time since Rina had seen their faces her mother and father. They loved her for who she was, but… was love enough when you were faced with the mounting circumstances of life and the weight they placed on your heart?
Rina looked up at the ceiling as she jotted a few notes in her journal. The morning sun spilled across the horizon, painting it in hues like a rainbow. I miss you, Mom and Dad. I'm going to do my very best to make you proud. She closed her journal, tears streaming down her face. Her long twin pigtails twirled as the fan pushed a gentle breeze from the window. It was the year 2025, and her parents had been gone for five years. The memory of their loss in 2020 still lingered like a shadow she could not escape.
"Are you up there, Rina?" a voice called out.
"Yes, Grandma, I'm up here," she answered weakly.
"You'd better not be late. I'll see you down at the shop, okay?" The voice trailed away, fading from Rina's ears.
"I should get ready." She stood up only to slip and smack her face against the hardwood floor. "Ouch! What's that doing there? Oh, right. That's the floor." She groaned. "My brain doesn't wake up until 10 a.m. I really need to work on feeling better."
The clock on the wall read 6:30 a.m. Her smartphone buzzed with notifications, its dim white light illuminating the corner of her room a beacon of escapism far more tempting than work. "I guess I need to get out of my pajamas."
She tugged off the hoodie of her cow pattern pajamas. "Moo!" she muttered as she slipped them off, then walked over to her closet. Inside hung a few outfits, some wrinkled, some pressed, and some untouched for years. In the far corner, wrapped in fine linen, was the dress she had worn to her parents' funeral.
Gripping the fabric, a wave of grief overcame her. She steadied herself. Keep it together. It's the anniversary of their passing, but you have to focus.
Rubbing her sore chin, she pulled out a quaint maid outfit that reached her knees, complete with a bonnet. "I guess making coffee for a living isn't too bad. This is probably not what Mom and Dad envisioned for my legacy, though. Sorry, Mom, sorry, Dad. I guess I'm a loser." With a sigh, she laid the uniform on the bed and walked to the shower, twisting the knob until the water came out lukewarm.
"La la la la la…" she sang softly, trying to push the heaviness away. She whispered affirmations. "You are a powerful woman. You are talented. You can do anything you put your mind to."
Her parents had told her the same thing. Yet here she was failing community college, now working at a coffee shop.
She thought of Mr. Burns, her biology teacher with his flaming red sideburns. "Mr. Burns… more like… ugh, I don't have a comeback for that." She forced another tune. "La la la la la. Focus. It's a marvelous Monday. I'm going to do great things today."
Beep beep. The alarm rang again. "What? Already?" She stepped out of the shower, glanced at the clock, and froze. 7:30 a.m.
"I'm going to be late!" Naked and dripping wet, she slipped and slid across the floor, grabbing a towel and frantically drying herself. "Grandma is going to kill me. Fifth time this month." She scrambled for clothes. "Okay, if I hurry, I can make it by eight. The bike ride isn't that long. Just focus. Positive decisions. Maybe a shortcut."
She fussed with her hair and frowned at her reflection. "Solid 5.5 out of 10. But hey, it can only go up from here." The clock now read 7:45.
"My life is over. Sorry, Mom and Dad I couldn't do it. Grandma's going to take me out." She threw her hands up in mock despair. "Oh, cruel universe, why do you punish me so? Oh right, I spent too much time journaling."
Grabbing her satchel, she bolted out the door and leapt down the fifteen stairs in one go. She landed, arms raised like a gymnast. "The universe is going to have to deal with me today! I'm fighting back. From a 5.5 to a 7.2 before I get to work. Traffic will move out of my way because I am magical. I am Rina! Hear me roar!"
She put her hands up like a dinosaur and bowed to the framed pictures of her parents. "This dinosaur is leaving the building. Wait no, I'm not old!"
On the porch, she grabbed her bike. "I am speed." Kicking off with her right leg, she shot down the narrow two-lane road toward the metropolis of Callen. The summer sun blazed overhead. Sweat prickled at her brow.
"Why must Grandma make me wear this oversized Halloween costume? I could serve coffee just as well in jeans and a T-shirt. Sure, I look cute, but it's hot!"
She weaved through pedestrians at a crowded intersection. "Sorry, sorry!" she shouted, bowing her head. If I don't make it, Grandma's wrath will be worse than this crowd's.
Her eyes watered as sweat stung. She wiped at her face with one hand, steering with the other, then barreled down a stairwell shortcut. Her maid outfit fluffed wildly as her bike bounced.
Ahead, a construction crew carried a heavy plank. "Oh my God, move!" she screamed. One worker turned, too slow. The board went up and she went flying.
Rina sailed straight into a drainage tube dangling from a crane, smacked her head on the rim, and spun in a full circle. She shot out the other side, tears streaming, then landed on a ramp and rocketed down.
"Whew! Oh my God!" she shouted, waving frantically at the crane operator.
The twenty foot drop was terrifying, but she landed it. "See that, Mom? Dad? The stars are aligning for me! I can't be late after that shortcut."
She tore around another corner, sweat pouring down her back. Her bow slipped loose and she wrestled it back into place while weaving around pedestrians and a woman taking out her trash. "Sorry!"
Finally, she skidded to a stop at the back door of her workplace. "Stealth mode: engaged. Grandma will never know."
She slipped inside, tiptoeing toward the time clock. Typing in McIntyre, she smirked.
"You thought I wouldn't notice, you little sneak?"
Rina yelped. From the kitchen door, a small woman in her seventies leapt out and grabbed her ear.
"Your precision is unmatched, Grandma, but I am on time. Let go, or the customers will see blood. Nobody wants blood in their coffee or on the dance floor, since you like to dance after closing!"
"Oh, deary me," Grandma McIntyre said, smiling thinly. "You're three minutes late and dripping with sweat. Your hustle was for nothing, and all you have to show for it is a tattered maid outfit."
She finally released Rina's ear, setting her down on the counter. Though half Rina's height, Grandma's passion for the coffee business was unmatched. She was a bastion of hope in a world swallowed by commercial chains.
"One of these days, Grandma, you're going to draw blood."
"I wouldn't have to resort to such tactics if you showed up on time," Grandma shot back. "How many alarms must you set? None of the other workers are this late. I give you a free pass because you're family."
Rina's eyes traced the brown tile floor. She crossed her arms, frowning.
Grandma's tone softened. "You don't think I'm heartless, do you? I lost my son, your father, and my daughter in law five years ago today. It takes everything in me not to light a cigar for them."
"You've lived a full life, Grandma. Customers won't care if you smoke on this day of all days."
For a moment, Rina thought she saw a tear forming in Grandma's eye. But maybe it was just the humidity.
Grandma placed a hand gently on Rina's elbow. "Today would have made five late arrivals. But I'll count only four. Try to live up to your parents' legacy, okay?"
She smiled warmly. "Take ten minutes to brush yourself off. You look disheveled, but I love you, my precious Rina."
Casting a sharp but charming smile, Grandma disappeared back through the double doors into the lobby.
Rina stood there in silence, trying to gather her thoughts. The morning so far had been filled with chaos and near death experiences. She tried to summon anything that could give her the will to walk through those double doors and face another day of work. All she wanted was to go back home and lie in bed. The immense weight of her parents' death still lingered, even after five years. She kept wondering why. Why did they have to leave her?
My parents loved me, and there's nothing else to say about it, I guess. Did they choose to die in a car accident? No. They chose to live that night and go out for a romantic dinner, leaving me home to enjoy the evening and watch movies. I would've never guessed that such a simple evening could end in tragedy. If I had known, I would have hugged my mom one more time before she walked out the door. My dad, with his ever resolute demeanor, and my mom, with her caring attitude toward everyone she met… who could hurt souls like theirs?