02-10-2023, 05:31 AM
The day couldn't decide what it wanted to be. The sky was a brilliant happy cerulean blue and the sun shone bright and clear- and weakly. Some of the clouds that scudded the sky were white and billowy, puffy cotton balls hanging lazily, while others were dark brown and gray, angrily stretched flat and ripped apart by ferocious winds.
Liv paused at the entrance of the market, gathering her strength, before deciding to plunge in. It wasn't bravery. Not really. She just wanted...distraction. Life was busy, what with school and work. She felt at home with Mom and Dad and Grigor, but she was starting to feel cramped. She wasn't ready to leave again. Not yet. Not after last time. That would take more courage than she had.
But this, this was nice. Other things would have been nice too. Or even this, if Nika was with her. Oh, she knew the racing rules. It seemed pretty draconian, but then again she didn't race around the track at ungodly speeds with her face a meter from the ground. No phones allowed before or during a race. She got it. No distraction. She would have gone, maybe. If she'd been asked. But she had to imagine that her being there would sort of make the phone rule pointless.
Which meant she missed Nika and didn't know how she was. Just a few days, she'd said. A week at most. It had only been those few days and already it made her antsy.
Which she didn't like. It was too soon. She wasn't ready to be here after...
...and she was thinking about it again. She didn't want to get caught up in a loop, over analyzing every thing, second guessing and replaying. She couldn't handle that. Building to a frenzy of hope and fear.
She took a breath and shifted her focus, concentrating on something else. A wind, with a sharp bite, blew past her and that decided things. Something hot to drink. There was a small shop just around the corner and she went in. The smell of coffee and pastries engulfed her, but it was a warm and comforting one. She worked in one, after all.
Between her job and her school, she stayed busy- busy enough to keep her from going down too many dangerous paths. She was still working on her Microbiology degree- to mom's delight. It was interesting, sure. Between the math, the information theory and biology itself, it was a struggle, though. But that wasn't bad.
One thing had changed. She was taking an art class again. Well, one art class. And not even one where she created anything. Art History of Indigenous Peoples. Which she liked. And it was safe. It satiated her without any risk. She wasn't ready to be judged again, even if for just a grade. It was more than a year now, but still the memory of Laila ripping her work apart- figuratively and literally. Liv touched her healed wrist subconsciously. Yeah, she'd had a temper.
But Nika had loved her sketches. That had given her the motivation to at least do something.
And of course, it happened again. She let the hot tea burn her throat as she looked about the market for something. A vintage clothing shop caught her eye, and she did smile then. She loved those places. You never knew what treasures you'd find.
Which was why, an hour later, she was walking out with a bag in hand, smiling in contentment. She couldn't believe she had found 3 slip dresses. Light and thin and down to just above the knee, one was blueberry blue with a pattern of small bright white and yellow flowers, the other light mauve with dark paisley swirls. The third was a simple black, with a touch of lace at the hem. With a white T shirt and some ripped tights when it was cold, or just with a choker, her oversize leather jacket and and Doc Martin's, they would look great.
And now, she was hungry. She should have gotten a pastry or something. But it was a good feeling. She started forward. She'd find another place to get food.
At that moment, something bowled her over, her bag flying up. Or someone. Thankfully, her backpack softened her fall. From her position she saw scrambling and as she tried to get up- a kind woman helping her- she saw a man looking about for something while also watching behind her. After a moment, he took off at a run.
She reached for her bag and the woman bent down and retrieved a purse, handing it to her. Liv was going to tell the woman it wasn't hers and then let the words die on her lips. She knew what had happened.
She took the purse, thanking the woman, and turned in the direction she had been going- the direction the mugger had come from- and after only a moment, noted a man talking to a woman. She wasn't sure why, but somehow she had the feeling this was the owner of the purse. Maybe.
She walked the 50 meters to the couple and asked, "Excuse me, did you lose this?", holding out the purse.
Liv paused at the entrance of the market, gathering her strength, before deciding to plunge in. It wasn't bravery. Not really. She just wanted...distraction. Life was busy, what with school and work. She felt at home with Mom and Dad and Grigor, but she was starting to feel cramped. She wasn't ready to leave again. Not yet. Not after last time. That would take more courage than she had.
But this, this was nice. Other things would have been nice too. Or even this, if Nika was with her. Oh, she knew the racing rules. It seemed pretty draconian, but then again she didn't race around the track at ungodly speeds with her face a meter from the ground. No phones allowed before or during a race. She got it. No distraction. She would have gone, maybe. If she'd been asked. But she had to imagine that her being there would sort of make the phone rule pointless.
Which meant she missed Nika and didn't know how she was. Just a few days, she'd said. A week at most. It had only been those few days and already it made her antsy.
Which she didn't like. It was too soon. She wasn't ready to be here after...
...and she was thinking about it again. She didn't want to get caught up in a loop, over analyzing every thing, second guessing and replaying. She couldn't handle that. Building to a frenzy of hope and fear.
She took a breath and shifted her focus, concentrating on something else. A wind, with a sharp bite, blew past her and that decided things. Something hot to drink. There was a small shop just around the corner and she went in. The smell of coffee and pastries engulfed her, but it was a warm and comforting one. She worked in one, after all.
Between her job and her school, she stayed busy- busy enough to keep her from going down too many dangerous paths. She was still working on her Microbiology degree- to mom's delight. It was interesting, sure. Between the math, the information theory and biology itself, it was a struggle, though. But that wasn't bad.
One thing had changed. She was taking an art class again. Well, one art class. And not even one where she created anything. Art History of Indigenous Peoples. Which she liked. And it was safe. It satiated her without any risk. She wasn't ready to be judged again, even if for just a grade. It was more than a year now, but still the memory of Laila ripping her work apart- figuratively and literally. Liv touched her healed wrist subconsciously. Yeah, she'd had a temper.
But Nika had loved her sketches. That had given her the motivation to at least do something.
And of course, it happened again. She let the hot tea burn her throat as she looked about the market for something. A vintage clothing shop caught her eye, and she did smile then. She loved those places. You never knew what treasures you'd find.
Which was why, an hour later, she was walking out with a bag in hand, smiling in contentment. She couldn't believe she had found 3 slip dresses. Light and thin and down to just above the knee, one was blueberry blue with a pattern of small bright white and yellow flowers, the other light mauve with dark paisley swirls. The third was a simple black, with a touch of lace at the hem. With a white T shirt and some ripped tights when it was cold, or just with a choker, her oversize leather jacket and and Doc Martin's, they would look great.
And now, she was hungry. She should have gotten a pastry or something. But it was a good feeling. She started forward. She'd find another place to get food.
At that moment, something bowled her over, her bag flying up. Or someone. Thankfully, her backpack softened her fall. From her position she saw scrambling and as she tried to get up- a kind woman helping her- she saw a man looking about for something while also watching behind her. After a moment, he took off at a run.
She reached for her bag and the woman bent down and retrieved a purse, handing it to her. Liv was going to tell the woman it wasn't hers and then let the words die on her lips. She knew what had happened.
She took the purse, thanking the woman, and turned in the direction she had been going- the direction the mugger had come from- and after only a moment, noted a man talking to a woman. She wasn't sure why, but somehow she had the feeling this was the owner of the purse. Maybe.
She walked the 50 meters to the couple and asked, "Excuse me, did you lose this?", holding out the purse.