Chapter Text
Orpheus sat slumped over in his chair, with his head sunken into the lacquered wood. Unlike yesterday, his hesitance to write comes from the woman fuming loudly behind him.
“Surely this must be some sort of behavior worth a scolding from someone. He stole private property and proceeded to destroy it. People can’t just do that! If he didn’t hesitate to do such a thing to you, what else could he be capable of?” Alice’s heels clacked sharply as she roamed the room, the piercing sound matching the sharp pinch of her expression as she furrowed her eyebrows. “Orpheus– Orpheus are you listening?”
The man only raised his head to bang it on the desk.
“Alice, we already talked about this.” Orpheus grumbled, voice muffled as he didn’t care to move.
The walk back to the shop last night was uncomfortable at the least. The intense breeze was no help for the freezing rain that consumed every inch of clothing that stuck to him. Orpheus hadn’t even bothered to open his umbrella, already drenched head to toe. The funny look Alice gave him was quickly replaced with concern as she read her brother’s face, quickly rising to greet him and ask what was troubling him. With Helena following, Orpheus recounted his experience.
So, of course his big sister had been harassing him about it ever since. After she (begrudgingly) let him leave for his apartment, she had continued to text him throughout the night.
orph do u think we should go to the police or something ??
wait would that even qualify as a crime
wait nvm
doesn’t matter let’s just go anyways
do u want me to walk u to work tomorrow???
Orpheus ended up muting his phone, the incessant buzzing keeping him up. Or, rather, reminding him he was still awake. He had never considered himself an anxious person, but he found himself restless. The siren song of sleep tugged at his eyelids, but he found himself unable to take his mind off the man at the park. Frustratingly, he couldn’t find any explanation for the behavior as he replayed the scene in his head over and over. Was his expression unfriendly? Did he know this man? The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
He cringed at the realization he was ruminating. That was Alice's thing, not his. Stalking to his medicine cabinet, he grabbed a bottle of melatonin before huffing in annoyance. He didn’t even care to take the medicine with water before throwing himself back on his bed.
Alice looked at the stubborn man, bewildered.
“You can’t be serious,” She paused, waiting for a response. Orpheus remained unmoving and silent. Alice threw her hands up in defeat.
“Why are you so stubborn? He laid his hands on you.”
“Alice. I get it, I truly do, but you’re more upset about this than I am. Please, just drop it.” Orpheus interrupted before she could continue her rant.
Alice sighed and sank into her awaiting chair. He did have a point, Alice knew she might be blowing it out of proportion. However, she figured that if Orpheus didn’t want to do anything about it, nothing would happen. She gingerly reached over her workstation, picking up her camera with feather-light hands. She ran her gloves over the many buttons, using the back of her hand to swipe a rebellious streak of dirt off of the lenses. The clearing of a throat brought her out of her haze, realizing she was tapping her heel again. She sighed, and went to glance at the source.
Orpheus’ gaze meeting hers surprised her, but she sat at attention. She noted his dark eyebags with a pitiful frown.
“I’m sorry, you're right.” She ignored the smirk she got with a dismissive wave of her hand, relieved her brother was feeling at least enough of himself to show his cocky personality. “I’ll be honest, I’m quite restless.” Alice meant to continue speaking, but Orpheus took the pause as an opportunity to interrupt.
“I mean it, I know you don’t mean any harm, I promise. I just…” He paused himself, running his hand through his unbrushed hair. “I’ll talk more with you about it later. I barely slept last night, though.”
Alice gnawed at her lip as she nodded. He knew what made her tick, and vice versa. There wouldn’t be a reason for her to worry. At least, that’s what Alice hoped. But she didn’t think he would intentionally keep anything from her, so if there was something to worry about, neither of them knew it yet. She sighed. Her brother was difficult, but not that difficult. “I don’t mean to exacerbate your worry.” Alice swore, meeting his gaze in hopes he could read her sincerity. “I think I’ll excuse myself for a walk, if I sit here, I’ll just drive myself crazy.”
Alice rose to grab her coat and purse. It was a warmer day of the fall season, but she knew the weather could be quite temperamental, picturing her brother from last night appearing in the doorway with the look of a wet dog. As she grabbed her camera to strap it over her coat, she whispered a brief apology to Helena, who gave a quiet laugh and shooed her towards the door. Alice smiled. Although Helena was more quiet, she fit right into her and Orpheus’ little world. Writing letters to each other over the years was a lot different than actually working with each other, but Alice was confident Helena would tell her if she was bothered by their bickering.
With the door open, she was about to slip out before Orpheus caught her attention with a snap.
“We aren’t very good employees, are we?” Orpheus gestured outdoors. “Leaving everyday and all that.”
Alice snorted and stepped out.
As she met the world around her, her eyes immediately went to the direction of the park. She knew Orpheus would throw a fit if Alice tried to investigate, but she also had business at the park.. She quickly crossed the street and strode along the sidewalk. Her eyes went to the construction cones as soon as they came in view, as they always did. The abhorrent orange color would lead her right to where she wanted to go.
As Alice crossed onto the park’s main path, she released a sigh she hadn’t known she was holding. Her face grew a bit pink as she realized this was her first break from the office in a good while. The air was a bit chilly, but Alice took her coat off to let the sun melt away her worries. Scanning ahead, she was a bit disappointed to find no mysterious white haired man. However, she brushed off the thought and focused on attempting to truly relax. A small landscaping project caught her eye as she walked along the path. It was close to the construction project, which she eyed intently, looking for any angle she could that would allow her to see the interior. She had asked around town for the past few months as the project progressed, but she could never get an exact answer as to what exactly was being built. In all honesty, there wasn’t any information on a new project for the city at all. She sighed, turning her attention downwards to kneel before the flowers.
Alice couldn’t name all of the types of flowers before her, but the pop of color was such a beautiful addition to the greenery. The soil was freshly upturned with rocks placed decoratively to create a barrier between where the grass ended and the garden bed began. The more Alice looked, the more photogenic the scene appeared. The sun hit the vibrant blues and purples of each budding flower beautifully. Grinning, she wielded her camera and adjusted her position to prepare to capture the moment. Peering through the lenses, she tweaked the settings to her liking.
SNAP!
Alice brought her face close, looking at the product. Her face lit up with a grin, a true ear-to-ear grin. Her cheeks grew shadows where her dimples inverted.
“May I see?”
Alice jumped slightly, swiveling to meet a woman who stood not far behind her. The stranger adorned a hat, with a veil that curiously enough covered most of her face. The thin veil couldn’t hide her beauty, though. Her sun-kissed skin was splattered with freckles that matched the dark brown of her hair. Alice flushed at the realization she had been staring, and went to answer. However, she wasn’t sure what the woman meant until she followed her– not gaze, but rather– tilt of her chin down to Alice’s camera.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized you were there.” Alice went to push herself up, but was met with the offer of a hand. She grinned as the woman pulled her to her feet.
“You aren’t the first to say that. I suppose I have that effect.” The woman gave a small smile apologetically. “May I?”
Alice tilted her camera to the woman’s direction, displaying the photo proudly. She shuffled closer to lean over Alice’s shoulder for a better view, who held her breath. The latter let out a hum as she scanned the lenses.
“It’s beautiful. I planted these just last night, I hadn’t expected to see such interest in them already.”
The woman looked upwards, appearing to evaluate the scene Alice captured.
Alice, who had her jaw hanging wide open.
“You planted these? They’re beautiful!” Alice then shrank back sheepishly. “I’m so sorry if I’ve interrupted you. I’m Alice.”
The woman held her hand out once more. “Melly. No worries, I’m simply visiting to water them.” Melly then lifted her other arm, a small mister in hand that Alice felt quite dull for not seeing before.
As Melly moved in front of Alice to kneel before the landscaping, Alice followed before she could stop herself. At that very second, Alice was so thankful to have a plethora of pockets imbedded on her skirt. She wielded a notepad within seconds, grabbing a pen from her jacket. She faced Melly intently.
“You said you were here last night? Could you tell me what time?”
The latter’s resting lips appeared to morph into an odd expression as Melly faced her. However, she didn’t ask the question that rested on her lips.
“I was here around eleven at night yesterday.” Seeing Alice’s eyebrow quirk, she offered further clarification. “I work here. Or, at least there.” With a gesture to the plastic covers.
Alice thought she couldn’t get any luckier.
She had almost put away her notepad as she realized the time Orpheus returned from the park was around quarter to nine, but stopped dead in her tracks.
“You work here?” She leaned closer, clutching her pen tighter. “I’m a journalist, I work right down the street.” She offered in explanation.
Melly seemed to visibly deflate at that, which Alice cocked her head at. Without her full fact showing, Alice noted offhandedly that the rest of her body language became a lot more noticeable.
“It’s a community gift. I… I’m not allowed to talk to media.” At this, Alice’s face fell. She internally cursed herself for not disclosing her career earlier. She had just met Melly, and she could already get her into trouble. Alice cleared her throat and set her notepad on the ground next to her. She struggled for words as she folded her hands in her lap.
“I’m sorry,” Is the only thing she could think of. “If it’s any relief, I wouldn’t tell a soul without your permission. Ethics is important in journalism.” Alice felt her face flush, well aware the women probably already knew this, but she felt she owed Melly at least some reassurance.
With that, she strapped her camera back across her torso and rose to her feet.
“It was great to meet you, Melly.” Alice took a quick glance around the park before turning back to her. “Most locals around here know where I work, I don’t want you to get in trouble by being seen with me.”
Melly was quick to mirror her action, and rose to her feet.
“Thank you, Alice. I hope to see you around.” She once again stuck out her hand, which Alice took gratefully. When she realized she felt paper, she looked back where she had been sitting and realized her notepad was now in Melly’s hand, being returned to its owner. As she looked back up to where Melly’s eyes would be, her smile only grew.
“Thank you.” She whispered.
Helena sat at her desk, stretching her arms outwards as Micha rested at her feet. In the back of her mind, she thought she ought to take Micha for a walk soon. After a moment, she turned her attention back to her computer and clicked away. It was easy to get into a frenzy with the satisfying bounce of each key. As of right now, Helena was working on compiling a few of her poems for publishing. She had written a few of them with the inspiration she found in roaming around town.
Alice and Orpheus had their business stationed downtown, even though all three of them had grown up on the other side of town. She was a bit slower than them to leave the nest of her parents’ home though, as she spent a few years building her confidence in her abilities to live alone. She had finally made the move less than a month ago. Frankly, she had been ready to move out for over a year at this point, but who was she to deny her father’s cooking every day? She was their entire world, Helena didn’t see the harm in letting them have some extra time with their favorite (and only) child. So, she had spent some time walking around town yesterday morning before appearing before Alice. Recounting the memories, she cleared her throat and turned Orpheus’s direction.
“Did you know there’s an opera house walking distance from here?”
She heard the telltale sign of typing pause, and the squeak of his chair respond to the shift in his position.
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not!” She swore. “It’s just six blocks down. I hadn’t honestly expected you not to know, have you not explored?”
Orpheus let out a shy laugh at that. “Not quite. When Ali and I moved out of our college dorms, it was right as we had to figure out all this trademark and business license stuff. I guess that’s why you don’t see many fresh college graduates with booming businesses. The farthest I explored was to the grocery store and back.”
Helena was only a little shocked to hear that. She was able to reside with her parents while she finished up college, but her friends had always had big ambitions. She supposed staying at the college full time was just the start of actually being able to live those dreams out.
Orpheus continued, “But maybe Alice knows, I can’t answer for her. If she does though, she hasn’t talked to me about it.”
Helena hummed. “Well, I’ll need to bring you two out then. We’ll all explore together.” She paused for a moment. “...Where is the grocery store?”
Orpheus barked out a laugh and Helena’s phone soon buzzed out a notification. Using her screenreader, she saw Orpheus had simply sent her the location rather than giving directions. She scoffed lightheartedly. His sense for direction, of lack therefor of, would be his downfall. Remind Helena to never ask Orpheus for directions, because apparently she hadn’t learned from Orpheus trying to tell her how to make it to the office last week.
The room fell into a comfortable silence, the only noise remaining being keyboards and Micha’s light snoring. Helena smiled to herself, reaching down to scratch between her ears. She straightened out, placing her fingers back on the keyboard.
That is, before Alice burst in the door.
“I just got a girl’s number!”