Sord in Prosperity - Hope Beyond the Apocalypse

EP. 158 - LILY

"WOULD YOU MIND LOCATING that rose we left this morning?" Sord requested as the two approached Lily's small cafe. He knew she was the reason he was alive, safe within Prosperity's walls, but his emotional state was pulling him home to his mother.

"Take the rose when you leave. But first, you eat my food."

Lily knew it, too. She understood this boy now had a lasting bond with her, and she didn't recall the last time she had formed a similar bond with anyone. Before he could respond to her command invitation, Lily disappeared through the kitchen's swinging metal door to prepare his early dinner.

"I don't why she needs to feed me. I mean, not now," he thought. "My shoulder is still very sore, among other body parts, and this place is likely to get busy as people pass by on their way home. I imagine she does quite a takeout business since this is one of only a few restaurants for passers-by. But I owe her, indeed, and it's the right thing to do. I'll eat fast, then go see Mom."

He could hear the pots and pans clanging behind the door as Lily prepared his meal.

"On the other hand, she knew my father. Finding that is a rarity. Dad's friends don't come by like they did after the accident. Maybe she can explain a bit more about what happened. I feel so bad talking about it with Mom."

The cafe's lights dimmed.

"Is she closing this place?" he wondered aloud.

Minutes later, Lily banged through the door with a steaming plate of vegetables and noodles.

"Move your hands," she requested. "Get burned."

Sord slid his hands off the table, and she gently placed the plate down along with a pair of fancy, gold-embossed chopsticks.

"You know how to use?" she inquired.

"I think I'm okay. But Ms. Lam, you didn't have to go to any trouble. I'm the one who owes you a big debt of gratitude, not vice versa."

"Talk with me this afternoon. That is your debt payback."

She smiled, the first time he'd seen her do that given her previous sternness. She then turned and started working at the counter, just like when he first saw her in the morning.

"I get it. She's lonely. Maybe she has no other friends. Might be much older than she looks. I see so few of them, but I understand old people love to talk. She might have experienced much in her day."

He fumbled with the chopsticks and began to eat, annoyed slightly by a loud whirring of the blender. She returned in minutes with a frothy, green drink.

"Thanks. I got so thirsty after all the excitement."

"You like it?" she asked, noticing his meal was already half-finished. "No need to eat fast. You have time."

He nodded and sipped from his cup. "Everything's the best. What is it?"

"Too hard for you to repeat." She plopped down across from him at the only booth in her small stand. "Have more when you come back."

"This green drink is fantastic. But don't you need to prepare for the rush hour foot traffic? I shouldn't keep you from your business."

She shook her head and pointed upward toward the cafe's sign. "Nobody will come by. Customers know Lily comes and goes as she pleases."

"Okay," he acknowledged, feeling a little uncomfortable as she watched him eat.

"I'll speak of your father and a person who worked with him."

Sord grabbed the glass and downed a big gulp of the green drink, then wiped the foam from his lip. "Really? What person who worked with him?"

She pulled out the name tag that he and Daisy found, clipped to a small gold chain around her neck. "This person. My son. Tian."