Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 94-

Day: 123

Days Left: 5357

Lives Saved: 0

"And you're going to talk things out with Rin and play nice with the other kids from now on, aren't you?" Harmony patted Corinna on the head.

Corinna scowled back but soon broke down into a grin. "That sounds so patronising." She jabbed the young woman in the stomach playfully. "It wasn't some school-ground squabble fighting over dolls or whose turn it was to go on the swings." Corinna paused. "I think I might have hurt her..."

"Well, just remember..." Harmony placed her hands on the blonde's shoulders and gazed down into her eyes. "That I am proud of you... for taking the high ground." Harmony faked a high pitched warbling voice of parental affection. "You've grown up so fast. You're now your own tiny person-"

"I'm not tiny!" Corinna pouted, standing on her tiptoes though it made little difference compared to the six-foot Harmony.

"Sure, sure," Harmony laughed. "What are you? Five-foot?"

"Five-foot-three!"

Smirking, Harmony ruffled the young woman's hair, then her face softened. "It'll be okay, Corinna. I'm sure you and Rin will work things out. And if not today... you have fifteen years to do so. If not and she holds a grudge for that long over such a small thing, well... fuck her."

Corinna let out a short snort of laughter, a smile almost spreading across her lips. "Yeah... Thanks, Harmony."

They finally reached Ivette's trading post, where the old trader was at her usual place behind the coffee table arguing with Sumit on how he recorded the stock in the books. Seeing Corinna and Harmony approach, Ivette gussied up her hair and pretended that the dispute had never happened.

"So good to see you, my dears!" Ivette greeted them both, putting on her award-winning smile. "And what can-"

"Welcome to Ms Ivette's Trading Post!" Sumit announced with a flourish of his hands. "Where you can find everything you need to survive and thrive in..." He bit down on his lip as he saw the expression of constrained displeasure on Ivette's face. "What?" he hissed. "You said I should greet customers with more flair and gusto-"

"After seeing your inability to record stock and trade deals, you are on very thin ice from being demoted." Ivette snapped her fingers, then pointed to the back of the shop. "Recount the stock again, properly this time and maybe I'll consider putting you back on front of house."

"Yes, ma'am." Sumit bowed, sharing a guilty yet still jovial grin at Corinna before leaving to complete his newly assigned task.

"I swear with his salesmanship and Rin's organisational skills combined, I only have one competent employee." Ivette cleared her throat, returning back to her customer service voice. "Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted... how may I assist you, ladies?"

"Um..." Corinna fidgeted with her hair, staring down at the floor. "Is Rin around?"

"She's by the books," answered Ivette.

"Thank you..." Corinna hesitated for a moment, then forced herself to move, giving Harmony a quick smile before heading to the book section of the shop.

"Are you here solely on escort, my dear?" Ivette asked Harmony, flicking through the sales records, pretending that she wasn't so interested in the answer. "Or are you here to trade?"

"Trade." Harmony sat down at the coffee table, opening her satchel.

The old trader smiled but hid it well. "Very well..." She retrieved the box that she had always reserved for objects of interest to Harmony, usually crayons, stickers, vinyl records, and anything green.

"Actually, there was just one thing I was after."

"Oh?" Ivette masked her disappointment, putting the box back, embarrassed now by how much it had cost to trade that packet of frog stickers for. "What is it?"

"A notebook."

"You only just traded a lot of them in three days ago. Already regretting it? Besides, I thought you kept a few."

"I want one that I won't care if it gets damaged or if I make mistakes."

"What will you be writing if I may ask?"

Harmony hesitated, before shyly answering, "my memories. I want to do the same thing as Corinna is. But I'm gonna write my memories of this place, the good ones... 'cus I finally have some good ones." Her eyes subconsciously darted to where the book section was, to where Corinna would be. "I want it to be perfect. Going to draft it then write it up neat in another notebook." She already had one in mind, the one with cartoon frogs on the front and rainbow tabs.

"I see..." Ivette diverted her eyes, not wanting her weakness to be noticed. "I suppose you would want a green one?"

"Doesn't matter what colour it is. I'm just going to write drafts in it then scrap it." She paused in thought. "Actually yes can I have a green one, please?"

Ivette smirked, retrieving a notebook, one with a picture of a bamboo forest on, from the box. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

Harmony paused, clearly having some sort of mental debate inside her head. "No, I'm fine. Just the notebook. I want to solve my hoarding problem, so I'm going to trade for things that I believe are necessary or 'spark joy' like Corinna said."

"Of course," Ivette sighed. Whilst Harmony was busy rummaging through her satchel, the old trader slipped the packet of frog stickers in the notebook's pages. "That won't be necessary. I gave you a bad deal for those other notebooks," Ivette lied. "You don't have to trade for it, my dear."

At first confused and hesitant, Harmony eventually accepted, picking up the notebook and flicked through the pages, the frog stickers falling out onto the coffee table. Harmony let out a high-pitched squeal of delight.

"Oh my, what is that?" Ivette faked surprise. "That was in there this whole time? Why it seems Sumit didn't properly check the new inventory once again. But alas, I have already traded you the notebook and whatever is in the notebook is legally yours."

"Are you sure? I can trade you something for it-"

"No! It is too late. I have to uphold my honour as a saleswoman. They're yours, my dear." Ivette began to write down the transaction in the ledger to make it official.

"Thank you..." Harmony continued to stare at the stickers with one of the most elated grins Ivette had ever seen, before finally stashing it in her satchel along with the notebook.

"If you are planning on writing down your memories..." Ivette looked up from writing. "Might I suggest visiting Salim, my dear. He'll be able to give you plenty of advice."

"Who?"

Ivette paused, swallowing in an attempt to hide the twinge of pain. "Ah, I suppose you haven't met him yet. He's a gentleman... a bit older than I, lives south-east not far from here, has a campsite. Anyway... he has written his entire life out and has helped many other prisoners do the same."

Harmony's face twisted into an expression of reluctance and disinterest at the thought of meeting someone new. "I don't know..."

"He has a dog-"

"I'll go!"