Day 143
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYShvuaWvW
On a bright and pleasant weekend morning, Tinjau was fully dressed-up, rode a bicycle recklessly through the town's main street. He was rushing to a friend's wedding in the town. He was one of the groomsmen, and 'Ghost' was the exclusive cake supplier for the wedding banquet. There was no need to be so chaotic, as the five-tier wedding cake and other pastries meticulously crafted by Puisam had already been delivered by a professional delivery company.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15ZcKG6bOT
Many guests from other towns attended this wedding, bringing along children who were seeing Puisam's 'Zoo Series' and Tinjau's 'Fool around Series' bread for the first time. The reactions were far more enthusiastic than expected, with the bread supply running out quickly, there were even embarrassing situation such as the kids are losing temper, fighting and crying due to not able to get the bread. Underestimating the reaction of the guest, Tinjau had no choice but to return to the shop for resupply.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfGQRK08Gd
Tinjau's cycling skills were pretty good for a Chinese person, but the stone-paved roads of the European town were rough and bumpy, unlike the smooth asphalt roads he was used to. Riding on these roads could be quite jarring, especially if one wasn't accustomed to it, and could easily injure the knees. Moreover, Tinjau was riding with one hand while holding a large paper bag filled with bread in his other hand.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedgk9J9Hai
Fortunately, the streets were quiet today, so Tinjau wasn’t worried about crashing into anyone. All the residents in the town were attending the wedding. In small European towns like this, neighbors had very close relationships. Puisam, who was a people person, was also invited to be a bridesmaid, so the shop was closed for half a day. Luckily, there was still has a little inventory displayed in the store, otherwise, Tinjau wouldn't know how to appease the disappointed children.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2Wtur8cFP
In order to buy time, Tinjau had to take a shortcut, riding through narrow alleys between two rows of houses and riding at full speed when the road conditions became even worse. Under these circumstances, it would be a small miracle if he reached his destination unscathed. As he took a sharp turn at full speed, he crashed into the trunk of a large tree standing in front of him.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIlho3Mwqf
Clutching the paper bag full of bread, Tinjau twisted his body and landed on his back. He first felt a tingling pain in his back and watched several pieces of bread somersaulted through the air, not knowing where they landed... Next, he saw numerous branches and leaves were falling off by the impact, covering his body. He seemed to hear the chirping of a small bird above his head.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJFLa17rO7
Wasn't it strange? Being hit by Tinjau so violently, there were still birds not scared away? Tinjau brushed off the leaves covering his face and sat up. He saw a blonde girl leaning out of a second-floor window, smiling innocently at him. Her soft, straight hair, reflecting the sunlight, shone brilliantly. It turns out that she was the gloating little bird.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkZYmAbngI
After making a fool of himself in front of a girl, Tinjau could only smiled awkwardly at her, then slowly stood up to check his injuries. Fortunately, he just felt slight sting on his elbow and back. Most of the friction had been absorbed by his suit jacket, and the destructive force of the impact on the tree was borne by the front wheel of his bicycle—which was poorly deformed like a star.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW97o4AkOAB
The unfamiliar blonde girl was still laughing. Tinjau couldn't understand what was so funny that making her laugh for such a long time, so he ignored her and continued to do his own thing. The large paper bag was intact. He checked inside and saw that the remaining bread was not squashed or stained with dirt or leaves, so it should still be edible.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduJfUZ1ldC
Tinjau who was still a little dizzy, suddenly felt something odd and quickly touched his head. It turned out that a piece of bread had been resting on top of his head since the crash and he didn’t notice it. When he finally took the bread off his head, the girl in front the window of the second floor laughed even happier.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8BGAHySHa
His look just now was so funny, no wonder the girl made fun of him. Tinjau smiled bitterly and bowed elegantly to the girl like a performer who had finished his performance on the stage, then prepared to push his bike away. Seeing that he was about to leave, the girl looked disappointed, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. Tinjau couldn’t bear to see her getting upset, so he stopped to greet her, and she politely waved back to him.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5HXuAXNH8
Tinjau thought to himself, (As fellow town residents, she must know about the wedding. There must be a reason she can't attend.) He took another look at the girl’s unnaturally pale face. Tinjau then took out a warm butterfly-shaped bread made by Puisam from the paper bag. "Would you like one?"
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUODPNewY1T
The girl immediately showed an innocent and bright smile, and she reached out her hands towards Tinjau who standing in the street in front of her house. He wanted to throw the bread to her but worried she might not be able to catch it and waste it, and he even more afraid that she would fall from the window. After some consideration, Tinjau took off his leather shoes, climbed up the tree, and going to personally delivered the bread to the girl’s hand.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzkWjrrLQB
Tinjau sat on one of the strong branches, reaching out just enough to lean against the windowsill. It turned out that the girl had been sitting on a bed by the window. The room was simply decorated, with only a few dolls on the bed and there were no other girlish things in the room anymore. Tinjau stretched out his hand and handed the bread to the girl, accidentally brushing her fingertips. The girl suddenly blushed and withdrew her hand. Tinjau immediately apologized.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUHOXclmSi
"I am so sorry that you saw me in such a mess earlier."
"Hehe..." She pointed to Tinjau's head and then looked at the Mickey Mouse doll in her arms, touching its ears.
"Mickey Mouse? Like this?" Tinjau foolishly placed the bread on his head, making the girl laughed from ear to ear. She picked up a mirror from bedside and showed it to Tinjau. The heart-shaped wings of the butterfly bread, indeed look like Mickey Mouse's round ears, when he placed it on the head.
"It does look a bit like Mickey Mouse..." He then mimicked Mickey Mouse’s high-pitched laugh, moving his head side to side and singing a few lines of a children's song, making the girl laugh and her face turned red.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWX2G6gUoj
Tinjau tried to hand her the bread again, but remembering that bread had just touched his hair, he took it back. He gestured for the girl to wait and climbed back down to get a clean one. But after searching through the paper bag, Tinjau couldn't find another butterfly bread.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfo3bPXJ8q
"I'm sorry! There's no more butterfly bread, is this one okay for you?" Tinjau took out a bunny-shaped bread and showed it to the girl. She smiled and nodded, but Tinjau could tell she was being polite. He frowned slightly, as if asking, (Not okay?). The girl giggled and admitted with a pout that she didn’t like it that much.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsTG4ICcTt
Tinjau tried offering a few more styles of bread, but none elicited the same smile as the butterfly bread. Finally, he decided to climb back up the tree with one hand and holding the entire big paper bag with another hand, letting the girl pick her favorite.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7Il9haG1d
The girl chose the most unorthodox 'Human-faced Pig Bread.'
"You... like this style?"
She nodded, gesturing excitedly with her hand.
"You want to know if I made these? Yes, I did. This human-faced pig, this alien, and this and that one, they're all my creations."
She clapped her hands happily and gestured again.
"What? You think the human-faced pig bread looks like me? Hmph~" Tinjau interpreted the girl’s body language randomly, often guessed 60% or 70% accurate of what the girl was thinking, plus he made self-deprecating jokes without hesitation which amused the girl, she laughed so much that she was almost out of breath. But she never spoke a word.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cys6vO3OW
Tinjau wanted to leave several times, but the girl's disappointed look always made him stayed longer and telling her few more jokes. After spending several months with Puisam, he had picked up her smooth and slick social skills and felt quite confident dealing with new foreign friends. As his confidence and experience grew, Tinjau became more outgoing, even more talkative and funny than when he worked as a white-collar worker in his hometown. He genuinely enjoyed chatting with people, without any pretense or masks.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rp3QIg48S
After chatting for a while, Tinjau noticed the bread in the paper bag was gradually getting cold. If he stayed any longer, he might upsetted the host of the wedding, which he really didn't want to do as the couple were good friends of both him and Puisam. Tinjau reluctantly said goodbye to the girl.
"How about this? Let's make a pinky promise! Once we hook pinkies, a promise has been made. I'll definitely appear in front of your window tomorrow. Okay?"
After the agreement was made, the girl smiled with trust and satisfaction, watching Tinjau leave.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2INqLbVqIv
That evening, Tinjau asked the Quinns about the girl. They said the house was a villa owned by a wealthy family and was rarely used in the past. People were rarely seen living in it, and the windows and doors usually shut tight. Only in the last few weeks, signs of settlement of the villa had appeared, with servants frequently going out to shop and occasional vehicles parked in front. During the day, the second-floor windows were open, and Mrs. Quinn vaguely remembered seeing a girl appeared in front of the window.
Tinjau also mentioned this encounter to Puisam.
"Would you like to bring a piece of cheesecake with you tomorrow?" she asked.
"Good idea." Tinjau felt a bit disappointed. Puisam didn't seem jealous at all.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKZw3FUvyL
Day 144
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuPXQxH6iM
The next afternoon, Tinjau attend his appointment with the girl and brought her the bread and cheesecake. From a distance, he could see the girl was looking around in front of the window. As Tinjau almost reached the window, she noticed him and quickly turned away, trying to hide her anticipation. But the blush on her ears gave her feelings away.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp938qJwkMA
Today, Tinjau brought a squirrel-shaped bread (theorectically, it is a squirrel-shaped bread). The girl held it in her hand and played with it for a long time, casting skeptical glances at Tinjau. Tinjau burst out laughing and asked the girl what else it resembled. The girl moving her clever eyes, and then she excitedly pointed at the pencil sharpener on the desk.
"Haha... I'll change the label in store then. This bread will be called 'Pencil Sharpener Bread' from now on, and we will indicate that it was named by 'an anonymous girl sitting by the window'!"
The girl bit her lip, seemingly displeased. She picked up the sketchbook and pencil on the table, wrote something down, and handed it to Tinjau.
"Maria."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Maria," Tinjau said, giving a proper gentleman's bow and introducing himself. He nearly lost his balance and fell from the tree as he bent down.
Maria also deliberately got off the bed and gracefully lifted her skirt, curtsying in return. Despite her pale complexion and slight frame, she moved lightly and held herself straight, not appearing to be a girl too frail to leave her room.
Just as Tinjau was about to say goodbye, Maria hurriedly asked him to stay a little longer. She trotted to the dinning table at the end of the room, took out a box of Earl Grey tea leaves, and elegantly and skillfully prepared two cups of Earl Grey tea. The aroma of the tea quickly filled the room and wafted into Tinjau's nose.
Maria handed a cup of black tea to Tinjau. He took a sip and immediately praised her skills. She shrugged as if to say, "It's nothing," but her expression showed that she was very proud of her tea brewing skill.
"Maria, do you drink and making your own tea like this every afternoon?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded. After taking another sip, she put her cup down and picked up her sketchbook and wrote something. Finished writing, she handed the sketchbook to Tinjau with a blushing face.
Tinjau took a look to the sketchbook, it wrote: "You are the first guest invited to my afternoon tea party, besides my dad and aunts."
"It’s my pleasure," he replied politely.
"Hehehe..." Maria happily ate the cheesecake Tinjau brought. Then she seemed to remember something, pointing at Tinjau's clothes with a questioning look.
"Are you asking why I'm not in formal attire today? Because there's no wedding today... What? You like the way I look in formal attire? Thank you... But no, I have to cycle to many places every day to deliver bread, wearing formal attire isn't convenient, and people will find it strange if I dress like that on normal day. Why would they feel strange? Just think about it, a man in formal attire knocking on a lady's door saying he's delivering bread, what would the neighbors think? 'Ah~ Delivering bread in such outfit? That's a far-fetched excuse! This lady must have called for a male escort!'"
Maria blushed in red and shyly slapped Tinjau's arm, nearly making him fall from the tree again.
After the playful atmosphere passed, Maria suddenly looked sad, lowering her head and sighing.
"What's wrong, Maria?" Tinjau asked.
"..."
"Does Maria also wanted to wear a beautiful dress and attend the wedding yesterday?"
She smiled and shook her head, though her reluctant expression told a different story. "Then…would you like me to tell you about yesterday’s wedding? There were many interesting people and things that happened!"
She smiled brightly and nodded.
Tinjau then recounted yesterday’s grand wedding in great detail. Maria's extremely enthusiastic expression encouraged Tinjau to recall every detail he could remember, describing every guest, their conversations, their reactions to the wedding proceedings... even what food was on the tables, and who picked up which items. Maria wanted to know every details.
Listening to Tinjau’s descriptions, Maria seemed to be immersed in the scene. When he mentioned the moment when the bride and groom exchanged rings, tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
Seeing Maria's reaction, Tinjau was wondered, (Is my storytelling skills really that good? Has my English become so expressive?) Or...
Every time Tinjau going to left, Maria insisted Tinjau to made pinky promising with her and made him promised that he would return the next day.
As the owner of a small-town bakery, Tinjau's schedule was not that busy, there is nothing special would prevent him having a cup of tea a day. So, it became a natural routine to meet every day.
At 3:15 PM every day, Tinjau would bring bread and cheesecake, skillfully climbing up the tree to have tea party with Maria.
Maria always brewed two cups of Earl Grey tea at the right time and placed them by the window. When Tinjau arrived, the tea always at its perfect temperature, ready to be enjoyed immediately.
During their teatime, Tinjau would share his past travel experiences. Just told her about his encounter with 'LV' and how this organization, with its unimaginable political and economic influence, helped him achieve his dream of backpacking around freely. It was enough for Maria to listen to it for several days. She will never get bored even if listened to his stories over and over again.
Maria was the perfect audience, genuinely immersing herself in the adventurous world Tinjau described, her emotions rising and falling with his narrative, even more exaggerated than Tinjau's own reactions.
Day 151
That day, Tinjau was recounting how he got robbed in Ho Chi Minh City. Maria was so worried, clung tightly to Tinjau's clothes. When he told her he finally fought back and knocked the two thugs to the ground, she showed a heroic look, even kicking the Mickey Mouse doll in her arms across the room.
Of course, she immediately ran to pick it up and comforted it, her childlike behavior amusing Tinjau to no end, making him laugh for such a while.
"Maria turns out to be a violent girl! Hahaha... Don't push me! I'll fall! Just kidding! I was just kidding! Maria is absolutely not violent! Maria is the gentlest! This isn't sarcasm! Hahaha..." Tinjau picked up his cup and took a sip of Earl Grey tea.
For some reason, Tinjau feel the tea tasted different today. Maybe it was today’s cheesecake affecting his taste buds?
"Alright, alright! Enough teasing!... Maria also like to travel, right?"
She nodded affirmatively.
"When you get better, would you like to go out with me?" Tinjau suggested.
Maria looked at him with an expectant expression. That confirmed Tinjau's suspicion—Maria was indeed unwell. "Do you smell that? Maria... do you smell it too?"
Maria's expression froze.
"Look! Look over there! The kettle is burning!" he pointed to the table in the center of the room where the travel kettle was smoking. Maria immediately ran over and unplugged it.
"What a careless little girl... Is that okay to using an empty kettle to dry boil? Hahaha..." Tinjau noticed Maria's clearly downcast expression, feeling something was off, "Maria?"
Maria was still holding the smoking kettle, looking inside. She had her face so close to it, the burnt smell must have choked her, but why...
Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door. A female voice outside asked anxiously, "Maria? Maria? What's happening in the room?"
Tinjau was startled by the sound, his legs weakened, and he fell from the tree.
"Maria? Did you fall asleep while boiling water? Did you… wait? Why are there two cups of Earl Grey by the window? Is there a man climbed up the tree to have tea with Maria?"
Tinjau immediately dragged his sprained ankle and hid behind the tree trunk.
"Don't make such vulgar jokes to children! Maria is just having a tea party with her doll, right?" a gentler female voice said.
"She's sixteen, not a child anymore."
"Yes, yes... Maria, we're really sorry. You must feel bored being confined to your room all the time, right?"
"Blame her father for that..."
"Martha!"
"Yes, yes, I admit that I said something wrong, okay? So... let's stay a few more days this time... huh? What's with the bread and cheesecake? Oh... did you secretly ask the servant to buy these? Can't eat anything in front of the aunts, but eating cake secretly in your room?"
"Silly girl! If you want this, why not ask the aunts? Anything Maria asks for, the aunts will buy! Is it because Aunt Martha looks too fierce and scared you?"
"Or are you afraid once Aunt Vera found out, she will eat all the cake by herself?"
The cheerful laughter of three women came from the window.
Tinjau had been terrified since the knocking started.
Aunt Martha? Aunt Vera?
Could they be the Martha and Vera he knew?
ns 15.158.61.20da2
