As the owner was looking at her dumbfounded.
Ilaya thought to herself
'If the owner agrees to let me stay here, then my pressing need for money will be significantly reduced. If I stays here, then I don't need to look for a place for the time being. I think that my meals here will be free as well, so I don't need to buy my meals everyday except for breakfast. I already have bought my clothes so I don't need to worry about my clothing'
It's just that, I'm going to explain what's going on to the owner, as I'm absolutely sure that he'll ask me about my situation. And tell him the truth if I am to convince him. I want to keep my situation a secret, but I really need to be flexible to survive. So, for my survival, I need to find someone I can trust, that's the gamble that I'm willing to bet on. If I can't even trust someone and do things all by myself, then I'm sure that I'm going to miserably die sooner or later.
The owner then came to his senses and ask seriously
"What is going on young lady? I already know that you lied to me the last time we talked and I don't want to force you to talk about your circumstances. I even decided to give you a job as I felt that you really needed it"
The owner then sighed
"But I can't let a person with dubious origin live in my restaurant, forgive me for saying this but I don't agree to your request"
See, if you don't trust someone, they will not trust you back. Even though I did it to protect myself, and will do it again if the time turns back. I just realized it now that sometimes, you need to risk something to obtain what you want. So, being rejected is within my expectation. I get that, I get it. But… being rejected when you're truly desperate for help is truly…
As Ilaya stayed silent. The owner looked at her forlorn expression then said
"We'll continue this conversation after the restaurant closes. For now, put your things in the staff room. Our cook is here"
Ilaya looked at the entrance and saw a woman entering the restaurant.
The woman has a brown hair that tied into a bun, her eyes is gray, and her skin is on the darker side. Her height is about 186cm. It's obvious on a glance that she's a mix blood.
The woman then reached them and greeted the owner with a cheerful voice
"Good morning!…or afternoon! Boss, who's this cutie?"
The owner sighed then said
"Mars, she's a helper that I've hired. She'll be doing a lot here from serving, cleaning, and dishwashing. Show her the place and teach her of what and what not to do"
The cook, Mars seemed surprised as she speaks
"You've hired someone?... Aren't we…"
Mars slowly stopped her words and looked at Ilaya. She leaned forward in front of Ilaya's face, and then smiles and ask
"Ohh! So you're our helper huh? I'm Mars, you can call me Mars onee-chan, or nee-chan. What's your name?"
Ilaya looked at the cheerful Mars, then shifted uncomfortably and said
"My name's Ilaya, nice to meet you… Uh, nee-chan…"
Mars squealed and hug her, then looks at her boss
"Awww! You're so cute! Boss! I'm going to take her home! Can I keep her!? Can I keep her!?"
"Stop messing around and get to work, can you tell she's uncomfortable? Get moving already"
Ilaya squirmed under Mars embrace and extricate herself
Mars looked at her then patted her head and said
"Alright Ilaya, let's do our work now and I'll teach you everything you'll need to know. Come with me"
Then, Ilaya and Mars passed through the counter and entered the deeper part of the establishment. They entered the staff room and put their belongings in the table
Mars then said to Ilaya
"This place is where we rest, I sometimes go here when there's no costumers and laze around, of course, I only laze around if I already finished all the things that needs to be done"
Ilaya nodded thoughtfully
Mars then beckoned her to follow and they entered the kitchen room. She then explained
"Here is where i cook food, you can see over there is the sink to washed things"
Mars then explained to her all the things she needed to do and gave her tricks and tips for doing things efficiently. She finished explaining things at Ilaya at 1:00 pm and customers started appearing. They got busy at their own respective task till 3:30 pm were the customer came the least. The two of them, Ilaya and Mars is chatting while eating snacks
"So, the guy then tried to hit on me, and I'm having none of if, so do you know what I said to him?"
"...What?"
"I said that my parents prohibited me from having a relationship as I have to finish my studies! Hahaha! I wish you saw his expression! That happened when l was 27, so his expression is so funny!"
"..."
Ilaya stared at Mars not knowing what to say. She came here to rest from running to and fro earlier when there's no customers left. As she is resting and thinking, Mars enters the room then starts to chat with her about strange things. She can only nod and speak a few words because Mars just doesn't stop! She's a chatter box!
As I thought, I like peace and quiet. Well, at least she didn't ask about myself or all the answers that I'm going to tell her is "I don't know"
Mars then slowly stop speaking and said
"Ilaya, can I ask you a question?"
Ilaya tense up as she picks up the change in mood inside the room then cautiously ask
"What is it"
Mars looked at her deeply
"Tell me about yourself, Who are you?"
The moment she asked the question, my emotions turned chaotic as if her question reached not only my ears, but also reached through my very soul
'Who am I indeed'
She grips her hands, frustrated of the things that's happening to her. She had no past, have a weird powers that she rather didn't have, didn't know if she has a future, and no one to lean on
I really wants to know who am I too, even going as far as to go on a reckless search to find the non existent hope of knowing who am i
The negative emotions that she tried to bury are slowly surfacing again, mixing with her sadness, grief, and hopelessness. While her emotions is raging inside her, she controlled her expression and tilts her head then said with a confused expression
"Didn't I tell you?"
She then smiled
"I'm Ilaya"