Mina was half awake when a hand shook her slightly.

"Time to wake up," a voice announced. She recognized the voice. Karin.

Sitting up with a yawn, she noticed she was sitting on a wagon, next to Karin. They were on a farm, which seemed somewhat familiar.

It appeared she had fallen asleep on the woman's lap. Not only that, but she spotted a wet patch of drool on her thigh. It didn't seem to bother the woman; in fact she seemed to be covering it up with a blanket to avoid making Mina embarrassed.

Waking up in the wagon gave Mina the oddest sense of déjà vu. Her brain was still something of a mess, but it was a stark improvement from its earlier state of complete chaos. The nap had helped immensely.

"I'm sorry," she excused herself, erring on the side of politeness. With her current lack of options, she was at Karin's mercy. Something told her that there was no way she'd get thrown out. Regardless, being polite was probably not a bad idea.

“What are you apologizing for?” she asked, brushing it off, “You don’t need to… Oh, hold on..”

An unfamiliar man emerged from the stables. He appeared to be rather old, at least retirement age. Fairly spry for his age. More curious, his clothes looked like they came straight out of a cowboy movie, minus the guns. It looked closer to a halloween costume than what an authentic cowboy might have looked like. A bit weird on its own, but extra weird on a man that hadn’t tricked or treated for at least fifty years. Then again, was it really a big deal? She had seen a much weirder choice of clothes on old people.

No, wait, had she really? No, she hadn’t. It was just remnants from Martin again. She was not Martin, but Martin was arguably a part of her. This would take time getting used to.

Karin obviously knew the man. She greeted him.

"Good day, Frederick. Here to take a ride today? How’s your wife?”

"Eh, she always finds something to complain about. You know how it is."

“Do you want me to saddle up Fiora for you? Marlene has taken good care of her, but I’m sure she misses the rides with you.”

“No, my back’s not great today. Just wanted to check up on her.”

He turned towards Mina.

"Good day, missus. Er… is it fine to call you a missus?”

He had spoken candidly with Karin, but when he addressed her he had suddenly appeared uncomfortable and awkward.

"It’s easier if you just use my name. I’m Mina. Nice to meet you.”

She bowed slightly.

Frederick looked her up and down, then suddenly became very conscious of his eye movements and tried keeping them on her face.

“Uhm… Yes.”

She waited a bit to see if he was going to say anything else, but apparently that was not the case.

“Mina, how about you head inside while I talk to Frederick?" Karin handed her a keychain. "Make yourself at home.”

Mina nodded. She noticed in the corner of her eye that Frederick suddenly narrowed his eyes. But when she turned to him, he looked away in an awkward way.

What was his deal, anyway? She couldn’t quite figure him out. No matter, it wasn’t important.

She headed to the house. After some fumbling with the keys, she pulled the door open. It was heavy and, like the rest of the house, rather old. The inside gave a postcard rustic impression. Deliberately old furnishings, topped with a cross-stitched sign with "Home, Sweet Home". Some of the furniture were probably genuine antiques.

Hmm. Curious that she had basically no remnants of this place. Martin had been here, but he had been so out of it he barely managed to register his surroundings. The kitchen looked familiar, though. Like the rest of the house, it gave a rustic impression, but was fitted with modern appliances too. Unless it was a genuine antique espresso machine she was looking at.

She was a bit hungry. Karin had told her to make herself at home, but was it okay to just start raiding her kitchen for food? Maybe she ought to ask about that first. She made her way back to the stables, but stopped as she heard Frederick’s voice.

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“... alone like that."

"Frederick, she's not a baby," she heard Karin reply. "She doesn't need constant supervision. I seriously doubt she'll try to climb on the furniture or cut her hair."

Seemed like they were in the middle of a discussion. Perhaps she ought to wait until they were done?

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking of your valuables ending up in the wrong hands."

…Or maybe it was better to just stay outside and listen in.

"Frederick! What are you implying?"

"I'm saying that giving the black girl free reign inside your house is folly.”

“You think she’ll steal from me just because she has a different skin color? That is incredibly racist of you!”

“It has nothing to do with race. Did you not see her clothes? An ill-fitting dress she was handed down, or perhaps found in the garbage. She has clearly grown up under very poor conditions. How do you think she'll react when she sees all the valuables inside? She has probably learned to steal to survive, and you're offering her a golden opportunity to do so."

"Frederick, please keep your opinions to yourself. It is my decision, and I trust her. If she was in need of something, I’m sure she’d ask, and I’d freely give it to her.”

“So if she asks for a gold ring, you’ll just hand it to her? That’s not generousness, that’s just stupidity.”

“That’s just a silly hypothetical. Why would she ask for a gold ring? Actually, now that I think about it, she may be too timid to ask even for the things she really needs. It’s better that I take the first step and give it to her instead.”

“Women and their feelings. Bah. Fools, all of you.”

“I … I have no words.”

Mina had no problems imagining what struggles Frederick’s wife went through. It warmed her heart to hear Karin's opinion of her, though. She didn’t want to reveal that she had listened in on Frederick, so she carefully retreated back to the farmhouse.

Right. From what Karin said, it didn’t sound like she would mind if Mina made some lunch. Well, she might be a bit bothered by having the guest cook instead of doing it herself, but she’d probably not mind too much.

What did everyone and their mother like for lunch? Eggs. A timeless classic. Karin was obviously not vegan, since she had meat in her refrigerator and lived alone.

She rummaged through the cupboards and drawers until she found everything she needed. Just as she was about to crack the first egg, the owner entered the house.

"Hello, Mina? Where are you?"

"In the kitchen."

Karin popped her head through the doorway.

"Hi there. What are you doing?"

"Making lunch. Or a meal, at least."

"D'oh. Of course you are. I can see that.'

Mina glanced back at Karin. Did she seem a bit stressed? Nervous, maybe? Was that related to the conversation with the old-timer? Mina could not bring up the topic without revealing she overheard the conversation. There was really nothing to gain from it either, so unless Karin brought it up she would just pretend like nothing happened.

Karin undid her boots and joined her at the counter.

"Eggs? Scrambled?"

"No, I'm making a folded omelet with cheese."

"Ooh, that sounds fancy. Teach me."

“It’s not exactly rocket science. The only trick is making sure the omelet is thin enough.”

She demonstrated. Borrowing from Martin’s skills, she made a thin omelet, sprinkled cheese on top, and carefully folded it, trapping the melted cheese inside. Karin tried the next one herself, demonstrating her cooking skill. Even on her first attempt, it turned out perfect.

"This looks great!" Karin enthusiastically announced. "I'll set the table."

"You wouldn't happen to have sweet chili sauce somewhere?"

"No, I'm afraid not. How about ketchup or mayonnaise?"

They sat down and shared the meal. It didn't take much encouragement for Karin to share her past. Martin had heard some of it before, but she had apparently spared Martin the worst details. She was willing to share a lot more information with Mina.

Her tale was as old as humanity, repeated countless times. Two young adults in love. After a while, she got pregnant. She was ready to become a parent, he was not. He gradually drifted away from her, until he fell into the arms of another. She sat alone with all the responsibility.

Karin's story was a slightly uglier variant than normal. After several years, he wanted the son he had abandoned back. Because of course he was entitled to ownership of his own son, which he had abandoned for many years. However, the son was old enough to choose, and wisely stuck with his mother. Now the father was suing her because she had 'turned his son against him'. He didn't have a very good case, but he had money to burn. It was essentially legal harassment. Just dealing with all the court proceedings stressed Karin out immensely.

Mina could practically taste the frustration Karin felt. Any love she had at one point had been poisoned by the treatment she had received. This was in stark contrast to Martin. He and his wife both agreed to a divorce because they had drifted too far apart, but there was no malice involved. They waited until their youngest daughter left for college, to avoid hurting the children unnecessarily. He had been divorced less than a year before he died.

"I understand you've had some serious challenges to contend with," Mina sympathized with Karin.

"That's true, but I've always had parents and friends that supported me. You… I mean..."

Karin hesitated. She seemed a bit… worried? Embarrassed?

"Sorry. Ehm. Do you have anyone?"

"No, not really. Well, one person. She's very kind and sits right in front of me."

Karin blossomed into a huge smile.

"Of course you have me."

She walked over to Mina and gave her a big hug.

"Come, let's make ourselves a cup of tea and move to the living room."

Mina smiled back.

“Sounds good. I have something important to share with you. Better to do that while we're sitting comfortably.”