Another day toiling through the streets, Alice found herself walking through the marketplace to get back to her store on the far end of the street. "Today feels like blue!" she said as she stepped out the front door and walked down the street to buy some missing ingredients to make her favourite tiramisu made with mascarpone cheese and coffee grounds, coming in fresh every day. Her struggle through the narrow marketplace was not, however, a pleasant trip. Every step was met with people walking past her, knocking her around like the ball that kids used to play. Every time she would have to go out to buy ingredients, she would breathe a deep sigh and slap her cheek to give her the boost she needed to get through the trip. And at the end of each trip, she would be completely exhausted. Today was no different, the moment she reached her store, she collapsed on the floor in exhaustion of not only the physical nature but the psychological one. Yet, after her little rest, she would always get back up and put a big smile on her face as she got ready for the day.
The store she ran was actually a bakery and a famous one at that. It was always the talk of this small town, saying that the baked good was good enough to send one to heaven. Alice would also hear talk of a small fairy that would run the store, but she took it more as an insult, puffing her cheeks out until they were red because everyone always called her short. But every day, without fail, she would open this small little bakery with a giant smile on her face, and give out and sell her bread without fail.
Today, she would be selling her monthly special, which was, of course, the tiramisu. For this special occasion, she decorated the door of the store with small balloons ranging in a warm colour like red and yellow to depict her feelings for the rare warm day, and she wanted to greet the people with a cosy shop.
Inside the shop, the place was the same as always, giving off that rustic feel, where the walls were coloured in a mellowed vanilla outlined by carefully placed wooden planks that gave the shop the support it needed to stand. The counters were glass, showcasing the baked goods she would make every day as the well-lit candles lined across the walls sprayed a yellow light towards the glass, making the buns look like they came right from the oven. Yet the most alluring of colours in this bakery was the pink cheeks on the small little woman that would brighten the whole bakery when she gave the customers her signature smile.
Today was the first warm day in a month and Alice wanted to greet the bakery with some fresh air. She walked towards the window with heavy wooden doors, which were used to keep the cold out when the time came, and with a push, busted the frames open to let in the air. With the windows open, the fragrant of freshly baked bread would waft around the marketplace, greeting people with growling stomach, tempting them to come and buy some bread.
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And as she finished putting out the last of her baked goods into the display window, she opened the doors and her day as a baker began. Customers constantly coming in and out, taking the bread as fast as she was putting it out. Many customers stopped and talk to Alice about various sorts of things ranging from the events happening in their lives to the news that might be interesting to her. Of course, her most sought-after piece of information was the gossip between the housewives about certain people which she loved to think and talk about. There were also people that came in just to see Alice. She was still quite young, and many people came in to tease her about her height which was greeted with another bright red puffed up cheek and all the ire she could muster towards the customer. But no matter how much the people talked or teased her, they would never fail to buy some of her delicious baked goods.
By the end of the day, Alice had sold out of all her bread, and she always would be thankful, giving a parting smile to the last of her customers.
Today, however, Alice found a strange thing as she was clearing down her shop. There was a white dove sitting on top of a red balloon that was dyed in an orange glow from the setting sun. She needed to take the balloon down before the day ended as she would not accept her shop looking messy as she was sleeping.
"Shoo," she said as she flicked her hands at the dove, signalling it to fly away. But the dove sat completely still. Alice got frustrated and went inside to get a broom to pop the balloon. But when she came out with the broom, the dove was gone. She didn't give it much min as she finished clearing down for the day, headed upstairs to clean up, and got ready for bed.
The next day, Alice was met with a cold front and winds that would freeze the sweat off the tip of her nose. She took her jacket and some sweet bread she baked yesterday to eat as she went out as she usually did. As she walked down the street, she noticed fewer people filled the streets. Of course, this was natural as people probably wanted to stay home to stay warm. She rushed towards the market to get her usually list of ingredients so she could also avoid the freezing weather.
As she was heading back, she spotted something the corner of her eye, a small but familiar creature lying down on the green grass. She walked up to the small bird she knew from yesterday and inspected the small bird. She tried touching it but it felt cold. The bird must have known that the weather would be turning, but it could not find a place to find shelter. Alice's face turned red but not because of the cold weather nor because anyone was teasing her. She felt the frustration and regret building up inside her as she recalled chasing the poor bird away, who only wanted to find relief from the cold. "Today is blue," she thought, as she let out a deep white breath, picked up the bird, and walked away.