“Lillian!”
Conrad’s suppressed, painful voice exploded in her mind.
Lillian woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. She glanced at the clock-it was only 3 AM.
In the dream, Conrad’s face had appeared suddenly, wildly questioning her, as if he wanted to tear her apart.
Lillian rubbed her forehead and got up, tiredly drinking the now-cold water. She made her way toward the bathroom. The bathroom was small, with yellow grime between the cracks in the tiles. Every time she entered, she had to check carefully for any hidden cameras.
From next door, she could hear the sounds of a man playing mahjong, and upstairs, the yelling of a woman scolding her children.
This building was filled with all kinds of people. The only good thing was that the landlord didn’t check IDs.
After Lillian took a shower, she started having trouble sleeping. The temperature of the water heater was hard to control, and it often turned to cold water in the middle of her shower.
She could only sit on the bed, watching the light slowly brighten through the Venetian blinds.
Morning came.
Another day had passed.
Lillian had completely cut off all news from the outside world. She found a job downstairs, working at a flower shop owned by an elderly lady.
The elderly lady never checked her ID, and she spoke with a local accent and called her “Miss.”
Every morning, at 6 a. m., the elderly lady, Ms. Judith, had to drive to the flower market to pick out the best fresh flowers. She was the landlord of the building next door. She wasn’t lacking money, but she just wanted something to do. Unfortunately, her health wasn’t as good as before, and there weren’t many young people willing to start work at 6 a. m.
When Lillian came, Ms. Judith didn’t ask many questions, only asking if she’d work for $5, 000 a month.
$5, 000 was enough to live on in this small town.
When Lillian went downstairs to lock the door, she ran into the neighbor who had been playing mahjong all night.
He glanced at Lillian, who was dressed in black with a hat on, wearing thick clothes, and walked out while smoking a cigarette.
Lillian waited for him to leave before picking up the trash bag left at the entrance and going downstairs.
It was hot outside, and she was probably the only one wearing a hat and long sleeves.
As she went downstairs, she could still see a group of young punks walking out of the internet cafe hidden behind the iron gate at the alleyway.
Lillian climbed into the small truck parked downstairs, changed out of her jacket, and wore just a T-shirt as she drove toward the flower market.
At this hour, the only people awake in the town were those making deliveries, and a few people working at breakfast shops.
“You’re here early,” the wholesale flower shop owner’s wife said, having her son, Osborn, load the flowers onto the truck. “We just got a fresh shipment.”
Lillian replied, “I couldn’t sleep.”
Osborn, who helped out during his summer vacation, had skin tanned a wheat color and was a friendly guy.
“In that case, why don’t you drink some of my mom’s fresh milk? It’ll make you sleep like a baby.”
“You’re asking for it!” the shop owner’s wife scolded, swatting at Osborn with a fly swatter. Osborn quickly ducked and ran away.
Lillian smiled as she watched them. Osborn looked at her, his sun-kissed face turning a little red.
Lillian signed off on the flowers after checking the list, ready to head out.
“Miss,” the shop owner’s wife called out. “Why don’t you come by for dinner tonight? I see you’re always alone, and your building’s not a great place for cooking. The people there are all kinds of trouble.”
She handed Lillian a bag of apples. “Remember to come, okay?”
Lillian looked at the apples and nodded.
She actually wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t resist the warmth others were offering her.
It was a short-term rental, and she wouldn’t stay here for more than three months.
Once things with Conrad calmed down, she would go to the place she truly wanted to be.
The flower shop was peaceful, with only regular customers coming in unless it was a holiday.
Lillian had already memorized the faces of all the customers.
Ms. Judith had a habit of turning on the TV while she cleaned the flowers, mainly listening to the news.
“Today, Brown Family Group has made a big move. Will the future direction change…”
Lillian pricked her finger on a thorn and looked down to see blood oozing from the wound.
She licked it off and forced herself to stop paying attention to the news.
She replaced the water in the flower vases with fresh water.
“Hey, what’s going on with City N? It seems so chaotic recently. The finance report says someone’s threatening to jump off a building, and Brown Family Group is mentioned again. I’m getting confused. I hope my stocks are okay.”
“With your little investment, what are you worrying about? You’ll probably lose around $500 at most,” another person said dismissively.
The wind chimes jingled as Lillian quickly exited the flower shop and took out a dollar from her pocket to dial Kama’s number.
“Hello?”
Kama’s voice came through, and there was the sound of machines in the background. It seemed she was in the factory.
Lillian spoke softly, “Kama, it’s me.”
Kama didn’t respond right away. Instead, she walked to the noisiest area and said, “Huh? What did you say? The last batch of goods?”
Lillian had a sudden, sharp feeling that something was wrong. Without thinking, she hung up the phone.
Kama must have recognized her voice.
She realized with a jolt that her phone had been tapped!
Without hesitation, Lillian turned around and rushed back into the store, ready to quit.
“Ms. Judith, something’s come up at my home. I won’t take the rest of my salary, and I’m sorry about today’s flowers.”
“Miss, what’s going on all of a sudden?”
Lillian didn’t have time to explain. She grabbed her bag and rushed upstairs. There were still two months of rent left on the apartment, and she didn’t want to get the deposit back. She quickly packed her things, put on a mask and a hat, and left.
Before leaving, she locked eyes with the woman next door, and then quickly walked downstairs.
Just as she reached the bus stop, she noticed people were looking for her.
Lillian didn’t dare approach. She grabbed her bag and quickly left through another exit, deciding to leave the town. At the very least, she couldn’t go back near the flower shop.
As she was thinking about where to go, her palms sweating, a car passed by and honked.