The City of Ionia

“Jill, look.”

“Ehya!”

She pulled her arm towards a man performing circus acts on the street. He carefully juggled six or seven tomatoes while balancing on one leg—an amazing skill. Truly, it was a work of art that everyone should admire.

“Isn’t that cool?”

“I guess.”

She dramatically crossed her arms and looked away. “Your enthusiasm is terrible.”

“Sure. Are there any pastry places nearby? My mouth could use some sweetness.”

What a sorry attempt to segue!

“You’re such a glutton, Jill.”

“Am not. I just need something sweet.”

“We’ve been to three pastry places already. It’s been two hours since we’ve been in Clueknicks!”

Jill rolled her eyes. “Harley…is there anything wrong with trying different desserts?”

Harley uncrossed her arms, tapping her chin with her index finger. “Nope. Not at all. You see, your first two times were fine, but now you're pushing your luck. I don’t want to go to another pastry place. Please, let's go see the weapons.”

“After dessert.”

“What?! No. Now.”

She grabbed Jill’s arm and firmly tugged her to cooperate. Jill’s face reeked with refusal, and she pressed her lips with a slight head shake.

But that only lasted so long.

“Fine,” Jill mumbled with a long face.

Harley’s face flipped completely. She gasped surprisedly, squealing like a child who can’t control their happiness.

“Really? We can check the weapon stores?”

“Sure. But pastry’s after.”

“As you wish, Miss. Glutton.”

Jill backed away in a defensive stance, tucking away her stomach. Her face lit red like a colored candle.

“Am—D-D-D-Don’t call me th–that!”

After several more minutes of pulling on Jill’s tail, they strolled to find the local weapon shop. Harley whipped out a map, but it was hardly legible. Spending a few bronze outis coins wasn’t worth it. It didn’t even last a day.

Jill proposed the idea of asking someone, but little did she know that most people in Clueknicks aren’t local. They’re mainly people from other towns visiting the greatest shopping city known to the outside world. That being said, asking someone would probably be useless.

“So you just wanna stumble on it on our own?”

“Why not? We have all day. No need for the extra aggression.”

“I—What?”

Jill stopped in her tracks. Her puzzled face popped more than her chest. Did she not realize the tone of voice used?

“Jill, we can stumble and rumble, ask and zoom fast, or just relax and chill-ax. It doesn’t matter. We have all day. But I do want to see the weapon store before leaving.”

“Yeah, ya, that’ll happen—oh look.” She pointed to the store across the street. “Wanna check it out?”

Harley gave her a look blanker than an empty sky. “Another bakery? I don’t want to eat anymore, Jill. My stomach had enough.”

“We’re just trying, not eating.”

“Same thing!”

Jill ignored Harley’s complaints, dragging her inside the bakery, where they were greeted with a light aroma of freshly baked pastries. Jill took a deep breath, admiring the goodies. On the other hand, Harley went straight to a table without eyeing the goods behind the glass.

Harley closely observed Jill. She carefully scanned the pastry puffs, muffins, cookies, whatever they had. Harley didn’t really know since she didn’t care enough to look closely. Jill, however, was the complete opposite. She would have probably owned a bakery if she’d made friends with a baker instead of Harley. At least, that’s what Harley thought. She could be in a bakery for hours.

Finally, she’s picking her food.

Harley saw Jill’s ear-to-ear smile from her seat. It’s as though she forgets about everything when walking into a bakery. It’s like nothing wrong ever happened to her. Her life was perfect. She saw no flaw in it. This was her happy place. A random bakery at Clueknicks. Any bakery at all, to be exact. It was her favorite place in the world.

“Look, look, I got this jelly-filled doughnut,” she smiled while walking towards the table Harley sat at.

“Cool. Don’t spill the filling on your white skirt. That will never come out.”

“You’re the one who forced me to wear this,” she said in a cold tone.

“Duh! Because you look cute in it. I wouldn’t have told you to wear something that made you not look amazing.”

She sighed heavily, stuffing her hand in the paper bag.

“This is for you,” she said while putting it down.

A cran—no—blueberry muffin?

“I didn’t ask for anything, though.”

“Ok? Doesn’t mean I can’t get you anything,” she replied.

Harley smiled, unwrapping the muffin. It wasn't close to bite-sized. It was surprisingly big, enough to get a handful of solid bites.

Harley took a bite.

“Is it good?”

She covered her mouth and nodded. It was a bit dry, but that’s ok. Knowing who got it for her amplified the taste.

Jill scooted the chair backward. “I’ll be back.”

Minutes later, she returned with two cups in her hand.

“Here you go.”

“What is this? Coffee?”

“Ya. I made sure yours doesn’t have as much sugar as mine. We need something to wash down the food.”

That girl could make her cry right about now. There was no reason for these kind gestures. They just happened as though it was the norm.

Harley chuckled a bit. “What happened to just trying and not eating?”

“Hm? We are just trying. You don’t see me only eating a jelly doughnut.”

Only a jelly doughnut…

It was her third or fourth pastry of the day. How was she so in shape with a below-average diet?

Harley yawned. “I’ll have the coffee later. I’m feeling a bit sleepy.”

“Huh?”

“I said, I’ll have the coffee later. I’m a bit sleepy right now. I’ll finish the muffin, though.”

Jill leaned over the table. “Wow, your eyes are pretty droopy. Did you not sleep last night?”

Harley swung her head low, trying to recall.

“I…I don’t remember.”

A wave of drowsiness crashed into her skull. She felt lightheaded and struggled to keep herself awake. Where did this come from? She was fine a minute ago, so why suddenly did she feel this way?

“Oh…wow…I really…don’t feel good.” It was a chore to push those words out.

“Maybe drink some coffee to wake you up?”

She lazily shook her head. “I don’t know.” She covered her face with her elbows on the table. “I don’t feel good.”

Her body weighed a hundred boulders, but her head was empty like an untouched canvas. With her face down towards the table, she took multiple deep breaths in an attempt to soothe herself.

“My body…”

It ached. Everything ached. Why? Did she eat something?

That couldn’t be it. All she had were pastries, which couldn't possibly put her body in distress. Harley could barely keep her eyes open.

Jill leaned into Harley’s ear. “I’m going to get you some water,” she softly whispered.

Harley gently nodded under her arms. “Ok…but…”

She stopped speaking, causing Jill to question her.

“But what?”

“I don’t…want to miss the…the weapons store.”

Harley couldn’t see Jill’s petite smile, but it was there.

“Of course. Just take a little rest, and when you’re all better, we’ll go. It’ll be fun.”

Harley forced a smile onto her face. Not because she didn’t want to, but because her energy level was lower than a bear during hibernation.

She could hardly breathe, let alone speak. But to ensure Jill would get her word, she pushed herself to the near limit.

With an inner inferno blazing within her chest, with her head and shoulders carrying the weight of a thousand bricks, with her legs detached from her body, she mustered every little bit of energy to her vocal cords.

In the end, this was all she said:

“Ya… it will be.”

Her eyes closed.

In a dream or reality, those oceanic eyes would never open again.