RAVENS #1: THE DARKNESS

Chapter 31 - Her Pain

Alyssa Takada

Christmas in Paris has always been a dream of mine. It's something that I've always looked up to every year. Everything was beautiful and perfect. The Christmas lights, the parties, the vibes.

It's almost Christmas, and Aiko invited me to her newest bar near the Eiffel Tower. She and her friend, Lizzi, had just opened a bar, and I was invited to the opening day. Aiko and I met through work, and I was so happy to know that another Japanese woman was working at the office.

She loves fashion, but she somehow knew she wouldn't work in the fashion industry in the long run. Her dream was to open a bar, and after working in the fashion industry for eight years, she's finally made her dream come true.

"Congratulations!" I hugged her and gave her a bouquet I bought on my way here.

"Thank you so much, Aeri. Let me tour you around." She said, and she gave me a tour through the bar. Everything was perfect, and she looked so happy.

"I'm so happy for you," I said as I held her hand, looking around the bar. So many people were coming on the opening day, and I could see that people loved the vibe.

"Thank you for always supporting me... order some drinks. It's on me tonight." She winked and had to greet other guests. I ordered some tequila and sat on an empty table.

My phone rang, and it was my mom.

"Hi, mom." I switched to Japanese immediately.

"Aeri, you're going to fly to Tokyo for New Year's Eve, right?" She said straight to the point.

"Mom, I told you I'll arrive in Tokyo after New Year." She let out a long sigh.

"You should tell your boss to give you a break. You've been working non-stop. Don't you think it's time to quit and take over the family business?" Not again.

Before I could answer her, two men sat beside me. I looked at them, completely confused because I'm pretty sure it's rude not to ask if the table is available for sharing.

"Talk to you again later, Mom." I ended the call.

"Hi, I'm Barry." The curly-haired man introduced himself as he put his hand before me.

"Alyssa." I took it.

"I'm Yan." The other man introduced himself.

"Alyssa." I smiled awkwardly and got up since they looked like they needed the table.

"We heard you speak Japanese," Barry said, and I turned to him, completely weirded out by his tone and how he looked at me.

"We've been studying Japanese for two months," Yan said, and I was so confused.

"Okay." I walked away, but someone grabbed my arm, stopping me. I turned to see Yan holding my arm tightly.

"Let go." I hissed, and he looked around to see people turning their attention to us. He let me go, and I went to find Aiko to tell her I would go because I had work tomorrow. Aiko sent me off and thanked me again for coming.

I walked back home, but I could feel someone was following me. Weirdly, every time I turned around, there was no one there. I returned home and continued the rest of my day just fine.

A week after that, I started receiving flowers from an unknown man. Since I've been so focused on my work, I barely have time to go on dates, so receiving flowers like this was a weird one. I'm pretty sure that I have no admirers in the office. The next day, I received chocolates. And the next day, I received another flower. Then, the man proceeds to send me things for another two weeks.