Chapter 3

Harry’s POV

“Oh, dear… it’s like you’re not the owner of your coffee shop,” Mama said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “You’re the boss, but you’re the one opening in the morning… what’s the point of hiring employees then?”

I just laughed and didn’t bother responding to Mama’s comment. She always says that, and I can’t complain because it’s true. Sometimes, Gina, the manager of my coffee shop, The Fall Café, and the other employees feel embarrassed because I’m often the first one to arrive even though they should be the ones opening. I just reassure them that it’s okay because I don’t have much to do anyway, and I like being able to focus on the shop.

“By the way, dear… did you visit Selene yesterday?” Mama asked while getting a cup, seemingly preparing to make coffee. She had just woken up, and it was only six in the morning.

Mama’s question about Selene reminded me of Selene’s new gravestone… and the carving on it that said, ‘Autumn has come…’ I haven’t asked Tita Celia and Tito Armand about it yet. Maybe later… they’re probably still asleep.

“Yes, Mom,” I answered her question. “You and Dad didn’t go… Selene might be upset with you.” I shook my head, chuckling.

Mama laughed and shook her head. “Selene won’t be upset, I’m sure of that.” Mama lightly tapped me on the head as she approached, having just finished making her coffee. “Selene knows we’re busy, and I’m sure she understands…” I didn’t protest against what she said and bid her goodbye as I left the house.

I rode my motorcycle and headed to The Fall Café. It only took me about five minutes on the motorbike, and I arrived at The Fall Café.

Since it was still before 6:30 AM, I expected the person in charge of opening the shop today hadn’t arrived yet.

Today, the shop opens at 7 AM because it’s Sunday. On weekdays, we open at 6 AM. My goal by the end of the year is to be able to open 24 hours. I hope the earnings improve so I can hire more staff. I’m planning to launch a social media campaign, and Gail said she’ll take care of it. She’s the social manager of my shop.

When I opened my shop, I immediately turned on the air conditioner and then brought out the large blackboard with ‘Welcome to The Fall Cafe’ written on it near the main entrance. Next, I opened the blinds that covered the windows and turned on the desktop used as a cash register. I also checked the cash register to see if the amount matched the entries in Excel, and it did.

Since there would probably be customers soon, I first cleaned the tables to remove the dust and then mopped the floor right after. After completing those tasks, I checked the time and saw that it was only 6:30 AM. I was sure that Louie, the one assigned to open the shop today, would arrive around 6:45 or 6:50.

Since it would still be a while before I changed the signage on the door to ‘Come in, we are open,’ I took the book I borrowed from the library yesterday from the compartment of my motorcycle and started reading it outside.

The sun was starting to rise, and I wanted to get some sunlight, so I sat outside and read. Even though I borrowed the book just yesterday, I was already more than halfway through because I was enjoying what I was reading. The book is about running a business, and I’m happy because I’ve learned a lot so far. I even took notes on my phone of quotes and tips I gathered from the book.

Lately, this has become my hobby—borrowing books from the library here and finishing them in a day or two. It’s an achievement for me because my previous hobby was playing PlayStation, and that wasn’t productive.

As I was turning the pages of the book, I noticed a woman peeking inside the shop. She was wearing a black dress and had a large hat that partially covered her face. I glanced at her briefly and continued reading because it seemed like she had no interest in placing an order.

Based on her posture, she was just looking around and didn’t seem to care about the menu since she had a small menu in her hand that she wasn’t even looking at. Perhaps she was just looking for a place to hang out. I was somewhat annoyed with people like her because they treated my shop as a hangout spot without actually ordering anything.

While reading, I glanced at the woman in my peripheral vision, and she was still doing the same. She continued to look inside the shop, and since I hadn’t turned on the other lights inside yet, it was somewhat dim, causing her hand to be near her eyebrows to see the interior clearly. I lowered the book I was reading on the table, and the woman looked at me.

When I saw her face, the world seemed to suddenly slow down. My heart rate immediately accelerated.

Unable to believe what I was seeing, I didn’t stand up right away, and I even closed my eyes to look again, to see if what I was seeing was true… if it was really happening.

This woman looked so much like Selene. And… it was chilling because she really seemed to be Selene.

How can this be possible? When I stood up from my seat, the woman quickly walked away. I followed her, but she quickly disappeared from my sight, and I had no idea where she went. Maybe I’m just sleepy. Maybe I’m not fully awake yet, and I’m just imagining things.

***

When it was already 10 AM, I told Gina that I would be leaving for a while and heading to the library.

Since I had just finished reading the book and the number of customers had decreased compared to earlier at around 8 AM, I decided to go to the library and look for a new book to borrow. I didn’t know if I would borrow a book similar to the one I had just finished. I would figure out later what piques my interest. But probably, it wouldn’t be a novel. I didn’t feel like reading a novel because I knew I wouldn’t be productive if that’s what I read.

“Wow, you finished it quickly,” Kiel, the librarian, nodded at me and quickly took the book I had just finished reading. He swiped my library card and then returned it to me. This library card was a one-time payment, and I could borrow any book, as many as I wanted, anytime for a year, and it was renewable.

I also nodded to Kiel. “It’s interesting,” I simply replied to what he said.

“We have many more books about business and self-motivation there. Just look around, buddy.” I probably spent about half an hour searching for a book, and I found two that I would borrow today. Both books were about business and how to grow it. My goal was to finish both books in two days.

Since it was already 11 AM and it was getting crowded in the shop at this hour, I decided to stay and read in the library. I sat at the table I usually sat at—a table located at the far end of the library, somewhat close to the air conditioning—and I began reading one of the books.

Just as I flipped to the third page of the book, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, and I immediately checked who messaged me. It was a group message… I think.

From: Unknown

Good day, batchmates! Our high school reunion is happening tomorrow, okay? I’m just sending this as a group message just in case you haven’t seen it in our group chat or forgot that it’s tomorrow. Thank you, guys! Have a nice day!

Right. Tomorrow is the high school reunion that they planned two weeks ago. I didn’t know who sent this message, but it could be our former class president who was in charge of organizing it.

Should I attend? I didn’t really want to see them because… because Selene won’t be there. Plus, I’m usually with Damian, Ginny, and Gail, my only friends since high school, and I’m a bit tired of their faces (literally). Perhaps I’ll just send a cake to Gail and come up with an excuse that I have something important tomorrow. I’ll figure it out.