Seven years later. 

“Drink’s on the house,” the cafe owner told me. 

“What? Why?” I asked, confused. 

“To celebrate your four years of being in Shoals, of course!” The dark-skinned, blue-haired, and brown-eyed woman tossed her head back and laughed. 

Rolling my eyes, I replied, “There’s not much to celebrate, Khlo.” 

“Don’t be such a killjoy. C’mon! You know I never give drinks for free, darling. Plus, remind me who became the most renowned detective of our city?” 

I sighed. “Guess I can’t turn down a free drink.” 

“Perfect. Your regular, darling?” 

“Yes, thank you.” 

 ~.~

Khlo -- yes, Khlo was her full name -- ran the cafe near my place, though she was just a waitress when I first moved to Shoals. We more or less hit it off, and she’d been calling me “darling” since we met. She knew everything about everything in the city, and the regulars all went to her to give and receive the latest gossip. 

~.~ 

“Darling,” she said, placing my caffeinated strawberry smoothie in front of me, “did you hear? There’s been a new regular coming around. He’s quite the ray of sunshine. You mind helping him out for me?” 

“With?” 

What would a ray of sunshine need me for? 

“Make him your assistant.” She winked. 

“Khlo, I don’t need an assistant.” 

“Yes, you do. You’ve been burning yourself out trying to find out about the you-know-what.” 

She couldn’t be any more obvious. 

“Fine, but only if I'm getting paid. If he doesn’t last, we drop the topic, all right?” 

“Ooh, speaking of,” she said, ignoring me, “there’s our little ray of sunshine now.” 

I turned around to see a bright-eyed albeit shy-looking guy approach the counter. His golden eyes paired perfectly with his tan skin and chestnut brown, tousled hair. And he was short. I looked away to make sure I didn’t stare. He didn’t come any closer to the counter, probably because I was standing there. 

“Hiiiii, Nircoel baby!” 

I couldn’t believe this woman and her nicknames. That poor guy was stuck with it for the rest of his life. 

“Hi, Khlo,” he greeted, offering a shy wave. 

“You remember the guy I told you about who was offering a position as a detective’s assistant? This is him. Nircoel, meet Ezyn. He’s our city’s best. Ezyn, meet Nircoel. He’s an up-and-coming detective who just moved to Shoals.” 

“Nice to meet you,” I said, extending a hand, even though I was irritated at Khlo for offering a position that didn’t exist until five minutes ago. 

He returned the gesture, and we shook hands. “You as well.” 

“Well, you’re hired until stated otherwise.” 

He looked at me, bewildered. “Pardon? But--I didn’t have an interview. I don’t have a resume either, and if I did, it wouldn’t be very impressive anyways. Are you sure you want me for the job?” 

“There wouldn’t be a position if it wasn’t for Khlo, so count your blessings and try to keep up so you don’t get fired.” 

“Uh--yes, sir!” 

“How old are you anyways?” 

“Nineteen, sir.” 

“Short for a nineteen-year-old,” I mumbled to myself. 

“What was that, sir?” 

“Nothing. Just call me Ezyn. I’m only a year older than you.” Glancing at Khlo, I told him, “I’m assuming you came here to order, not to get a job.” 

“Ah, yes!” He placed his order, then chatted with Khlo. 

“How’s the apartment treating you?” Khlo asked. 

“It’s...actually closing down soon. I accidentally discovered an infestation of cockroaches and termites. I’m looking for another place, but nothing good has come up yet.” 

“Your new boss has an extra room at his place!” 

I nearly choked on my smoothie. 

“Khlo!” 

“Darling, don’t make such a fuss about it.” To Nircoel, she said, “He let me stay there when my house was getting renovated. And his place is right near here too.” 

I let out a quiet, annoyed sigh. 

Looking worriedly at me, he spoke, words tumbling out at the speed of light. “Oh! I--I don’t mean to impose. There’s going to be more places that pop up eventually. It’s fine. I don’t want to bother my new boss...” 

He kept spewing apologies and excuses left and right. 

“Hey,” I said, holding up a hand to stop him. 

He fell silent. 

“It was Khlo’s idea. Don’t let her put words in your mouth or make you feel bad for something you didn’t say. How far is your apartment from the building on Coquina Street?” 

“Forty-five minutes following the speed limit and little to no traffic. Maybe an hour and a half with heavy traffic.” 

He was exact. I didn’t think I would regret hiring Nircoel. 

“Then you can move to my place. You being late would be more of a bother than you staying with me.” 

His face brightened immediately after I had said that. “This means a lot, Ezyn. I didn't think I'd be able to find a place in two days.”

The move-out date must have been set for Monday. 

“Do you have a car?” I asked. 

“Er...no...” He kept his head down. 

Realizing he was intending to reach my place through public transportation, I did my best to reign in my sighs. They probably weren't gonna help him feel better. 

“I’ll pick you up. Make sure to leave the address. Are you all packed?” 

“Mostly. I didn’t get a chance to unpack much. I only moved in a few days back.” He scribbled down the address while Khlo finally made him his beverage. 

“I’ve gotta go. See you,” I told Khlo and Nircoel, taking the address from the latter. 

“Bye, darling! See you Monday.” Khlo called. 

“See you on Monday, Ezyn,” Nircoel said with a wave. 

I left, though in reality, I didn’t have anywhere to go. It was the weekend, yet I didn’t know what to do. I decided to go home and rest. After all, I would soon be living with a ray of sunshine. 

~.~ 

The weekend ended too fast. 

Before I knew it, I was picking up Nircoel, helping him get set up, and sharing my first meal with him. 

A little awkward, to say the least. 

We sat across the table from each other and ate in silence, but the tension was obviously there.

"So...what does a detective's assistant do exactly?" he asked, breaking the silence.

You didn't know but you wanted the job anyways? I thought. "Handle documents and back me up on cases."

Pretty good for something I made up on the spot.

"Khlo said you were an up-and-coming detective. Why'd you want to become one?"

He shifted nervously, visibly uncomfortable with the question.

"You...don't have to answer if you don't want to."

The surprise on his face transformed into a glittering smile, a smile with genuine happiness behind it. I was struck by the beauty of the innocent look on his face.

"Thank you," he said, and I felt the emotion behind it.

I smiled back at him before I could stop myself.

"You look nice when you smile."

"Do I not look nice otherwise?" I asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from my literal appearance.

He became flustered and tried to apologize, making me laugh.

Another thing I wasn't supposed to do.

"You have a nice laugh too," Nircoel said, smiling.

"Thank you..."

Nircoel had made me do in minutes what no other stranger could do in months. Either Nircoel truly was a sunbeam, or I was losing my touch. I needed to keep my guard up.

"I'm going to turn in early." I put my plate in the sink and started to head upstairs.

"Goodnight, Ezyn," Nircoel called.

"Night, Nircoel."

But as I was drifting off to sleep, my phone dinged. 

Checking it, my heart started racing with excitement. Strange things were happening once again in Shoals, and maybe this time I could get to the bottom of it. I opened the email, but I wasn't prepared for what was inside.