"Will you stop hiding, please?", she asks, out of breath.

She has been searching for him for more than half an hour and has looked in every corner of this god damn park twice to no avail.

"Only if you promise that you're not angry."

"Why would I be angry?", she says, slowly recovering from the jumpscare he gave her.

"But please don't hide behind me anymore without saying anything."

"But I said something didn't I?", he answers tilting his head slightly.

"Right", she nods.

For the first time in a while she can't help herself, but smile after seeing his confused expression. If it was anyone else she'd think that they're making fun of her, but he truly doesn't know any better.

"So, mind telling me why you're avoiding me?"

"That...", he begins his ears turning a bright red.

His new hair cut truly suits him. Before his bangs were covering his eyes and ears, you could barely see his face. Now it feels like his whole face has brightened up and he seems a lot happier.

"It's because I calles you mom. I didn't mean to it just slipped, I promise it won't happen again!"

"Why not? I found it cute." 

The moment these words left her mouth he turned even redder. Without saying anything else he runs away to the playground in the park, but she could still see the wide smile on his face while running.

"Maybe this isn't so bad after all."

A few peaceful hours of playing in the park went by before they returned to the coffee shop. 

"Did you wait for us?", Marianne asks after spotting Leila at the counter.

"Isn't that obvious?", she answers raising her eyebrow.

That being said he runs up to her excitedly telling her all about his day. She often forgets that he's still a little kid, because she could talk to him about everything and he'd give her good advice.

She goes to the back to change her uniform leaving the chattering kids behind.

"So, what can I get you?", asks Jasmine, the coffee shop owner.

"Some herbal tea", says Leila with a soft smile.

"And for me a hot chocolate", Silas adds.

"With whipped cream?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, one herbal tea and a hot chocolate with whipped cream coming right up!"

"Aren't you well-behaved", Marianne says looking at Leila with the same raised eyebrow she did before.

"It would be a pity if you got fired just because you're friends with some kid that has no manners."

"I doubt I'd get fired over something like that."

"I wouldn't test it if I were you. You seem to like doing this a lot more than that, so try not to ruin it. And if not for you than for Silas, he'll end up alone if you leave again", Leila says in a serious tone.

"That's enough, how about we talk about something else", Silas intrudes, his cheerful expression gone.

He despises talking about the past, it's not going to change anything and it only brings up painful memories. Deep down he wishes to just forget everything, so that he can start anew and live just like everybody else.

Breaking the akward silence Jasmine brings out the tea and hot chocolate together with some cookies.

"We didn't order any cookies", Leila says.

"Don't worry about that, they're not cookies that we sell."

"So what are they then?"

"They're the first batch that Silas made, but I'd like to hear a few more different opinions on them before selling them."

"You bake?", Leila asks surprised.

"I do whenever I have the time to", he says playing with his bangs embarassed.

Hearing that she picks up one of the cookies and takes a bite. They are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Sadly they're not warm anymore so the chocolate inside isn't molten.

She didn't give any feedback until after she ate them all, but in one way or another that could also be counted as feedback.

In the meantime Marianne had left to serve the other tables.

"Are they good?", he asks nervously.

"If they weren't I wouldn't have eaten all of them."

"See I told you they were amazing", Jasmine says encouraging. 

"Now that I think about it, where did you learn to bake?", she asks.

"My mother taught me", he answers, it's the first time he doesn't look sad when mentioning her.

"Well your mother is an amazing woman then, I have baked quite a few times, but they don't even come close to these."

"Yes, she is", he says with a soft smile on his face, watching Jasmine rave about how good the cookies were. 

Leila had to leave when the sun set just like every other day. 

Marianne and Jasmine are cleaning the shop after closing, Silas on the other hand is upstairs and is getting ready to sleep.

Just as they are about to lock the door two guards from the city watch enter the shop.

"We are closed", Marianne says nervously stepping back.

She knows the two guards who just came inside, the question is wether they recognize her as well.

"Please leave if there's nothing wrong", Jasmine says coming forward in a way that she blocks them from coming closer to Marianne.

"Don't worry, we'll be gone soon. We were just wondering if you have seen this woman around", he says holding up a picture.

The woman in the picture has light brown hair and gray eyes. The look on her face is very serious and suits her haggard face better than one would expect. Her skin is pale, like she hasn't seen the sun in years and she's wearing bulky glasses that look completely out of place.

"I have never seen her", Jasmine says.

"And you?", the guard asks Marianne.

"Neither have I", she answers.

Just as the guards are about to leave a question slips her.

"Why are you looking for her?"

"It's nothing to worry about if you haven't seen her. I apologize for intruding so late, have a good night", he says before leaving with his partner.