Aunt Alegra looked as if time barely passed. Well, except for the streaks of silver in her hair. She was talking with one of her coworkers, and even from her distance, Amelia could hear the woman's familiar boisterous laughter.

"She showed me her cart and asked which one suits her better, and— Amelia! Oh my God, is that you?!" The older woman's voice rang through the hall, followed by an excited squeal and a pair of clacking heels. "It's been so long!"

"You're still as energetic as ever, Auntie," Amelia chuckled. "I'm glad."

"Oh, hush," Alegra slapped her by the arm playfully. "Don't try to make me feel so old just because we didn't see each other for years! I'm not letting you off the hook that easily," Alegra gave her a pointed look, making Amelia chuckle in embarrassment. Alegra then turned to her coworker, "You remember Amelia, my son Jonah's friend? The two of them often visit here in the town hall."

"Oh, yes! The two of them often run around here playing," the coworker chuckled. "The smart one, right?"

"Constant valedictorian until high school! Gifted one, I always say." Amelia felt her smile getting stiff as the two older women chuckled. "I'm not really that amazing."

"See? Smart and humble, as well!" Amelia's gaze moved to the floor. A heavy feeling—familiar and constant back when she was still a student—spread from her chest to her arms. She flexed her fingers as she mentally chided herself. It's been years. I shouldn't be that affected anymore.

After saying a quick goodbye to her coworker, the two ladies then took a seat at one of the empty tables. "I hope I'm not interrupting your work."

"Ah, I was about to go on my lunch break anyway," the older woman said as she waved off the other's concerns. "Now, what I want to know more about is: how have you been? It's been so long since you've visited, and Jonah wouldn't give me clear explanations."

Amelia cleared her throat. "There's not really that big of a deal. We just… drifted apart, is all."

"The two of you were practically attached at the hip back when you were children," Alegra sighed wistfully. "It was really sweet to watch. Your mother and I even made some general plans for your future wedding together!"

And she planned her future around it, too, for so many years, letting those teases and gushes paint a fantasy in her mind and dreams. Until Jonah's words brought her back to reality.

Well, it's not like she could say these thoughts aloud."Sorry," Amelia's voice was soft, her gaze glued to the table's surface. "I… wanted to find something for myself. Reflect, you know."

"So your mother said." Alegra shook her head. "With your grades and being a consistent honour student, we all thought you'd take some fancy college course, like a lawyer. Any office work, really. You would have achieved great things. I remember mine and your mother's shock when your grandmother said that she was helping you open a cafe on the other side of town."

Amelia tried to control her breath. It's alright, it's merely a casual comment. You promised yourself that you would not take every comment as disappointment towards you, right? "Ah, but I did claim that I'll be a famous chef someday, right?"

This prompted a chuckle from Alegra. "Ah, yes, back when you were such a passionate 8-year-old. I guess some childhood dreams could still come true!" It was not even a validation, but it did lighten Amelia's chest a bit.

She hated herself for it.

"Still, it was kinda lonely after you stopped dropping by the house. Jonah also went to uni not long after. I never realised how loud a house creaks."

"If it's alright for you and Uncle, then I would like to visit you two again." Alegra laughed, and Amelia smiled, taking that as a yes.

They spent the rest of lunch talking, thankfully steering clear of past academic achievements and prospective careers. As she was about to leave, Amelia looked at the stone steps outside the city hall and gasped.

She almost forgot!

She turned back to the reception, the door almost hitting her in the face. "Aunt Alegra, do you have any documents regarding the late O'nners' estate? Specifically, their house?"

Alegra blinked. "We do. A young woman previously came here a few weeks ago about them. A friend of yours?"

Friend, huh. Back then, the only person close enough to consider a friend was Jonah; most kids were either too awkward around her or just didn’t care unless it was for assignments or projects.

Does breaking down together constitute being friends? Amelia couldn't help but smile. "I met her back at my cafe. The late Mrs. O'nner was a regular at my cafe. The young woman is her great-niece. She's arranging the estate, but her papers are all outdated. She asked me to inquire about them for her."

"Ah, I see. Unfortunately, I can't give you the documents without proper authorisation."

"Oh." Well, that's probably expected. She should have thought of it more before she quickly volunteered. Even so, she couldn't help the sinking disappointment churning in her chest.

"How about this?" Alegra said, breaking Amelia out of her stupor. "Send me the documents your friend will need, and I'll arrange them myself. That way, she'll save her time."

Amelia nodded. It's probably the best compromise she could get, though it didn't lighten the heavy feeling that much. "I'll tell her. Thanks, Auntie."

She felt something poke her forehead. She blinked confusedly as Alegra chuckled and wiggled her finger.

"Your face's all scrunched up, dear. You're too young to have wrinkles, don't you think?"

Amelia snorted at that. She gave a nod of goodbye and started walking back to the entrance.

"Amelia, dear?"

Amelia turned, looking at Alegra curiously. The older woman looked as if she were debating something in her head. "Are you… happy?"

Amelia couldn't help but blink at the question, confused about where it came from. As she was about to answer “yes, of course I am,” something in the other's eyes and smile made her pause. Unbidden, memories from her childhood surged to the surface of her mind; a younger her running around barefoot, the test sheets she kept when she got perfect scores (she hid the few ones that were below the passing score, not really wanting to see the adult's disappointed stares again), the medals she once hoarded, Jonah, her best friend, her first love, and her expected future that didn't became her real future.

She looked down for a few seconds, looking for words, then smiled, though it wasn't a happy one. "I'm trying to."