Wrong day at the wrong time

A while ago when Míngzé had gone to the Silver Kettle for tea and in the hope to find something that could help him with everything else. Later he came back to visit someone entirely different. So far neither of them knew of ways that could help him that did not involve immediate danger. Yet, the shop owner had promised she would look into it.

Míngzé decided today was as good as any day to visit her again. There was only one problem. His hand was still on the doorknob, but the door would not open. With a defeated sigh he lowered his hand again. Of course, the day he decided to come back, the shop was closed. Míngzé should’ve called beforehand. He simply assumed she would be here as it was an odd day and time to close a shop.

It didn't matter. He had nothing else to do anyway. Next time he would call before taking the bus here, to make sure this did not happen again. Míngzé let his cane lean against his shoulder before grabbing his phone. If he was here, he might as well see if there was some place he could go and grab a snack.

“Snackbar near my location,” Míngzé spoke and his phone immediately responded. Now all he had to do was find one that piqued his interest.

Luck was not on his side that day, but it did not matter. He would grab a coffee somewhere and then he would head back home. It was not like he had anything else to do during the day, so he could not exactly call this a waste of time. If anything it was better, otherwise he might’ve stayed inside the whole day.

A voice sounded and he turned his head towards it. While he would have trouble recognizing the shop owner’s voice, he knew it was not a low male voice. “Both?” he said with a tilted eyebrow. There would be no shop without a shop owner. But that was not what they meant. “For the shop, actually,” Míngzé replied as he turned toward the person who spoke up. The question made him think that perhaps this person knew her, perhaps even worked here too. “Do you perhaps know when the shop opens?” he inquired. It would be even better if this man also worked at this shop. Although, there was the back portion of this place. It might be he was part of that.

It was too bad the shop was closed and that he’d come all this way for nothing, but he would not let that bother him. For a moment he had hoped that perhaps this man could be of help, but if Simura was not available right now, so be it.

He hummed softly as the man gave him an opening time. “Alright thanks, let’s hope she’ll be here tomorrow then.” It was not like he had anything else to do. He could come back, but perhaps it was best to give her a call first. If he wasn't mistaken, he had visited her on this same day the last time as well. However, she had been there then. It was always possible that she had to close her doors for some reason.

Míngzé raised an eyebrow when the man was very direct with the questions that followed. They felt personal and it made him wonder why he would even ask them in the first place. “Don't take this the wrong way, but why I’m here is none of your business.” There were the things he had discussed with Simura last time and she had offered possible solutions. He did not feel the need to talk about those things with a random stranger he met on the streets.