-|Prologue

THERE was this saying that, "life will always throw lemons at you, what matters is what you do with your lemons."

That saying was crap.

Life didn't just throw lemons at people, she also dictated what they'd do with those lemons. Hence, we didn't really have a say in anything. It was why she was called life.

That established, I didn't expect the lemon life had decided to hit me with—

"We're selling the cafe." 

—right in the forehead.

I stared at the owner of the cafe I worked at, blinking furiously. He stared back at me, hands tucked into his trouser pockets and lips drawn together. 

Quick rewind: this cafe, the one about to be sold was the cafe I'd been working at for about year. Ever since my accommodation issues began, of taken solace in the availability of this abode. . .or workplace. And now, it was going to be sold!

My brain was working fast, desperately trying to process the bombshell he'd just dropped on me. When I was finally able to properly register his words, I made fists at my sides. Fingers dug into flesh.

"What?!" 

Even though I could understand how bad this situation was for me, I felt helpless. This cafe had been my home for almost a year, without it there was nothing I could survive with. All my goals were going to be crushed. This wasn't the worst thing that had happened to me, but it was bad enough.

Mr Meyer, the owner of the cafe, nodded, confirming what I'd just heard. 

The air around me was thick with tension, but he didn't seem to notice that I was paling at his words.

"Look Eiling," he started. "I know that you've stayed here for as long as I can remember and I know you're a good girl. But you have to understand. Our hands are just as tied up as yours, we're helpless." He paused again, thinking about his words.

I didn't get what he meant by "we." He was the one who'd given me the opportunity to stay here, and now, he was the one ripping it away. Not that I was ungrateful for the help, but this was too sudden.

"I don't have anywhere else to go." My voice came out low, breathy, almost edgy even. Silently, my heart and eyes pleaded for him to consider me. 

He exhaled. "The deal came at a time when we really needed the money and. . ."

Mr Meyer wasn't ever particularly nice to me. He was just happy that he could pay one of his workers less because he was sheltering them. I was able to put up with that for months, yet he was going to throw me out into the streets? My world was crumbling again, and I couldn't do anything about it. The usual.

"I hope you understand." He sighed solemnly. Then he placed a clammy hand on my shoulder, watching me carefully. "Goodluck." And with that, he left. 

I was left standing in front of the cafe that had become home to me, only now I was homeless again. And I didn't know what to do.

To prove how much mother nature hated me, it then began to rain. At first the showers came in tiny droplets then they increased in size and speed. The rain felt like bullets that were unable to pierce your skin but kept coming at you anyway.

Somewhere, in the darkest corner of my head, I could hear her, life, cackling away at my downfall.

Bingo.