“Thank you for letting me to stay here for a few days.” Jasmine says to Mrs Yvonne who happened to call her earlier when she was really in need of someone’s presence. She smiles at her pretty special student. She shakes her head. “It is a good excuse for me to invite you over. And now you will be staying here for a few days. I am happy to have you here. I have lost my little girl. Now I only have a son. You know Joel, right? When I first saw you entering the class to start learning pottery, I felt like having my child coming back into my life again. I told you about it, right? So just treat this house like yours. You are indeed welcomed here, to your Mama’s house.” Mrs Yvonne replies with a smile on her face. Jasmine says thanks quietly. “Can you call me Mama?” She asks Jasmine. She is touched that she starts crying out of nowhere. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Mrs Yvonne says as she approaches Jasmine calming her down. Jasmine shakes her head. “No, it is okay. Of course, I can call you Mama. Mama, thank you for giving me a call earlier. I really needed someone.” She says explaning. Mrs Yvonne smiles as she is looking at this helpless young lady. “Jasmine, I want you to know that you are not alone. Despite not having your family around you right now, I can be a replacement if you want to. I am here to give you a company. If you need someone to talk to, I am here to listen. If you need someone to cry on, I can lend you my shoulders. If you need someone to give you a hug, I am here for you. I am willing to help you in any ways that I can.” She says to Jasmine. She is touched by the offer. She nods wiping away her tears. “Thank you again mama.” She replies shortly. “Make yourself at home, okay Jasmine? Don’t worry about anything. No one will look for you here. No one will disturb you. I will chase them away if they do.” Mrs Yvonne says to Jasmine half serious and half jokingly. Jasmine giggles as she keeps on looking at her. At times when she has no one in this foreign country, there is this beautiful hearted woman who comes to offer her shoulders to lean on. She doesn’t want to make her family worried about her. That is why she decided not to tell them anything. Kyungsoo? She needs him. She really needs him right now but he is nowhere to be found. She doesn’t know if she still has the right to ask for his comfort words after him being ‘away’ for months now. She almost made a call to him earlier but when a figure named ‘his girlfriend’ comes to her mind, she immediately cancelled her intention and put the phone away. There is no more Kyungsoo in her life. It is the reality now. She is still adapting to this new life. When something unexpected happens to her, it really tries her patience and consciousness. Her life without him? It is actually doable. But she can’t deny that she feels like something is missing. But as she always believes, no matter how hard and difficult life is, she has to move on. There is no way for her to give up. It is not an option for her to choose. It is out of the list for a girl named Heo Jasmine Rogers.

“Thank you mama. Honestly I have no where to go. My only option was to check myself in a hotel far away from the university so no one can find me. I need at least a few days to get myself together again after this sudden unexpected incident. I am truly in a big shock and so much confusion right now. I didn’t expect this stuff to happen to me while I am away from my family and Kyungsoo oppa. Thank you for opening the door of your home for me, mama.” Jasmine says looking at Mrs Yvonne. She smiles at the worried looking young lady as she takes a seat next to her holding her hand. Kyungsoo? She believes it is a male name and it is interesting to hear a name that sounds special in Jasmine’s life coming from in this situation. He must be someone so dear to her heart. From Joel, she found out that Jasmine is unapproachable when it comes to men. So she doesn’t expect Jasmine to mention a male name. But let’s put it aside for now. She will ask about him when it is the right time. Now is not it. “Jasmine, I am not going to ask you what happened. I am not going to force you to tell me the whole story. I can clearly see how drained you are right now. I never see this side of you. I believe you need a break. So why don’t we just take a full rest tonight and relax? Let’s deal with the problem whenever you are ready. For now, calming yourself down is more important than anything else. Let’s not think about the problem. You deserve a break. What do you think?” She asks Jasmine. She is touched by the suggestion. She agreed. She really needs a break right now. She gives her a genuine smile. “It is a brilliant idea. Thank you mama.” She says to Mrs Yvonne. She smiles at her. “No, there is nothing to be thanked. I am glad that you are in front of my eyes in your current fragile state. Now let me show you the bedroom where you can have a proper rest later. Let’s go.” She says holding Jasmine’s right hand pulling her to follow her steps. She walks slowly beside her. She pulls her luggage along to the bedroom they are heading right now. She really likes the house. It looks cozy and warm. It also smells really good. The scent is very calming. Few steps away, a purple colored door at the end of the aisle catches her attention. And there is where they stop. The door looks very special with some personal touch on it she believes. It is designed really beautifully. “Jasmine, you can comfortably use this room like your own. Rest well, okay? Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat if you are. I haven’t eaten my dinner yet. Joel is sleeping at his friend’s house tonight. So I didn’t prepare dinner like I normally do when he is around. Now I feel a bit hungry. Maybe you can join me. Or if not, go ahead and get a good sleep. I believe you really need it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Mrs Yvonne lets Jasmine know. She shakes her head slowly. “I’ll just clean myself and take a shower so that this drained body will be more energized. After that, I will join you. I am not hungry. But I can accompany you eat. I don’t feel like sleeping right now. It is still very early, mama.” She says letting her know. “Okay then, let’s do what you say. Go take a warm shower. Here, take this lavender oil and put some in the bathtub. It will help you to relax your body.” She says getting a small bottle of lavender oil from the cabinet not far from where they are standing before giving it to Jasmine. “Thanks mama.” She receives it well. “Take your time. I won’t be away. I’ll be right here when you are done showering. I won’t go anywhere else.” She says touching the younger lady’s face smoothly giving her assurance before leaving her alone.

About an hour later, Jasmine comes out from the bedroom in her cream colored pajama. She looks guilty as she is searching for Mrs Yvonne who still can’t be seen. A delicious aroma leads her to the dining table where the person she is looking for is waiting for her. She puts more speed on her steps so she can reach her faster. “I am sorry mama. I took a long time to come out. I fell asleep inside the bathtub as my mind was busy working extra time in there. I am sorry for making you wait here by yourself.” She says touching Mrs Yvonne’s hands on the table. Mrs Yvonne just smiles looking at the more alive looking girl. She shakes her head. She pulls a chair for her to sit next to her. She has prepared a simple supper for the both of them. She never feels this excited to prepare for a late night snack. Normally she just skips dinner when she doesn’t feel like eating because being alone in this house when Joel is not home refrains her from feeling hungry. Tonight that she has a company, she is happy to eat. “Thank God nothing bad happened to you. Please be careful next time, Jasmine. Are you okay? Do you want me to accompany you to sleep tonight? Will you be fine being alone at this state?” She suggests as she is so worried about Jasmine right now. She can see how occupied Jasmine is with her life right now. She is very sure that things are happening to her right now really affect her in a very mentally painful way. Jasmine just giggles. But deep inside, she is touched. “No, it is okay. I am good. Maybe I was just drained but I didn’t realize it. Now that I took my shower, I feel much better. Don’t worry, okay? I’ll be extra careful on my next trips to the bathroom for a shower. By the way, what is this? It smells really good.” She asks pointing at the foods nicely displayed in front of her. Mrs Yvonne smiles as she is looking at the beautiful no makeup young lady when she starts to explain what she has prepared for them tonight. “I am not sure if it suits your taste. I hope it does. This is fruitcake I made earlier this afternoon and this is German styled savoury pie I just baked. I also make some hot chocolate to pair with it. As you know, it will help you to sleep better later tonight. Which one do you want to try first?” She asks Jasmine who is looking at the two dishes on the table with her eyes filled with interests. Now that she is served with these yummy looking foods, she realizes how she is actually starving as the last time she filled her stomach with something was during lunch earlier today. And it was only a simple sandwich as she didn’t have time to get a proper lunch. She was pretty busy the whole day with school, classes she attends outside university and the unfortunate dinner. “Can I try everything? They smell so good. I can’t choose.” She says lifting her plate passing it to Mrs Yvonne who is waiting to plate the dishes for this pretty girl. “That’s my girl. Of course you can sweetie. Here you go. Enjoy it. Munch on it properly. Don’t choke yourself. Ask for a refill later if you want more, okay?” She says to Jasmine who is excited to start eating. She gives her an okay sign as she grabs the fork on the table. She immediately gives it a taste. She goes for the fruitcake first.

“How is it?” Mrs Yvonne can’t wait to hear Jasmine’s comment on the fruitcake she made. She is waiting anticipating her answer. She is eager to know. Jasmine looks at her with her two big round beautiful and expressive eyes. It is a good sign. “Mama, it is so delicious! It tastes similar to what mommy used to make me when I was younger. It is not dry at all and not too sweet which I really enjoy. I love it! Can I have one more please?” She asks winking at Mrs Yvonne with a big smile on her face. She looks delighted. “Of course Jasmine! You are welcomed to finish all of it if you want to. I am glad that you like it. Seeing you eating it deliciously makes me feel really happy.” She says to her. Jasmine smiles wider. She also feels better now. It feels like the problem is dissolving itself slowly as she swallows the tasty cake. She giggles when something pops in her mind. “Actually mama, I did that when I was a small kid. I finished one whole cake that mommy baked for my big family but it went missing as I hid it in my bedroom and I silently finished it alone. I was only four or five at that time, a very small girl but I managed to keep that big cake in my empty stomach. Haha. It was so funny when they found it out. They were speechless. The next day, I had to go to the hospital as I got stomach ache for eating a whole cake on my empty stomach. I still remember what the doctor told me. He said eating cakes is not bad but eating a whole cake can be harmful for a little kid like me. He also said that it is not a bad idea to share it with everyone. And I agreed with him. I think that was when I started to learn baking seriously with mommy. Before that, I was more to only ‘learn’ by being by her side in the kitchen and asking her endless questions about the ingredients she was using. Since then, I started to bake my own cake but in a smaller size which I could finish myself. The final time I did that was when I was six almost seven. I never eat a whole cake to myself again after that. But I might relive that moment now. This is really delicious mama.” She says as she takes another bite of it. Mrs Yvonne is happy to see her like that. It is as if she has forgotten her problem temporarily. It is not hard to tackle her emotion. Food is one of the worked magics on her. She got that from this short experience. She also finds it amusing to hear Jasmine talks about her childhood stories as she usually does in the class when she asks about her background. She is one kind and innocent young lady. One thing she realized the first time she met with Jasmine was, it is definitely easy to fall in love with her. She has this beautiful and mesmerizing aura following her around that makes her noticeable without her working for it. She has beautiful smile. Her eyes are shining when she speaks. She is born with such a special trait and it gives whoever comes closer to her a very good and healthy vibe. She is like a magnet which attracts people to get to know her better and she doesn’t realize that. That night, they spend it by talking and chilling without mentioning the reason why Jasmine is there at that moment. She doesn’t share why she has to be away from everyone. She starts to feel better just by doing that. Going away from the source of the problem is definitely the best thing to do for now. But she is fully aware that she needs to face it bravely sooner or later. It is not a brilliant choice to run away from it forever. It is just that now she really needs this break. She needs to recharge her energy. And this is the perfect place for her. Thankfully she has found one.

Ten days have passed which is equivalent to more than a week of healing and recovering for Jasmine after receiving such an unexpected incident. The days are spent well by helping Mrs Yvonne out in her shop creating some new designs for their soon collaboration project. Other than that, Jasmine just focuses on her revision for her final exam th