"The ususal?" The old woman asked.

“Yes, please!” Wheein was talking to the owner of the pastry shop across the building of her apartment. It's been three months since she moved in Iceland and almost every morning she goes to the same shop and order the same thing. Three months is more than enough for the old woman to know what the young lady would like to have for her breakfast. 

"Berlin, huh?" The old woman said as she handed the regular cream puffs that Wheein adored.

"Yep! I bet Rudy was the one who told you?" Wheein nodded while handing her money to the old woman.

"You know him. You can never tell that old man a goddamn secret!" The old woman jokingly gave Wheein a frustrated expression.

"His baking is something else though!" Wheein teased the old woman.

"Marrying someone who's good at producing quality foods can be challenging sometimes! Look how fat I've gotten!" The old woman squished her belly that made Wheein laugh. "He always made me try his new recipe and it's always good!"

Both of them lauhed and talked a bit more about how amazing the old woman's husband is.

"So, when's the migration?" The old woman asked with a smile.

"I don't really know, Patty." Wheein pouted. "I haven't thought about it but I'll let you know so we can have a small gathering before I leave." 

"We're going to miss you, you know?" The old lady's smile was gone.

"Me too, Patty." Wheein held Patty's hand and squeezed it tight.

"You must've been through so many goodbyes." Patty placed her other hand on top of Wheein's and patted it lightly several times.

"You are right but I never got used to it."

"Then why don't you settle?"

"It's easier to leave than to be left." Wheein smiled. "Or maybe I'm just a masochist?" She jokingly added which made both women laugh.

"Hey, Patty! I really wanted to chat with you more but I really need to go back. I have work to do." Wheein squeezed Patty's hand one last time and released it.

"Okay, okay! Go ahead! Eat well okay?" 

"Okay!" Wheein smiled as she headed for the glass door. She stopped and looked back at Patty. "Thank you so much, Patty! Have a great day!"

The young woman left the shop and headed back to her place.

There's something in Wheein's presence that made the people around her feel warm and bright. This is just one of the reason why she's loved by everyone she met on her journey. Some people whom she had gotten close to always find a sense of peace and complacency within them when the young woman came into their lives.

Wheein settled herself on her kitchen nook where her laptop was sleeping since last night. She growled in frustration thinking about the workload that she will face today. She opened her laptop and browsed the inbox section on her email. All she can see are the flight and hotel promos that she subscribed to. There are emails from clients too. Most of them are feedbacks from the last update that she sent them and some inquiries. 

“I have so many things to do!” She cried. She already felt tired and she haven’t even started! She stood up and went to her room and took her drawing tablet and planner. The young woman went back to her laptop and placed everything down and arranged them so she can start working but before anything else, she opened her phone and put up a picture of Ggomo, her late feline buddy. She set her phone and placed it on the left side near her drawing tablet so she can look at him from time to time just like before. 

“I miss you, buddy.” Wheein smiled at the photo of her cat. 

“I still can’t decide when to move to my next stop.” Wheein started to draw on the screen but still talking to Ggomo. 

A couple of minutes later she stopped and said, “Now, I don’t think I want to go to Germany anymore.” Wheein detached herself from the drawing tablet and looked back at the photo of Ggomo. “What do you think about Sweden?”

She went back to her tablet and a couple of hours had passed, Wheein was almost done with her work. It was a little past noon and but the woman doesn’t seem to feel a little hungry. 

“Just a little bit more and I am —“

*Ting!*

A notification banner showed showed on her phone. She looked at it and cannot believe what she just read. The sender’s name was too familiar.

Sender: Ar. Ahn Hyejin ([email protected])

She suddenly felt sad how things changed between them. 

She opened the email app, curious what the email is about. When she saw the subject of Hyejin’s email, her eyes never opened that wide before and her jaw almost dropped on the floor. 

Subject: Wedding Invitation

Well, I haven't been in Iceland and Germany (or any other countries except my own--of course) but it's one of the places that I wanted to go to. When I was still a nomad, I mostly migrate from one province to another and mostly stay where the beach is (I hate living in a busy city). I haven't thought of moving outside my country because, I'll be honest, it can be pretty stressful too because of the paperwork that I have to go through. Applying for visa and going through immigration and all the other processes out there can be a huge pain in the and a waste of time. It'll be a lot easier if I'll be on tour heh.