An abrupt meeting

As the flower shop was due to close, Mickei and Ezrah were the only two remaining. Today was a huge day for their small business as it was valentines day and people has been flowing into the compact space all day, it was rather lively and Ezrah liked the fast-paced day which was now behind them. Valentines day was always a special day for Ezrah as he was able to hear the joy his shop brought to others in their voices. He would never be able to see the glee that this establishment gave to others, he was blind after all, so he is glad that he is still able to see the happiness his shop brought to the people around him in a different way. whilst doing Ezrah's round's to check the flower stock, he felt the classic red roses were running low on supply, he swiftly called his assistant over to assist him in getting more red roses.

" Mickei, it seems we are low on Red roses" spoke Ezrah with a calm tone. His voice was always quite low and smooth, his friends would often tell him that it was nice to listen to. Ezrah had kind of expected that roses would run out on valentines day, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that they needed to stock up. Ezrah heard his assistant scurry around the shop until he made it over to his location. Ezrah then heard a message play on Mickei's phone.

"Okay, I'll get the car keys and head over to the stock market and get more roses, whilst I am there, I will also go and grab the other flowers that are going low!" Responded an Ai voice. Mickei was mute, so it was sometimes hard to communicate but they made it work. He didn't know why Mickei did not talk, however he wasn't too fussed about it. He never asked as he was worried it would scare Mickei away or cause him to relive some traumatic experience, and this is something Ezrah definitely did not want. Before Mickei walked out of the door, Ezrah spoke to him one last time with concern.

"Remember to stay safe out there, I don't know if you heard the news recently but apparently gifted calibre users have been running rampant recently and I don't want you to get hurt whilst working for me, I know you will probably be alright, but it does worry me." Said Ezrah in a worried tone. He also decided to speak again , adding something onto his previous statement. " So please try to stay out of trouble" Despite Ezrah not being able to see Mickei he can feel that he is nodding right now, this was something Mickei often did unconsciously as he was not able to speak. Feeling Mickei's presence linger Ezrah was curious what he was up to, he was quickly dragged out of his own thoughts when the Ai voice began playing again.

"I'll stay safe, don't worry. I'm actually more concerned about you, a calibre user has been causing a ruckus in this part of town, and leaving you alone here unsupervised is quite dangerous, if you hear anything, please call me, Ezrah" was the last thing the phone said. Ezrah nodded in the direction of the phone's sound to which he then heard the door shut. Mickei had now left the building, quickly entering the car from what Ezrah was able to hear. Ezrah slowly made his way back to the cashiers desk, taking a small walk around the shop before he sat down. Everything was neatly organised to the way Ezrah liked it, this was to ensure the least confusion in the work environment for him. He looked over to where the note pad was usually situated and tried to pick it up. To his shock it was missing, he assumed that Mickei took it without telling him to write down the missing flowers and brushed it aside. He could feel himself nodding away at the chair until he heard the door open again. It was too early to have been Mickei so he was curious as to who entered the store, just in case it was a customer he got up from his chair to tell the stranger that it is unfortunately closing time.

"Excuse me customer, I'm sorry to say this but the shop is currently closed, is there anything you wanted to ask before you leave? I don't mind telling you the time we open tomorrow, or giving you a discount for coming in so late if you wish?" Explained Ezrah to the stranger which was approaching his desk.

"No, it's alright" replied the stranger, he had a low and subtle raspy voice it was quite deep and Ezrah assumed that the man in front of him was definitely in his high twenties." I am actually here to leave something for Mickei, he does work here, does he not?" continued the man. From what Ezrah was aware, Mickei did not have any friends or family here that he spoke about so he was confused as to who the stranger was, but he inferred if he knew Mickei he was probably not a threat.

"You may leave anything for Mickei on this desk. I'll tell him you were here if you like, may I ask for your name? or would you prefer to stay anonymous?" I asked the man in front of me with no malice behind each word, the stranger responded with these words " Oliver. My name's Oliver. I'm not usually in the area so I thought I'd make a visit to Mickei as he had told me he worked here" the man paused for a minute then continued " may I ask how you met him?, Mickei I mean. We have known each other for a while and I cannot help but be curious about weather he is hanging around the right crowd, no offence to you, but I just want to be sure." He said with a firm voice. Ezrah totally understood the situation, if he had known someone for a while but hadn't seen them in some time he would also hope the best for them, therefore he openly stated his answer to the man with no delay " I met Mickei when he was still working as a pharmacist, despite not being able to see him, I could tell he was feeling stressed so I offered him to stay at this shop until he feels as though he can go back to work without being in a stressful environment." I confidently explained to man which had revealed his name as Oliver. Oliver had gone slightly quiet, almost as if he was debating his next words " I see. if you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your sight?" Ezrah sighed and explained that he was actually attacked by a calibre user when he was little, he was able to use shadows and manipulate light, during this encounter, the man somehow blinded Ezrah, he was still unsure of how it happened but it all happened so fast that he was not really able to comprehend it at his age. After all he was only 3. Ezrah might not be able to see now, but he can feel the frustration emitting from Oliver. It's like the phrase "Calibre user" had ticked him off in some way, it was understandable in this day and age as many users quickly turned to villainous way's of life. They were gifted with abilities and chose to make the world a worse place with them. Oliver decided to speak again, this time asking an interesting question to Ezrah." If you could see anything one more time, what would it be?" He asked quietly. Ezrah thought to himself and then with careful consideration, he gave Oliver his answer. "I think, I'd want to see the people really important to me, even if it was just for some time." He stated, Oliver quickly responded " What about any places? anywhere you would want to go?" acknowledging his previous answer. " I think, I wouldn't want to see the world." Ezrah said with no explanation. This intrigued Oliver, " Oh? How come?" he returned. Ezrah pondered for a second, debating weather or not to say what he was truly thinking. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he should answer back, it was only the polite thing to do. " I think there is a allurement in being able to perceive a world in a way others cannot, perhaps this is a form of ignorance, but they do say there is beauty in ignorance so I guess the concept is not an awful thing." Ezrah proudly announced. He could feel the grin forming on Oliver's face despite not being able to see it, he can assume that his answer pleased Oliver. Ezrah was quickly taken out of his thought's when Oliver spoke up again "I think I must go now, it was a real pleasure talking with you Ezrah." He said as he walked out of the store. Ezrah smiled at him leaving until a thought had entered his mind. Did he ever tell Oliver his name? He was sure he hadn't so how did he figure it out? After careful consideration, Ezrah assumed that Mickei told Oliver his name despite knowing that the facts did not add up.

Shortly after his encounter with Oliver the door opened again. Ezrah could hear the sound of petals brushing against bouquets and inferred that Mickei had returned.

"Ah, Mickei, I'm glad to see you are alright, you can leave the flowers on my desk, I'll move them in the morning." Ezrah says, quickly adding something on" Also when you were gone someone had visited the store, they said their name is Oliver and they left you a present on my desk." The mood had instantly changed the moment Ezrah had said Oliver's name. It was weird. He may not have been able to see the expression on Mickei's face but he could tell he was absolutely dumbfounded. Without saying a word Mickei took the box and left the shop. Ezrah had never felt more confused in his life.