Sourdough and Sweet Roll

Soft rain hit the windowpane by the bed, where Bliss lay on her warm and cozy bed. She rented this place called ‘Destinée Amoureuse’ not long ago. Her landlady, a huge admirer of France, loved to name things in French. Bliss only cared about renting a place that would accept her tight budget while fitting her ideal aesthetics. The apartment's name was not a part of her 'concern list'. She didn't even try learning to pronounce it once.

After years of noise at her parents’ home, silence felt like a luxury. Bliss seemed more than content in her exclusive personal space. She finally got to stay in a room she could call her own. In the sweet melody of the rain, she napped. The light whimper beneath the bed didn't let her fall asleep yet. She peeped down and found the puppy she had bought a few days back. It was all curled up. Seeing her scared little companion she scooped it up, gently tucked under the blanket beside her. "Scared of the rain?", she cooed, patting its tiny head.

Both fell asleep cuddling and slept soundly until a knock on the door woke Bliss up. She opened the door and found Mrs. John with a pot in her hands. A wide smile was fixed on her face. Bliss wanted to live a peaceful life with the least amount human interaction. Her sole reason for renting the apartment was to stay away from people. But God seemed to have other plans. Seeing her 'extra extroverted' landlady at the door didn’t bring her much inner joy. But avoiding her was inevitable Bliss knew.

"Renting a place in the hamlet served me no purpose”, she breathed, forcing a fake smile back. “Hi, Mrs. John. How may I help you?", she asked, faking her enthusiasm. Though she desperately wanted to cut the conversation short, hoping to finish writing her new novel before her motivation died. It had been on halt for almost a year. She loved writing, but inconsistency often let her stories remain incomplete.

"Come on, you tiny marshmallow. Those precious little hands of yours wouldn’t be able to even lift my flower pots!", replied Mrs. John. Bliss felt the arrows of her words pierce through the body, but still tried to give an awkward laugh. “Haha. Don’t worry. I am against child labor”, Mrs. John added, letting out a hysterical laugh, almost knocking Bliss’s soul out of her body. “Here. Take this wonton soup. I recently learned this one from a Chinese cuisine video. I mixed some local-style spices and veggies too. It’s healthy. Try some and give me your feedback tomorrow,” said Mrs. John as she handed the warm pot.

Mrs. John loved cooking and often experimented with fusion food. But rarely had anyone to feed. So, Bliss’s arrival seemed it gave her a ray of hope. She left, handing Bliss the warm pot while still blurting with excitement about her husband’s relative moving in with them. Walking down the stairs, she reminded Bliss to return the empty pot later. Bliss stood at her door, holding the pot, watching Mrs. John leave.

A thunder strike hit the area as Bliss stood at her door all zoned out. She almost dropped the pot. Putting the pot on the counter she rushed to comfort the puppy. “So loud and talkative, isn’t she? No filter at all! But that’s what I actually like about her,” Bliss said, looking at the puppy. She didn’t mind Mrs. John calling her tiny. Infact it quite literally made sense. Mrs. John was a 6'1" woman, while Bliss was barely 5'.

Mrs. John had been genuine to Bliss since the very first day they met. She treated Bliss like her own. Bliss was well aware of it as well. But, though she liked Mrs. John, she preferred maintaining some distance. However, Mrs. John seemed like the north pole of a magnet if she was the south. The further Bliss tried to push her, the closer Mrs. John would get.

“Gosh! Is it 6.30 already? Let me prepare your food,” said Bliss as she walked towards the kitchen. The pot caught her eye. With a faint smile, she said, “She must be a great mom. Right?” The puppy, barely able to see, just tilted its head slightly, trying to follow her voice.

Bliss tried the wonton soup from the pot; it was still warm. She really wished to say the phrase ‘It tastes like home’. But in the back of her mind, she knew the phrase didn’t hold any depth, for the ‘HOME’ in her mind wasn’t the ‘home’ she came from. She took a few more sips and numbly whispered, “It tastes great.”

The blue feeling didn't take long to overwhelm her. She lost her motivation to complete the story in no time and ended up sleeping early that night, right after serving the puppy's dinner.

The next morning, it had already stopped raining. Bliss was woken up by the mild rays of morning sunshine peeking onto her face through the curtains. She half-opened her eyes, grumbling to her little buddy for wetting her brand new sheets at night. Meanwhile, it was sound asleep, not batting an eye at her cries. “Did I bring home a devil?” she whispered, drawing the curtains before going back to sleep.

It was already 10:00 in the morning by the time Bliss woke up fresh from her sleep. The environment was stirring; a cacophony of car horns and distant shouts already filled the air. Though the place was quiet, one could hear faint car noises of the city. Bliss, in her old jeans and a hoodie, stepped out of her first-floor apartment into the refreshed daylight. The puppy cuddled in her arms. As she walked towards the main exit, all she hoped for was not to meet Mrs. John. To Bliss's luck, she wasn't there. Not seeing her extra-friendly landlady around, she let out a relieved sigh.

But, halfway past the campus a sharp “Good morning, Bliss!” cut through her morning daze. Bliss groaned. Of course, it was her landlady, Mrs. John, the woman with an uncanny ability to appear when Bliss least wanted. She turned slowly, with a mask of immense happiness plastered on her face. And there stood Mrs. John in her cotton dress, secured with an apron and rubber gloves in her hand. The morning sun glinted off the woman’s shiny cheekbones as she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Hel- Hello, Mrs. John. What are you doing here at this hour of the morning?” she asked with immediate regret. The answer was obvious, right in front of her eyes. “Whoa! Isn’t it obvious enough, you little? Weeding grasses, of course! My veggies are growing great, by the way,” she proudly said. “Hehe,” Bliss had to give out an awkward laugh, receiving a word-by-word expected answer.

“Other things aside,” adding that, Mrs. John went closer, startling Bliss a little. She said, “So? How was the wonton soup? What’s your review?”

Bliss finally cracked the actual reason behind Mrs. John’s excitement. “Ohhh....Y-yeah. It was really tasty. I honestly loved the fusion of the local flavors. It tasted like a magic unicorn danced and sprinkled fairy dust on the food,” Bliss gave an unnecessarily exaggerated reply with instant regret of overpraising. "Why do I speak too much when I get anxious? Now my words sound all fake, and I look like a dork in front of her…Can I just crawl into a hole already??" rapid thoughts juggled in her mind. She wanted to end the conversation to prevent dragging her trail of embarrassment any further. "Well, I sho-" words barely left Bliss's mouth when Mrs. John exclaimed in excitement, "Oh, you sweetie cutie munchkin!!" As if to punctuate her endearment, she gave Bliss a ‘friendly’ shove on the shoulder. Friendly, that is, if you were built like a linebacker. To Bliss, who was about as imposing as a particularly sturdy houseplant, it felt like a cannonball had grazed her. She stumbled backward and almost fell flat on her face. But by the Divine’s mercy, she managed to grab a nearby gatepost just in time to stop the tragedy. The puppy almost squeaked its lungs out. Meanwhile, Mrs. John, oblivious to the near-disaster she’d caused, was basking in the glow of Bliss’s compliments, her smile as wide as the Grand Canyon was cherry on top.

“Oh, Bliss dear, you’re too kind,” Mrs. John chuckled, her voice as warm as her wonton soup. “Just a little push to show my appreciation,” she added. Bliss, still recovering from her near-death experience, managed a weak smile. “A little push?!” she echoed, her voice filled with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. Mrs. John, on the other hand, went back to her work. She happily swayed in joy of receiving the mere compliments as she began to root out the grass from her little vegetable garden.

“Oh! By the way, were you heading out to somewhere earlier?” Mrs. John asked a few minutes later in wonder, seeing Bliss admiring the buds in her garden while carrying a backpack. "Damn!", Bliss exclaimed, instinctively hitting her forehead. "Thank you, Mrs. John. I almost forgot I had to leave. My puppy has an appointment with the vet, and we are already running late. Bye-bye. Shall meet you later.” she said as she ran to the bus stop, silently manifesting for that so-called meeting with Mrs. John to not happen anytime soon.

“Enjoy your day,” shouted Mrs. John with a smile, hoping her voice would reach sprinting Bliss.

Bliss always tried her best to avoid those interactions. But Mrs. John wasn’t someone who gave up easily. She would always find a new way to try to bond with her only tenant. The location of her apartment barely got her any tenants. Bliss's arrival made her overjoyed. She didn't care about money but loved it when people came to rent the place she had decorated from scratch with her own hands. She even reduced the rent for Bliss by more than half.

Unaware of her landlady's kindness and warmth, Bliss continued to rant to her puppy about her landlady. "We almost missed the bus", she said, trying to settle into her seat. As the bus drove into the main city, it looked like a big, grey jungle with tall buildings and lots of roads. Bliss’s fingers tightened on the strap of her bag as the complexes loomed past. The sight made her immediately look away from the window.

Being in the apartment was her favourite thing to do. New places and public transport were the biggest challenges for Bliss; always packed and inconvenient. But cabs would take forever to pass through the heavy traffic. And she had to take her puppy to the vet anyway, so, having no other choices left, she decided to ride the bus against her will. Even on her way, she continued to sigh, wondering why every outing felt like climbing a hill.

After 30 minutes of a back-breaking bus ride, Bliss finally reached the clinic. “Let’s go,” she said.

Visiting professionals was yet another hard-to-achieve task for Bliss. They made her break into a sweat for no reason, and she didn’t like that feeling.

Though the signboard on the entrance door boldly said ‘OPEN’, she still hoped for it to be closed. “I wish the world would end right now,” she whined as she proceeded to enter the clinic. However, as she was about to grab the door handle, it was pulled open by someone from the opposite side. The wind chimes tinkled and startled the already anxious Bliss. She got distracted and missed two steps of the staircase, and her foot landed straight onto the third one. By the time she could get a grip, her leg slipped, and she fell hard on the ground, landing on one knee. She managed to save the puppy. A passerby helped her up. The old man with his pet parrot, who appeared from behind the door, also showed his concern. But Bliss, all flustered and red, thanked the people and rushed inside the clinic.

“Quite a heroic landing,” someone said. Bliss, with her eyes lingering over the puppy to make sure it wasn’t hurt, raised her head. She found a girl, around her age, sitting on a chair right next to the reception counter. She held a notepad in her hands. "So pretty! The one above must have taken their time to create her," were the first words that crossed her mind as she stood there, admiring the person’s beautiful facial harmony.

Bliss felt shy about her unexpected encounter with a random young girl her age, instead of the middle-aged man she met during her last visit. She rubbed her nose and, clearing her throat, said, "I have an appointment today."

“You?! So which species of animal do you identify as?“, with a friendly yet evil smirk, the girl asked. Bliss’s face reddened, leaving her feeling a little stupid about her response earlier.

"So pretty but so mean. What a waste!" Bliss thought. Before she could defend herself with a comeback, the vet, Mr. Charles, a man in his 50s, came out of his chamber.

The feeling of a strange tension between Bliss and the girl was visible to Dr. Charles right away. “Ah ha ha! What a nice day to meet new people,” he said, with a failed attempt to lighten the mood. "NO!", came a unified reply. "Don’t copy me," the girl said, rolling her eyes at Bliss.

"As if! You think you are a celebrity or something? And FYI, I am least interested in their lives," replied Bliss, absolutely livid.

The girl started making faces, which annoyed Bliss even more. “You little- what are you, a kindergartener?” Bliss said. But to annoy her more, the girl started mimicking her word by word. Bliss got pissed this time. "You-", she went on to argue, when Dr. Charles cut the argument short to prevent any further escalation. He asked the girl to sort out the other files on his desk.

Charles apologized to Bliss on the girl's behalf and said she was his niece. He then took the puppy in for a regular checkup. During the checkup, he asked Bliss if she had decided on any names for her puppy. It was only then that she realized the puppy was never named. All she recalled was calling it ‘Hey’ and "Oi". Dr. Charles suggested she decide on a proper name for the puppy before it grew accustomed to random words instead of a real name. Bliss nodded.

After the checkup was done, Dr. Charles just suggested some foods suitable for the puppy and advised Bliss to continue taking proper care until it could see properly. Bliss thanked him and left the clinic.

By the time she was done with the shopping for the necessities of her puppy, it was already 7:00 pm. She wanted to hurry so she could get the last bus to the town where she lived. She ran fast with all her strength to the bus stop, holding the puppy in one arm and the stuff she had bought in her other arm. But by the time she reached the stop, she was very tired and didn’t have any will left to fight for a seat.

As Bliss stood there, watching the crowd gradually grow, she almost gave up on any hopes of even getting onto the bus, let alone getting a seat. People were scattered all over the place, and it made her feel more uncomfortable. She tried to look here and there, hoping to find a spot that could help her easily sneak in. Though deep down, she knew it would be technically impossible.

Ten minutes passed, and then the familiar honk rang her ears. She could see people scrambling for a spot, some even trying to form queues. She wanted to board, but the thought of hurting the puppy in the ensuing chaos made her hesitate.

Suddenly, a cold hand gripped hers, pulling her through the crowd. Bliss squeezed her eyes shut and clutched the hand tight while holding onto the puppy, trying to block out the commotion. After a frantic struggle, they managed to secure two seats at the bus’s back. Her heart raced as she turned to look beside her, hoping against hope that it wasn’t a girl. But to her dismay, it was! And in fact, it was none other than the girl she met at the clinic earlier.

“You?!” Bliss exclaimed, with her voice loud enough to turn heads inside the bus. Realizing her outburst, she apologized to the passengers. The girl merely scoffed, rolling her eyes. Despite her attitude, Bliss was grateful for the help. She offered her thanks, but the girl’s only response was another indifferent ‘hmph’ while she cooed at the puppy.

Bliss sighed, seeing the girl's contrast of beauty and attitude. When the girl got off two stops before Bliss’s, she kissed the puppy goodbye but gave Bliss another sarcastic, dismissive glance. "Ugh, so annoying!", Bliss muttered, though a small part of her admired the girl’s confidence.

Bliss reached her place and finally breathed in relief. She threw herself on the bed and held the puppy up in the air. "Name you?", she mumbled, looking at the puppy. The puppy was beautiful, and it had short, soft golden fur. Bliss recalled how she often found it playing with morning dew when it was let out in the garden, though he could hardly see. It always made her feel fresh and cool like the morning dew.

“Got it! Dewie! You will be called Dewie!,” saying this, she sat up on her bed. “Let’s have a wonderful journey together,” she added as she continued to play with him.