@tsukinotora
The apartment was lonely. Despite the lavish decor, the stunning few from the main balcony, and the access to free water and electric, Kou was terribly alone. It was to be expected until the city officials found a roommate for her, but until then the redhead couldn’t handle it.
During the night was especially bad. The apartment was so big that it didn’t feel right that only one person were using it. In contrast, during the day it wasn’t as bad. Kou had found a friend in a large orange tabby that begged for her attention. She’d spend a good half hour with him until she left to explore the city. Among trying to find a decent job to keep her busy, Kou loved to window shop on the main strip.
There were plenty of chic clothes stores dotting the strip in between cute cafes, a book store, and a jewelry store just to name a few. There was even a little home decor shop that Kou frequented often. When she first arrived in Koi, she was permitted to decorate her apartment any way she could. At first it seemed like a dream, but then she worried if her future roommate wouldn’t enjoy her sense of judgement.
Being as it were, that worry went out the window the more and more Kou felt out of place in her own apartment. She wanted it to feel homey, to feel familiar and welcoming. So with reckless abandon she shopped for ornate rugs, a pretty tea set, even a decorative seahorse figurine to deck out the bathroom just outside her room.
There was still so much left to buy, but for now Kou sought scented candles. She fondly remembers the days when she lit a scented candle in her room to relax herself.
The candle store, Warwick, was a charming place. Modeled in a rustic manner, most of the scents were that of nature. The only thing bad about the place was that Kou was terribly indecisive when it came to choosing what kind of candle she wanted. Most of the time an employee would help her choose, but the store was busy enough that the employees had their hands tied.
So she did the next best thing and asked for a stranger’s opinion.
“Excuse me.” She holds up a red jar named ‘Autumn in the Park’ in one hand, and a blue jar named ‘Autumn Gathering’ in the other. Now she’s second guessing herself in favor of another red jar on the shelves, but still she asks, “I was wondering if you had a opinion on either one of these. I, um, I can’t decide between the two.”
Let alone the hundreds of scents in the store.