Because You Were Made For Me And No One Else

"Wow Anastasia, the bakery is booming and the pizzas are selling like hot cakes today!!" Mr. James exclaimed, his wrinkled face breaking into a grin as he leaned on the counter of Peterson's bakes

Anastasia chuckled, tying her apron properly which was about to loosen "Oh Mr. James, you are just saying that because you were able to get the last pizza" She said her green eyes holding a teasing glint as she packaged his pizza and handed it to him.

"Ouch I've been caught" he pretended to be hurt, acting like a child.

"But honestly Anastasia, your hands work pure magic. Keep up the good work and in years to come this place will grow more bigger".

"Thank you Mr. James, I will always do my best" She smiled warmly at him and he returned the smile before walking away leaving the counter and walking out of the bakery.

She turned wiping the counter while humming to a tune, the smell of fresh bread and sugar filled the bakery and the afternoon sun shone through the windows making it feel cozy and warm.

It was a busy day but In a good way. The clock ticking and the warm air made her feel at home. The bell rang as a woman with two little children walked into the bakery. "Anastasia you got any muffins left for my kids?" the woman asked smiling tiredly.

"For you and these two little angels...? Always" Anastasia said, bending down to reach the height of the two kids. "So what flavors do my two angels want"

"Blueberry!!" they both shouted jumping happily.

"Blueberry it is then" Anastasia laughed, packaging a bag. "Here is your delicious blueberry muffins. Enjoy and also keep some for your mama"

The kids giggled and the woman who happened to be their mother thanked her "You are a lifesaver and an angel Anastasia"

She smiled at the woman "Any time Mrs. Jones". Mrs. Jones smiled back hurrying out with her kids leaving only the fading sound of the kids chatter. Anastasia let out a slow breath rubbing her temple.

Then came a loud bang from behind her. A sharp metallic sound that didn't belong to a bakery.

Her stomach twisted as she rushed to the kitchen, thick smoke was coming out of the oven, it's doors hanging half broken on one hinge as though it was ready to crash to the floor.

"No, no, no, this can't be happening right now" she muttered almost at the verge of tears. It was the worst possible timing with lunch rush only an hour away.

She called the repairman pressing the phone tight to her ear but it went straight to voicemail, his recorded message came out. He would be unavailable for the next three days.

Her stomach dropped. He was the only one she trusted with fixing her appliances in the bakery and the only one who always fixes her oven even when she couldn't pay right away. She didn't have the money to hire someone else, not now. Three days without him, three days without the oven would cripple her.

The bell rang again. She hurried back to the counter trying to put up a smile for the next customer, but even the forced smile was nowhere to be seen immediately she saw who it was.

Mr. Spencer

He stood in a clean cut black suit, briefcase in hand, eyes holding so much impatience and anger, not to forget his potbelly protruding out. "I had ordered cinnamon rolls for my lunch meeting today and I expected it to be delivered to my office since two hours back, so why hasn't it been delivered yet!!" he shouted

Anastasia flinched "Mr. spencer I am so sorry, the oven broke an hour ago so I couldn't -"

"Not a good enough excuse for my cinnamon rolls not to be ready" His voice resounded in the bakery. "I bragged about your bakery saying that it was the best in town and this is the disappointment I get!?"

Anastasia felt ashamed. She could have had the cinnamon rolls delivered to him since he had placed the order for it earlier today, but she had been so busy and preoccupied attending to customers that she actually forgot about his order and only remembered when the oven got broken.

"Once again I am sorry Mr. Spencer. I can refund your money or you can take any of my other specialties from the counter"

He glared at her and was about to say something else but stopped himself, snatched a pastry and walked away without another word.

Anastasia's shoulders sagged, her hands shaking, but there was no time to dwell on it. The small backup oven would have to carry the bakery for the next three days until the repairman is back, though it meant slower service, fewer sales and plenty of unhappy customers.

The bell rang again but this time it was her older brother Craig walking towards the counter.

"Still working huh?" he asked. Craig was tall and broad shouldered, his brown hair a mess as though he had been tugging it all morning. Putting on an apron he walked towards the kitchen, dropping the backpack containing some ingredients he got at the grocery store needed for the bakery.

"Someone has to, not like I have a choice" Anastasia answered with a tired smile. "where's Chloe"

"Your Princess Is right here!!" came the sweet cheerful voice of their younger sister. Her dark ponytail swinging from left to right, a packet of flour in her arms. "The line at the store was insane" she said while dropping the flour on the counter close to where Craig dropped his backpack.

"Thanks Chloe, I really don't know what I would have done without you two"

Craig smirked "completely hopeless without us that's what"

"Probably" Anastasia chuckled, snatching a bit of dough and tossing it at him.

"Hey!" Craig dodged, laughing. "Assaults by pastry!"

Soon the kitchen was filled with their playful banter and laughter. Flour floated through the air and the soft smack of dough on the kitchen table eased the tightness in Anastasia's chest, making her forget about her worries for some minutes

"Let's bake some special rolls tonight" Chloe said excitedly. "we will sell them first thing tomorrow morning"

"Fine by me, but you're the one making the rolls" Anastasia said

"Sure, but don't forget you have more magic in your hands than mine" Chloe winked, grinning at her a sister.

Anastasia laughed "you are just trying to sweet talk me into making the rolls myself" she said, pinching Chloe's cheeks "but it's fine though, I will make the rolls"

"Yayyyy!! that's why you are the best sister in the whole world" Chloe said grinning from ear to ear.

Anastasia chuckled "and you are the cutest baby sis in the whole world"

They baked side by side giggling and throwing comments here and there. But the moment broke when a delivery truck stopped outside.

A man in a black cap came down from the truck and walked in carrying a half empty box and placing it on the counter "your order was cut" he said "late payment"

The word stung "alright" Anastasia whispered as she signed the delivery paper. The man left after that.

Craig noticed her sad expression "we will figure it out together okay?" he assured.

Chloe hugged her sister from behind "you're not alone big sis"

Anastasia felt like crying "thank you"

They closed earlier than the usual day, stepping into the cold evening the street was almost void of people as they walked home. Anastasia looked back at the bakery, the window showing only shadows, and it felt as though someone was watching them. The back of her neck tingled.

"I'm just too stressed, probably my imagination" she said waving it off.

At home they squeezed onto the couch eating pastries and watching TV, still her thoughts kept slipping to the broken oven and the little savings that is left to sustain them.

Even though Anastasia wasn't the first child but the brother, from childhood she has always been the more mature one, always there for her siblings after the death of their parents in a ghastly car accident. She still couldn't get the image of her parents lifeless body at the hospital on the day when they were called to identify the bodies. Craig still tried as much as he could as the older sibling to provide for his sisters with the nine to five job that he does and sometimes comes back to the bakery to assist Anastasia in the kitchen and also attending to customers. Chloe was still in high school, paying for her fees wasn't easy but both Anastasia and Craig promised to see her through school no matter the circumstances they found themselves.

Later, after Craig and Chloe went to bed, Anastasia stayed back in the living room sipping tea by the window. The street was so quiet, the lamp lights glowing on the pavements.

For a moment she almost believed it was a normal night

Almost.

But the night wasn't normal for everyone.

***

Far away from the streets lights, in a room that reeked of damp concrete and old rust a man knelt on the cold floor with seven guys surrounding him, bruises all over his face, beaten and battered almost looking lifeless. The door opened and a man walked in, immediately the man and the floor saw who it was he widened his eyes in fear as though he just saw the king of hell

"You thought you could betray me and I wouldn't get a sniff about it" the man who walked in said, his voice low, deep and calm, but edged with a dangerous tone that made the atmosphere feel heavier than it already was.

"Please I, I, I didn't mean to betray you boss" the man on the floor stammered, his words dripping with fear.

A menacing cruel laughter came from the man standing like a king "too late for that, I never forgive"

Immediately he said that one of the guys walked up to the man on the floor and punched him, a brutal crack of fist against flesh that echoed through the room. The man screamed, collapsing sideways, his body curling on the concrete.

"No one crosses me and lives to tell the story" said the unknown man in a whisper, but the danger in his voice cuts deeper than the punch.

His footsteps receded, slow and deliberate, leaving the unconscious man's ragged broken breath and the heavy promise of something dark and merciless already creeping into Anastasia's quiet little world.