A friend indeed

A WEEK LATER

Dulce stood in front of her new compound in New Zealand. It's a lovely sight to behold, she had a lawn and neighbors would live quite close. She sighed as she looked up to the sky searching for something, but giving up when her eyes started to hurt. She was tired, hungry, and exhausted. 

She had gotten off the plane two hours earlier, and she had driven the rental car to an apartment that she had paid for. She didn't tell her father where exactly she was going and she didn't know either, but she compromised by promising to call him every week. That was the only way she had gotten out of the house. 

Gazelle wasn't happy that she was leaving and tried to question her more about it, but Dulce kept a tight lip about her condition to her best friend. It didn't seem like much, but Dulce decided to keep talking less and less before she let something slip off. If anyone could see them, they would assume that both of them were keeping malice. But Dulce had assured her that they are on good terms and there was no need to panic.

She sighed as she shook her head, trying to get rid of the lingering sad thoughts about her family and friends as she carried the last box inside her new house. It was a two-bedroom apartment with an attic and a basement. It also had a full living room, dining room, and kitchen. It wasn't void of necessary amenities, either. 

She looked around, pleased with her choice as she started arranging. She wanted to use the first few weeks and set things right since she was the only one. She was done with the bedroom, since it was where she would be sleeping all the time. The bedroom took her the entire day and by night, she was so exhausted that she collapsed on the bed without eating supper.

*

*

The next day came quickly and Dulce was arranging the living room to make it more presentable when she heard a knock on her door. She paused, shocked, maybe she had misheard it. There was no way that she would have visitors. She told nobody where she was going. Even if her dad saw her tickets, he wasn't supposed to have her house address.

The knock came again, a lot harder this time around convincing her that she wasn't hearing things, and she stood up. The faster she saw who it was and dismissed the person away, the faster she could go back to her work. It was probably a case of the wrong address.

She opened the door slightly to see a woman standing in front of her smiling with a food tray in her hands.

“Uhmmm….you are at the wrong house, miss.” She said as the lady in front of her laughed, displaying her white set of teeth before replying to her, 

“Oh dear. You are quite the comedian. My name is Izzy, and I am your new neighbor. I saw you pack in yesterday and decided to come say hi. This is for you. I made it myself.” She said with a grin as Dulce smiled and took the basket from her before allowing her inside. There was no way she wasn't going to show common courtesy.

“Sorry about the mess. I was just rearranging, but I guess you can sit here.” She said, leading her to a furnished sofa and continuing, 

“You must be thirsty. Stay here, I am coming, let me get you some water.” She quickly said as she left her visitor and went into her kitchen. Taking deep breaths, she slowly filled the cup with water and made her way back to the blonde and gave her. The woman took it from her with a smile and drank from it.

“Is there anything else that I can help you with?” Dulce asked out of courtesy, as Izzy nodded her head and said, 

“Your name?”

“Huh?" Dulce looked at the woman as if she had grown two heads. How on earth can she ask of that so quickly? Literally or figuratively. Was she a lesbian? Was she flirting with her? These questions swiveled around her head.

“I told you mine. You never did tell me yours.” Izzy said bluntly, snapping Dulce from her thoughts.

“Oh, my name is Dulce. Sorry about that, I guess I forgot. You are a hyperactive type, so I forgot.” She said as she watched her new friend shake her head violently. If she shook any harder she was afraid that it would yank off her neck, android to the ground.

“You shouldn't apologize. I understand. You have an…interesting name. Dulce. It seems fancy.”

“O, it's nothing fancy at all. It's quite common where I am from. Well, not quite common but people don't consider it to be unique which means that they have heard far much worse ones.” She said as Izzy burst out laughing again.

“Wow, it looks like I made the right decision coming to befriend you. I thought you were going to shun me out, actually. You seem like the type that hates company.”

“Well, I am, but I guess you are not that bad. Do you want to leave?” She asked, standing up as Izzy shook her head and said, 

“No, I am not. You look like you need help. Let's bond over attaching wire.” She said with a grin as she went to one side of the room to start arranging it.

“Yes, I am quite convinced that the conversations we will have will be quite shocking,” Dulce said with a wink, and yeah, it was a pun.

“I can't believe you just said that,” Izzy said, trying to cover her mouth since it was funny, and Dulce grinned at her. Maybe staying here in New Zealand wasn't that bad. It had barely been a day, and she had made a friend.