Quite a bit,

The smell, it smelled like. I squeezed my inhaler. I had a puff already but it was kind of an instinct to the smell of flowers. Looking around, I didn't see flowers though?

"Oh, sorry," Gemma said. "It is a special recipe. I use it to infuse the aroma of wildflowers into the tea. I should have been-"

"Really?" I asked looking at the tea. I looked up at her. It's safe? Even without a puff?"

She nodded with a wry smile. "Yeah. Windows are all closed. No pollen. Dusty enough in here as it is," she began coughing into a tissue.

I sipped my tea carefully, while trying not to look directly at her. I was also just really enjoying the floral scent, like a real floral scent with no pain. Not a fake air freshener one. Oh, red, that's not good. She tried to be clever and hide it, but she paused and saw my face.

"Your good, saw it, didn't you?" she asked, before sipping her own tea.

I let out a soft giggle. Almost a pathetic admission. Like how could she think that. "That isn't fair. You... are the first person to see me. You're way better than I am."

"Well, I'm older than you are, and well, I think you know-"

"We are older than we look," I said. Not physically obviously. Well, I suppose maybe. She didn't look much older than twenty eight, but if she said thirty three or even thirty eight, I wouldn't be that surprised. Age was fairly muddled at that rage. The point was that, we the people watchers, we live our lives, and the lives of those we watch. How could we do anything but grow up a little faster.

The way she smiled. Like she was so proud of me. "The first time, someone saw me, the way I saw you today. He asked me that, and I gave him the exact same answer you did. That man, was very special to me, he understood me, better than I did. He probably still does," she said, her eyes looked down.

I felt the wrenching. We had so little to share. "He died?"

Her lips curved a bit. "A long time ago, yes. But, I took his advice, I did travel. I found, our world, is not nearly as alone as we thought. That's why," she put her inhaler on the table. "I can't bring myself to hate it. We live in a different world, but we are the world with eyes, and that gives us the remarkable to see each other. To see each other. It was how he found me, and-"

I squeezed my inhaler. "You found me. But..." I started crying. "I don't have your strength, or courage. I'm not as strong... I couldn't travel."

"No."

"Huh?" I asked taking out a tissue. No wasn't an argument. Like-

"To tell you the truth. I'm the jealous you, so freaking jealous I can barely stand it," she stood up and stretched. "Though, you'd never be able to guess why, right?"

"Jealous of me?" I thought? I mean, I was near sighted in one eye, and far sighted in the other. My lungs nearly died from a flower just to name two things. I could barely travel to a park bench. She'd hate being me.

"Because, today is the start of your journey. I am retiring, coming to this old shop. But, you... your just getting started."

"But I-"

"I couldn't either, until I was helped," she said, offering her hand. "And now, finally, I am getting a chance to help someone. I am so happy."

I... wait. What. But... whaaaa.