Chapter 10

Drinking coffee and eating the food they ordered, Katherine no longer talked much to Elano because she knew that her words might be ignored by this man.

And again even though she had good intentions but maybe Elano's view was different, he seemed like a figure who was unclear what his purpose was here so Katherine didn't want to ask many questions and make this man even uncomfortable. Although Elano invited her to be friends but somehow Katherine was a little reluctant. It was because they were also not of the same mind because one was a businessman and the other was a professor, Katherine was sure that this man would not be able to understand what she was talking about.

"Just register yourself at the nearest hospital immediately, so if anything happens you can get treatment there immediately."

Katherine took a sip of coffee and ate the last of her food, then leaned back and seemed to be breathing slowly as she felt tired.

"Are you offended by my not listening to you?"

Elano who understood the change in Katherine's face immediately asked, making the woman smile softly.

"No, I don't have the right to either. Forbidding people too much just makes me look like a big shot especially when those people are newcomers and really don't understand what can happen here. I'm doing it for their own good and most of the time people don't believe what I say because I'm a difficult person to convince.

"Not many people even know that I'm a professor, I'm used to being underestimated and I'm used to it so when you do the same thing I don't take it personally. My goal is to save people's lives, not just to seek validation from people. The natural disasters that happened continuously a few years ago have left many families here in shambles. My father also went missing after being swept away by a high tsunami and I never found him, but I heard he died because people found his clothes on one side of the sea. People don't believe what others have experienced until they have experienced it too."

Elano was silent for a long time hearing this girl's words. In any case, Katherine did look smart and it was impossible for anyone not to believe that she was a professor. Maybe it was because her face looked easy enough that people didn't believe her and probably thought she was still a college student.

Elano also experienced something similar at that time, the first time they met and he saw this girl's face. Obviously because she was a girl although at first he thought it was a strange thing. Katherine was so smart, she looked very young even though she had been a professor for the past few years.

"What were you thinking that you kept looking at me?"

Elano smiled softly when Katherine noticed, which made Elano clear his throat softly and look at her again.

"How old were you when you graduated from university?"

Katherine sighed, looking at him for asking such a personal question for the first time.

"Twenty years old, then at 22 I was offered to jump straight into the next major. I got this degree because they said I had a talent, at the same time I also managed to invent a jacket that people including myself now use to go out during extreme heat or cold," she replied explaining making Elano nod.

"That's great, you're very talented and capable. It's rare that I get someone like you. Most of the professors I know are too old and their work is sometimes not optimal. I wonder why there are so many young professors here, is it a collection of smart people becoming professors?"

Katherine shook her head lightly and sighed. "No, we were brought in from various cities that don't really need professors. But I've lived here for many years," Katherine said, making Elano nod.

"Then this is your hometown?"

"You could say that, my mother and father met here and got married. I don't know where I was born because I never asked. There was a lot of trouble here so we didn't have much time. My parents already chose to live here before things got worse so when we intended to move when the natural disasters happened, we had another chance. Thankfully we were still able to deal with it even though my father had to be one of the victims of the destruction of this city."

Elano was silent, he could see how strong Katherine and her mother were in facing all the problems that happened here. Including the people who lived in it and had to accept the fact that they couldn't get out anymore.

You could say they were blockaded and could only stay here until it was safe. Fortunately there were some of these professors, so they were helped a bit by the inventions of advanced technology that helped life not be so difficult.

"Where are you going again? I intend to return home after this because I have to continue my work and research."

Elano smiled and gulped down his coffee. "Then I won't bother you anymore, I'm heading home."

Katherine smiled softly and got up, before they paid and walked away to the waiting area for public transportation.

"I want to buy some frozen fruit," Katherine said as she walked towards one of the shops.

Elano raised an eyebrow, then walked after her who had already entered. Like the difference between hell and heaven, if outside they were very hot inside this shop everything changed 360°. The shop was extremely cold with many air conditioners installed inside, almost minus the weather.

The coldness there caused the fruits sold by the shopkeeper to freeze and Elano could understand that it was because of this that the fruits could last so long.

"Do you want to buy these fruits?"

Elano looked at Katherine who was used to the cold even though the weather outside was much hotter and to make them should be a little unadapted. Plus, the air conditioning in their house was not that cold either, just making sure they could survive and also saving on electricity costs since there was a pretty high spike every month especially in extreme hot seasons like this.

Selecting strawberries, apples and some grapes and oranges, Elano looked at Katherine's face who was already smiling softly.

"We rarely get to enjoy fruits like this. They are so expensive and rarely available that we mostly just eat or drink the fruit flavors available in some instant foods. The rest of us never do that or buy fruits like this because they are so rare. People also think twice about buying them because they are frozen and sometimes the flavor is lost. The formula you're looking for to ensure the quality of the fruits remains stable is something we can never get, it's quite sad to think about."

Elano looked down at the fruit in his hand then sighed softly. In his city he was very easy to buy anything especially since he had many men who would return and look for anything he wanted. While here he had to endure and experience the bitterness of life as felt by the townspeople.

But he was still grateful because he could still eat and survive here because of Katherine's help. This girl was a good person and it made her feel happy to meet Katherine who was still willing to help her even though they were also struggling.

"How much are all the fruits here?" asked Elano while paying, making the shopkeeper surprised to hear his question.

"Do you want to buy everything?"

"Yes, take everything out, please total up how much I have to pay."