I'm Minette. I'm so excited. A bakery has just opened in Little Innsmouth! Yu-Wan says it will attract new customers to his restaurant. I think it's great! Being able to eat homemade pastries.
I ask him if I can go today. Yu-Wan says yes, but only during a break at work. It's true that I'm helping out at his restaurant as a waitress.
When my break comes (finally!), I head for the bakery.
"Hello!" A smiling woman says to me. "Welcome. Is there anything you'd like in particular?"
Croissants, breads and pastries make my mouth water.
"I'd like to taste everything!" I say in a loud voice and then, ashamed, hide my mouth with my hands.
The woman laughs happily.
"It's going to be difficult."
Suddenly, the woman and I hear voices arguing in the back room. The woman sighs.
"My husband and daughter fighting... again. Please forgive Marinette."
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"She's had a strange fantasy since we moved here. She says the Canopy Kingdom isn't her home, her world. She claims we're from Paris. Paris! Where did she pick up a name like that?"
Although it's none of my business and my work break is almost over, I ask to speak to Marinette.
"As you wish. MARINETTE! Come here, a customer wants to talk to you."
I hear noises, objects being thrown?, and a teenage girl with black hair and blue highlights arrives. Her face is red with anger. Still, Marinette smiles and talks to me like a customer.
"Hello. What can I do for you?"
"Well, could I speak to you privately, Marinette?"
Marinette sighed.
"All right. Come on."
She takes me to her room.
"This is nice." I say to Marinette.
"Thank you. Well, what do you want?"
"Are you really from another world?"
"Yes. I told my parents, but they refuse to believe me. It's like they've been brainwashed! You don't believe me, do you?"
"No... well, I want to believe you, Marinette, but..." I look at the time on a clock on the wall. "Oh no, I'm VERY late for work! I'll tell you what. Meet me at Yu Wan's restaurant in two hours, okay?"
"Okay, but..."
"Great, see you later, Marinette!"
I run back to the restaurant. Yu-Wan isn't too happy, but I go back to serving customers.
Two hours later, I see a confused Marinette arrive.
"Hello, Marinette!" I said. "Good to see you."
"Hi... uh... your name is...?"
"Minette."
"Minette. Like a little female kitten?"
"Yeah."
I invited Marinette to sit down at a table. I sit down opposite her.
"Your uniform..." Marinette says, looking at me. "You work here?"
"Yes! Yu-Wan is the owner of Dak'kull Dubu. Anyway, you're probably wondering why I asked you here."
"Yes. Why?"
"Because I don't think you're crazy. I want to believe you, Marinette, so tell me everything!"
"What? Here?"
"There are plenty of customers. No one's going to linger over us."
Marinette seems suspicious, but she tells me her story. Well, part of her story, because I sense she has secrets.
Marinette tells me she comes from Earth, from the country of France, in the city of Paris. Her parents have a bakery, but it's different from the one in Little Innsmouth. The city of Paris is threatened by a super villain, Hawk Moth. With a Miraculous, a jewel of great power, in his procession, he wants to seize Ladybug's and Cat Noir's Miraculous. Marinette knows Ladybug's secret identity. The last thing she remembers is seeing Ladybug, Cat Noir and Hawk Moth go head-to-head.
"There was an intense light, as if the world was destroying itself, and then I woke up here, in Little Innsmouth." Marinette continues to narrate. "My parents act like we've always lived in this world, but we haven't!"
"Whoah! That's quite a story."
"Do you believe me?" Marinette asks, her eyes pleading.
"Of course, I believe you! But what happened to Ladybug, Cat Noir and Hawk Moth? And the Miraculous?"
"I know Ladybug is fine. For Cat Noir and Hawk Moth, it’s a mystery. As for the Miraculous, I'm sure their Kwamis are with them."
"Kwamis? You didn't tell me about them!"
"Sorry, Minette."
Marinette explains what she knows about Kwamis. I have the feeling she's not telling me everything, but I trust her.
"Well, I'd better get back before my parents alert the police! They've been overprotective since we arrived in this world."
"Marinette." I say before she exits the restaurant. "For me, will you please play along with your parents?"
"You mean pretending to be from this world? I'd like to, just long enough to find a solution, but I don't know its history."
"Then come back and see me tomorrow! I'll teach you everything you need to know."
Marinette thanks me and heads back to her parents' bakery. As for me, I can't wait for tomorrow!