— ’Pardon?’

Asking this question was risky, but you never know until you try, right?

— ’I said, have you prepared SHORT change? It’ll be $1.30. I’m taking a break soon and I’m not going to look for change for you.’

Terrible curses erupted from the bottom of the volcano, something about “brainless,” “stupid,” “useless,” and other words which can’t be printed.

— ’Yes, I have.’

I had a lot of coins, so I poured them into the counter and took my ice cream. The volcano hibernated again, mumbling something under her breath.

That was it, the big secret of the gray kiosk had been discovered. The feelings of humiliated customers could be understood. But I couldn’t just leave like this.

— ’You have a wonderful job!’ I said with all the joy possible.

— ’What?’ Her glance was so gloomy and hateful that it made me choke. But I wasn’t going to give up.

— ’I said, you have a wonderful job! I envy you. You bring people so much joy! Everyone loves ice cream, right? And you have a lot of it here!’ I said everything that came into my mind without thinking.

In the ominous silence, the volcano made some calculations in her mind. She was puzzled. Titanic mental efforts were written on her face.

— ’Really?’ the volcano eventually exhaled, and I heard a small seed of interest in her question.

— ’Of course! Your job is wonderful! You are also great at doing math in your head, without even needing a calculator!’ I decided to use my chance all the way to the end.

There was a long pause after that. The volcano stared at me with her dull deep-set eyes. I smiled sincerely and openly in return.

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