Chapter 6

Waking up in a haze, I’m unable to determine if the banging I’m hearing is thunder, or something falling in the house. When I hear the sound again from the kitchen, I’m relieved I don’t have to walk to work in the rain.

My eyes squint as if that would be enough to block out the sunlight spilling into my room. At some point in the middle of the night for reasons I can’t fathom, I wrapped myself in a blanket. Now, as my damp night gown sticks to me and sweat drenches my hair, I’m suffering the consequences. Now that we’re at the peak of the chaos season, the heat promises to offer no relief.

I wash up enjoying the cold water for once. When I’m dressed and looking presentable again, I head into the kitchen to find Sai.

“Morning,” I croak.

The lit stove he’s standing at produces a soft orange glow adding additional heat to the already, very hot room.

“Hey, sorry if I woke you up. The pots fell out of the cabinet when I opened it.”

“Ehh. If I stayed in bed any longer, dehydration might have finished me off.”

After putting the kettle on the stove, Sai offers to get me some water. Not wanting to walk one step more, I happily accept.

Instead of sitting on a chair like a civilized person, I pick the countertop. With it being waist height, I have to hop up. Only when I’m situated do I take the glass of water from Sai’s hand and gulp it down.

“May you be blessed by the Divinity of Water,” I sigh in relief.

Sai promptly turns down my blessing. “No thanks.”

Chuckling, I kick my feet that are dangling inches above the floor out of habit. When Sai opens a cabinet and grabs out the coffee tin, I remember what I wanted to tell him this morning. “Ah. You should have seen the market today. It was terrible.”

“Worse than last month?” Sai asks.

“So much worse. No meat, no eggs, they didn’t even have flour. There were only some rotting fruits and vegetables, moldy bread, some type of meat substitute that I didn’t even ask about. Oh, and I saw something green that I’m pretty sure was twitching.” A shiver runs down my spine at that memory. I genuinely don’t think that thing should have been alive.

Recalling the empty market this morning makes me sad all over again. Food trickles downhill in Estain. Not only is our city towards the bottom of the list of priorities for supplies, all the good stuff ends up secured by our large number of noble and royal visitors before us commoners ever glimpse them. That goes double for food.

“The crops must have been really bad this year?” I reason.

“That and the amount that’s being sent to the front line has increased over the years. It’ll likely just get worse from here on out.” Sai explains as he scoops up the last of the coffee with a disappointed frown.

“I really want you to be wrong.”

“We all want thing Blue.”

I roll my eyes at Sai who’s smirking at his own witty comeback. “Well, no matter what, we’re not going to have much of anything to eat until we pick up our monthly rations. For now, we’ll have to splurge on take out.”

The sad reality of this war that I didn’t think of is just how expensive it’s getting to live. When he notices on the frown on my face, Sai reaches over the counter and pats the top of my head.

“You’re over thinking this Blue. Can we control the food available at the market? Or the prices for goods?”

“No.”

“Exactly. If we can’t control it, then worrying about it is a waste of time. Every time we’ve gone through a rough patch, we always manage to make it through the other side. This is just one of those rough patches.”

I nod my head appreciating the logic in Sai’s words. Sai doesn’t graduate until next year, so all we can do until then is wait this out.

“Right. If I can’t change the outcome, it better to just focus on what’s in front of me.” After handing Sai my cup, I hop off the counter. “I’m off. The tourists for the full moon festival are probably already out and about, so wish me luck.”

Based on the grimace on Sai’s face I can see him visualizing the streets that will soon be swarming with people visiting Wirra for the festival. “You have my condolences.”

“Yeah. But a festival means they’re bringing back seasonal food like roasted pine brittle. That stuff’s worth the crowds.”

The seasonal treats are Rumi and my favorite part about the full moon festival. Especially the pine brittle. I’ve tried to recreate them at home, but they never turn out the same. Either the caramel ends up burnt or the dough deflates before it even makes it out of the oven.

As I head for the door, I call out to Sai as he takes a sip of the coffee. “Make sure to go to bed at a reasonable hour.”

Sai waves off my comment that we both know he’s going to ignore. It makes me think not for the first time that I should start hiding the coffee. Or maybe just stop buying it all together.

Once I’m outside, I stretch my hands over my head taking in the fresh air while I can. I’m used to it, but that metallic rust scent in Wirra that never goes away has always bothered me. My eyes turn up towards the sky at the few clouds that provide the barest of cover from the sun. Well, since it’s about to set, I suppose a cloudless night isn’t the worst. At least I’ll be able to see the stars.

Taking advantage full advantage of being alone, I adjust my chest wrap as I walk along the path that takes me to Wirra. In the past few weeks, it’s feels like it’s cutting off circulation. Having a bigger chest is only good if I were a pleasure worker. In the position that I’m at currently, my chest would just cause me issues.

Just as I finish adjusting my right breast, a bug dives towards my face. Without my hands being free, I can only dip my head low to avoid it.

“Really?” I know the bug can’t hear me, but still.

The next time it charges towards me, I manage to slap it to the ground, but my celebration is brief.

“You stung me?!” It still can’t hear me, I know that. But, complaining doesn’t cost a coin, so I intend do it without remorse.

My eyes examine the pierced flesh on my palm. It takes only seconds for a purple color to dye my skin. Of course, it’s poisonous. Why not?

When Wirra is in sight, I’m still shaking out my hand as the last bit of the poison works its way out of my system. The scales are annoying, but at least I heal fast.

I’ve barely passed the entry gate of Wirra before I’m pressed against a crowd of people maneuvering through the packed streets. The press of bodies makes the heat more unbearable. In this mess of people, not even a sparse current of wind can make its way down to us mere mortals.

Some rude guy shoves me and a few other people as he surges through the crowd. A string of curse words and insults are directed at him, but we soon forget about him as we focus on making it our destination.

Once I make it on the bridge, I’m forced to slow my pace. Stuck behind a vendor that’s rolling their cart behind them, I grow anxious that I might be late. Of course, that won’t happen. I can see from the clock tower that I have more than half an hour before I’m supposed to be at work. But at this moment where I can’t do anything but be patient, my rational brain loses to my nerves.

By rising on my tip toes, I’m able to spot Lady Auclair’s shop on the other side of the bridge. The lit red, fluorescent lamps in front of the shop and all down the street beckon me to them much like a moth. Their luminescent color reflects off the stone paved walkways dying the world around us. Even the river that runs through the middle of the promenade gives off a red tint that some might even consider enchanting. I’m sure when I was young, I thought something along those lines.

When I finally make it to the shop, I pull myself away from the crowd. My hand is inches from the doorknob when a clear strong voice calls out a string of magic words.

“Fresh biscuits. Fresh biscuits right here. Get them before they’re all gone.”

My eyes follow the voice to a shopkeeper in front of his bakery. I’ve walked past his shop multiple times, but I’ve never brought anything. Within an hour of the bakery being open, there’s always a line out the door, so I’ve never tried.

My hands pull away from the doorknob as my stomach performs a symphony of hunger noises. Just a peak.

I walk over just to glance through the window with the presumption that I’m stronger than my stomach and can say no. But, the scent, the sight, it’s all too much. I can get Rumi some too. He’s probably hungry. And that was all it takes.

I buy a dozen biscuits. Half have a caramelized sugar glaze on top that I ask to be put in a separate bag from the plain biscuits. Not going to lie, the thirty coins I part with hurt. But, on the other hand, bread.

And because I like to torture myself, I open the bag to breathe in the delicious scent as I walk to Rumi’s shop. No, no, no. Hold out. This meal deserves to be eaten slowly and enjoyed.

After I pass my shop, I position myself until I’m standing under a familiar balcony in the shop next door. I let the crowds of people walk around me and patiently wait knowing there’s no need to call out.

As always, as if he could sense me, I see the top of Rumi’s pearl blonde wavy hair. He rests his chin on top of the wooden railing enclosing the balcony before offering me a sleepy smile.

“Morning, Blue.” I can’t hear him with all the noise down here, but I’m able to read his lips.

I wave before pointing to the bag of biscuits and gesturing for him to catch it.

Effortlessly, he catches the bag with one hand after I toss it. When he sees what’s inside, his smile grows lighting up his entire face. Then, he turns that smile in my direction, and it makes every silver coin I just spent worth it.

I wave good-bye and return to my shop with my spirits raised. Less than a minute later, my bag of biscuits is emptied. As I savor the memory of the last bite, I grab a cloth to wipe the window.

Sending a prayer to the Divinity of Life, I ask for Sai and I to be born to a rich family in my next life. If that happens, I wonder how many biscuits I could buy.