Sector B

32

"Are you guys open for business?" Decha approached the front counter. It was still snowing outside, so he trekked in a lot of ice.

It was still quite early, around 9 in the morning. Although it was a Holiday, Decha started his day by waking up at 4 AM to search all over Astell for an open Jewelry shop.

There were none in Uptown or Midtown. He wasted several subway stops on shops that claimed to be open but weren't. Now he was at a small shop owned by a well-known Astellian jeweler downtown, and Decha was hoping to the heavens that they were open.

He was exhausted from traveling. It took him 2 hours to go west from the east of Midtown. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the Agency to start working. But as late as it was, he already considered skipping out on work today.

With the festival canceled, and many public areas closed for the day, he doubted that anyone would make an attack. The culprits of the case wanted victims. There wouldn't be many victims on a Holiday.

So Decha was very much considering taking the day off. But he didn't like the idea. Relaxing wasn't his style.

"I am." An older man with neatly styled white hair and round glasses nodded.

"Great," Decha responded softly and reached into his pocket. The man gestured at the display case.

"Do you see anything you like?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could make a special request."

"On a Holiday? That's bold of you to ask so last minute. Did you forget to prepare for that special someone?"

"It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to give. It's last minute, but I'll pay whatever you ask."

The older man nodded and tapped on the glass case with his fingers. "Sounds reasonable. So tell me, boy, what would you like? Diamonds? Rubies? Emeralds? What kind of style does she prefer?"

"None,"

"So? Are you getting something less flashy? A golden ring? A silver bracelet? Pearls maybe?"

Decha pulled a glowing orb out of his pocket. The marble was small, but it was bright. The old man gasped softly when he saw it.

"Well, I'll be darned... I haven't seen one of those in years."

"I bought the Klovoc flower and extracted the orb." It was the same orb that came from the flower he talked about with Rory. But he wanted to give her more than the plant. She loved the lights, and in a way, this was the start of Astellian tech.

"Astell's greatest wonders... how long did it take you to find this klovoc orb?" The older man licked his lips. He knew very much about its power.

"Long enough. Could you turn this into a pair of studs? For the ears?"

"You don't want me to put the orb on a ring? Or on a bracelet?"

"No..."

"She must be special to you. Or not that special at all. Most men come to my shop asking for the biggest or rarest gems for the woman they love."

"I'm not most men," Decha shrugged. "And I'm getting this for a friend."

"A friend whom you love, perhaps?" The man chortled. "Why else would you come here on Bloom day and ask specifically for a specially made pair of jewelry?"

Decha didn't think about it like that. Why did he come on Bloom day? He could've given her this gift at any other time. Maybe the stress of figuring out what he wanted to give her motivated him. It didn't matter. Rory was the one who asked him to give her a gift.