IN WHICH,
The boy who frequents your father's workshop carves a place for himself in your heart.
'He's looking at you. He's looking at you as if you're his whole world. If anyone could see him right now, they would immediately understand one thing:...
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One thing that seemed to remain constant even after the signed agreement between the Capitol and the Districts was the atmosphere of the District 7 marketplace. An area always bustling with life, trades and gossip. Being an open air market, the combination of sun and the promise of tempting offers invited all sorts of different crowds across the district.
With a small pouch of coins and an empty bag, you set off. While your mother scouted for more herbs to use in her homemade remedies, she had asked you to purchase food for dinner. You didn't mind much honestly, as it was nice to walk under the warm gaze of the sun instead of staying inside the workshop most of the time.
You sensed you were getting closer to the market once you started to pick up sounds of conversation and the aroma of various dishes. Mingling with the crowd, you subtly followed the direction that the crowds of people were walking in. The light from the sun danced around the hectic place, seeping through the silhouettes of trees and constantly rejuvenating the people's spirits. You head over to the stall that had what you needed to buy, shielding your eyes from the light to get a better view.
"What would you like to buy?" A sweet middle aged woman greets you as she sees you approach her stall. She fixes up her headband tied around her head and rolls her sleeves up.
"Hmm.." You ponder shortly before mentally coming to a decision, "Pasta, cheese, tomatoes and bell peppers please." You eye a piece of beef up for sale too, but quickly decide against it due to its price and rarity. As tempting as it may be, you didn't want to spend all of the grocery money on a singular dish. With that, you clumsily take the coin pouch out earning you a kind look from the lady.
She offers to put the groceries in your bag for you as you fumble around to give her the money. While sorting out the coins, you see her putting the beef you were eyeing earlier into the bag.
"Wait, I didn't order the beef." You point out. Although it would have been nice, it just didn't feel right to steal from a stall owner who was nothing but kind towards you. After all, everyone was struggling.
"Oh don't worry about it dear, it's on the house." She nods, handing your bag to you as she counts the money you've given her, sending an approving look.
"I can't, it's really expensive. Hold on, maybe I have enough money to pay for it." You worry as you scramble for more coins out of the bag.
She laughs softly at your panic and lays her hand on your arm in a soothing motion, making you pause. "It's alright hun! Your mother's the healer, yes? She helped to treat my husband a few days ago from a bad case of the flu, so please, it's my way of saying thanks."
"...If you insist, thank you so much!!" You accept it finally, bidding her goodbye as you walk back home with a little spring in your step.
Birds whistled melodically, speaking to each other in a language inquisitive creatures like us could only dream to understand. You followed along, whistling the same tune as you allowed a bird in a tree to lead you back home. How wonderful it must be to fly around, free.
