Across Worlds - A Coyote Starrk Love Story

Chapter 8 - Another New Friend

Saki pov:

"Hmmm.....maybe I should make this a rotund vase. A lot of those seem to be selling out lately. Flower decoration in rotund vases is getting pretty famous." I mumbled as I looked at the base cylinder I had rotating on the wheel in front of me.

Giving a nod, I bent over the wheel a bit and began to give the clay its signature shape.

I was in my shop working in the small workshop that was next to the cash counter. Since I had to watch the shop and get my work done at the same time, I had set up an electrical wheel, a basin of water and a place to keep wet clay articles on one side of the shop. Besides, the store room wasn't big enough. Sure, I had managed to fit a small two seater table but I couldn't include a workspace along with the storage.

Today was an off peak day. I hadn't had many customers; probably just about two or three. I guess it was mainly because the weather forecast was right. It hadn't stopped raining the whole of today and it's obvious that people wouldn't like to go shopping in such weather. All the more because the items I sold could get damaged by the moisture.

I had just finished my lunch and I decided to get some work done instead of nodding off in sleep. Since it was constantly raining, the sky was covered with dark clouds and the whole mood was lazy. This weather was perfect for sitting in front of the TV watching a movie and drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Hmm....I've been having hot chocolate quite often lately. Looks like my chocolate obsession has kicked in again.

I chuckled to myself and tilted my head to the side to finish the rim of the vase. I pulled my hands away from the finished piece and smiled at a job well done. I got up from the low height stool I was sitting on and went to the sink to wash my hands.

Drying my hands on a towel, I walked back to the wheel and observed the vase. I decided to leave to dry for a few minutes before I removed it from the wheel using a wire. Thinking so, I picked up the detachable plastic plate on which the piece had been mounted. I turned so I could place it in the storage to dry but as I did so, my arm hit something and the grip I had on the plate faltered.

I sucked in a sharp breath, expecting my piece to fall to the floor and end up as a squashed vase. But an arm shot out and held the plate just before it could topple over completely and another hand steadied me with a grip on my shoulder.

That's when I realized that what I had bumped into was actually a person.

I blinked, dazed momentarily before looking to the side and up to meet steel blue eyes. A smile made its way onto my face, recognizing the person immediately.

"Starrk san!" I stepped away from him as he dropped his hands to his side. "It's a surprise seeing you here today."

I also found it a little strange that he hadn't got wet in the rain. He didn't have an umbrella with him and I wondered how he had managed to stay completely dry in this weather.

"Are you alright?" I couldn't hear any actual concern in his voice but I didn't let it bother me at the moment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for catching the plate."

"No, you almost dropped it because you didn't know I was behind you." He said nonchalantly.

I chuckled, shaking my head and placing the plate with the vase on the cash counter. I faced him again, feeling a sort of happiness bubble from within my chest. It had been close to two weeks since I had seen him. He hadn't come to anonymously buy anything, let alone see me. But I was glad that he decided to come here today.

"So, are you here to buy something or just for some window shopping like last time?" I asked teasingly.

He narrowed his eyes at me and stared for a few moments. Then he turned his gaze away from me and looked at everything that was in the shop. He looked at the piece I had just finished and finally back to me again. I chuckled, finding his surveying of my shop kind of funny.