Across Worlds - A Coyote Starrk Love Story

Chapter 17 - Funny Hat san

Saki pov:

"The exhibition went really well today!" I stretched my arms above my head, closed my eyes and let out a shrill hum in satisfaction.

The exhibition that was held today was an international one. Well, it wasn't particularly an art exhibition like the ones Eri and I had attended before. It was more like a fair held in huge open grounds. There were all kinds of things on sale there. Food, horticulture plants, toys, clay ware, paintings, electronic gadgets, you name it! It was really fun to be there today!

I had sold out almost three quarters of the works I had put up for sale. I had also made a pretty good profit by selling my works at twenty percent more than the cost that I sold them for in my shop.

I had left Tomo at the orphanage because I knew it would be difficult for me to handle him when there are so many people around who he saw as potentipymates. I had to concentrate on talking to customers. I had no choice but to leave him in the orphanage but I'm sure he didn't mind it because he had a lot of energetic kids to keep him occupied. The kids too were really happy that they were getting the chance to spend the whole day with Tomo.

It was just six in the evening now. The fair had ended and my works that were left unsold had been boxed together and kept aside in the park itself. The security at the park would take responsibility of delivering them to my house by tomorrow morning.

I smiled and greeted people as I passed by them on the streets. I was walking to the orphanage so I could pick up Tomo before heading home. Since it was still pretty early, I was walking at a slow and comfortable pace while enjoying the cool breeze and the happy chatter around me.

Speaking of the cool breeze, the weather had got cooler. The winter was finally setting in and I had to wear a sweater to keep warm. I had turned up the heater in the house as well as the shop and sometimes it was tough working with clay because I had to keep my hands wet throughout the process. So I worked more on paintings these days and worked with clay only when I was feeling up to it.

Starrk and Lilynette had visited me several times in the past two weeks. Having them over was really fun. We sat together and talked about random things, ate together and well, just enjoyed each other's company. I had helped Lilynette finish her mug as well so after sandpapering to smoothen the outer surface, we had given it a colorful glaze and let it get fired in the kiln. Lilynette was very happy with the results and had drunk water from it after I had given it a wash.

She was energetic – a characteristic I found completely opposite to Starrk's laid back attitude. She talked a lot and was curious about a lot of things. She was amazed by all the things that humans did and she would usually describe how things differed between here and Hueco Mundo. She would even describe something amazing she saw in the human world when she went off on her own to explore Karakura Town. She even tried painting and playing video games on my NDS. I was more of a listener so I enjoyed listening to her while throwing in a comment here and there. And while she was busy entertaining herself, I would spend time with Starrk.

I finally felt like I had a family now.

I came out of my thoughts when a little girl passed by me with her mother. She waved at me and I returned it with a smile. Her mother and I exchanged bows and we went back to walking to our destinations.

When I was just a block away from the orphanage, I crossed a junction. I took a turn to head into the residential area of the town but I paused when I saw the spirit of a little boy standing near a light pole. I observed that the boy had a chain attached to the center of his chest. He had both fists near his eyes and his shoulders were trembling. I could tell that he was crying and the desire to go ask him if everything was alright washed over me.