Winter Scarves [Mako]

01

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐘 going down, and it cast an orange hue over the little shop. Many of our clothes glowed slightly orange and pink in the direct sunset. Sunset also meant that it was nearly closing time for the little shop where I worked at. I busied myself with folding the shirts in my area, watching as people trudged through the snow that had gathered like glaciers during the day. A smile worked its way onto my face as I thought about the snow. It had been a while since I had visited the Water Tribes, so I was super excited about the snow here in Republic City. 

The golden hue created a peaceful atmosphere here. A pleasant humming rose in the backroom; I knew it was Nora humming along to the song in her head. It was a cheery song, one that made my heart sing along. Somehow, that lady could make me the happiest girl in the world with just one note. 

Nora had told me before that she always wanted to be a singer. She had these huge dreams of making it big here in Republic City. She wanted her fans to go crazy whenever she would perform. For a while, she had a small gathering that would listen to her every night at Kwong's Cuisine in downtown Republic City, but the restaurant soon had someone better. After that disaster, she ended up opening this little shop, The Silk Bacui and settling down with her longtime love.

"Raya!" Nora called out. I turned around and saw her greying head sticking out of the backroom doorway. She usually wore her grey hair up in a tight bun, but today she had let her hair cascade down her back like a brilliant waterfall. "Come help me!"

"With what?" I asked, glancing at the front door. No one was coming toward the glass doors, so I hurried over to Nora. Bracing myself against the doorway, I saw that Nora was holding onto three boxes. The three boxes were of different sizes, and they were towering over her head. "I see now." Rushing forward, I took the top two boxes away from her. They were slightly heavy but not enough to make me stumble. 

"I'm trying to rearrange the things back here," Nora said, her voice muffled behind the boxes in front of me. "I didn't like how disorganized I am."

"Didn't you rearrange last week?"

"Yes, but things got disorganized again." She touched my arm, saying, "I'm going to lead you to where I want you to set those boxes."

Her wrinkly hand was warm on my bare elbow as she led me forward. I took a couple of tentative steps along with her. However, I knew that I could trust her. She wouldn't let me fall. She would let me stumble, though. My feet hit something and I nearly went down. The old lady held onto my arm and kept me standing. "Are you trying to make me die?"

"I'm sorry!" Nora said loudly. She kicked the boxes out of the way and then said, "You can set the boxes down now."

Leaning down, my hands brushed the cool floor. I set the boxes down and stood back up, dusting off my blue skirt. Gazing around the backroom, I said, "It looks better in here already."

"You say that every week," Nora said, sighing. "Am I crazy?"

"A little." Jumping away from her flying hands, I giggled. "Aren't we all a little crazy, Nora?"

She scowled at me, crossing her stubby arms over her chest. Even though she was a little woman, she could give you a lot of stress. She was nice to me, but to others that she didn't like, she would be snarky and rude. "Raya, Raya, Raya . . ."

"What?"

Nora threw her arms around my waist, bursting out into laughter. "You are my favorite employee, did you know that?"

I rested my chin on her head, squeezing her tight. When my brother and I moved here when we were little, Nora took us in. Sure, our parents came with us, but they weren't there. Nora gave me a job and took me under her wing, teaching me how to do different things. She was my best friend. 

"I think I'm your favorite person in the world."

"Don't let Hale hear you say that," she said, mentioning her husband. "He would throw a fit." Pulling away from the hug, I smiled at Nora. She reached up and patted my cheeks. "Let's get back to the front. I don't want anyone stealing from my shop."

I stepped out into the main floor of the shop and scanned the area. No one was in there, which would make closing time easier. A lot of people liked to come into the clothing and sewing shop right before closing time and I feel too bad to kick them out. I always help them, even when Nora tries to shoo them out. 

I walked around the room, fixing and folding the clothing that people had messed up. Nora first opened this shop up to sell clothing to the people of Republic City, but then she also added a counter where the employees could fix people's clothing. I mainly worked there since I knew how to sew, but I also helped people find whatever they wanted. 

Soon enough, the sun went away and the moon slowly came out. The gaslights outside shone into the shop, reflecting in the glass cases. One particular light hit my eye and blinded me temporarily. I stopped moving and rubbed my eyes with my hands. Letting out a small sigh, I kept my eyes shut for a second. Today was a long day but it was worth it. I loved working in this shop. It was my life, and there was nothing else I wanted to do with it. 

I slowly opened my eyes and let out a terrified scream. A man was standing in front of me, staring out of the window. When I screamed, he whipped his head toward me, his amber eyes widening. Backing up, I ran into a table. The clothes fell to the floor with a soft thump. "I am so sorry!" the boy said, throwing his hands up into the air. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

I gripped the table behind me, my heart thundering in my chest. "What's going on out here?" Nora said, stepping right next to me. Her hand touched my arm, calming me down ever so slightly. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything," the boy said urgently. "I didn't mean to scare her. I was just wondering if someone could fix my scarf." He held up a red scarf and I could tell that it was on the older side. I wasn't sure how old, but it was getting threadbare in a couple of spots. "But I can leave if you want me to." He glanced at me, and his orange eyes were dark. He turned around and started walking away. 

"Wait!" I said, racing forward. I grabbed the boy's arm and tugged him to a stop. "I can fix your scarf."

"Really?" Hope filled his eyes as he looked at me. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," I said, smiling. I held my hands out and he gingerly placed the scarf into my hands, his fingertips brushing against my skin. Electricity sparked between the two of us but I didn't let it make me jump away from him. I didn't want to drop his scarf onto the floor. "I'm guessing this is important to you."

"Very."

"Okay," I said, nodding slowly. "If you allow me to keep it, I can fix it for you."

"How long would you need to keep it?"

"At the least, a day. At the most, a week." I tore my gaze away from his scarf, saying, "I'll need a name to get ahold of when I'm finished with it."

He gave me a heartstopping smile, his strong cheekbones reddening slightly. "Mako. My name is Mako."