Flashback [The Bazaar] (Lora) A Coincidintal Meeting

[Garland]

spring 3 508

The day was starting to be a good one. The sun was shining, the people all seemed to have woken up on the right side of the bed. It seemed like it would be a great day to go for a walk, or at least get out of the orphanage and get some fresh air.

The sweet smell of freshly made pastries whiffed through the air, cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls, cheese rolls. Oh, he loved everything sweet, but he always hated eating alone though. So he decided to explore the Bazaar a bit more.

There were people everywhere, it was inevitable in bumping into someone, but he did try to avoid hitting someone as he walked down the street, but when he rounded the corner, he met with a someone by accidentally bumping into a certain Konti girl. "O-oh sorry, are you alright?"

[Lora]

Lora strolled down one of the many side streets of Syliras’ bazaar. All the streets in the city-regardless of if they are main streets or side ones- were always crowded. The side streets were just a bit less crowded and so Lora usually kept to them. As she quickly made her way to through the few people who were on this street, she ran over in her head what she was here to buy. Eggs, She thought. I need to buy eggs. The bazaar was so full of interesting smells and sights that if she didn’t keep her mind on track she could easily get side tracked, which happened often. This particular street was a bit less crowded than the other ones. Lora preferred this. She wasn’t a particularly large girl so she couldn’t push through crowds and would often get jolted around by them. The road she was on was more of an alley way and two huge stone buildings rose up on either side of her. The ground was made of dirt and with each step Lora took her white sandals became less white and more dust color. Her feet also had a thin layer of dirt covering them. Being dirty didn’t really bother Lora but she was sure her mom would want her to wash her feet of before entering their house. She made a mental note to do this. If she went out more often washing her feet off would probably be a habit for her but as it was she didn’t go out often. Her mother was always worried that Lora would get one of her fevers when she was out and the dusty air made it hard for her to breath. Lora had begged her mom to let her go out and get the eggs for her. Her mother had said that she had only let Lora go because she hadn’t had a fever in three weeks. That was a record. Suddenly a sweet smell wafted over to Lora. It smelled like one of the pastries Lora’s mom had sometimes brought home for her. The smell seemed to be coming from the end of the alley way, which was a few steps in front of Lora, where the alley let out into the main road. Lora sped up her pace being careful not to run into the few people who were in the dirt road alley way. Just as Lora was stepping into the main road she ran straight into a young man. The collision knocked Lora off her feet and sent her on to the dirty ground. He apologized then asked if Lora was alright. This surprised Lora. Most of the people who ran into her would mumble and apology and keep going. “Sorry.” She said quickly, standing up and dusting herself of. “Oh, yes, I’m alright. Are you?” Lora, who was shorter than the boy, had to look up to look in his face. Suddenly Lora was aware that she had looked into the boys eyes by the fact she suddenly knew he was very good at unarmed combat. She quickly looked away. Lora didn’t like using her Konti gift on people without their permission. “I’m sorry,” She said, then realized he likely didn’t know what she was talking about. “For using my konti gift on you, I mean.” She hoped that cleared things up.

[Garland]

Of course Garland was surprised at the Konti girl, he hasn't met any other Konti girl before, so he was a bit startled.

She did look rather fragile, so of course he was worried that he might have injures her. "Uhh are you sure you're alright?" He asked, he should be the one that's sorry. He really didn't understand what she did, something about her Konti Gift? He didn't mind it really.

They were blocking the street a bit. He felt a bit awkward talking to her. He was never good with girls, especially girls he found attractive, but of course he wasn't going to say anything to a girl he just met.

"H-Hello, I'm Garland, I'm sorry for bumping into you." He extended his hand to shake hers. He did notice that she did look rather sickly, and the fact that he had just accidentally knocked her to the ground made him feel a bit more guilty.

He was more or less, wearing his regular clothes; a shirt, some boots, his pants and his leather jacket. He must look rather messy to someone like her.

[Lora]

The boy asked if Lora was sure she was alright. Immediately she wondered if she didn’t look alright. “Do I not look alright?” Lora quickly looked down scanning her body for anything that might make her look not ‘alright’. She didn’t notice anything wrong. Her pants were a bit dirty, she quickly brushed them off, but nothing else looked wrong. Maybe it’s my hair! She thought, panicking a bit. I did brush it this morning, right? She quickly reached up to try and fix the mess it was probably in. Running her fingers through the pale blond hair, she didn’t notice any knots. Maybe it was something else. The boy, who was still standing in front of her, brought her out of her momentary panic by introducing himself and apologizing for running into her. He extended a hand obviously meant for Lora to shake. She reached out her hand and shook his, hoping she hadn’t looked to strange before when she had panicked. “I’m sorry. It was my fault. I ran into you. I need to look into a street before entering it.” Lora suddenly realized this was a really good idea and made a mental note to do so before going into a street in the future. There was so much for her to learn about walking through the bazaar. “Lora.” She added. “My name is Lora.” Lora remembers what her mother had told her about being polite when she talked to people and so she added, “It’s nice to meet you.” She smiles, suddenly realizing she was still shaking the Garland’s hand. The smile was wiped off her face and quickly replace with an apologetic look. She quickly pushed his hand back towards him and dropped it, recoiling her own hand as if she had touched something very hot. “I am so sorry!” She felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.“I just . . . . I just,” She stammered trying to find a way to explain herself. “I didn’t . . . sorry.”She lowered her head a bit with embarrassment.

[Garland]

Garland shook his head worriedly, did she think that he implied she didn't look alright? "No no, you look beautiful, I mean fine." He blushed a bit at his own slip of the tongue.

"Lora? That's a beautiful name." He gave a small laugh and a light blush. His blue eyes couldn't stay away from her. He hoped that she didn't notice.

She did shake his hand for a good chime or two, but he didn't mind. In fact, he quite enjoyed it. "No, no. Its fine, really, no need to be sorry." He coughed lightly to clear his throat. "Where are you headed, Lora? We might be going the same way." Which was true, since Garland had nothing better else to do than walk with the girl he just met. "I mean, if its alright with you that is..."

Smooth moves, you idiot. He thought to himself, berating his attempts at socialization. He didn't feel very confident around her. Like his legs were turning into jelly.

He did notice her slight blush, it was cute to say the least, absolutely adorable to Garland though. It took all his willpower not to mention anything about her blush.

[Lora]

The boy, who said his name was Garland, asked Lora where she was going. Where am I going? She thought, taking a few mental steps back to when she left the house. “The bazaar.” She answered quickly, then, having her thoughts catch up with her, she realized she was already in the bazaar. “To buy . . . something.” She corrected herself. What am I here to buy? The item was on the tip of her tongue. What was it? She mentally searched for the answer, placing her first knuckle on her lip, an action she often did when thinking. “Eggs!” She said at last coming up with it. “I’m here to buying eggs.” “Yes, let’s walk together.” She clasped her hands in front of her, excited to have someone to talk to. “If you are going in the same direction, that is.” She added the last bit hoping he was. She really had no idea where the eggs were and had planned to walk around until she found some. “Actually, I don’t know where I’m going to buy eggs so we can go where ever you’re going and I’ll look for eggs on the way.” Suddenly, she was thrown into a coughing fit. She put her hand up to cover her mouth and clutched the gray-stone wall to her right. She had trouble breathing because every time she took a breath the coughs would just throw the oxygen away. She struggled to keep her mind from panicking from the lack of air Breath in, breath out. She tried to tell herself. Agh, I can’t breathe! Was the response her mind gave. She struggled to stay on her feet and couldn’t help but think about the fact this was she reason her mom didn’t usually let her go out on her own. Suddenly she remembered that Garland was still standing in front of her. “Sorry,” Lora managed to cough out, looking up at him. Then she continued her coughing fit.

[Garland]

Garland smiled at her, she seemed a bit like a scatterbrain, but she did seem very fun, a nice contrast to the people he usually goes with. They were so serious all the time, he didn't know if they even have a funny bone.

When she said that she didn't know where the eggs were, he gladly would have taken her to the stall that sells the freshes eggs. "Yeah, I'll help find the eggs."

When she started coughing though, he began to worry, he took out a handkerchief and gave it Lora. "Are you alright?"

[Lora]

As her coughing fit subsided Lora took a deep breath. She felt her cheeks grow slightly red as she became a bit embarrassed. She accepted the handkerchief then, realizing she didn’t know what to do with it, she handed it back to him. She nodded."Yes, I’m ok.” Lora replied looking at the ground and shifting her feet awkwardly. She wasn’t sure what to say when the thought of eggs drifted into her mind. “Let’s go get eggs!” Her face lit up as she momentarily forgot the embarrassment. She walked past Garland and into the street, being careful to not bump into anyone. The street was full of good smells and sounds that just weren’t as good when filtered into the alley way. I really should walk in the main road more often. Lora mused, enjoying the colorful sights and smells. Then she realized she didn’t know where she was headed. The human she had met had offered to show her the way to a place they sold eggs and she had left him behind. She stopped suddenly, almost making a person passing by run into her, and pivoted on her foot so she could walk back to her guide. “Sorry.” She walked up to him taking care to look just past his eyes. “Do you know where the eggs are?” Of course, he knows where the eggs are. He told you he’d take you to them. She told herself. “Well, you did offer to take me to them, so, I guess, you do know where the eggs are.” She paused coming to a stop in front of him. “Unless you want to get whatever you are here to get first.” She added. “Or, maybe, you don’t want to take me to the eggs anymore.” Lora placed her knuckle on her lip in her thinking position. “Or maybe you’ve got somewhere to be now.” Her mind was now thinking of all the possible reasons why Garland would no longer want to take her to get eggs. Maybe he thinks I’m contagious because of my coughing fit. “I’m not contagious.” She mentioned. Suddenly she realized she didn’t know that. She didn’t think she had ever gotten anyone sick before. “I don’t think I am, at least.”

[Garland]

Garland liked this Lora girl, she seemed so disorganized and flustered. "Keep the handkerchief, I got plenty.. For some reason." He grabbed her hand gently and led the way, the crowd, for the most part wasn't as thick as earlier. It was still cramped but it gave enough elbow room so that the two weren't awkward or uncomfortable together.

He made sure that she was comfortable, not being dragged around painfully. He saw a few stalls that sold a few trinkets and street food. "Are you hungry?" He asked, there was also a few vendors that sold freshly baked bread. He always loved the sweet smell of baked goods, as much as the street food was cheap but he always saved up enough for his favorite, cinnamon rolls. He was feeling a bit hungry, but he wasn't going to say anything to Lora.

[Lora]

Garland said Lora could keep the handkerchief so she stuffed it into her pants pocket. The handkerchief didn’t quite fit so the end hung out creating a colorful contrast to her plain white outfit. Garland took her hand and led her into the crowd. Lora assumed he was leading her to the eggs. The street had a stone road so it Lora was no longer kicking up dirt and while there were more people than in the side street it wasn’t overly crowded. Lined on either side of the street were stands that sold all kinds of things. The items being sold ranged from weapons to baked goods and the stands were all set up slightly different from the last one. While each stand had a similar design they all also had a bit of creative flare in them. Lora loved looking at the many beautiful things being sold. The smells were also amazing. A mix of various delicious foods filled the air with a pleasant aroma. Between the merchants yelling about how good their products are, the various animals and the hundreds of people in the street the bazaar to be a fairly loud place to be but Lora actually enjoyed the sounds. The liked to think that each of these sounds were the sound of people liking out their lives. As Garland led her by the hand Lora was glad he didn’t go to fast. Lora had never had much stamina and while running long distances was out of the question even a fast pace for a long time would tire her. The pair weaved between the people and Lora was careful to keep her eyes looking lower than the average eye height so as not to use her Konti gift on random people. Some of the thing that were being sold were things Lora had never seen before and as she and Garland walked down the crowded road she tried to figure out what some of them were. She was suddenly pulled out of her mind by Garland who had asked if she was hungry. Lora thought for a second before answering. “Hmm, yes actually.” Her hunger probably came from the delicious smells because, having eaten before going out, she should still be full. “Do you want to eat something here?” She asked him her eyes lighting up. She barely got to eat anywhere but at her home so the prospect of eating here seemed very enhancing. “What do you want to eat?” She said stopping and looking around at all the different venders. Because she had stopped suddenly in the middle of the road a few people had to quickly turn so they didn’t run into her or Garland. “Where do you want to eat?” There were so many different options Lora could see from this spot alone she couldn’t possibly decide.