She took that first step, and her entire body trembled.
The cart in front of her kept her on her feet.
The next step was easier, but her knees still shook.
The step after that even more so, and she stopped leaning on her cart so much.
The walk to the split in the river was much shorter than she remembered it as a child. It was so easy to just go. The sun was hot and shining right into her eyes, but she used the kohl powders her mama taught her to paint long ago to protect her eyes. The sands were dancing to a hot wind, but she had her mother’s old scarf to keep her long silver hair and neck protected.
With every step she took, she felt surer of her decision. She was doing this! She was going! She had never been to the neighbouring village, but she knew that all she had to do was follow the dry riverbed. When the sky darkened, Jun lit her mama’s old lantern where it hung off the cart to light her way.
By the time she saw lights and houses in the distance, the sun had long set.
Then she made it, but this was not a village. It was an entire town!
Instead of the single road that ran through her village there were at least a dozen. Instead of the empty and abandoned houses, all of these had opened doors and lights above them. Instead of the handful of villagers that went out at night to search for water and materials for their crafts, the main street was buzzing with so many people that Jun felt dizzy.
“Weaver!” somebody called out in the crowd and Jun stumbled.
She looked around but nobody caught her eye, though a few others looked at her. Then she saw a waving hand and a familiar face.
Marcus. He was a travelling merchant who hadn’t been to their village in years. Jun loved it every time he visited in the past with his many trinkets and useless knick-knacks that she spent all her coppers on. He had stopped visiting her village because Jun was the only one who ever bought anything from him and the sweat to travel there just for her was not worth it.
“I haven’t seen you in a long time! What brings you here?” Marcus circled his stall when she came up to him and then eyed her cart. “Trading?”
“Of course!” Jun lied through her teeth with a smile.
“You must have left when the sun was still up. Do you want some water?”
“How many coppers will that cost me?” Jun laughed but her box of water was empty where it hung on her belt. She wanted to drink, no matter how much it cost.
“For you? I’ll fill up your box for half a dozen.” That was a lot. Jun sometimes forgot how Casey pampered her by trading water for her broken weaves, old pottery, and finicky tastes.
“Twice then, please,” Jun handed over her box along with a dozen coppers.
He hid behind his stall and filled her box from a large cask, handed it over, and then refilled it once Jun had drained it. She took a few sips from the new one and Marcus grinned, wiggling his fingers. When Jun gave him the box back, he topped it up with a finger held to his curved lips.
Marcus was a good boy. He was too ambitious, but he was always fair to Jun. Too many times, he marked down the price for the glass figurines Jun bought from him. Too many times, he gave her a wooden puzzle box for free if she bought enough other things. He was too nice to her and probably that was why it took no sales pitch at all for Jun to empty half her purse and fill her cart.
“Do you want to pay a kid to run this down for you?” Marcus asked as he tied a delicate wooden piece in straw and twine. It looked like a companion to a puzzle piece Jun had purchased from him over two decades ago.
“You noticed my purse is still heavy?” Jun joked and fingered the feathers of a dream catcher. For that one, she wanted the sales pitch and the story. “How much was this one again?”
“You get one of the local kids to carry everything for you and I’ll throw it in for a copper only.”
“You make a tempting offer.”
“The ground is still hot. I don’t want my favourite customer to die of heat trying to carry all this back.”
“I’m not that old,” Jun scoffed, but she gave him an extra copper anyway.
Marcus grinned wide and said, “Leave your cart with me. I’ll get a kid to run it to you first thing when the sun sets tomorrow.”
Jun thought about having to drag the cart back, even at night, and wanted to swear. But this was her mama’s cart. She didn’t feel comfortable leaving it behind. “Hmm, maybe another time. There are other stalls I want to see.”
“They have nothing on me!” Marcus boasted with a grin. “But fine. I’ll get the kid to run them down in a new cart, but you won’t get to keep it!”
“You’re a breeze, Marcus.” Jun smiled at him. “Thank you. It’s always a pleasure.”
“And mine! I’m glad you finally made it out here. I’ve missed you.”
Jun tried not to take it as an insult, but she felt the shimmering anger try to return. He meant nothing by it, but it reminded her too much of Casey’s words. She bid him goodbye and went into the first tavern she found. Their cactus beer was too sweet for her tastes and the tortoise meat was too stiff, but they were both enough to strengthen her for an entire night of browsing the rest of the stalls.
The town was much livelier than her village and had many more things to offer and soon, Jun’s entire purse was empty save for a handful of coppers she had hidden in her shoe. Her cart, however, was much lighter with all of her weaves traded away.
When the sky to the east started brightening, it was time to go home.
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