The woman is walking to the checkout point, she adds a knife to her cart. Could a girl get any luckier? I can't help but smile. So much money. She'll spend as much fons as the Royals usually do.
A humanoid hawk creature flies through my door. It's a courier. They deliver messages for one kg of rice. They're addicted to it. They have limited intelligence and little understanding of personal wealth. It's a reminder about Mr Zwane's order due for collection tomorrow afternoon. It's a good thing I'm done with it. I just need to send a quick note to let him know it's ready for collection. I watch the humanoid dash out the window.
I stop dead in my tracks. No. You've got to be fricken kidding me! What?
"Excuse me! What are you doing?"
The stranger is quiet. His brows knit together as though he's deciding on how to answer. Or if he should answer. He's looking at me as though I'm not worthy of an answer. Of his time.
He... the stranger... is a little different. As though he's not originally from Noddon which is impossible because nobody knows our tribe even exists. He doesn't seem like he fits in at all.
Noddon is a nation of no more than five-thousand people, its surrounded by dark mysterious forests and clear beaches, which harbor the White and Tiger sharks.
I don't see how anyone can get past the mermaid, past the werewolf. Past the minokiwa always flying overhead. No Saboni would have the power nor brains to be that... sneaky.
Unwillingly, I obverve the contrast between the blue in his shoulder length dreadlocks and the silver of his eyes which have no whites, and dark-skin so flawless I'm convinced puberty was kind to him. He's dressed as though he's just come off the red carpet. Still, I don't appreciate that he's ignoring me. And stealing my customer.
He looks confused.
Then he sighs and keeps walking, guiding my rich customer out the door.
"Why are you trying to steal my customer?" I shout after him.
The stranger again just looks at me, an odd half-puzzled, half surprised look, then he tips his head back. And laughs. "Is it even possible for someone to steal their own mother?"
I scramble upright and run after him. "Who the hell are you?" I snap.
Both the stranger and his mother stare at me in disbelief.
Now I'm starting to think that I should know them. That they aren't used to people not recognizing them. He's definitely not a prince. I know all the Royals. I've never seen this guy before.
"What did you say?"
"I said..." I say each word clearly and slowly as though I'm talking to a mentally handicapped person. "Who are you and –"
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with my hearing, thank you very much," His tone is cutting. "What I don't hear is the way you're speaking to me. Nobody talks to me that way. Especially some village blacksmith."
He looks pointedly at my hair, and I suddenly remember I forgot to comb it this morning.
Then he studies my face with a surge of distaste. I'm uncomfortably conscious of my own make-up free face, naturally black lips and the stains I probably have on my face from wiping sweat with the back of the gloved hands I handle omuri with. Normally, I don't think twice about how I look when I leave home but now with his big eyes scrutinizing every inch of my face, I'm intimidated.
I become uneasy. I should have a sarcastic retort to his little speech by now. But I still can't seem to get my brain to function. I open my mouth to tell him where to get off, then pause.
There's a crowd surrounding us and they're all looking at me with disdain and murmuring harshly among themselves and I just know whatever they're saying (about me) is bad.
"Um...," I say, playing for time.
He stares at me. It's so intense that it's almost invasive. I feel heat crawl through my chest and spread to my neck. I start biting my bottom lip.
His eyes soften.
"Am I making you nervous?" he asks.
I'm thrown by his sudden show of concern.
"What?" I say it too quickly and accidentally bite my lip so bad I draw blood.
He flinches. "Are you okay?"
"What?" I ask again and laugh nervously and wipe my lips with the sleeve of my t-shirt.
"I'm confused. I...uh... I mean I'm fine. I'm fine."
"You certain?" he asks, worry creeping into his voice.
Okay, what the hell is happening? Is he bi-polar?
"Uh...Yeah sure. I'm great."
"O-kay," he says, his eyes lingering on my lips, then looks at his mother. "Let's go, mama."
I don't know why but I'm starting to get angry.
"Hey," I shout after him. "You said your name was?"
He pretends to mule over my question. I tense up when he smirks, hoping that the stranger won't comment on the quality of my interrogation skills. How can a complete stranger make me feel so inadequate?
"I didn't."
"Ugh," I say, disgusted.
"Imani...look, I..." He pauses long enough for my skin to start tingling with anticipation. "I'll see you later."
How does he know my name? I'll see you later. Is that a promise? I mean... I don't ever want to see him again. He's infuriating and not to mention a thief.
A white dragon steals my attention. Its making deep roaring noises, beautiful in its rawness. It has a way about it, an intelligence and grace. Its feet look like talons, sharp like my blades. Its eyes are lamp-like and red, cute as hell. Its body crafted from scales made of gold. They gleam in the sunlight. Gold streaks shoot through its wings as the stranger and his mother get on top of it.
The crowds mumbles their surprise. We've all heard of the White Dragon but none has been able to control it. Its the last of its kind. The most dangerous dragon in Noddon.
The dragon tosses its tail and up into the misty air it goes.
What the heck? This guy doesn't know me! He thinks because he's able to control the fanciest, strongest, most feared dragon he can just bully me?
And he has the nerve to just walk away when I'm talking to him? What a jerk. I stare at his dragon until it disappears beyond the clouds.
I drag myself back to my shop and can't stop cussing him. We'll see how well this is going to work out for him. No wonder Mama hates men, how infuriating.
Why are these people looking at me like that? They saw what he did!
When I enter, Kaseke is packing the items from the woman's cart into a shopping bag.
He's back way sooner than I expected but he smells nice, he's changed his clothes and even trimmed his beard.
"Hey," he says and immediately bursts into a smile, but it's hard not to notice the scrutiny and questions in his eyes.
"Today is a good day for you. Mr. Duma left such a generous tip, three-hundred fons. Why would you leave the money, and shop open? Where were you?"
"What? Let me see that." I force myself to meet his icy gaze and snatch both the fon notes and receipt from him. My breath stops.
I feel faint. "So he actually left money for the items and a tip. Who does that?"
"And forwarding address too."
My cheeks flame. "When the hell did he get to do all that? I was looking at him the whole time. And why didn't he say anything? I embarrassed myself running after him and yelling he stole my customer. I actually thought it was the infamous prince who's just opened a shop here. I thought he wanted to check out the competition."
"So." Kaseke cranes his neck and studies me with a knowing smile on his face. "You were looking at him the entire time he was here, huh? And yet. And yet you somehow missed the fact that there's two thousand fons in the cart."
I wish he'd stop looking at me like that. To escape his gaze I walk to the beverage table and pour myself a glass of water. My hands are shaking.
"What are you asking me?" My voice is sharp.
He comes over to where I'm standing and takes the receipt and money from me and puts them in the petty cash. He gives me a weird look before locking my petty cash in the safe. He walks back to me.
Kaseke pats my shoulder. "Now, Imani," he says. "I know how much you love money, and nothing distracts you from it." A pause. "Except, of course, a certain Mr. Duma ."
I fidget with a strand of my Afro and before I can think of an appropriate answer, there's the familiar 'ding' at the door announcing someone getting in.
My brother and I both look up at the same time, he looks at me and his eyes seem to be asking me if I know who might've just walked in. I shrug and we turn to see a lanky boy with way too many love bites on his neck. If I didn't know better I'd have thought he was bitten by bees, except bees only come out because of Kaseke and when the visions end, they also disappear.
"Ms. Ntola?" the delivery boy asks.
"Yes?" Kaseke asks, coming up and putting an arm around me. "What do you want with my sister?"
Then my brother looks the poor guy straight in the eye, unsmiling.
"Um..." the guy says, and hurriedly hands me a paper and pen. "Please sign here."
I do.
"H-here...you go," he says, handing me an envelope.
The second I take it, he looks at my brother one last time and then darts out the door. But not before I shoot him an apologetic look.
I look at Kaseke and point where the boy disappeared. "And that?"
He looks at the envelope instead and then strokes his beard thoughtfully and shrugs. I know what he's not saying – just open the damn thing, woman.
I hesitate. Maybe it's a customer who's so happy with my steels that he's decided to give me a bonus. Or perhaps it's a cheque for an advance for a new order. I take a huge breath and get a strange tingly feeling in my stomach. It's like a family of butterflies lives in it.
Could today get any better? I can't move. I don't even remember my name.
The silence drags on for a few seconds.