The town, or Zalcia as it was named, was like a myriad of Colours. There were no two buildings of the same shade of colour. Each house, statues and even the clothes worn by the locals were all unique and different in both style and tint. There were even a few shades unknown to me.
The Zalcian's ( locals of Zalcia) living there interacted with each other full of smiles and friendly teasing: like a family. Every street that Mia and I had passed through had been like a marketplace. Even well after twilight, people were bustling about, holding baskets woven out of some strange silky material and street vendors were shouting their wares.
Afraid of getting separated in the hustle bustle of Zalcia's busy streets, I had hoisted Mia back in my arms. Right now, she had her little arms around me in a chokehold. Surprisingly, Mia and I discovered that the Zalcian's spoke about every language known to me. Mia and I glance at each other. Both our eye were wide; spelling WOW.
At Zalcia's town gate, the three guards posted had welcomed them warmly and given them a plate each filled with slices of Puri. They'd explained that it was a custom of Zalcia to welcome guests with Puri, a sweet dish of puff pastry filled with a mixture of nuts sweetened with honey. Mia had to give her plate to me. She was still stubborn about only having chocolate so I had to enjoy two plates of puri all by myself. The guards had also given us an address. Which was where Mia and I were standing right now.
It was an inn. Lilac coloured with strange azure coloured flowers , spiralling petals and reddish-brown leaves in potted pots on each of the total 13 windowsills. Judging from the windows, it was a three storey building. It had an approximately five foot door (the same lilac hue) with strange carvings of a kind of cycle in which a humanoid shape seemed to keep loosing its shape. Ignoring the creepy art, I pull Mia closer and rap on the door with my knuckles. Almost instantly, the door yanks open and I'm greeted to the sight of an old woman's fierce judging face.
Silver-grey hair are knotted into a tight bun on top of her head, throwing her severe face into sharp definition. Her cocoa coloured eyes are framed by white eyelashes. A hooked nose rests on her oval face with pursed lips. "Well, are you gonna come in or are you gonna keep staring at me, you dingbats."she demands, her voice surprisingly gruff. I was expecting a nasal voice tone accompanied by a glare perhaps. Which really goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover.
Mia clutches my hand tighter and yanks. I fall back to earth; my thoughts abandoned.
"Ummm…Hi ma'am...I'm Alayna and this is my Mia." I introduce, feeling a little hesitant, "we're new here and we'd like to stay here for a few days while we find a permanent dwelling." "Then why are you still standing outside like fools? Come in." She chided, "and call me grams. I can't stand ma'am's." "Grams!" Mia exclaims, showing all her twenty teeth coupled with her puppy eyes.
Ouch. My heart.
Grams turns around slowly. Her eyes soften; in fact her whole face softens making her look like a doting grandmother. "Mia, was it? She inquires. "I'm Mia. Nice to meet you, Grams." She says, all bright smiles and sparkling eyes. "What a polite girl you are, Mia!" Grams exclaim. "Aunt Aaya taught me that." Mia tells Grams. I bristle. Grams is Grams to her not Gwams or something equally silly. But me? I'm not Alayna or even aunt but Aaya! Still. I sniff internally. "Your Aunt taught you well then."
I preen.
"Although she doesn't look like it."
Wait what?
"Excuse me, Grams but would have a spare room for us?" I interrupt, disgruntled by her observation, "and could it be a cheap one. I don't have much money on me." "No worries, girl." She assures. "We don't take money here but rather get paid in favours and chores." "Oh.. I see." I said, relived that I wasn't gonna have to haggle. My maths wasn't exactly good. Grams begins to lead the way, Mia attached to her side. I follow behind. "So what do I have to do then?" I ask. "You can come down in the morning and wash the breakfast dishes. If you're any good at cooking you can be assigned a cooking task or you can go out and buy vegetables for the kitchen. Every night, before you sleep you'll be tasked with cleaning your floor and your room."
Hmmm.. not a bad deal.
"And you needn't worry about Mia. There are a lot of children here that would love to make friends with her. She can play in the garden on the swings, eat lunch with me and sleep with you." Grams explained. We finally arrive at the door. Grams throws the door open. The room is furnished with one large bed, a washbasin at a corner and there's one quaint window that overlooks the inn garden. Mia and I enter and quietly shut the door behind us after Grams left. We barely take off our shoes before tumbling onto the bed and falling into a deep slumber.