“Hey, mister, how much are these apples?”
Sitting on a small mat where he had arrayed a number of fruits and vegetables he had for sale, the man looked up as someone called out to him. A young girl had suddenly appeared to sit in front of him. She wore a long, soft-brown robe that covered her from head to toe and a large bag on her back. She also held a staff that was far too large for her. On the end of her staff hung an old-fashioned lantern, though it wasn’t lit at the moment. She must have been a traveler.
Bright green eyes peered out from the shadow of her hood, together with a friendly smile.
“You alone, little girl?” the man asked, somewhat disconcerted by the way she stared directly at him. She seemed far too young to be out traveling the highways alone.
Honestly, among all the people that came to this market nestled beside the highway, it wasn’t common for kids her age to be traveling alone, but it wasn’t unheard of. Normally he wouldn’t bother to involve himself, but there was something about this girl that made him want to help.
But the girl shook her head, pointing behind her. “No, I’m with my uncle. He’s shopping over there.”
Looking through the crowd, he saw she was pointing at a man wearing a heavy black robe. He was at a stall selling preserved foods and seasonings, so was likely restocking on food for their journey.
That discovery was enough to help the man finally relax into a smile. Being as stern-faced as he was, he was often told his smiles made him look like a bandit about to rob someone, but the girl didn’t seem bothered by it as she looked over the various fruits.
“I’d like one of those oranges too. These last a few days, right?”
“An apple and an orange, then? You’re my first customer today, so here, have a wood peach on me too.”
After placing her chosen fruit into her bag, he accepted her money and then handed over a wood peach that was too ripe to sell.
“Thanks!” The girl gave a bright smile as she stared at the fruit, the size of her own hand, before taking a big bite. Judging by the way she danced a bit on the spot, he figured she quite liked it. The man couldn’t help but smile at her adorable reaction. Though even this more natural smile still was more reminiscent of a mountain bandit than a merchant.
“Misha, I told you to wait quietly for me.” A man stepped up behind her as she indulged in the fruit. It seemed her guardian had finished his shopping.
“I was still where you could see me,” she protested the newcomer’s scolding, spinning around as he poked her in the back of the head.
“Sorry she bothered you,” he said next to the man, ruffling the girl’s hair. He had the same beautiful green eyes she did.
“Oh, she wasn’t a bother at all. She’s actually been a great advertisement.” The grocer shook his head with a shrug.
As he said, while his fruits and vegetables hadn’t been getting any attention before, there were now many people lining up to check what he had to offer. Seeing how delighted the girl was when eating one of his fruits, the others passing by had to wonder if they were really as good as she made them seem. A steady stream of people were now buying fruit, indulging in the taste as they went on their way.
“Uncle Ryne, that hurts!” The girl finally broke away from her uncle’s grip. The sudden motion pulled back her hood, revealing a head of beautiful long golden hair. The color was pale enough that depending on the angle of the morning light, it sometimes came across as silver. For a moment, the vendor felt like he could see a rainbow in the light filtering through it.
“Wow, what beautiful hair,” he let slip, getting a shy giggle from her.
“Thank you. And thanks again for the fruit, mister. Bye!” The girl pulled her hood back up before giving him a small wave, her uncle leading her away.
Or so he thought. But then the young man said something that made her dash back.
“Hey mister, your stomach hurts, right? If you don’t do anything about it, it’ll just get worse, so here! As thanks for the peach, you can have this.” She handed him a small paper bundle.
“Pills?” he asked, looking inside.
“Yeah. My uncle’s an apothecary. The stuff he makes is really good!” As the man stared in surprise at the bundle in his hands, the girl waved again and ran back to her uncle. “Make sure you take two with every meal until you run out!” she shouted as she caught up before she walked away for real.
The grocer watched the odd pair until they disappeared into the crowd.
“You’re a lucky guy, you know. That apothecary is really good. I was at the same inn as him last night, and I heard the innkeeper thanking him for how much his medicine helped her,” the next customer in line said, bringing the man’s attention back to the bundle in his hands.
Their town had an apothecary of its own, but medicine was quite expensive, so people paid a visit only when things got really bad. It was true he had been dealing with a bit of stomach pain recently, but it was still tolerable, so he had decided to wait and see if it would get better on its own. The peach he had given the girl was something he had brought along for his own lunch, thinking it would be something gentle on his stomach.
“A peach I wouldn’t even be able to sell turned into medicine,” he muttered, slipping the bundle of pills carefully into his pocket.
What was it dad always used to say? “Be nice to people. It’ll help you out in the future.” I laughed when I was a kid, not knowing what he meant...
He decided today would be a good day to pass that lesson on to his own son together with the story of how he got this medicine, and he turned his attention back to his business.
“Do you think he’ll actually take the medicine?” Misha asked, pulling an apple out of her bag and handing it to Ryne.
“Who knows? It looked to me like his gastritis was pretty bad, so I imagine he will,” he replied offhandedly before biting into the apple.
“Oh. Okay,” Misha said, pulling out her own snack, but after thinking for a moment, she slipped it back into the bag. She still had the lingering flavor of that peach on her tongue and wanted to savor it for a bit longer.
When they had been passing through the market yesterday, Misha couldn’t help but take notice of the man. His complexion had been really bad, and he’d looked totally worn out. He’d even held his hands over his stomach, probably without realizing it. It wasn’t a stretch to guess there was something wrong in his gut. The way he’d winced from time to time made it seem like he was in fairly bad shape.
As she’d been thinking this, a young boy on some errand or other tripped and fell right in front of him. Misha had yelped in surprise, but just as the boy seemed ready to burst into tears, the man had leaped to his feet and moved to help. Despite the pain he must have been feeling, it didn’t slow him down in the least. His stern face softened a little as he tried to console the boy, gathering up his now scattered belongings. As the boy started to calm down, the man said something Misha couldn’t quite catch while he put a small orange in the boy’s hands. Most likely he’d said something like “Good boy” or “You’re a tough kid” to praise him for fighting back the tears. The boy wiped those tears from his face, giving the man a nod and a smile before walking off. It was a truly heartwarming scene.
Or it would have been, if it hadn’t been followed by the man returning to his shop and crumpling in agony.
The sudden movement must have taken his stomach by surprise, and he was already in pain just from standing. He can’t be feeling well.
The man sat holding his gut for a long while, finally lifting his head once the pain subsided. There was a hollowness in his expression as he continued to man his shop. Then suddenly realizing Ryne had left her behind, Misha had run to catch up with him, thinking of what she could do to alleviate the shopkeeper’s suffering. While they had been out shopping today, she had come up with a plan.