[Ovelia's POV]
The sizzle and smoke from the stall had pulled me in like a lifeline, the savory aroma so potent it drowned out the flutes and harps. I had been so captivated that I hadn't realized how far I'd drifted from the others until I was standing alone before the grill.
The shapes cooking there were strange and fascinating—long, tubular bodies with curious, curling tentacles, their surfaces blistering and turning a golden-brown. The vendor brushed them with a dark, glistening sauce that hissed and popped on contact, sending up fresh waves of mouthwatering smoke.
Then, the memory surfaced: a faded, water-stained illustration in a book I'd secretly read in the Timberline library. A squid.
"Hello, beautiful lady!" the male vendor said, his face breaking into a wide, friendly smile as he expertly flipped the grilling seafood. His teeth were very white against his sun-bronzed skin, and his eyes crinkled at the corners with genuine warmth.
Beautiful lady?
