"How the hell am I supposed to do this?" Caia voiced her frustration.
She had steeled her resolve and approached the few people she could find, but to no avail.
She truly felt all of this was worthless and that, at this point, they would surely starve to death.
This ultimately led to her voiding the idea and stopping trying.
After all, what good will come even if she succeeds? Working below minimum wage for a random person, in no way, could end well. Either they would be abused to oblivion, or they would, by default, starve to death due to the meagre incomes they would be rewarded.
She had been wandering through the streets for some time, choosing to loiter around the region.
Walking past rows of old houses, she chuckled internally in amazement at how the people held such buildings together with sheer will and determination.
The houses were completely worn down, their wooden framework had turned into a charcoal black with the slanted roofs gaped with holes. But even so, the houses had persisted, partly out of luck and partly out of the intense efforts of its owners.
Her focus shifted elsewhere as she observed the daily lives of the people, whether it be playfulness exuded by the children playing in the street, their mothers standing not far from them as they conversed and laughed about everyday matters or the extreme focus of the group of men playing cards at a corner of the street.
No matter the circumstances, people had tried to live the best of their lives. The strength showed by the townsfolk ameliorated their dire situations, Caia laughed to herself as she witnessed the seemingly adequate and fulfilling lives of the people. So much so, that she felt envious of their hope and perseverance.
Moving further, she arrived at the end of the street and had to make a choice as the road further diverged into two directions.
She turned right, hoping to find something, she noticed a larger density of people than before.
She eyed around the crowd before finding a group of girls; they seemed to hover over their crying friend, trying to console her. She didn't know what had happened to her and obviously couldn't ask.
She sympathized with the girl before moving on, but just then Caia made eye contact with one of them, unsure of what to do, she tried to avert her eyes, but at that moment, the girl who was covered from head to toe in such sweltering heat, smiled at her.
She smiled back. Albeit delayed or embarrassed, but she still smiled.
She didn't know why, but for some reason, she felt a sense of comfort. This gave her the meagre confidence required to carry forward, leading her to an opening to a bazaar which reminded her of an expansive ballroom what would emerge from a narrow corridor. Truly a sight to behold she thought as she gleamed.
She never feigned surprise at the lack of shops in the so called "market" region. It looked more like a open ground then a market. After some aimless wandering she finally stumbled upon something.
"To display it openly like that, I wouldn't be surprised if it got stolen." She said eyeing the meat shop at the centre of the plaza before ultimately making a quick exit after feeling embarrassed.
Scurrying away, she found a promising sight. Was it a store? But it looked more like a shack.
She was eyeing at it regardless. Her eyes were focused on the expensive cloth present inside the makeshift shop of corrugated metal sheets with a deteriorating blue color and top shutters that were on their last hinges.
Caia was in mirth at the sight of this, though such materials would not be so easily accessible, let alone affordable, but the case was different here.
The prices were too low. This was in no way in benefit to the seller. What was this guy thinking?
"Excuse me, uh, could I request to see some of that cloth, please?".
The store owner agreed, albeit expressing annoyance. He looked around the shop, almost in a daze almost as if he were the customer.
After a short while, he finally landed his hand on one of the compartments in the shop and took out a piece of Charmeuse silk.
But something felt off about it, she enquired about the prices, and needless to say she was confused regarding the pricing.
"Uh, may I ask a question?" Caia said in a perplexed tone.
"This feels like relatively high-quality silk. Why are you selling it at such a low price?" Although Caia's question was out of genuine curiosity, the question garnered an angry response from the store owner.
"You damn scallywags never learn a thing, do you?", his tone grew more aggressive.
"Excuse me?"
"Now, now, would you rather walk away and never show your face again? It is quite difficult to sell my merchandise when people are you are QUESTIONING my fares. You do not have the slightest idea of how hard this was to acquire.
"I was just ask-"
"What do you mean you were curious? You are questioning the authenticity of my merchandise." He grew louder and more furious with each sentence.
"What? No, I didn't intend to degrade you." Her responses were being overshadowed by the loud comments thrown by the store vendor.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH TIME IT TOOK TO SET UP THIS STORE?" The store owner got more aggressive, pointing the blame at Caia.
His voice was near shouting as he yelled at her. Caia slowly grew more impatient.
"Ok, mister please calm down, I had no such intention so stop shouting and making a scene."
"What? Do you intend to intimidate me now? Well how abo-
"I do think that is enough for now,, A man stepped into the conversation.
"Do tell me, Mister Mercer, if that is even your name, where did the entire Mercer family suddenly go? It appears as if they disappeared suddenly, and you emerged as the new owner of the store." The man's voice was calm, but it had a tinge of spite entangled in it.
"HUH? Tell me, Alkeid, who are you to step into this conversation?"
"You know, Mr Mercer, your father introduced me to his son a few months prior to this."
The shop owner grimaced at his words, "So what? Think you can blackmail me, huh?"
"No, Mr Mercer, after all, you aren't even his son. I still remember when he introduced me to his son, his blonde hair and blue eyes that reflected his own."
Caia glanced at Alkeid, then turned to the shop owner, acknowledging his black hair and hazel eyes that greatly contrasted with the details provided by Alkeid.
"YOU LITTTLE-"
The store owner argued no further knowing it was a losing battle, he quietly retreated to the back of the store, "Damn retards...".
The man turned his focus towards Caia, introducing himself as Alkeid Reid Graham.
"So, what were you looking at that got him so fired up?" Alkeid asked as he let out a small laugh and drew in closer.
"Nothing, it's just that I was surprised that such quality of material is present here. Such materials shouldn't usually be present in such an area. So, I thought I could ask him about it, but it didn't turn out great, I guess." Caia murmured.
"You seem quite knowledgeable about such matters," Alkeid remarked in a playful tone.
"Well, uh, yes, you can say that."
"Any particular reason for it, if I may ask?" He formed a smile as he looked at Caia
"..."
"....?" Caia grew noticeably uncomfortable.
"Well, I have worked in the textile industry before, so that could be the reason for it." Alkeid's face lit up upon hearing this, as if an owner had finally found his lost dog. He pressed her with further questions.
"How long had you worked for? Which firm was it? How well-versed are you with the business?"
Caia drew back and replied whilst making haste, "Oh, nothing much, my hometown is that of weavers, so I know a thing or two".
"Woah, isn't that just convenient! We needed a person who is knowledgeable in textile merchandise for our business! I suppose you don't have a place currently, as it seems you are from out of town. Would you mind taking a look at our operation at least?"
Caia was taken aback by how Alkeid was aware of them not belonging to the town, "Well, I am sorry, but I'm not traveling alone. So, I cannot single-handedly accept your offer." Her tone seemed a little hesitant as she answered.
She wasn't sure what to do. It felt too erratic to trust a random man, so much to work for him.
On top of it, it just seemed too good to be true. She simply didn't feel right doing this; rejecting it felt like the only correct option.
Surprisingly, Alkeid did not press further, "Well, that's quite a shame, but do reach out to us if you change your mind. We have our small establishment down the street from here, We will be ecstatic if you do work with us."
"We?" Caia thought to herself as she watched Alkeid slowly turn back and walk off into the street.
She decided to head back to the meetup spot where Ethan had asked her to. Soon enough, she finally spotted him stomping forward towards the designated place.
Caia's mind was still cluttered with thoughts regarding Alkeid's offer, her consciousness raced with questions about whether she had made the right choice or missed a great opportunity that could have benefited them greatly, but she internally believed that she had made the right choice.
"This town is full of a bunch of freaks," cried Ethan furiously.
"I can finally agree with you on something. Besides, I couldn't really find anything, but I came into contact with someone who said they could offer me a place to work out of the blue."
"WHAT? OK WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"I turned him down, of course."
"What the hell, Caia! That may as well have been our ticket to not starving to death." Ethan's voice writhed with disappointment and irritation, "Caia, answer me seriously, for the love of god, this is NOT a joking matter."
"I already told you that I declined. What else would I have done?"
"What do you mean, 'what else you could have done', listen to this, maybe, somehow you could have ACCEPTED HIS OFFER?" Ethan was furious and glaring at Caia, contemplating why she had made such a choice.
"Ethan keep your damn voice low, you don't have any right to yell at me."
Ethan's expression grew weary as he assessed the dire situation, "Ok, do you have the slightest Idea where he might be? Or ANYTHING that you know???"
Ethan concluded that if they hurried, they could still secure their positions for working with the merchants.
Caia nodded.
"Alright then, get moving because I have no intention of starving to death." The remark was not well received by Caia, but she ultimately decided to ignore it.