Chapter 43: A Bit Of Luck
Two girls walked on a dusty trail covered with flints and very rare patches of grass. Sometimes fields sandwiched the path, at other times it was shiny colorful houses. The settlement had increased over the course of years, but greenery lingered even in the most contested parts of the village.
The houses seemed to be built around the mini farm fields. Arnacia curiously looked. Even the simplest of gently swaying cypress trees were a sight to hold in her heart.
"What's wrong with linking arms?" Naomi interrupted the serenity for the third time. "See, there is no one here. Don't be shy now." She tried to grab a hold of Arnacia's arm.
"Didn't you say that the market was far away? I can already see the decorations." Arnacia didn't let Naomi grab her arm. She pointed out towards a bunch of colorful origami cubes hanging on the door of a house.
"Those are the Ryeles. They always put decorations in advance." Naomi said. "Look beyond their house. You can see decorations on the street. It's still far away."
"No, it's very close." Arnacia immediately took longer and faster steps. She could only see small colorful papers hanging in the air from this distance.
"We should still hold hands," Naomi strode to match Arnacia. "There will be a lot of people. We might get separated."
"Isn't there another way to your house?" Arnacia stopped. "You did good when you hinted to me about Veon, but you were making it too obvious. I would rather avoid people I don't remember."
"That is the only way." Naomi reached out for Arnacia's hand. But again, she couldn't get a hold. "But we are not going to my house first. Let's do the shopping first."
"Are you sure?" Arnacia couldn't believe it.
"Yes, let's finish the shopping first." Naomi walked ahead.
"Are you not going to wait for me?" Arnacia shook her head. She could roughly guess why Naomi insisted on shopping first. "I might get lost." She extended her hand and teased.
Naomi turned head a little. She wasn't sure why Arnacia said those words. But just as she saw the extended hand, her eyes lit up and her whole body turned 360 degrees. She held the opportunity with both hands and simply smiled.
The two girls quietly walked towards the center of the village while holding hands. Sound of bustling soon entered their ears, and they saw many people. Above them hung color origami decorations such as cubes, pyramids, flowers, stars, and many abstract shapes.
Many stalls specifically sold origami decorations for houses. Arnacia saw the bunch of cubical grapes in one such stall and bought it. The shopkeeper folded the paper and handed it over to Naomi.
"Am I buying it from you?" Naomi said in an annoyed tone.
"No-no, I just thought you were close."
"Don't think too much and hand it to your customer." Naomi meanly said, and led Arnacia away.
Naomi carried a frown on her face throughout the shopping. She led Arnacia to various shops, and they bought ingredients for dinner and a few decorative origami and paper foldings. Luckily, she did not get a reason to scold another shopkeeper.
"Thank you," Arnacia said when they finished their shopping. She was holding two paper bags while Naomi held three.
"Let's go to my house now." Naomi's face was a lot better now that they were out of the main market. Only a few stalls were scattered around them now.
"I would love to visit your house, but before that can we make a quick visit to Lylia's house?" Arnacia requested. Her reasons were bold and clear. It was like hitting two birds with one stone. She could meet this girl named Lylia while lessening the time she would have to spend at Naomi's house.
"Lylia…" Naomi stared at Arnacia for a while. "I don't know," she smiled wryly. "If only I knew her family name."
"It's alright, we can visit her tomorrow." Arnacia secretly signed. She didn't believe in luck, nor could she pray for any miracle to happen. This was the ordeal she must face. Thus, she reluctantly followed Naomi, who walked a little ahead while humming a tune.
"Oh, wait!" Naomi suddenly stopped. "I think I know that brat." She pointed out to the group of customers at an ordinary looking stall. "Isn't that Harrell?" A hint of excitement was in her tone as she looked towards Arnacia. "He might know where Lylia lives."
"He must know." Arnacia saw hope. She readily walked in the pointed direction without knowing who exactly was Harrell.
***
Arnacia and Naomi could get Lylia's address from Harrell, who tried to avoid them but eventually gave the valuable information. Now they stood in front of a newly painted blue roofed house with white walls.
The house stood in between a huge purple field with an architecture no different from other houses - slanting roof with a chimney. But just by one look, the surrounding houses looked pale in comparison.
The girls could see big and small wooden storehouses on either side of the house. They walked inside the property through an open gate covered in purple flower vines. The path leading up to the front door was dotted with triangular stones.
At the door, they saw a man in a brown robe. The little hair that he had neatly covered his head. Apparently, he was sticking pieces of an origami mosaic on the wooden door.
"It's Mr. Elm Niro." Naomi hushed to Arnacia. "We are in luck!"
Was it luck?
'Lylia's mother doesn't like me, but her father would let me meet Lylia.' Arnacia remembered the exact words Archie said.
Hopefully it would be evening by the time this was over, Arnacia thought. Then it would be dark till she reached Naomi's house. And ultimately, she could make the excuse that it was getting late to leave Naomi's house quickly.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Niro." Naomi greeted. She did not waste any time either.
"Good afternoon," Elm Niro curiously turned to see his guest. "Oh, it's Naomi. How is your grandfather?" He asked with a smile.
"Hehe.. I just returned today." Naomi lifted her hand to scratch her head, but the bags didn't let her. "I was just going back to my house now."
"Pretty busy, I see." Elm Niro said. "And this must be?"
"This is Arnacia, Archie's sister. We are here to meet Lylia."
"What!" Elm Niro frowned all of a sudden. "Where's Archie?" He looked around. "Where is he?!" He demanded.
"He couldn't come-"
"Damn that bast- ahem!" Elm Niro interrupted Arnacia but halted mid-sentence to clear his throat. He looked at Naomi, then at Arnacia, and continued. "Seems like he knows Lylia has locked herself and he has such guts to send his sister. What is he scared of?! Why won't he visit Lylia?!" Elm's tone turned more and more angry. "He is less of a man than I thought he was!"
"Archie is injured.." Arnacia said.
"That, little girl, is no excuse for a man!" Elm Niro went inside the house and shut the door. A few pieces of origami fell from the sudden outburst.
"…" Arnacia didn't know what to say. Whatever the thing called 'luck' was, it surely didn't favor her.
"Guess you are going to dress as Archie after all." Naomi broke the silence. She wasn't sure whether to be happy about it. "And now you are coming to my house!" Suddenly she couldn't control her smile anymore.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FLYO
FLYO The story suddenly slowed down….
~
Guess how many days have passed in the novel! (Arnacia’s life is crazy busy. What can I do about it ^_*)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone