Chapter Text
It was market day - the best day of the month.
Akiko ran down the stairs, ignoring her disgruntled elder sister who snapped at her, “You are sixteen years old, Akiko! Act your age!”
But whether she was sixteen or six and a half, not even her bossy sister could quash her excitement about market day.
Akiko’s mother smiled at her from the front door. Akiko loved the way her mother looked on market morning: a bag slung over each shoulder, her apple red hair pulled back in a ponytail and her only hairpin tucked behind her ear - “A gift from a dear friend,” she’d once told her girls, a fond look in her eyes. Akiko wished she could meet the person who made her mother smile like that.
“Ready to go, Akiko?”
Akiko beamed at her mother. “Yes, mama. I’m ready!”
As they walked down the road together, Akiko was grateful that Kit had decided to stay behind with grandfather. (Though she couldn’t imagine spending the morning with him was very entertaining. All he ever wanted to do was play cards and yell at Kazuki.)
Akiko loved any alone time she could get with her mother - between working at the pharmacy, house calls, and preparing for Kit’s upcoming wedding, there were very few one-on-one moments to be had.
“Akiko, can I give you a task?” Her mother asked as they walked. “During a slower time, would you please go check with Alaistar to see if he has any more pink pearls? I know we’ve practically bought him out, but Kit is being rather - picky.” She sighed. “She needs at least four more.”
Akiko rolled her eyes. “She was complaining to me last night about how they were all too oblong. I told her it’s not like Taketsu will care if she doesn’t have perfectly round pearls for her headpiece, he’d probably marry her even if she wore dirty pebbles on her head. She kicked me out of the room.”
Akiko’s mother smiled patiently. “She’s anxious. It’s normal for a bride, especially as young as she is.”
“Maybe you should have told her she wasn’t allowed to marry until she was forty instead of twenty,” Akiko said.
Her mother laughed, a lovely and rare sound. “Knowing Kit, it probably wouldn’t matter how old she was. Either way, it’s our job to ease her worries as much as we can.” She adjusted one of the straps of her shoulder bags, holding steady eye contact with Akiko. “I’m sure Alaistar would love to see you. Will you do that for me, please?”
Akiko breathed out hard through her nose, but she couldn’t hide her smile at the thought of the funny old man who had already sold them an obscene amount of pink pearls over the past two months. He was a great conversationalist and often let her have the broken pearls to grind down and sell.
“Of course, mama.”
“Thank you, love.” Her mother put a gentle hand on top of her head, smoothing down her dark hair. “You’ll understand when it’s your turn to marry, I’m sure.”
Akiko shook her head. “When I marry, I’m going to wear pebbles in my hair just to prove she’s making a big fuss for nothing.”
Her mother laughed again, and Akiko couldn’t believe her luck at having gotten two laughs in the same conversation.
They reached the market the same time they always did - before the bustle of people arrived, before the good-natured haggling and children pleading for sweets - when the market was quiet. It was Akiko’s favorite time. She loved the flutter of anticipation in her stomach, wondering what fascinating customer she would get to meet today.
They filed in behind their rented stall, and Akiko watched as her mother meticulously set out her wares for display. She noticed that this time they had brought almost double the amount of teas that they normally did - that was good. The roka tea blend was usually the first item they ran out of.
People slowly started to make their way into the market; a few of the regular customers stopped by and grabbed their usual order. The tall man with acne got his pearl powder - “I’m seeing a difference!” he said proudly, and Akiko agreed; the tiny woman with pain in her hands restocked on her regular willow and chamomile blend; the twin sisters who giggled shrilly every time a man passed bought them out of their lavender tea.
Nothing was out of the ordinary - except Akiko did see a man covered in tattoos, and in that moment she vowed to get at least one of those in her lifetime for how lovely and exotic they looked - and the sun rose higher in the sky as noon approached. Akiko was shooed away to go get the pearls as the heat came on and people scurried back to their houses for a cool reprieve and a little lunch.
Alaistar wasn’t at his stall today, but his nephew Ezrah was there in his stead. Akiko had met Ezrah only a few times before, and she loved his pleasant smile and the way his freckles took over his cheeks.
“Hullo,” Ezrah said pleasantly, leaning forward on his table. “Akiko, right?”
Akiko was taken aback. “Um - yes,” she said slowly. “Nice to see you again - Ezrah.”
“Ah, you remember my name!” Ezrah beamed so brightly Akiko couldn’t help but return the smile.
“Of course,” Akiko said. “You remembered mine. It would be rude of me to forget.”
Ezrah chuckled to himself before gesturing at the table in front of him. “What can I get for you today?”
“I’m looking for pink pearls,” Akiko said. “I know we’ve pretty much bought you out, but my sister needs perfectly round pearls for her wedding and we’re only about a week away.”
“Hmmmm.” Ezrah scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Let me see what I can find.”
Quarter of an hour and good dose of well-mannered flirting later, Akiko left the stand with two small satchels: one containing the six roundest pink pearls the two of them could find, and the other full of broken and reject pearls to be made into powder later.
She made her way back to her mother through the thin crowd, sliding back behind into their stall, holding up the bag of wedding pearls.
“Mama, look at these and see what you - ”
Akiko stopped. Her mother was still. Very, very still. She looked up to her mother’s eyes and followed her gaze to a man standing on the other side of street. He was a short man, with stark white hair and dressed in traveling clothes that looked almost brand new. Akiko wouldn’t have stared at him so long except - he was staring back.
Slowly, he approached them.
The man spoke so quietly Akiko almost didn’t hear him speak her mother’s name.
“Shirayuki.”
He stood in front of their table, and up close Akiko saw kindness in his face. He was almost familiar to her, and the blue of his eyes reminded her suddenly of her sister, Kit. Growing up Akiko had always been jealous of her sister’s bright eyes, though her mother had often assured Akiko that her eyes were “golden brown and warm and lovely,” and that was just as good as Kit’s vibrant blue.
The man placed a few coins onto the table.
“Just a tea blend,” he said softly, and Akiko heard her mother swallow beside her.
“Any preference?” her mother asked, much too softly.
The man smiled. “Something to calm my nerves.”
Akiko reached out and grabbed a small satchel of their new chamomile blend, something they’d come up with to give Kit when her wedding worries were the most aggravated.
“Here,” she said, holding it out to him. The man’s gaze came to rest on Akiko’s face, the slightest bit of surprise mixing with his polite smile.
“Thank you,” he said gently. He turned back to her mother, and Akiko was close enough to feel her trembling.
Her mother nodded at him. He nodded back.
He hesitated.
And then he walked away, blending in with the passerby. He was gone. Akiko turned.
“Mama?”
Her mother had a faraway look in her eyes - a different faraway than when she spoke about the hair ornament, and much sadder.
“Who was that? Mama?” Akiko pressed, concerned.
Her mother shook herself, patting her cheeks vigorously and turning to Akiko with wide eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Akiko. What did you say?”
“Who was that man?”
Her mother’s eyes glassed over, and suddenly she busied herself placing her wares haphazardly into her bags.
“I used to know him,” she answered quietly. She placed each bag over her shoulders again. “I think we’re done for the day. Let’s go home, Akiko.”