Chapter 16

Towns were lively places since immemorial times, and Basin Town was no exception to that statement. From Yellow Leaf village, Basin Town was almost two hours away on foot, or even less if you were fit and liked to walk.

For fragile (useless) people like me that sweat with a mere five-minute walk, there was the not comfortable ride by donkey cart that lasted a bit more than one hour.

More than one hour of feeling my butt splitting in half!

The thought that we would have to return on the same thrice damn cart made me pale and desire I was dead. I was seriously considering walking back. Who cared if we arrived late at night! As long as I could still keep my butt intact and functional.

"You ok?" Ethan worriedly asked. He most likely took notice of my suffering countenance.

"Very fine." I replied, gritting my teeth as I pounded my lower back right after we climbed down the cart.

He waited for me to rest for a bit before speaking again. "Come, I'll take ya to the shop first. When you're done, come look for me at Son&Son Carpentry." Smoothly grabbing my hand, he led me through the already boisterous streets.

Peddlers were yelling their wares. Customers were walking here and there, shopping this and that. A few humble shops were selling hot food for breakfast, filling the street in mouthwatering smells.

It seemed there was a school in Basin Town as I saw fathers or mothers hand in hand with their kids carrying a bag, holding their books.

Glancing at Ethan, I could imagine he would have looked like those kids many years ago if his parents were alive. But there were no ifs in this life. And having his parents would not have guaranteed his attendance to school.

They had been poor back at that time, too.

After a short walk, we arrived at the embroidery shop. Ethan did not stop to enter. He dropped me in front of the shop and ran into the throng of people, quickly disappearing in it. He was probably running late for his job.

I took a deep breath and entered the establishment. A bell rang the moment I opened the door, and the noisiness from outside got insulated as soon as I closed it.

It was as if I entered another world. The world of threads and delicate designs by the looks of it. There were a few handkerchiefs, pillow cases, curtains, and even embroidered clothes on display in the shop.

"Hello?" I called out after a while had passed, and there was no one to receive me. If I were a customer, I would not patronize this embroidery shop for not having anyone on the counter ready to attend customers.

Finally, when I called out for the fifth time, someone's footsteps sounded. A plump middle-aged woman appeared from behind the curtain that divided the storefront with the back.

"Hi, welcome, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Mrs. Priddy, how may I help you?"

"A man came yesterday showing you a handkerchief, and you wanted to interview me..."

"Oh! Yes! So you must be Mrs. Edris, the one who made that handkerchief!" Mrs. Priddy jumped in delighted surprise.

Mrs. Edris who? Me? Since when? More like, whose surname that was? Perhaps… My, Ethan really wanted to make this a running matter. Should I be happy or not? To know they really wanted to make me stay in their house. Permanently.

"Oh my! You also did that embroidery in your blouse?"

Putting aside the surname thing, there was a reason I wore the only embroidered blouse today: to promote my craft. The handkerchief I made would forever remain in Ethan's hands as he looked very reluctant to part with it when I asked him about it.

"That is right. The thread was a bit on the low quality side, but I still tried my best." Mrs. Priddy was an expert as she nodded, agreeing the thread was a bit lacking, but she looked very satisfied with what I did with that lacking thread.

"I still would like for you to take a test if it's no problem." Mrs. Priddy decided.

I, of course, had no problem and accepted. I needed to make money, so it would be nice if this lady gave me a job. Past the curtain, we went up two flights of stairs, down a hallway and into a room that had desks, spools of various types of thread, and of course fabrics cut in perfect squares.

"This is the sample. Use only these colors and this type of thread. You can begin."

The sample was a simple white handkerchief with colorful flowers in a corner and a name in the other. It looked like a personalized handkerchief. Anyway, I just had to focus on the test.

I decided to use a mix of yellow colors for the flowers, green for the stems and leaves, and a pastel yellow for the name to not obstruct the flower design. Finally, I used white thread around the edges to make it more presentable. Despite the tedious process, I did it relatively quickly.

"I am done." I announced at the focused Mrs. Priddy who had remained in the room, embroidering some pillow cases.

She sharply looked up, then blinked to come out from her focused state. "Let me see." She stretched her hand. Handkerchief in hand, she started inspecting it and nodding along. "The stitches aren't so complicated, but they somehow enhance the finesse of the flowers making them look more delicate than they normally are without bordering on life-like. You are very good at embroidering flowers."

"Thank you." How would I know if I was only good with flowers? It was mere coincidence I discovered I was good at embroidering after becoming an amnesiac.

"You might have noticed that these are personalized handkerchiefs," Mrs. Priddy sighed and went on to share some gossip.

"The truth is that we need to make one hundred of these in a week for an urgent order from one of our most important clients. The young lady in charge of this order recently quit because another embroidery shop offered her a higher salary."

"She was ambitious but only mildly talented; that's why, apart from the base salary she received here, her commissions were a bit on the low side as her technique was somewhat lacking and I was afraid to give her more complicated orders."

"I wanted to trust her with this urgent order because she was quite fast in her embroidering despite the low quality. But, before I could even make a peep, she packed up and left."

"I approve of your talent and place my trust in you, Mrs. Edris. The question is if you want to take up this challenge as your first job. I can provide you with the fabric and thread, though that will be discounted from your commission."

"From the fifty coins being paid for this order, five will be discounted for the materials, plus the thirty percent the shop normally takes from each order. It's the same for all employees, so don't think you're being discriminated for being new."

"The important thing here is the quality of your job, and how many orders you take to increase your commissions so you can add to your ten-coins monthly salary." She finished explaining

The deal actually sounded very tempting.

If I was employed by this embroidery shop, I would receive a good base salary. However the real money-making deal in this business were the orders I could be entrusted with. The more orders I take, the more commission I could pocket.

Of course, I also had to make a good job to keep clients, get the attention of new ones, and create my own clients portfolio. Like that, even if I leave the shop in the future, I could still be asked for pieces of embroidery.

With this urgent order, out of the fifty coins the client was paying, five were being discounted for the materials, like the fabric, needles, and thread; and fifteen coins were discounted as the thirty percent the shop takes as the right to use the shop's name to promote my crafts.

Embroidery shops were mostly a niche to discover talents and promote oneself; which was good for my situation.

Although the order was a bit hurried, I thought I could make it on time. No, I HAD to make it on time for the sake of those coins. I ignored if it was a lot as I had no sense of the value money had or prices in the market. But, I suppose thirty coins was better than nothing.

"Deal!" I nodded, accepting the terms and the urgent order. Mrs. Priddy walked out of the room, and came back with a contract in hand. I could luckily read what it said, and after making sure it was all clear, I signed my name: Isabelle Edris.

To advance with the job, I started working right then and there in the quiet atmosphere of the shop. Finishing my fifth handkerchief, Mrs. Priddy told me to take a lunch break.

Once I stopped, I felt my tensed muscles loosening up and hurting. I pounded my sore back and shoulders as I walked out the shop. Ethan carried our food, so I had to go look for the carpentry he works at.

Son&Son, or something like that.