Ch - 5 The Weaver

The morning light hit Vars in the face, slowly but surely waking him up from his sleep in the old hut. He got up to see that William was already seated on a chair, dealing out the fresh fruits laid out in front of him.

Sensing noise behind him, William turned backwards.

"Seems like you're up. Must have been a tiring day for you. You were sleeping like a rock," William said with his signature smile plastered on his face.

Trying his best to keep his yawning face under control, Vars said, "It sure was, but I have to get used to that if I want to achieve my goal."

"And what is your goal?"

"To spread my stories to the entire world! I think everyone deserves to listen to these stories at least once in their lives. I think the experience you get from these can't ever be replicated in any other way. It's just something magical you only experience for the first time. And I don't think this should remain confined to any place or group of people."

"The whole world, huh? Well, that is certainly a very big goal, young man. It will definitely be very, very hard to do that, but I wish you all the best."

"Thanks, William. I appreci—" A loud growl from his stomach interrupted Vars.

"Ahh... Sorry, it's just that I didn't have any dinner yesterday."

William gently tossed him an apple and a strange-looking purple berry.

Vars put the berries in his mouth, and a strange sort of flavour exploded in his mouth. The best way to describe it would be like a juicy, berry-like banana flavour. Vars liked the flavour, so he kept on munching them. After that, he ate the apple, and his hunger was subdued for the time.

"I'm gonna walk around the village for some fresh air," Vars said before he headed out.

As Vars walked through the village, he could just feel the difference in the air he used to breathe in the city and the air he could breathe here. Although this body of his had never been to a modern city, his soul could somehow tell the difference.

Suddenly, he heard an ongoing discussion as he was nearing a turn.

"Do you think Cinderella's father is negligent? I mean, he didn't know about the situation at his own house and allowed Cinderella to be bullied. And if he did know, that's even worse because he didn't do anything to stop it," Joe the farmer said while loading some wheat onto his cart.

"That's a really good point! I didn't even think about it when listening," the former pastor, Lian, exclaimed.

Guso, who was sitting in his little shop nearby, upon hearing their conversation, joined in.

"Oh man, if I could just find a kind, good-hearted, and beautiful woman like Cinderella to marry, I wouldn't have to worry about anything for the rest of my life."

Joe looked over at his friend's face and hit him with a soft chuckle before saying, "You wish, man! If women like Cinderella were everywhere, all the men in the world would be a lot happier than they are now."

Joe's wife, who was helping him load the cart, overheard his comment and nudged his back. "And what is that supposed to mean? Men would be happier if all women were like Cinderella! You mean to say you would be happier with Cinderella rather than me, your wife? By your logic, I should say that if all men turned into the just and lawful prince, all the women would be a lot happier."

"Looks like someone is going to get chewed out once they get home," Vars thought before walking off.

"Oh, how am I going to get by this month! I have almost no savings left."

Vars heard a low groaning voice as he walked into another part of the village. He suddenly saw a very old shop in the corner of his eye. The voice originated from this place. He quickly went near it, and he saw a fiftyish-looking lady sitting with her head down on a pair of silver needles.

"Hello ma'am, you seem to be in a state of distress..." Vars walked up to her.

"And who are you again? I haven't seen your face before. Must be an outsider. What do you want with a poor old lady?" she said.

"Well, I just wanted to help you... if I can. It seems that you are in a tough situation. And you know... you should help people in need," Vars said.

She gave him a feeble smile and said, "You seem like a kind soul. I won't lie to you... I have been a cloth weaver for the better part of my life. It's everything I ever knew how to do. In the early days, people used to buy my clothes every day, and I didn't have to worry at all. But lately, the sales have been very lackluster. I would be lucky if I sell even one piece of clothing."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you know. A new shop has opened a little down the street, and everyone buys from them now. It's because they can prepare the requested clothes much faster than me since they have a team producing them. Efficiency is all the people want nowadays, so I can't do anything. I guess I just have to find another job if I want to sustain myself," she said sadly.

Vars felt really sad upon hearing her story. He felt bad that she could not pursue the thing she liked because of monetary constraints put onto her. But he had no way of helping her... Or did he? Suddenly, a thought struck him.

"Ma'am, do you have something I could maybe draw on?"

She looked surprised but handed him a piece of paper and a carved lead stone.

Vars immediately began to sketch a design.

The old lady curiously looked at what Vars was sketching, and she was surprised to see that Vars was sketching up a design for a dress. It had a lot of mistakes. It was obvious that he was not a designer, but to his credit, the dress looked really, really good.

It embodied the look of a noble's dress while somehow maintaining the image of a commoner. It looked beautiful and practical at the same time.

"This looks interesting..." This was the only thought running through Miss Sinu, the old weaver.

After a whole 20 minutes, Vars was done, and he proudly held his work up.

"Done!" he finally exclaimed.

Miss Sinu took the paper away from Vars and started to analyse the design. It looked really good. Although it would be hard to replicate, it wasn't impossible.

"Thanks a lot for the inspiration, young man..." She began to trail off. "I fear that the ladies of the village do not have the taste for a noble dress like this. They prefer a more simple and practical look rather than a glamorous dress like this."

"Oh, you don't recognise this dress, miss?" he asked, confused.

"No... Am I supposed to?" she asked.

"Were you present at the event that was held yesterday at night?"

"I was not. I have a habit of sleeping early, so I was not able to attend it. I did hear that it was very popular among the people though. All I hear is the people talking about some Cinderella girl..."

"Ah, it makes sense then, that she doesn't recognise it. If she had heard the story, she would have immediately matched it with the description I had told during the story," Vars thought. No wonder she didn't recognise Cinderella's royal dress.

"I just want you to trust me and make at least 10 copies of this dress, and I promise you they will all sell out," he said confidently.

Sinu looked hesitantly at the young man in front of her. She had just met him a while ago, and now she had to make a decision that might make or break her store. She didn't have much hope in the dress appealing to the ladies of the village, but when she looked at Vars, she just felt that what he was saying was right.

Deciding she had not much to lose anyway, she said, "All right, young man. I will take you up on your suggestion."