Counting the Stars

Chapter 14 - When Stars Align

The morning sunlight pried through my tired eyes. Something was beeping, slicing through the quietness with a rhythmic chime. I fumbled to rub my eyes, listening to the ceaseless tone reminding me that I needed to begin the day, before I reached out a paw to kill the sound. My paw clamped down over a rectangular alarm clock that I'd bought on the way home yesterday and positioned next to my sleeping bag, and silenced the beeping with a slap over a flat button on the top. It was time to go to work.

I untangled myself from the sleeping bag as the last of the drowsiness melted away. In the solitude of my tent, I checked that the outfit I'd been wearing each day I visited Tom had no reason to be considered dirty and dressed myself. The longer I stayed in my tent, the more frequently I heard footsteps shuffling by. The residents seemed to be gathering for breakfast. I would join them momentarily.

Streaks of clouds across the sky concealed the sun this morning. As I ducked out of my tent to find some breakfast to choke down before I would leave, I could see a large cluster of animals off towards the breakfast table. Whether some were seated yet, I couldn't quite tell, as the animals standing in the back blocked my view. A gentle breeze swept over the land as I made my way across the campsite to join them.

It was bread today for breakfast, several different types of loaves left out along the table in their bags and tiny containers of fruit jams closer to the end. I collected a forest green plastic plate from the stack at the beginning of the table, grabbing a piece of wheat bread and a couple of containers of strawberry jam. The majority of animals standing around the breakfast area had already found seats nearby, so I found myself a seat on the ground at the side of one of the occupied wooden logs and settled myself down for a short meal.

"Do you know what time it is?" I asked a black cat in a plaid dress sitting on the log beside me after I had sat down and crossed my legs both to sit comfortably and to rest my plate.

"Let's see," the cat replied, pushing back her sleeve to peer down at a silver watch that caught a glimmer of sunlight in the face. "About seven o'clock."

I wouldn't need to leave for another half-hour and I was already mostly ready except for breakfast. I carefully spread the jam from the tiny containers I had taken from the bins onto the toast with a plastic knife I'd gotten with the plate—Though the toast was so thin that it tore a hole right in the middle when I tried to spread the jam—And enjoyed the meal that I had prepared for myself. I was among the first animals to finish up with breakfast, tossing my plate through bins of warm, cold, and soapy water to clean it, and prepared myself a mixed-berry jam sandwich before heading off back to my tent again to gather my belongings.

I recalled that I still had a beaten-down plastic bag somewhere with my belongings from the very start of the trip and might have even caught sight of it while unpacking on the very first day here. I peeked into the backpack I had chucked into the corner to find the bag still buried deep in the bottom, abandoned and forgotten. There was a small tear along the side, but nevertheless, it was my only option if I wanted to bring anything with me to the shop. In the bag, I packed up the sandwich I had slapped together as well as my notebook and a pen in case I would need to jot down any notes. That done, I slung the handles of the bag around my arm and set off on my way.

Sunlight illuminated the pattern of the wood floor like it had on the day I had first met with Tom as I stepped inside the shop, my bag still bouncing against my hip. Tom was already deep in work by the time I had arrived, sweeping dust along the bright patches of the floor, and raised his head when the door swung open.

"Good morning," Tom said to me, barely pausing in his sweeping before he had already returned to work.

"Good morning," I replied, outstretching the bag from my arm to carefully lay it down near the door.