Power of the Seamstress

Chapter One

Dark. Dank. Uncomfortable. Mira thought as she looked out the store window a moment longer. Turning her attention to the store, it wasn't much better than outside. The place was just a large room with counters towards the back to separate the floor room with the back stock and the stairs to the upstairs. The place was run down like every other building on the alley, but Mira knew it was the only place she could afford at the moment. In time, she thought, I'll have a place like my parents always wanted. Until then, this will do. She found her way to her work area, turned on an oil lamp and sat down. There were piles of fabric, thread, and scraps all around her and she couldn't help but smile with contentedness. She picked up an orange piece of fabric that she had been working on the night before. She had begun outlining flowers and now was ready to fill them in. 

Stitching on patterns to fabric was her favorite part. She could see the pattern she wanted to stitch before she even began stitching and it always seemed to turn out exactly right. It even ended up being exactly what her customers wanted. That is, whenever she had customers to serve. They were few and far between, but Mira was alright with that. She knew how to stretch money. She was in the process of making a festival gown for a client who loved orange and flowers. With almost a month to the festival, Mira felt confident that she would have the order done in enough time. 

After she had been working on the gown for a few hours, Mira came out of her work cloud at the sound of knocking on the door. This was the first time she noticed it had grown lighter outside. Setting her work aside, Mira attended to the waiting guests. She was shocked to see the royal general of the kingdom's army and another high ranking soldier. "C...Can I help you?" she asked quietly with her head bowed.

"Good morning. I am sorry to be calling upon you so early, but I am looking for Mira Takeda who was apprenticed to the master seamster Teilo," the royal general greeted. "The name is General Kybele."

"Of... course. I'm Mira," she answered. "What can I do for you?"

"May we bring this conversation inside?"

Mira was hesitant only a second before she let them in. With the morning beginning to brighten even more, the fullness of the rundown store became apparent. It needed a good handyman to fix the wood flooring and a painter to fix the walls. Hanging on one of the walls was a kimono dark blue in color. It had numerous Japanese Koi stitched into it of various colors and a red obi hanging next to it. 

"So, you do have it," Kybele sighed as he took in the kimono. "I heard that Seamster Teilo no longer had it in his possession anymore and wouldn't say where it was."

"He cast it out when he cast me out," Mira answered. 

"Why did he cast the two of you out?" Kybele asked. 

"Because it apparently was my fault that the kimono was torn in half," Mira answered. 

"It doesn't look that way to me."

"Because I fixed it," Mira answered, "Master Teilo didn't appreciate my efforts in repairing it and cast me out with the kimono. I've been keeping it safe."

"Thank you for keeping it safe," Kybele answered. "But please, tell me the tale as to what led you and the yakuta here."

"Uh," Mira stammered. "Of course. I'll put the tea on then."

"Perfect. Thank you," Kybele replied. "Will we sit out here?"

"Yes, it might be more comfortable out here, I will be right back," Mira replied. 

Kybele nodded and sat.

Mira hesitated a moment before heading towards the back of the store and up the stairs. Once up there, she started having a panic attack. A visit from the general of the royal army was in her shop. After a moment of breathing, Mira set about searching for tea and tea cups. Looking in her relatively bare cupboards, she managed to find tea and a couple cups. Setting about boiling water, she went about finding something she could use as a serving tray for the tea.