Tremaine

- Chapter 8 -

Another walk to the train station. I was starting to enjoy these walks. There would be a shipment of beads that would come in every week so I was getting my fair share of walking done.

I still had never learned the woman's name. She never really talked much. She just gave me orders and paid me. I didn't mind though. The silence gave me time to think about things.

On the walk to the train station I got to walk all the way through town. I loved watching all of the different people walk past, and seeing the horses trot past as they pulled a carriage.

To exit town I had to walk over the bridge that I had my new beginning. Everytime I walked on it I was reminded of how far I had come. Once I got off the bridge I had to follow a small path that led all the way to the train station.

When the train arrived I would wait for the cargo to be taken out, find the right box, and start the walk back. This particular walk back seemed extra hard. The box seemed heavier than usual.

When I got back to the stand I set the box down with a grunt. "Is there something new in there? It seemed extra heavy," I asked the woman as she handed me the odd jewelry to place on the display shelf.

"New beads," she said and used the crowbar to open the crate. I looked over the top of the box and stared at the beads. They were not the normal wooden beads the woman normally used. They were sparkly and shimmery. They were gemstones!

"Gemstones?" I whispered. The woman looked at me with a sly smile. "Yes. There is finally enough money to buy new beads. Hopefully these ones will sell better," she took her string and some beads and began making new jewelry.

The next day I was putting new jewelry on the shelf when the woman walked over to me. "I made you a necklace," she said. She held out a beautiful necklace made out of purple gemstones.

"It's beautiful! You must put it on the shelf! I'm sure someone would buy-" "No," she interrupted. She took my hand and put the necklace in it. "You work very hard for me. Take it," she smiled at me.

The woman had a beautiful smile. She looked to be in her thirties and she had blonde hair that was always braided into a bun. Her eyes were a pretty green color.

She was very strange. She didn't have an English accent like the rest of the people around here. She also always wore a purple dress that had white lace. And for some strange reason she always had a frying pan hanging on the wall of the stand.

"Thank you," I smiled back at her. She started to walk back to her seat, but I said, "Wait," She turned around to look at me. "Yes?" "What is your name?" She smiled gently and said, "Sit with me,"

I sat in front of her chair and she stared into the distance. "I have seen you with that boy. Are you in love?" she asked. I was confused at her question, but answered anyway. "Yes," "I was in love once, but he turned out to be a thief and used me for money,"

"I'm sorry," I said. I had no idea what this had to do with her name, but I continued listening anyway. "I left my family because I was so scared of being hurt again, but now I am not scared anymore,"

Her eyes finally met mine. "You are a wonderful person, and I hope you continue to be so," She reached behind her and pulled out twenty pounds. "Here. You may go home early,"

Her green eyes glistened with tears. I nodded and started to walk back to the orphanage. I ate dinner with Gregory and told him all about what had happened. "Huh. That's strange," he said.

Before I went to bed that night I tried on the necklace. It looked very good on me. I smiled in my small mirror. I put my money and my necklace in the small box under my bed.

In the morning I woke up, got ready, and ate breakfast. I was walking to the woman's stand while thinking about what she had said yesterday. I was still very confused.

Everything made sense when I walked to where the stand should have been only to see that it was gone with not even a footprint to prove it had been there in the first place.