Island Dream

Chapter One: Odd Introductions

Chapter One: Odd Introductions

Lê had officially passed the citizenship test of the Cartlet Isles a month ago. And after piles of paperwork she had just moved to the Cartlet Isles from Vietnam.

She decided to move to the capital, Hestford. After staying in a hotel for the past few nights and getting to know her way around the city Lê decided to look for a place to stay. With her bag in hand, nón lá on her head and the lim (Cartlet currency) that had been converted from Vietnamese đồng, the black haired immigrant wandered around the market square.

However it was inevitable that she would get distracted by the wonders of the market. Stalls with handmade goods and booths fraught with food surrounded Lê. Luscious fruits, baked goods, roasted meats, it all made Lê hungry.

Her admiration of food was stopped when a stranger suddenly crashed into her. Lê miraculously managed to keep herself from face-planting and was now kneeling. She turned around to look at the person who crashed into her.

It was a guy, most likely around her age, who had straight black hair, and light brown skin. He was on his knees rubbing his forehead. His eyes were tightly closed. Through teeth gritted in pain he said, "Jeez... whatever happened to being aware of the surroundings?"

"It is not my fault! I was distracted by the lychee cart!" Lê said,"Plus you are to blame too. You were the one who blundered into me."

The stranger rolled to his feet, and let out a sigh,"It...It's not your fault. I was chasing a b- I was chasing something and I didn't see where I was going."

Lê stood up and raised an eyebrow, "Chasing what? This is the city, there are no wild bears around."

He looked away and gave an embarrassed smile,"Eh... something along the lines of a butterfly..."

"A butterfly?!" Lê couldn't help but laugh a bit, "How old are you? Two?!"

"It was pretty dumb. Can I make it up to you? I've got some spiced pig I was cooking up if you'd like some," He offered.

"Oh, I would not want to intrude on you..." Lê said trying to not be selfish. To her, it would be rude to inconvenience the guy with having to share his meal. However, in the end she said,"But spiced pig does not sound bad..."

"I mean, I slammed my entire body into you. You intruding on me would be the least of my concerns. Follow me," He said and started walking.

"Hm, who knew getting ran into would have perks?" Lê said, following him, "I am Lê Tran, by the way."

"The name's Lomri Bashir, nice to tackle ya," He introduced, as they walked.

Lomri's house was just at the outside of the square, away from the hustle and bustle of the stalls. It was a fairly sized, one-story house made of wood. A black chimney jutted out from the side.

Lomri opened the door and gestured for Lê to come in, "You can set your stuff down. And please leave your shoes at the entrance."

Lê entered, taking her shoes off. She set down her bag, took her nón lá off and put it on her bag.

Lomri's house mostly consisted of one room divided into separate parts. On the left side was his bedroom space consisting of a cot and a desk. In the middle was a space akin to that of a living room area, thought it was mostly barren except for a stack of books. On the right was the kitchen area.

On the back wall there were two doors which could be assumed to lead to a closet and a bathroom.

The kitchen had a firewood oven. The oven had a marble counter top to set things on. Coming from the oven and through the counter was a black tube, assumably part of the chimney. On the other side of the kitchen area was an electrical stove. Dried herbs, and other things hung from the wall. Above the sink there were jars of herbs, pickles, and jams lining the shelves.