Find Your Oasis

Chapter 10

May 24th

"Noah, come here!"

I look up from the intricately carved whale tooth I'm studying and glance at Kailani.  She waves me over, so I carefully place the tooth back where I found it and walk over to where she is.

"Aren't these super cool?"  She says excitedly, while holding up a couple of wooden bowls. 

I look at them closely.  They are really cool.  They are made out of a solid piece of wood, completely smooth to the touch, and the grain of wood runs clearly through the bowl.

"Made those myself a decade ago, back when I used to work at the bowl mill up in Fairbanks."

Kailani and I turn our heads as a large man with a grey beard walks out of a door in the back of the small shop.  He greets us with a smile and a nod.

"They're very sturdy, brought about twenty of them down here with me when I retired, and now the wife and I have decided to sell some of the things we've collected over the years.  Try to clean up the old place, you know?"  He adds as he gazes around.

A strange look crosses Kailani's face.  "Wait, is this your house?"  She asks as she follows the man's gaze.

I glance around quickly.  Is it really?  I notice the fireplace against the wall, the small pictures hanging on the walls.  From the outside, it looked like all the other small shops in the area, but come to think of it, when I walked in here, I had noticed a sort of warm, welcoming feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on. 

The man nods.  "Yeah, we moved here when I retired, and Annie and I just decided to turn our living room into a shop of sorts.  Oh, I didn't introduce myself.  My name is Walter."  He stretches out his hand towards us.

I step forward and shake his hand.  "I'm Noah, nice to meet you."

Kailani follows in my footsteps, saying her name as well, and I smile as I watch Walter kindly take extra time trying to get the pronunciation, along with the spelling, down pat.

"I like that name.  It's unique."  Walter replies with a nod of approval. 

We talk with Walter for a while, asking him all sorts of questions about Alaska.  It turns out he's lived in Alaska his whole life, and he and his wife were childhood friends that grew up together, fell in love, and got married straight out of high school. 

"That's so sweet!"  Kailani says as her face lights up.  "How long have you two been married?"

"This winter will be thirty years."  He says wistfully.  "I can't believe it's been that long."

"Walt?"  A voice calls from deeper inside the house.

"Out here, Annie.  Come and meet these two kids that just stumbled in!"

From another door in the back of the shop comes a nice looking lady with hair almost the same color as her husband's, holding a knitted scarf.

"Oh, I didn't know we have company!  What are your names?"

"Noah and Kailani."  Walter interrupts.  "They're here visiting, first time to Alaska."

"Oh, welcome!  Are you enjoying it so far?"

I nod vigorously.  "It's really neat up here!  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous."  I say.

"It's ridiculous how beautiful everything is up here.  If it didn't get so cold, I could totally live here."   Kailani adds dreamily.  "I don't know how you guys do it."