The Four Chimes

Chapter 4 - ARI

It had been a couple of days since I last talked to Lera, but I had said I would visit her, and so I begrudgingly hauled myself to Taxas Magical Goods. On the corner of Salian and Trima. You can't miss it.

I walked through the cobblestone streets of the Old City. The streets here were so narrow, it was a wonder so many people kept on flowing through them. This was the heart of Psara. If you looked around you could see the ivy crawling up the weathered stone facades of the shops, the sun symbols painted on the wooden doors from back when people still believed in gods, the signs in old Lhartaos that only a few academics could still read. Most of the old city was destroyed in a fire a while back, and they didn't bother to rebuild things as they once were. But this part, right next to the shore, remained unscathed.

I knew this city like the back of my hand. I had spent my entire life here, from childhood to the Academy to... Well, wherever in life I was now. So I made my way to Taxas Magical Goods rather quickly. It would have been much faster had I used my conduit to take me in my cart, but the previous days' overcast weather seemed to be brightening up, and I knew I needed to take a walk.

On the corner of Salian and Trima, there it was. It was rather unassuming. They hadn't put up any signs yet, so it was just a blank storefront with canvas curtains in the windows. I walked towards the door and knocked. I waited for a while, staring at the teal wooden door. It was so old and worn that it had to have survived the fire.

Nothing. I knocked again, and this time I heard a clattering from inside.

"Coming!", shouted Lera. She opened the door, and there she was.

I didn't know what I expected. It was just her again. But a part of me still couldn't believe that she was real. It had been so long since the Academy, and to see her again here felt odd. It was like a dream where different little unrelated pieces of your life came together, and you woke up, eyes wide open, wondering what it all could have meant.

But it was definitely not a dream. And she was definitely in front of me.

"Hi," I blurted out.

"Hey. Come on in."

As I quietly stepped in, I looked around. The store was in an odd in-between state. There were displays, racks, and shelves, but barely anything on them. The walls were recently repaired, but they had not yet been painted. It looked like a shop, but it didn't feel like a shop.

"It's a work in progress," said Lera.

"For a work in progress, it's coming together well."

"Thanks."

As we walked deeper into the store, I saw Tsano, coming in from what appeared to be the inventory room.

"Hey," said Lera.

"Hey," said Tsano, looking first at Lera and then at me, as if she weren't expecting me.

"Did you finish organizing the chaita crystals?"

"Yeah. It took me forever, but I have them all in their bins now. Now we can start working on the display."

"What would I do without you?"

"I should be asking you the same thing."

"Anyway, Ari came over."

"Hello," said Tsano with a strangely wide smile. I don't know why she was so friendly towards me. We barely even had so much as a full conversation in the Academy. But it was nice to see someone who didn't know the past me too well. Who wasn't going to be let down.

"Hi," I said back. "Long time no see."

"Well, that's what happens when you live across the continent."