August Short Story Collection

Oi!

August 17, 2019 

The city was a bustle that morning. People of all shapes, sizes, and colors hurried through the streets; all concerned with their own problems, their own errands, and their own thoughts.

Along the sides of the streets were stores, markets, and carts. Each was enticing in their own way.

Saint Battalion's was always busy no matter the day or time. You could always smell the sweet buns baking in the oven and their cider heating on the stove.

March's flower stand was especially beautiful today. The dilly lilies had bloomed early this season surrounding March's cart with their heavenly scent somewhere between lilac and vanilla and brightening up the dark street corner with their bright blue blossoms.

The Pioneer's Market was the second-largest market in the city unless you asked the vendors of Pioneer's Market, then it was the largest market in the city. Fresh produce and homemade goods were as far as the eye could see.

This was all normal, average, boring. This was the way things were, change was hard to come by in this city. It was unwelcomed and unwanted.

But change had a strange way of coming when you least expected it but needed it the most.

The change for this city came in the form of an elderly woman, Eve.

Even had lived what seemed a handful of lives. She had been everywhere, twice, and knew everything that there was to know it would seem to the normal working Joe.

She traveled alone, save the companion of her orange tabby cat Hunny. Together they traveled at their own pace, going from place to place, never staying long enough to get attached.

Eve had had many loves in her life, be people, places or things. No one ever forgot their encounter with Eve, for there was no one else quite like her.

Some would say she was a nomad by trade or even a gypsy. Those who had not enjoyed their time with Eve called her a witch or even worse things.

But Eve never sought to hurt anyone or anything. To be honest, she didn't even know what she was looking for, all she knew was that when the wind called she had to go.

Eve entered the city with Hunny following close beside her. She stared in awe as she walked down the narrow streets at all the shops and carts. She studied everything that she could in the markets.

She loved this city, this was her third time visiting and in the years since she had last visited the city had only grown more beautiful.

The sun had reached it's highest point and was now beginning its descent, which meant Eve needed to find somewhere to spend the night. But in order to do that, she needed money, something she did not care too fondly for.

Finding the busiest street she could, it happened to be near Saint Battalions, she sat down and began to go through her knapsack. She took off her big floppy hat and placed it in front of her, releasing her wild grey hair to the whims of the wind. She then pulled out a small harp from her knapsack. Hunny sat beside that hat, watching the people going by.

The people going by began to stare. No one just sat down on the street, let alone one as busy as this one. This simply wasn't done.

Eve plucked on some of the strings, testing it. She had had this harp so long, it was the first gift she had ever received, it was the gift that had inspired her to do exactly what she had been doing for years.

She cleared her throat and strummed on harp, sending out beautiful sounds that cut through the bustle of the street. People turned and looked at the elderly woman sitting on the corner of the busy street.

And then she began to sing.

Eve always started with a little ditty that didn't mean anything but sounded pretty. It was what brought the people to her. Then, she really began.

She began her ballads. Epic stories of heroes most of the people in the city had never heard of. They listened in awe as she described harrowing battles and awesome romances. A crowd had begun to gather.

The people of the city had never experienced anything like this. But they were enchanted, most were anyways. Realizing that she was doing this for money, some began to place coins into her hat, in which Hunny would meow gratefully before going back to napping.

But not everyone was as thrilled with Eve.

"Oi!" A large man began pushing his way through the crowd to find the source of the music. "What's going on here!"

"She's telling a story!" A young man responded while others told him to quiet down.

The man grunted. He didn't like all this attention. For he was Josiah Beengood, the proud owner and baker at Saint Battalions. A former army man, he was large, loud, and mean. He didn't like the crowd that had formed because it was drawing customers away from his bakery.

"What do you think you're doing!" He yelled, reaching Eve and interrupting her mid ballad. He was startled when he realized that all this commotion was for an elderly woman.

"I'm just seeing some songs for my friends." She said smiling.

Her smile took Josiah aback. Most people recoiled when he neared them or yelled at them, but not Eve. She was calm and unafraid.

"Would you like to listen?" Eve asked Josiah.

Josiah had no words, he was simply stunned by this woman. She took his silence as a yes and she began her song again.

The story fascinated Josiah along with the other city folk. It was a war story, bloody and awful, but also heartwarming and hopeful. As Josiah listened more he began to realize that this was one of his war stories she was telling. Years ago when he was still a young man and had just joined the army. But he had been there, he knew the story.

Eve, of course, knew this. How she knew was a mystery, but it was one of her many talents. Sometimes it was like the wind simply whispered what she needed to know in her ear.

Once the song was done, Josiah thanked Eve. He left only to return with a fresh sweet bun for her. She thanked him, holding his hand for an extra moment, squeezing it. It was as if she was saying thank you for much more than just the bun, but Josiah never knew if that was true or not.

Soon, she finished her stories and gathered up her money. She counted it and found that it was the perfect amount for dinner and a room at the nearby inn.

This pattern continued for some time. Eve would walk around the city in the early day and then go find a corner to sit and tell her stories. Similar things happened to Eve as what had happened with Josiah.

And soon enough everyone had gotten used to the newest feature of their city, the elderly woman who sang songs and told stories.

And just like that she was gone, off on a new adventure with Hunny and her harp. 

Word count: 1236