Out Of Time

The Marketplace

When Sam and Arthur went to the local market (buying time until the party was ready), it was unlike anything she had ever seen or experienced. The sun's rays cascaded down from the sky, highly illuminating and adding life to the crowd filled market. Everything from food to knick knacks to clothes were being sold from tiny kiosks. The colors...just the colors alone, vibrant and eye catching shades of orange, red, and blue, was enough for Sam to fall in love with the place. Palm trees lined the edge of the market, providing little shade from the harsh sun. The people swarmed around the couple, making it hard to walk about and it made Sam start to sweat from the heat emanating from the people in such close capacity to her, but she didn't mind this at all. Arthur, on the other hand, certainly abhorred the crowds.

Smells of various spices and incense filled the humid air, tickling at Sam's nose. But again, she didn't mind. There was so much to see and do here, and Sam felt these type of things were taken for granted back in her time. Her hazel eyes darted around at the scenery surrounding her, taking it all in as best as she could. The ground crunched beneath her feet as she walked through the lines, her eyes resting on a small stand that was selling musical instruments of every variety Sam thought imaginable. She tugged on Arthur's arm with excitement in the force of her hands and on her face.

"Oh! Can we stop here? I want to see the guitars," she exclaimed with hope in her voice.

Arthur gave her a hard eye, but Sam could tell he wasn't being serious. "Sure," he said, giving into the request of his wife.

Sam gave him a quick peck to his cheek and made her way through the crowd to the kiosk, Arthur standing off to the side to wait for her. Sam, for the longest time, had wanted to learn how to play guitar but she'd never had the time to do it, nor had she ever owned a guitar in her life. She pulled one out of its stand, studying her grain of the dark wood that the guitar was made out of. The surface of it had been sanded, but not overly so. It didn't have a shine to it like most acoustic guitars did back in her time, but the fact that there was no gloss made the guitar feel more authentic somehow.

The owner of the stand, a small, balding Polynesian man, appeared beside her. "You like instrument?" he asked her, his voice thick with a Tahitian accent.

Sam nodded to him with a big, toothy grin. "Yes, I do."

The man also smiled, probably at the implication that he was going to make a sale. "I make all instruments myself," he said with pride.

Sam gasped and her jaw dropped in surprise. "Really?" She took in the small area, finding a bigger appreciation than she had before. She then looked back at the man with a happy smile. "Well, you've done wonderful work. They're all so beautiful."

"You want buy?"

Sam wanted to know the price first. From her understanding, the currency used it Tahiti was a lot different than American currency. In Tahiti, bank notes were called francs, and she had plenty of that to spare because the US dollar was worth so much more. "How much?"

"Twenty thousand francs."

Sam whistled, looking impressed. "You drive a hard bargain. But," she sighed, reaching into her satchel for money, "okay."

The man looked delighted at making a sale and Sam exchanged the money for the guitar. She squealed in delight and made her way through the crowd to Arthur, who had found an interest in a jewelry stand.

"Arthur! Look look look!" she said, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Look what I just bought!"

Arthur whirled around to look at her and his face showed amusement as his lips quirked up at one of the corners. "A guitar, huh? Do you know how to play?"