The next morning, Juinlift woke up before the first rays of light had crept onto the windowsill. She washed up and got dressed, and then tiptoed out of the house to the small shed at the side to gather the materials she would need to weave her baskets in the city.
By the time she finished and put them down next to the door, her older sister Joem and their mother were already up and busying about in the kitchen while she could hear her brother Rult from his own room, probably getting ready himself.
Juinlift joined the two women, putting the dishes on the table before all three of them took a seat. She grabbed some food for herself before turning to Joem. “Today, I’ll come with you to the city!”
Her sister looked up and raised her brows but before she could say anything, their brother came running, sliding onto the chair next to her while nodding wildly.
“Great idea! Six hands are better than four. Maybe we should take mother along as well. That way, we’d have even more help!”
Joem glanced at him, her gaze not too friendly. “You mean I would have help. If I remember correctly, then somebody usually slinks off to do whatever he wants instead of working. So, actually, there’s only one pair of hands and with Juinlift helping, it’ll finally be four hands.”
Juinlift laughed and shook her head, ladling some more porridge into her bowl. “I’m afraid you’ll still only have two hands to sell the wares. I’ll be coming along but I’ll just weave the baskets next to you.”
Joem raised her brows. “Weave new baskets? In the city? Don’t you think it would be better to do that at home? We’ll have to bring everything there first. That seems like such a hassle.”
Juinlift smiled in response. “I guess it is a bit of a hassle but I could take a change in scenery. Also, our customers might like to see how the baskets are made. Wouldn’t it convince any naysayers of their quality?”
Her sister continued to look at her, lightly tapping the spoon against the bowl. “Are you sure there’s not more to you wanting to come along?” After all, Juinlift had never asked to do this before.
When a big occasion was coming up and they needed more hands to deal with all the customers, then sure, she’d be there without needing to be asked twice. Even their good-for-nothing younger brother would be hardworking for once at those times.
But this was different and she didn’t believe that just wanting a change of scenery was enough to explain it. After all, Juinlift could go and weave anywhere. The city really wasn’t the best place to choose.
Juinlift could only sigh. Her sister was really too observant. But then, she didn’t mind telling her either. “Well, maybe somebody invited me to the city to take a look at something. But don’t worry, I’ll stay around until everything has been woven! After that, you can immediately sell the new baskets if there’s enough time. I’ll come back after a bit anyway.” At the very least, she was sure that she would. Yes, she’d only take a short look at the painter’s house and then leave again.
Joem continued to look at her but after half a minute, she finally nodded. “Well, if that’s what you want to do, I won’t argue. Anyway, I know I can trust that you’ll do the responsible thing, unlike some other people.” She glared at Rult and then gave a huff before turning back to eat her porridge.
Their brother grumbled but there wasn’t much he could say. Out of three days, he would go out to play on two so he could kind of understand where Joem was coming from. But then, sitting on the market all day selling baskets was the most boring thing he could imagine. Even weaving the baskets seemed better but he had no talent for that. He couldn’t help but want to do something more exciting though. Ah, well, there was nothing he could do about it.
The three of them soon finished breakfast, grabbed their things, and left the house after bidding farewell to their mother. That brother of theirs at least grabbed the cart after his sisters secured the baskets on top and pulled it without complaining while the two of them walked behind, chatting idly.
“So, who exactly is this person that you want to visit?”
Juinlift had mentioned the painter a few times before but she wasn’t sure if her sister remembered. “Well, remember that painter I told you about? I found out yesterday that she’s from the city.”
At that, even her brother looked over his shoulder. “You mean the crazy woman who paints you all the time? And you really want to visit her?”
Juinlift gave him a look, completely understanding why her sister always complained about him. “How is she crazy? Anyway, a painter paints. What else is she supposed to do?”
“Well, it’s not a problem that she paints but why does she have to paint you? Can’t she behave like a normal person and paint some forest meadow with a stag?”
“Do people want forest meadows with stags? I wouldn’t know but she said that people liked seeing her paint beauties so I doubt it.”
Rult pulled a face at that. “Then why is she painting you?” He shook his head and faced the front again while his sisters glared daggers at him.
Juinlift didn’t bother about him further and instead turned to her older sister. “Anyway, that sounds as if you know who I mean.”
Joem nodded. “I do. I’ve actually seen her around a few times. She’s called Stiwa and shouldn’t live far from the market. We won’t pass by her house on the way there but I can show you when there aren’t many people around. Well, if somebody stays to take care of our stall for the time being.”
She glanced at their brother’s back but didn’t wait for him to say anything before she turned back to Juinlift. “Actually, she comes by our stall quite often. She seems like a nice young lady. Very polite and not just to me.” Yes, she had seen Stiwa talk to others on the square and her impression wasn’t a bad one. If this was who Juinlift wanted to go and visited, she really didn’t mind.
On the other hand, Juinlift couldn’t help but feel surprised by what her sister said. Not just that she had finally heard the painter’s name for the first time, but that description also made her perk up her ears. “Polite, is she? So does she buy any of our baskets?”
“Oh, all the time. I wonder what she’s even doing with so many of them. To be honest, I’ve never taken a closer look at her house. Buying paintings and such things, let the rich people from the city do that.”
Juinlift chuckled. Joem was really too harsh. That poor painter, if she had told her this openly, she might’ve been crying in her sleep about it. That probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear. But then again, she also couldn’t imagine hanging up a painting in their small house. It just didn’t seem to fit. “I guess nobody would expect us to either. As for that painter …” She hesitated but then couldn’t keep herself from asking. “Do you know anything else about her?”
Joem thought for a bit but had to shake her head. “I’m afraid not. As I said, she comes by every now and then, greets me, has a look at our wares, and sometimes buys something. Other times, I see her buy something else on the market. She seems to get along with everyone but that is about as much as I can tell you. I wouldn’t even know whether she has any family in the city. Did she not mention anything?”
Juinlift shook her head. “She didn’t but then, I didn’t ask either.” In fact, they hadn’t talked about much at all if she thought back now but she didn’t mind. When she went over today, she’d find out more anyway. Had Joem known anything, she’d only have found out a little earlier.
“Well, anyway, it doesn’t matter much. I’ll just go and take a short look today. I’m quite curious after seeing her so often and it’s probably going to be an experience but we shouldn’t take it too seriously.”
“Sure. If you want to take more time though, that’s alright as well. You’ve been working hard these days. Taking one day off won’t be a problem. We have enough baskets to sell for today and tomorrow. In the worst case, I’ll help you catch up in the evening. Mother could also weave one or two at least.”
Juinlift nodded even though she wasn’t quite convinced. In their family, the one who had been the original basket weaver had been their father. He was the one who had taught her and her siblings all about it in the hopes that it would help them sustain themselves in the future.
Well, it had not worked out exactly as he had imagined but their family still managed to make a living out of it. They simply shared all the tasks so that it was enough if one person did most of the weaving while the others took care of something else. In fact, it might make matters easier than they had been when it had only been their parents.
When the three of them made their way to the city, Juinlift couldn’t help but look around curiously. She had been here a few times before even though she didn’t regularly accompany her siblings. She had never taken the time to look around though.
Usually, she only came here if the others needed help or if there was something that she needed. Either her sister or their mother would be with her so she would just follow their lead, take care of the tasks at hand, and then leave again. She never took a stroll through the city or paid much attention to anything else. All her thoughts were focused on what lay ahead of them. To come here for an idle visit … it didn’t feel quite like herself. But then, she really was curious about that painter called Stiwa.
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