Chapter 7
The next morning, Sonya accidentally slept in.
When she woke, she was sore all over, every inch of her body aching. ‘God,’ she muttered, trying to sit up. Her limbs felt like jelly. She had half a mind to go back to sleep when her eyes fell on the back of the bedroom door.
A jolt shot through her, and she gasped. She got out of bed, ignoring the pain in her legs, and headed straight for the hanger hooked onto the door.
The dress.
She hadn’t looked at it much last night, too distracted by Azam taking her measurements. It was a truly lovely dress; light pink with tiny white flowers across the fabric. It laced in the front and had puffed short sleeves with a square neckline.
Sonya immediately pulled off her nightgown, then reached for her undergarments, which were clean and dry now. She put on her chemise and drawers, then put on the dress, squealing at the feel of the fabric over her skin.
Before she even laced the dress up, she knew it fit perfectly.
She turned to a standing mirror in the corner of the room, moving aside some boxes to get a full look, and the final effect was wonderful: the dress fell down to mid-calf and accentuated her body beautifully, without being uncomfortable.
She noticed a shawl hanging on the hanger as well, and she reached for it, wrapping it around her shoulders. It was simple and heather-gray, soft and warm. She twirled, smiling wide, watching the dress lift and fall.
Sonya put her socks on, pulling them up over her knees. Now that the house was mostly clean, she didn’t need to put on her shoes. She didn’t wish to track dirt through the house, and she had noticed that the others walked around in socks or barefoot as well.
After freshening up in the bathroom, Sonya skipped down the stairs.
She couldn’t stop admiring the dress. Azam had done a splendid job—he must have been up late working on it!
A slice of guilt cut through her, but the dress was so pretty, she couldn’t feel too badly.
It was her most treasured gift now, along with the drawing Dania had made her.
It was a part of a stitch-witch’s magic that they could sometimes imbue clothing with emotion. She could almost feel how much care he’d put into the dress; she touched the fabric, fondness bubbling inside of her.
She entered the living room, where Kiri was sitting on the chair by the fire, knitting a yellow scarf. She had a beige shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
Azam was giving Dania a piggy-back ride around the room. When Sonya entered, he stopped, his focus homing in on her, his brown eyes intent.
‘The dress,’ he said, voice soft. Sonya twirled, and when she turned back, there was a smile spread across his face.
Since he had stopped running, Dania had lost interest in the game, and she climbed off his back. He helped her down, and she ran over to Sonya.
‘Pretty!’ Dania said. Her hair was down today and she wore a periwinkle-blue dress with a white collar.
‘Thank you, sweet.’ Sonya smiled, then looked up to meet Azam’s eyes. ‘I love it.’
His expression was soft.
‘You look splendid,’ Kiri said, standing up. ‘But we’ve got to do something about that hair.’
Sonya tucked her hair behind her ears. It was brushing low against her collar but unevenly, and she was sure it was a bit shorter in the back. At the very least, it was clean from her bath last night and had dried into nice waves, no longer frizzy or unkempt.
‘I would do it myself but these hands aren’t quite as steady as they once were. Azam, why don’t you give her a trim?’ Kiri asked. She turned to Sonya. ‘Don’t worry. He’s well practiced. He cuts Dania’s hair.’
‘I can fix it,’ Azam said, though he looked a little nervous. He paused. ‘If you’d like.’
She nodded. ‘But I don’t want to delay breakfast,’ she said. ‘I know I’m a bit late.’
‘Not to worry,’ Kiri said. ‘Monkey and I have already eaten.’
‘What about you?’ Sonya asked Azam. She realized something. ‘Wait, aren’t you meant to be at work?’
He shook his head. ‘I took a few days off,’ Azam explained. He didn’t really look at her as he said it, but she was pleased. She liked having him around.
‘So … your hair?’ he asked. ‘Then we can have breakfast?’
‘Okay,’ she said. Azam pulled out a chair from the dining table, and she sat down sideways. Taking off the shawl, she set it on the table as Azam went to collect a few things.
He returned and brushed her hair aside, lifting it.
As he did, his fingers skimmed along the bare skin of her shoulders, and she shivered.
He set a towel across her shoulders, then let her hair fall back.
She felt a little nervous then; she nibbled on her lower lip, trying to hold herself very still.
Noticing, Dania crawled up onto Sonya’s lap. ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘Bhai cuts good hair. See mine?’
Sonya smiled, holding Dania. ‘Yes, very pretty,’ she replied, kissing Dania’s cheek.
‘Alright, you two, don’t move,’ Azam said.
‘Okay,’ Sonya whispered, closing her eyes.
‘I’m going to brush your hair first,’ Azam said, and this time, his voice felt much closer than before. Another shiver ran down her spine.
Then, she felt his hands in her hair as he ran his fingers through. A drop of water rolled down the back of her neck as he wet it. She listened to the sound of the brush as he moved it through the strands, an ache spreading through her chest.
‘Dania, off you go,’ Azam said, and Dania hopped off Sonya’s lap.
Holding her hands together tightly, Sonya swallowed. She didn’t understand why she was so full of nerves. Perhaps it was because her hair was so close to her throat.
‘Don’t worry,’ Azam said, voice low in her ear. ‘I won’t hurt you.’
She squeaked out a response, unable to speak. Then, he began to cut her hair. Heart pounding, she listened to the sound of the shears moving, the feathery feel of strands of hair falling.
Before she knew it, he was done. He removed the towel from her shoulders. She released a long breath and opened her eyes to find Kiri smiling.
Dania’s eyes were wide. ‘Wow!’
Sonya felt the ends of her hair, trying to look, but it was so short, she couldn’t quite see the ends. But she could tell that it was neat, brushing just above her shoulders now. Kiri brought over a handheld mirror, and Sonya held it up, looking at her reflection.
‘Oh,’ she said, awed. Her hair looked lovely, suiting her round face beautifully.
Azam came around to stand in front of her. ‘Do you like it?’ Azam asked. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at her hopefully.
She gave him a wide smile. ‘I love it!’
He let out a breath, smiling as well. ‘Come on, let’s have breakfast,’ he said.
Sonya followed him out to the garden, where they went to get eggs from the chicken coop.
‘The chickens are only for eggs, not slaughtering,’ Azam explained, dropping his voice to a whisper. ‘Dania is very attached.’
They both watched as Dania chased the chickens, who squawked in response, looking harassed. Sonya laughed. Then, they went in and prepared breakfast side by side. Azam fried the eggs and Sonya toasted the bread, finishing off the loaf.
‘I should head to the bakery later. Would you like to join me?’ Azam asked, noticing.
‘Sure!’ She was keen to go back to the market and perhaps stop in to say hello to Winnie, and that was exactly what they did after they finished their breakfast and washed the dishes.
They made their way to the market, and Azam showed her around as they walked, leading her along a different route than the one Kiri had taken them through yesterday.
‘There’s the main market, but then there are shops in other areas, as well,’ he explained. ‘Mostly business owners who’ve opened up in their homes, the way my mother did.’
She recalled what he had said about the portion of the cottage behind the mysterious door being his mother’s shop.
‘Then, toward the end, you’ve got the area travelers pass through; that’s where the carriages stop by for people who need to go anywhere.’
It seemed like a bit of a maze, really, and she wasn’t sure how she’d ever navigate without a guide.
Luckily, she wasn’t planning on it, and she stuck close to Azam as he continued to point out little shops or the homes of people he knew.
He told her that he’d grown up here, so he knew the area and its people very well.
More than a few times, people passing by waved or said hello to him.
It was all interesting, and she liked listening to Azam talk.
She used to be able to see the Outskirts from her tower at the castle, since the castle was up on the highest hill, and had always wondered what it would be like down here.
Now she was here, and she loved it, especially with Azam by her side.
They made it to the market and went to the bakery, where she inhaled the lovely scent of freshly baked bread. They picked up a loaf, and after Azam paid, she asked if they could pop by the bookshop.
‘Of course,’ Azam said. They exited the bakery, and as they did, they walked past the butcher.
There, a voice called out: ‘Azam!’
They both turned to see a boy around their age leaving the butcher’s, heading toward them. He was strongly built with long hair pulled back in a bun.
‘Enzo!’ Azam said with a smile. They clapped each other’s shoulders.
Ah, so this was the famous Enzo.
‘Don’t you have work?’ Enzo asked.
‘No, I took a few days off,’ Azam replied quickly, then turned to Sonya. ‘Enzo, this is Sonya. She’s staying with us.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Enzo said, giving her a charming smile.
‘I’m pleased to meet you, as well,’ she replied.
‘Where are you two headed?’ Enzo asked.
‘Probably the same place you are. The bookshop,’ Azam replied. Enzo grinned.
They walked over together, and Azam told Sonya how he and Enzo had gone to school together. ‘He was easily the smartest kid in our class,’ Azam said. ‘He’s a tongue-witch and knows just about every language.’
‘Wow,’ Sonya said, impressed. They entered the bookshop, the doorbell ringing above them.