The dead leaves on the sidewalk made a scraping sound as the wind shoved them along. I looked up at the bare trees, which were covered with changing leaves just yesterday. Pulling down on the bill of my cap, I blinked back the tears that the strong gust had caused. It sure was windy. Hopefully a storm wasn't coming.
"'Morning." the old man was already hard at work. Wiping away the tears out of the corners of my eyes, I saw that he was finishing up the sickle Claire had brought in yesterday. "Windy out today, eh?"
I nodded. I hated it when he tried to make small talk. Glancing over at the shelf, I took a piece of copper and threw it in the smelting furnace.
The shop had only opened, but already the door swung open. A young woman stepped inside, her wet boots leaving footprints on the wooden floor.
"Has the storm started already?" Saibara looked surprised as he handed Claire her sickle.
"It's not raining too hard yet, but I heard that it is supposed to pour today." The blonde thanked Saibara as she dug in her rucksack. "I made this for you to keep you warm today." The young woman produced a plastic container.
"Why, thank you." The old blacksmith opened the lid, releasing the aroma of miso. "I will save this for my lunch. This is very thoughtful of you."
The farmer smiled. "You're welcome."
I pulled on my cap, quickly turning to the smelting furnace. It was too late. Claire was already heading toward me with a small smile painted across her lips. She held out a lump of copper.
"This is for you."
For some reason, she had been doing this almost every day now, but it was always when I was at the library, or at my room back at the inn. I could see Saibara's face turned toward us, and my face suddenly felt very hot.
"Thank you," I mumbled.
As soon as she left, I threw the copper into the furnace.
"Gray!" Saibara looked furious.
"What?"
"That was a present! Why did you do that?"
My face felt hot again. "No sense wasting materials."
"Well, there is also no sense wasting a present," Saibara scolded.
"It's not being wasted; it can be used right here in the shop," I protested.
My grandfather seemed even more annoyed with this response. However, I wasn't in the mood for listening to another one of the old man's lectures.
"Grandpa, it's not like she gave me anything too valuable anyway."
Wrong choice of words.
"Nothing too valuable?! Claire took time out of her busy schedule to go all the way to the spring mine and dig that up for you. What is wrong with you, Boy? Always accept gifts from others! Haven't you ever heard that it's the thought that counts?"
"But-"
"Claire moved into this town all by herself, yet it was she that came to introduce herself. You could learn a thing or two from her."
"I don't want to hear it." I tried to keep my voice calm, but failed.
"I don't care if you don't 'want' to or not, you obviously need to hear it. If you keep up these bad manners, you are never going to find a woman to marry."
I could feel my ears turning red. "Who said anything about that?"
"Well, you are already twenty-three now. It's something to think about."
I couldn't help but let out a sigh. "You think I'm that bad, huh?"
"With that attitude, yes."
Something inside of me just burst. "That's it! I'm sick of this crap!" Hiding my face from Saibara with the bill of my cap, I stormed out of the shop, slamming the door behind me.
