Rosetta

Raguna had appeared one night out of nowhere. He wasn't there when I had gone to sleep last night, because I remember looking over at the house and wondering if anyone would live there again. The farmhouse had remained empty for years now, at least ten, and the fields were a tangled mess of stones, grass and weeds. The well was clogged with debris and the shipping bin stayed as empty and dirty as usual. The dirt road connecting the farm to the rest of the world was hardly traveled anymore, not even by Mist, who came into town to buy food when she couldn't grow it in her garden and visit the library. Mist, you could say, was well liked by most people of Kardia-except by me. There was something about her that just ticked me off, whether it was her airy way of speaking or the way that she was always hinting that she knew something everyone else didn't. But I tolerated her for the sake of the store.

Mist was in the store with this young man this morning, talking to Dad. I had never seen him before, so I went over and introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Rosetta." I said confidently, expertly ignoring Lukas, who was staring at me from his usual staring spot next to the jewelry. He was a traveling poet, or so he said. For over a year, he has stayed at the inn and tried to talk to me countless times, each time hoping that I will respond differently than the last time. It seemed to me that he was doing a lot less time traveling and a lot more time standing in my shop. "I own this store also, with Dad." I waited for him to return the greeting, which he did eventually.

"Hello, Rosetta," he said slowly. "It's nice to meet you." I waited for more, but it never came. I was a bit confused; all of the men and boys in Kardia are outspoken and can talk your ear off if you let them. However, he must not be from around this area, so I posed the question that the wasn't going to offer up the answer to voluntarily.

"I haven't seen you before. Where did you travel from?" I smiled, turning my back to Lukas in the process . He paused again before answering.

"I-uh-actually..." he seemed at a loss of what to say. This was very odd, I thought, considering that I had asked him a very simple question. How could he not know where he came from?

"Sharance." Mist said quickly. "He is my friend from Sharance. You know, the town with that big tree. He is just tired from the long trip, that's all. I'm sure he will come around in a bit." Mist smiled a wide, toothy smiled at Dad and I, one I was sure was entirely false, then started to turn around to leave. "Well, we must go now."

"Wait!" I cried. "You haven't told me your name yet." I sure hoped he knew the answer to this one. He didn't look dim-witted, but still...Stop, I told myself. Don't be mean! I waited for him to respond.

"Raguna," he said at last. "I'll be staying at the farmhouse over...over..." he struggled to find the right direction. I started to wonder if he might not have been drinking.

"Oh," I said to cover up his confusion. "Well, in that case, you should know that I will be around to pick up any items that you leave in the shipping bin at precisely five o' clock each day, excepting holidays, of course. I will give you the correct amount of money you earned," I held up a finger. "Hold on." I dashed to the counter and found the list I wanted. "Her you go! There are all the items we take and their cost." He looked at it briefly, then smiled and folded it.

"Well, then, we really must be going," Mist said, this time opening the door to leave. "We will see you around." And both her and her mysterious friend walked out of the store, leaving Dad and I standing perplexed by the turnip seeds when our next customer walked through the doors, inquiring about the cost of pumpkin seeds and wondering how it could be that I was so distracted.

Raguna

Mist was gone, thank God! I breathed a sigh of relief and dumped the pile of things I had received from both the girl I mentioned and the Kardians: papers advertising stores, seeds tools, food, and a generous amount of money from Miss Bianca de Saint-Coquille, whom I had liked very much. She seemed kind enough, but wasn't so energetic like that one girl...what was her name? Rosa? Rosetta? I shook my head to clear my thoughts and found the bottle of wine that the barman (Emmett?) had given me. I uncorked it and drank, washing away all my already almost non-existent worries. Suddenly, the fact that I didn't remember much about my past and I needed to fit in wasn't important. I could tell that I was drifting into sleep, but I couldn't tell you when I finally did. But I can tell you when I woke up; it was when the knocking on my door began.