It was a quiet day in the fan shop. Only two people came in and neither of them bought anything. Rosalite stood behind the counter drumming her fingers on the wood and watching the door, hoping that the people walking by would come inside.
Nicolas sat on the ground with Rosalite's book on the floor in front of him. He had had the book for almost two weeks now and was still trying to figure out how to read it. Rosalite told him that each little figure was a letter and each letter had a sound and put together they made words. All he had to do was memorize what each sound was and put them together.
But it was more complicated than that. Sometimes putting letters together changed their sound, and sometimes putting accents over the letters changed their sound. He stared down at a picture on a page of a cat and a mouse with three lines of words underneath it.
"Rosalite?" Nicolas asked. "This doesn't make very much sense. There are letters on the end of the words that don't fit."
"Letters at the ends of the words don't usually sound," Rosalite said.
Nicolas looked over the words again, mumbling to himself the sounds. Suddenly something clicked to him. "I think I got it!" he exclaimed. He ran to Rosalite. "It says Cat. Mouse. Cat chases mouse. Mouse runs."
Rosalite looks at the page. "You're right," Rosalite said. "How long did it take you to get that?"
"I started this page after lunch," Nicolas said.
"You're getting quicker," Rosalite said. "Soon you'll be able to read those pages as fast as you can talk."
"I don't know about that," Nicolas said.
"It took me forever to learn to read when I was young," Rosalite said. "My Father taught me when I was five or six. I had trouble learning the letters. But, that was almost ten years ago. I read pretty fast now."
"I'm going to try the next page," Nicolas said. He turned to a page showing a picture of two children playing with a wheel and a stick.
Rosalite watched Nicolas run his finger over the words on the page. She smiled. She liked having the little boy around. Her life had been very lonely before he came.
The door to The Fanmaker's workshop swung open. The old man stood at the doorway holding a beautiful silk fan in his arms. "It's beautiful, Fanmaker," Rosalite said, walking over to the man. He held it out and she took the fan from him.
Nicolas saw it and got up from his place on the floor. He still held his book in his hand as he walked to Rosalite. "It's so pretty, how do you make them like that?" Nicolas asked, running his hand along the floral patterned silk of the fan.
"Careful," Nicolas' uncle muttered to him.
"Oh, I will be," Nicolas said. "I'm teaching myself to read. I already know all of the letters and sounds. I can read words from Rosalite's books."
"Careful careful," The Fanmaker muttered again and turned around. He walked back to his workshop.
Nicolas stared at the workshop door. Why didn't his uncle like him? Why didn't he want to talk to him. Rosalite walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him get to you," Rosalite said. "He wants to be your friend, he really does. He just has trouble showing it, that's all. Why don't you try to read another page.
Nicolas nodded. "It says: He i-is br-o-o-other. Sh-she is sister. Th-th-they pl- they play to-to-to"
"Together," Rosalite said.
"Oh yes," Nicolas said. "He is brother. She is sister. They play together." He smiled. He liked figuring out words. He flipped the page again. The next page showed a man and a woman holding a rattle over a baby in a cradle.
"These are some of the same words as the last page," Nicolas said.
"Yes," Rosalite said. "Some words are more common."
"It starts 'This is', just like the last page. It says: This is…" Nicolas stopped reading aloud and read in his head. He ran his fingers over the page and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Rosalite asked.
"I don't want to read anymore," Nicolas said. He set the book down and ran upstairs.
Rosalite looked at the book he left on the counter. She read the words on the page.
He is Father. She is Mother. They play with baby.
Rosalite looked at the stairs. Poor Nicolas, she thought to herself. She walked up the stairs and opened the door to Nicolas' room. He sat of the bed with his head resting in his hands. "Can I come in?" Rosalite asked.
"Yes," Nicolas said softly. Rosalite came into his room and sat down beside him. "The woman in the book looked just like my Mother," Nicolas said.
"I know how hard it is when someone you love passes away," Rosalite said. "My Mama died when I was just a baby. I couldn't imagine not having my Father too."
"I just can't stop thinking about her," Nicolas said. "I try to put her out of my head but I can't."
"You don't have to," Rosalite said. "She is your Mother. She'll always be in your mind. Sometimes you won't think about her as much, but she'll always be there."
"I know," Nicolas said. "Thank you Rosalite."
"You're welcome," Rosalite said. "I'm going to go back to the shop. If you need anything just come down."
"Alright," Nicolas said. Rosalite started walking towards the door. "Wait," Nicolas said. Rosalite turned. "Do you think my uncle really wants to be my friend?"
Rosalite smiled. "I think so," she said. "Just give him time."