Sold to my crush

Lily’s POV

“Hi, good morning.” A young lady who looked to be in her late forties greeted us as soon as we got to the place where the ginger receptionist directed us to.

“Hi”. I greeted back with a smile.

“Hello”. Mr. Mark greeted quietly.

“Welcome to pottery paradise. My name is Moon and I’ll be assisting you today”. The young lady introduced herself with a smile. She had such a beautiful name but she didn’t look like a moon, she looked more like sunshine to me because of how bubbly she looked. Regardless she was beautiful and so was her name.

As I stepped through the doors, I gasped and my eyes widened in surprise at the array of colors and shaped before me. I was immediately struck by the vibrant, earthy atmosphere. The space was filled with the rich aroma of clay, paint and soft clattering of tools created a welcoming and creative ambiance.

The walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of colorful, handcrafted pottery, each piece was unique in shape, pattern and design. I marveled at the different textures, from smooth and glossy to rough and earthy, they were all begging to be touched and my hands were also itching to touch them. A warm golden light illuminated the area, casting intricate shadows and highlighting the craftsmanship of pottery. It was a beautiful sight. I turned to Mr. Mark to find him just as stunned as I was.

“Please come in, this way.” She guided us in with a smile. It seemed the criteria to work in this place was to be drop dead gorgeous. The lady was another version of beauty. She looked like she drawn out of book.

She was dressed comfortably yet stylishly and her outfit reflected the creative artsy vibe of the shop. Her long flowy skirt and loose blouse were a mix of colors and patterns. It was a like a reminiscent of a mosaic. The bold and abstract designs on her clothes were very eye catchy hinting at her eclectic taste and style.

Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and a few stray strands framed her beautifully sculptured and her long hands were smudged with various shades of clay.

She wore a lot of jewelry. She had like five stacks of necklaces on her neck and another stack of jewelry on her wrists. She had a few piercings on her ears and her nose. The jewelry looked mostly handmade and it added to her bohemian look.

“Here, put this on.” The beautiful lady approached us smiling and offered us aprons each. As I slipped it on, I felt a sense of belonging as though I had found my place in this creative, messy world.

As much as I was excited to try this out, I knew at the back of my mind that I wasn’t given the gift of creativity on this kind of things. I always sucked in art but I guess I would try not think of this as an assignment or school work but I would just enjoy it. No matter how messy I get it done or even if I at the end of the day, I can’t produce anything nice or presentable I wouldn’t beat myself up. I was just enjoy the experience.

She walked to a table and we took a seat quietly. I continued looking around when I spotted a customer who had their back to us. The pottery wheel hummed to life as she eagerly shaped her creation. It seemed she already knew her way around it cause she seemed to be in full control of what she was doing without any assistance.

“Alright shall we begin?”. She asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes”. I responded eagerly and Mr. Mark just have a curt nod without no sign of enthusiasm.

“Alright, firstly we have to decide what you want to make. So any ideas?”. She asked

“Well I’m not so sure”. I responded as I began pondering on what I wanted to make. “Do you have any ideas Mr. Mark?”. I turned to him.

“Not really, I’m not sure.” He responded with his hands on his chin. He looked like he was also pondering on what to create.

“I’ll just give you a minute then to decide, but if you like I can suggest some things like mugs, cups or plates since you’re both beginners.” She said.

“That doesn’t seem like a bad idea at all. I think I would like to create a small cute mug.” I said smiling. “What do you think?” I turned to Mr. Mark.

“Yeah, I would just do the same.” He responded.

“Alright let’s get started. As you can see I have already placed all the necessary equipments needed for a successful process on the table. There is a bucket of water close to each of you, with a rib, needle tool and rim etc. As time progresses, I will explain each of these equipments as we use them.” Moon explained.

“Alright”. I responded.

“Mm”. Came from Mr. Mark.

“Now we have to pick a clay, we have earthenware clay, stoneware and porcelain clay. But for the purpose of this session we’re going to make use of he earthenware clay as it is the easiest to work with. As you can see I have already placed it on the table”. She gestured to the clay set aside for each of us.

Mr. Mark and I just hummed in response.

“We’ll begin by first weighing out the clay”. She gave out series of instructions and applied them with a wheel in front of here and before my eyes, she had created a cup.

“Your turn now”. She smiled at us.

“Okay”, I said in a shaky voice. I pick up a small amount of clay and shaped it into a symmetrical ball. I secured the bat on the pottery’s wheel and slammed the clay ball into the center of the bat via her instructions. I squealed in excitement when it made a slab sound.

I tapped the clay into the center with my dry hands first before wetting my hands in water then I began to center the clay while the wheel was in motion.

“Apply a little more pressure.” She instructed.

My hands was beginning to shake and I wasn’t so sure of what I was doing anymore. “Relax and enjoy the moment. Trust your hands, they’ll know what to do”. Moon said with a smile.

I returned the smile and let myself loose as I began to shape the clay. My heart that was once racing had began to quiet down. I felt a sense of satisfaction as the clay began to take form under my fingers. It was like a magical transformation. With each rotation of the wheel and each press of my hands, I could feel the cup starting to take shape.

Moon continued guiding and giving us instructions to ensure we had the perfect mug and soon enough it was time to detach the pot from the bat using a cutting wire.

When we detached it we let it sit on the bat to dry, loosely covered with a plastic drape.

We were asked to allow the cup dry until it reached the green ware stage. I did not know what that meant but we waited regardless. When the cups had reached the green ware stage, she notified us and instructed us on how to trim the base of the cups.

We carefully removed it from the bat and placed it on a clean bat upside down. She instructed us to anchor it on the bat’s center with wet clay and slowly turn on the wheel. We used a needle to remove excess clay from the base and edges and it was really starting to come together.

After we were finished, we moved on to the next stage, which was to dry the cups to leather and bisque fire. I didn’t know much about this stage because we left it to the hands of moon. She only explained that it was necessary to increase the cup’s durability.

Once it was done, she brought it out of the bisque fire and we moved to the next stage. The next stage was to glaze the cups.

I excitedly followed her instructions to get it done and it came out better than I had expected.

When we were done with everything, we let our creation cool down. We were to an area where we could wash off and when we were cleaned up, we were served drinks and snacks.

“Did you enjoy it?”. I asked Mr. Mark who was quietly munching beside me.

“Yeah, it was great. Thank you. I’ve not done anything like this in a while. It was wonderful.” Mr. Mark said with a smile.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I returned the smile.

“Here, it’s ready”. Moon retuned a while later and handed the cups to us.

“No, I think you should keep mine here.” I said to moon while handing he cup back to her.

“Don’t be silly dear. It’s yours have it”. She said with a chuckle.

“The thing is that I don’t think I have any use of it.” I said while caressing and staring at the cup.

“You made this for the first time and I’m sure you poured some love into making this, you could gift it to your child. It could be your first gift.” She said with a soft smile.

“How did you..?”

“Oh Please dear, anyone could tell.” She scoffed and laughed. “You had been caressing your stomach absentmindedly ever you walked in.”

“I didn’t even realize.” I blushed.

“I know that but you could gift to your baby. It’s your baby’s, so take it please.” She pressed.

“I will, thank you so much Moon”. My eyes were beginning to get teary so I blinked rapidly to hold it in. Moon must have noticed my struggle when she pulled me into a hug.

I simply sank into the hug without complaint. I needed it. I needed that hug. It felt like it had been years since I had been confronted and hugging her made me think of my mother. Oh how I wished she would be here to see me navigate life.

“Have a great day”. She pulled away and bid us goodbye. “Do come back soon”.

“Of course. Thank you”. I responded. I wiped my eyes and walked behind Mr. Mark as we left the shop. I didn’t forget to also bid the ginger goddess goodbye before leaving.

It was such a blessing to be around such beautiful people.

As we got into the car, I still held my cup tightly in my hands as I caressed it. I allowed the whole experience sink into me and I can say that truly, It was a wonderful experience. It somewhat felt like I was connecting with nature. I guess I had found a new hobby. It made me want a house that overlooked a river so I could do this at the back yard and make wonderful things for my child while they played around.

Speaking of my child, I guess I had gotten my first for my baby. I was excited to meet my baby and gift this to him/her. I hope he/she would love it as much as I do.

“Are you going to use yours?”. I asked Mr. mark.

“What?”. He asked confused.

“The cup you made, are you going to make use of it?.” I made my question clear.

“Oh not really.” He responded quietly.

“What would you do with then?”. I asked with curious eyes.

“Well I was thinking of gifting it to my daughter.” He responded.

“Oh”. I looked away sadly.

“Yeah, i would take it to her grave. Hopefully she would like it”. He chuckled sadly.

“Yeah, I’m sure she would.” I responded quietly. I wish there was something I could do to take his pain away. I couldn’t bear to see him like this. I tried to even imagine what goes through his head every time his dead family comes across his mind but I couldn’t.

“Can I ask a question?.” I turned to him again.

“Yeah, sure.” He responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

“It’s quite a sensitive question, should I go ahead?”. I asked again while fumbling with my fingers.

“Y.. yeah, I guess.” He stuttered out.

“Okay.” I took a deep breathe. “Has it ever crossed your mind to join your family?.”

The car was silent. It was like we both held our breathe and stilled.

I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but ask. I know I’m a terrible person but I just had to ask.

“I.. I”.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer.” I rushed out when I saw how broken he looked. His eyes looked distant, like he was replaying terrible memories.

“I.. I couldn’t even if I wanted to”. He responded quietly.

“What do you mean by that.” I sat up straight in the car and stared at him with wide eyes.

“I’m not even allowed to die after all the torture. They won’t let me.”

“What does that mean?. Who wouldn’t let you?.” My head was spinning with questions.

“I can’t say.” He whispered.

“Why?”. I was jumping in my seat at this point. I needed to know what was going on. All these unknown answers were killing me.

“I can’t say Ma. I would rather not talk about it.” He said with a firm voice with his hands tightly gripping the car wheels.

I knew I had to respect his decision and drop it. “Alright”. But I knew I wouldn’t rest, so I had to find out one way or the other.

“Where are we headed now?”. Mr. Mark asked after a while of awkward silence.

“To see Daisy”. I said in a firm tone without looking at Mr. Mark.