Dear reader, I finally donned the red cape. Now as I stroll beneath the autumn trees, a rain of jewel-colored leaves all around me, I cannot help but smile. Wrapped in my new fine cloak I feel like a part of it all. I did wear it to market and Lorenz was there, and well, I’m glad he saw me wearing it.
Before market, I drank a bit of the leftover Confidence remedy I made for little Luna. It warmed me from the inside out, like a hot tea, and it tasted of sweet cinnamon and cloves. I tossed the cloak over my shoulders, tied the ribbons at my neck, and took a moment to look upon myself in the magic mirror. It really is a beautiful garment, and, dare I say it... in that moment… I felt beautiful wearing it. It made me smile, but I did not dwell upon it, for you see, wearing the cloak was not my final aim. I had it in mind to confess my feelings to Lorenz.
Walking into the village, folks did take notice. The red was so bold, but most either nodded to me as I passed or pretended to go about their business. I did feel a bit bashful, but not uncomfortable, and to those who did ask about it, I offered praise to the tailor for making such a lovely garment. They agreed the work was very fine indeed; and a few mentioned something about wanting to pay him a visit themselves. When Elise spotted me she smiled broadly. “Why Sonya,” she cried, “You finally found your nerve!” She said I looked pretty as an autumn leaf, but seemed distracted; she kept looking around passed the clusters of other villagers bartering for their bread and cheese. Then, with an ‘oh’, she said she’d be right back. Dear reader, I was rather confused, but a moment later she returned with, goodness, Lorenz following behind her. My face flushed. I knew then she must have guessed my feelings, for she gave me the slyest of smiles as they approached.
Well, then Elise pressed “I must know your opinion, Mr. Lorenz. Being a fine gentleman of the capital, what do you think of Sonya’s new cape?” He seemed surprised at first, and for one brief moment I questioned my decision; maybe the red cloak was indeed too much. But then he grinned and replied that it was lovely, “even more so with the embroidery, which improves it greatly.” And turning to Elise he added, “Miss Sonya has a way of improving things, does she not?” My heart melted.
Elise said she had some shopping she needed to do for the Inn and bid us farewell. Lorenz noticed the bottles in my basket and offered to accompany me to the general store. After a quick hello to the Humes and an exchange of the old bottles for the new, the the two of us were outside once again. But now we were alone, far away from the crowded market and curious ears. I thought to myself ‘This is it’, and took a deep breath. I thanked Lorenz for his compliment about my cloak and about me. I admitted I had been a bit nervous to show him, and when he asked why I should be nervous, I answered that it was because I valued his opinion of me so highly. “Miss Sonya,” he sighed, “I don’t think there is anything you could do to lose my good opinion.” I thought I would soon find out. As I opened my mouth to confess, Alexander rushed up to us, out of breath and excited.
Lorenz wondered what was the matter, for he had left his pupil studying in the library. Alexander exclaimed, “That’s just it!” He had been reviewing his lesson on old Olkarian and he recognized some of the characters. “You said you thought the script on the scrolls looked familiar! Well, that’s why. Look, the marks, the letters. They look like old Olkarian, but sort of a cursive style of them.” Lorenz took the young man’s notes and we looked them over. I didn’t know old Olkarian, but between the two sets of text he had written out I could see what he meant. An extra loop here, a slight thinning of the shape there. Yes, he might very well be right! The two of them were excited to return to the library and invited me to come along, but sadly, I declined for the moment. The season was fading fast, and I told them I wanted to pay one more visit to our friend in the forest. They looked disappointed but asked me to pass along their greetings.
So, dear reader, my day ended with a visit to Dorothy. We had a long talk over hot tea and a few of her honey-cinnamon candies. I thanked her for sharing her knowledge of Healing magic and told her about the scrolls at the Well of the Green Sister. She wondered if the folks there simply recorded the magic, or perhaps created it themselves. Either way, she said they must have been very wise. When it was finally time to say goodbye until next autumn, Dorothy helped me put on my hooded cloak, and with a twinkle in her eye said, “I’m glad you finally found the confidence to wear this. And don’t worry about Lorenz. You’ll find the right moment to tell him.” Oh goodness, I don’t know how she knew! Maybe the forest told her. Anyway, as winter is on its way and I delight in the last of the autumn leaves, I’ll keep my warm cloak tucked close around me, ready to tell Lorenz when the time is right.