My old fanfiction with an illustration for it😊
Since English is not my native language, I apologize for the mistakes in the text😅
Warm daylight penetrated into the spacious room, scattering sunbeams on the floor and walls. Peach walls combined with walnut flooring perfectly complemented the furniture located here, making the atmosphere as homely and cozy as possible.
The counter and the many shelves behind it were filled with iridescent painted sets and jars of various sizes. It was their contents that so turned the head with their fragrance. Tea of various varieties was packaged and sorted. Black, green, white, pu-erh tea, mint, chamomile, tea with hibiscus, berries. It was possible to enumerate for as long as it was possible to talk about the properties of each individual drink. Absolutely unique flavors, astringency and aftertaste caused an inexplicable desire to try each of them.
Not surprising, because the tea shop belonged, perhaps, to the most discerning person in this business.
This event in their lives was one of the most significant. After the war, which lasted not a single century, ended, a page turned in the book of life. Real life began from this moment, when the promise to devote his heart to humanity was finally fulfilled. It was at this moment that they could breathe a sigh of relief.
He will never forget how tightly he hugged her while she cried with happiness, throwing tears on his shoulder. Levi stroked her disheveled hair, whispering soothing words in her ear while a tear rolled down from his only healthy eye. With many wounds all over their bodies, dirty, at the end of their strength, they were happy as never before. Petra recalled and experienced these moments with a warm smile on her face as she ran a damp cloth over the counter, wiping off the morning dust. A starched white turtleneck and a yellow sundress made her look even more like the sun. She really shone, radiating this warmth with every smile. Humming to herself a melody she heard a couple of days ago on one of the streets while walking with her husband, carried away by her occupation, she almost missed the ringing of the bell, foreshadowing the arrival of the earliest buyers.
A tall blond man, who looked a couple of years younger than her husband, was with a little boy of nine years old, apparently he was his son, as evidenced by their external similarity, except that only the color of the eyes was different. The redhead withdrew into herself for a few seconds, continuing to look at the guests.
Recently, there have been significantly more such moments. It happened that Levi could not draw his wife's attention to himself from the first time, but when she still returned to him, she kissed him on the cheek, saying that she was thinking. He didn't blame her, on the contrary, he found it quite cute. Looking into her loving eyes, the man could only smile back at her, kissing his wife on the corners of his beloved sweet lips.
- Good afternoon! — the woman immediately hid a dusty rag under the counter, returning to the workplace, - Is there anything I can help you with?
- Good afternoon, - the brown—eyed man nodded politely to the woman behind the counter, - Yes, I will definitely need your help.
- What exactly are you interested in? Sets, tea, spices?
- I want to surprise my wife and buy a good tea, - the man smiled, adjusting his hat that had slid down on his forehead.
- We have a very large assortment of tea, - Ackerman spread her hands to the sides, pointing to the abundance of jars filled with colorful leaves, - and there are also many types of spices! I really like tea with star anise, although lately the main demand is for bergamot and cinnamon.
The boy managed to move away from his father when he relaxed the palm with which he had previously held his son's hand. Such conversations were completely uninteresting to a child of his age. Since he still had to wait for the parent to sort out the gift for his mother, he decided to walk along the shelves with the sets. Bright teapots immediately attracted the boy's attention with their drawings.
Ackerman looked at the child with warmth, returning to work.
- I can recommend medium-leaf varieties, they have a more tart taste and there is plenty to choose from. Do you have any specific preferences?
His eyes lingered on her briefly before they began to scatter across the shelves and display cases with goods.
- I was thinking about choosing between black and red tea.
- My husband loves black tea very much, although red is also quite good, it is also fully fermented, but it has some sweetness and it has a very subtle aroma.
- It really would be nice, - the man seriously thought about her proposal, but he was still hesitant with the choice. Was it worth conducting an experiment or giving preference to the usual varieties?
- I am sure that your wife and you will like karkade tea. You can try it right now to make sure you make the right choice.
- If you don't mind, please, - the blond smiled awkwardly, answering with a forward one.
Petra came out from behind the counter, passing by the man in the direction of the showcase, where there were jars with varieties of red tea. Only now the man drew attention to the rounded tummy of a woman. Petra was incredibly excited about the pregnancy news, but she was also over the moon with happiness. Waking up late one evening on the sofa in the living room, she found her husband sitting next to her stomach. Pressing his ear to it, the gray-eyed man slowly stroked it with his hand until he felt the baby's movements. She didn't bother him, just ran her palm through his black hair. In complete silence, they enjoyed this moment.
A few more months and the Ackerman family will finally meet a new family member.
- Can I help you? — the blond almost took off when the red-haired woman approached a small stepladder. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.
- Oh, it's all right! — she assured, beaming, - Don't worry, I can handle it.
The woman climbed a few steps, a sturdy ladder could guarantee her complete safety, but still it was not entirely comfortable. She reached out for a nearby jar, lucky that it wasn't several levels higher.
Returning to the counter, she performed several manipulations with the new tea leaves, simultaneously explaining to the man all the subtleties of brewing the perfect tea. He listened enthusiastically, without taking his eyes off the process. The bright red liquid immediately attracted attention, and, as promised by Petra, the aroma was really delicious.
- Yes, this tea is really what we need.
Hearing that his father had made up his mind, the boy returned to the adults while the man took out the money and the woman packed the selected tea. The boy looked at the redhead with wide-open eyes when the fabric of her sundress moved on her stomach by itself. Her little face frowned funny from the sunlight falling on her. Petra giggled when she saw the boy's reaction.
- The baby can't wait to meet his parents, - she said softly, gently stroking her stomach.
After taking the purchase, they left, finally wishing Ackerman a good day.
Petra was going to go back to dusting while she had free time. The creaking of the floorboards from the second floor distracted her, she didn't even have time to pick up a rag.
Her husband was walking down the stairs with the help of a cane. He looked for her around the room until he stopped at a silhouette at one of the shelves. Petra went to meet him, opening her arms for a hug. The man pressed her to him with his free hand, stroking her back. He left a kiss on his wife's plump pink lips, making her smile. A woman's hands rested on his cheeks, allowing her to keep his face still close to hers.
- Carcade? the man asked, which caused surprise on Ackerman's face.
She nodded, brushing the hair from his face.
- Tch. Petra, I asked you, - the man exhales irritably. He knew where each of the types of tea in their shop was located, and the fact that his pregnant wife started climbing the stairs to the upper shelves again, to put it mildly, did not please him.
- I swear to you, it was the last time, - she said before kissing him on the lips.
Levi touched his wife's stomach, immediately receiving a blow from the child, his reaction to his father's voice was always very lively, which sometimes led to the fact that the child kicked very hard, from which Petra could not sleep. Today, the man was busy from the very early morning, waking up before Petra, he took care of breakfast for them, after which he went to the room that they were going to convert into a nursery.
- Oh! — the second hand was immediately at the place of impact, - You know, I really want to see it as soon as possible.
- Me too, - he nods in agreement.
- Today I was thinking about what color the baby's eyes will be after a while…
- And which ones would you like more?
- I want him or her to be completely like you.
- Be careful with your desires, - the man joked, catching his wife's mock sullen look at him, — I finished assembling the crib, — Petra put her hand on top of her husband's hand, continuing to drive along her stomach with her, - Do you want to see it?
- With great pleasure, - she smiles.
A few years after the end of the war, they had everything they dreamed of. It was their own little piece of paradise.
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
