The Enchantment of Shattered Illusions - Chapter 6

Sounds of soft chatter filled the living room as the Tlahuizcal women worked with lirio leaves to form woven roses. Each one had about 7 leaves per bundle, and grabbed the topmost leaf to weave it over, under, over, under; once the leaf reached the end, the cycle would begin all over.

Abuela Ezi sat in her wooden chair with a cushion underneath her. Hints of the pillow peeked out in splashes of bright greens and blues. The midafternoon sun shone on her since she was by the front window; something she greatly appreciated, given her nature to feel cold easily. The matriarch had the most roses done out of the group—her many years of experience gave her a stark advantage. The basket by her side was almost at its max holding capacity.

Tía Xilo sat on the couch facing the radio. She had her legs stacked underneath her body, sticking out to one side, and hummed to herself while she interjected into the communal conversation here and there. She was following close to her mother in flower count, since weaving was one of her passions. Tía Xilo had her pile flowers placed on the empty side of the couch.

Zalli sat on the rug between the two older women. Currently, she sat in a slightly awkward position where her knees were bent and away from each other. Her back hunched over as she focused immensely on the craft at hand. The farmer liked the open floor space, as it allowed her to effortlessly change positions semi-frequently. Her hips had hypermobility—which rarely affected her daily lifestyle since she walked a majority of the day—but it made sitting a bit of a chore. Zalli needed to change her posture intermittently. Her comfort seemed to have a shorter time limit on it when compared to others. And a chair could never be the first option, as it provided limited options.

In terms of the rose making, Zalli saw she currently ranked as third. No one had stated it would be a competition, but her inert nature to treat tasks as a game, especially boring ones, made her keep track of who had the most woven roses done so far. She could also have more flowers done if she was not such a perfectionist. The farmer was motivated by the idea of ensuring these flowers should look pretty and presentable, so their presence at the Midsummer Festival left a lovely impression.

Thus, no flowers made by her could have any gaps. It also meant an annoyed groan slipped away from her at random points in the past hour. But, once the end of the leaves had been met, and Zalli could spiral the strip into a rose shape and fastened it with thin burlap rope, she would let out a content sigh or hum, proud of her handiwork. Then she would toss the flower onto the pile she shared with her sister.

Tepi, still exhausted from her minimal sleep at night, was lying down on the couch nearest to the kitchen. Her legs were bent as well as she leaned them towards the backrest of the furniture she was on. She moved the slowest, but she tried her best to supply as much labor as she could. She was also the key driver of the conversation since that was her strategy to not doze off while working.

Some silence arose, which prompted Tepi to ask Zalli a question.

“Zalli. When will ... the uh, coordinator arrive today?”

The farmer picked her head up and flipped a light blonde braid off her shoulder to remember what time the festival coordinator had told her.

“Pretty soon, I am sure. She said between 1 and 2 pm, and right now it’s—” Zalli turned to look at the analog clock which sat on the mantle above the fireplace. “12:43 pm.”

“Do you think ... she will like ... our makeshift bouquet?”

Tepi threw a finished flower onto the coffee table, contributing to the shared pile. It happened to land right next to the subject of the conversation.

Zalli glanced at the slightly hidden flower arrangement as the surrounding woven roses steadily covered the presentation meant to convince the coordinator. She looked back at her sister to give her reply.

“Yes. The bouquet is still pretty, real flowers or not.”

Even though she sounded confident, Zalli was assuring herself about it as much as she was assuring Tepi.

KNOCK, KNOCK. KNOCK.

“Aurozalli, the coordinator must be here. Go check the door, please.”

Her abuela spoke, still concentrated on the craftwork.

Zalli stood up, abiding by the command. She felt a nervousness settle in her stomach as worry and excitement mixed within her. Even though she was unsure what the outcome might be, she held high hopes for her alternative bouquet.

The farmer walked over to the window by the door to check if the person the family was waiting for had actually arrived. She pulled the curtain back to peek through the glass, but then immediately pulled away in dread.

The CEO did not catch her glimpsing through the pane, but there he stood, one hand in a pocket, looking to the right to stare at her fields. Zalli placed her back to the door as she hid from Yoltzin, which caused her to feel the vibrations of him striking the door again in a rhythmic cadence.

KNOCK, KNOCK. KNOCK.

“Zalli. Open the door!”

Her abuela had to raise her voice to guarantee her nieta would hear her.

“Uh—it’s Sr. Yoltzin.”

“Well, let him in. See what the caballero wants.”

“Abue, you see—the thing is—”

KNOCK, KNOCK. KNOCK.

Zalli flinched as the CEO interrupted her with another one of his rapping against the door.

“¿Mija, qué haces? Just open the door already.”

“Ugh, fine! I’m doing it!”

Zalli was not mad at her abuela as she spoke, but irritation was definitely in her voice as she finally conceded to the request. Her annoyance stemmed from the man on the other side of the door. A man who had a half smile on his face as she swung the entrance open hard on its hinges.

As he greeted Zalli, his tone held mirth behind his cordiality, showing the maiden he had heard everything from his side of the door.

“Hello, Zalli. Are you busy?”

“Yes. Now go away.”

Zalli moved to slam the door in his face, but Yoltzin was too quick. He held his free hand up to stop the movement of the furnished wood and slithered around the farmer to enter her household.

“I am sure it is something I can help with. The faster I can help you with your chore, then the sooner we can converse.”

Zalli still held the door handle in her grasp, hoping she could convince him to at least return at a later time.

“How about later?”

“Yes, I suppose that could work,” A breath of relief and minor surprise left Zalli. She thought she would need to do more convincing than just that. “Allow me to greet your family first. It would be rude of me not to say anything to them.”

She had thought the alleviation too soon.

“That’s not—really—necessary. I am sure they will be fine without it.”

Zalli annunciated the adverb to get a point across.

“Nonsense. I am a caballero, after all.”

His reply confirmed to the farmer that he had, in fact, heard everything said between her and her matriarch. Yoltzin moved around her and walked in stride towards her living room. Zalli heard him address Abuela Ezi first as she closed the front door in defeat.

When she joined the rest of the group, Yoltzin had already moved onto her Tia Xilo with his introductions. Zalli saw he left a demure kiss on her hand after her tía brought her hand up for a handshake.

This man is doing too much, she thought and shook her head in minor disbelief.

Once Yoltzin was done greeting Tepi, which he acknowledged was their second meeting, Zalli was ready to direct the CEO out of her home again. Unfortunately, her abuela was faster than her and went into interviewer mode to determine what his purpose in their home was.

“So Sr. Yoltzin. What brings you to our home?”

“I am so glad you asked!” He turned around to face the matriarch and stepped closer to her to provide his full attention. “I told Zalli I would be back to discuss further of our partnership.”

“Partnership?!” Zalli interjected, her tone raised in incredulity. “Also, you said you would be back the next day, not a couple of days later.”

“Yes, sorry about that. Something came up.” Sr. Yoltzin turned his head to address the maiden, but quickly finished his response owed to Abuela Ezi. “I believe there is a way to do business with Zalli while also allowing her to maintain ownership of her farm.”

“That is wonderful to hear! Mija, you should discuss this with Sr. Yoltzin as soon as possible, no?”

Glee appeared on her abuela’s face, making Zalli feel a bit out of sorts. The complete story wasn’t being told, but she preferred the excitement she saw within her abuela’s expression compared to seeing the worry she carried as of late.

“Ah ... yes. But I think that discussion can happen later. We need to focus on weaving these roses first.”

Zalli brought her hand up to display their progress thus far. The CEO examined the room, taking in the many woven creations accumulated. His eyes moved quickly around as if he was determining something from the clues presented before him. Zalli knew something clicked within his lizard brain as soon as he made fierce eye contact with her. A triumphant smile appeared in his expression as the dazzling man spoke to her.

“Ah-hah! So this is what you are doing for the festival! How brilliant of you.”

A blush appeared on the farmer’s cheeks at his unexpected compliment. Zalli looked away to collect herself. She didn’t want to feel like a love struck maiden, so she rerouted herself to her strategy with renewed passion; a passion which caused her to take a couple of steps forward in Yoltzin’s direction.

“Right ... Thank you. And, as you can see, it requires a lot of work, so if you don’t mind—”

“I can help. My schedule is clear for the day.”

Zalli’s eyes squinted at another interruption she received from the CEO.

His fingers were placed atop his chest when he stated his offer, and he had taken a step forward, excited to find another opportunity to overextend his stay. As Zalli spoke her rejection, he brought his hands down slowly and subtly wiggled his fingers toward Tia Xilo. The farmer caught the action, and found it strange, but she was resolute in getting the man to leave.

“No, we are fine without your help.”

“Zalli, let’s have the man help us. If he is willing, why not?”

Tia Xilo spoke up from the left of Zalli. Her eyes seemed to hold no expression, but when she finished speaking, she blinked rapidly and life seemed to appear in her sight again.

Distracted by her tía, Zalli didn’t catch the man wiggle his fingers with his other hand towards her abuela.

“Yes, mijita. Let him stay and help.”

Abuela Ezi’s tone was monotone. But Zalli missed that too, as she directed her attention to the CEO with a flippant declaration.

“He does not even know how to make one. I don’t think he can learn how either, what would a business person know?”

“Zalli, don’t be rude! If he is willing to learn, then he can help us.” This time, her abuela’s scolding couldn’t faze Zalli. She was too engrossed with the stare down she was having with Yoltzin.

“Yes, I would love to learn Sra. Tlahuizcal. You wouldn’t mind showing me, would you?”

In starting his sentence, Yoltzin continued the staring game with the farmer, but for once he held no playfulness in his face. It was like Zalli’s own persistence was finally getting on his nerves. A frustration most likely stemming from knowing she is not one he can easily control.

In his kind request of Abuela Ezi, though, he had turned to look at the matriarch with a beaming smile which oozed grace and allure.

“Of course, mijo! Aurozalli, could you grab a chair from the kitchen and place it next to me so I can show Sr. Yoltzin how to weave the lirio leaves?”

“Sure, abue.”

Zalli made another squint with her face, unhappy with how the situation turned out. As she moved past Yoltzin to walk towards the kitchen, she purposefully shoved into his arm and threw his balance off, if only but a little. She disguised her rude gesture with a ‘sorry’ spoken softly as she walked on, fuming, but saying nothing more to Yoltzin.

When she returned with a chair in hand and placed it next to her abuela’s, the CEO backed away to give her ample space for her set up. He did not want to risk getting stabbed in his foot by a wayward chair leg.

Zalli had calmed down some during her quick trip, so she actually set the wooden seat down gently. She was hasty in moving away from Yoltzin, though, and quickly sat on the arm of her sister’s couch, which was closest to the fireplace. She decided she would ignore the man from the other side of the room and let her abuela handle his nonsense.

Some time passed as the group continued their work. The only noise heard was from Abuela Ezi guiding the CEO with directions and from Tia Xilo assisting in the explanation when necessary. Zalli would try to converse with Tepi, but her little sister’s energy seemed to have slowed down even further. She could only provide simple responses to whatever Zalli had to say.

This meant the farmer had little to distract her from the eminent arrival of the coordinator. She would constantly check the clock to ease her worries, but it would only gnaw at her nerves further.

Finally, at about 30 strained minutes later, a distant noise came from the front door.

Knock, knock.

“I’ll get it!”

Zalli sprouted up and dashed to the door, going around her sister. She pulled back the curtain to check again of who it was and felt relief to find the festival coordinator waiting patiently on the other side. The farmer enthusiastically pulled open the front door and greeted the individual.

“Sra. Poton! Hello, how are you doing?”

Zalli gave room for the coordinator to enter. Her free hand gently petted a braid that had escaped to her front.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Tlahuizcal. I am doing well, and you?”

“Just as well. Please, let me take you to the living room. I will show you what we have for the bouquets this year.”

A nod came from the woman while Zalli locked the door and escorted her guest to follow her into the family room. Being the first to enter, the farmer noticed everyone appeared to be working, but their expressions were too calm. Especially Yoltzin’s. Zalli figured they were all listening in to her interaction with señora Poton.

Once all the greetings were given, Zalli walked past Yoltzin and grabbed the bouquet prototype. She presented it to the festival coordinator with eyebrows raised and a soft smile. Zalli tried to read the reaction on the woman’s face, but it seemed to be blank. Not feeling discouraged, the maiden began her pitch.

“As I said in our phone call from earlier, the bouquets will carry about half of the usual amount of flowers, but it would be no less appealing or inadequate. Unfortunately, our yield this year has decreased substantially for unknown reasons, but the woven roses made of lirio leaves are a good enough substitute.” Zalli walked over to the coordinator so the woman could get a better view before she continued to speak. “And as you can see, we crafted the roses with precise skill. On top of that, we can still use the same embellishments as before, but we have also included the actual lirios to provide more form to the shape.”

The farmer delicately took hold of the bell-shaped flowers to show señora Poton their bright green color, as well as their red bracts. The festival coordinator grabbed hold of the bouquet to examine the flora further.

“And you said you would keep the price the same?”

Señora Poton turned the bouquet from side to side, and looked at it from top to bottom, as if she was trying her hardest to find anything at fault with the floral display.

“Yes ... I figured the committee would be a bit upset at the unexpected change, so keeping the price the same was the least I can do.”

“I think this can work for the festival.” A smile broke out on Zalli’s face. “But I would have to request for the price to be lowered.”

The smile fell just as quickly as it appeared and turned into a disappointed frown. This was not an outcome that Zalli had prepared herself for, but she responded as best as she could, crossing her arms in deliberation.

“I would argue that request seems a bit unfair. Is there any way to change your mind about that?”

“No, not really. The festival attendees always look forward to the roses your farm has to provide. I am afraid this might bring a displeasing reaction from the crowds.”

Zalli tilted her head in frustration. Before she could accept lowering the price, Yoltzin stood up from behind her and inserted himself into the conversation.

“If I may, señorita Tlahuizcal is actually being very generous with her offer.”

“You would think she should charge more, don Calip?”

“Absolutely!” Yoltzin stood next to Zalli, with arms crossed in his sturdy stance. “I have a love for the arts, and seeing their craftwork in person has been quite impressive. What they are making is some high-quality work.”

Zalli’s family had stopped working a while ago, and were now staring at the three standing individuals, waiting to see how the discussion would turn. The coordinator still showed resistance on her face to the proposal, determined to pay a lower price. She handed the bouquet back to Zalli, who twirled with a stray braid, and spoke in turn.

“I am pretty sure the committee will not like the change. Paying more seems too much, but ... I could amend to paying the same price as in previous years.”

Eyebrows shot up on Zalli’s face, happy to hear the course was back on track, but Yoltzin seemed to disagree with it.

“No, that will not do. It would be a disservice to their talent. A price increase to 3.5 g of gold each bouquet should be fair enough.”

“No, it would be better to not buy at all at that price.”

Zalli felt panic rise in her chest. The course had erratically changed to complete collapse. She spoke to salvage whatever damage the man next to her caused, but he interrupted her again.

“Sra. Poton, paying the same price as before is fine wi—”

“If you don’t buy at all, your festival will suffer even more without its appealing decorations.” Yoltzin brought a hand up in front of Zalli with his interruption, determined to get a good deal for her. “Her farm is the only one in your town which sells flowers commercially. She also knows how to arrange the flowers with excellent technique, providing a calculated balance in each of her bundles. If you did not think she had this value, then I am sure you and your committee would have been foraging wild flowers and arranging them for yourselves a long time ago.

A corner of the festival coordinator’s lips turned upwards as she also pressed them into a thin line. A heavy sigh came from her, but Yoltzin only continued on.

“If you decide not to buy, then, by all means, go for it. Either way, Zalli here will still make a profit at her deserved price when she sells the bouquets individually to the attendees. As you said, they all look forward to her flowers.”

“Oh ... no. Please—”

Zalli tried to save the situation again, but this time, it was the coordinator who interrupted her.

“Fine. But it won’t be at 3.5 g of gold. Let’s make it 2.”

“3 g.”

“2.5.”

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

The farmer’s head had swished side to side, going from the CEO and the festival coordinator as they negotiated the price. She felt left behind at the speed the conversation took, but snapped out of it as Sra. Poton went to shake Yoltzin’s hand in agreement with the bargain. She then brought her hand up to shake Zalli’s and asked her a question.

“Will you be providing the same amount of bouquets as usual? And on time?”

Zalli turned to look at Abuela Ezi, not really sure what she was looking for, but gave her response with certainty as she returned her glance to the woman before her.

“Yes.”

“Then I will see you in two days, the morning of the festival. You will receive your payment then, as usual.”

Zalli nodded in agreement. Señora Poton said her goodbyes to the group and walked away first. The farmer turned to look at Yoltzin with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. She ended up walking away, not wanting to keep the coordinator waiting at the door, deciding to deal with the man on her return.