Chapter One
Fourteen year old Saka Zinti woke up to the sound of her mother’s voice. “Saka, you’ve overslept!” she called. “Eat your breakfast, then go down to the market and find your brother. Tell him to come back within an hour.”
“All right, I’m coming,” replied Saka sleepily.
She had long, glossy, black hair, which fell a few inches past her shoulders and framed a delicate face with sparkling, almond-shaped black eyes. Her looks could have been mistaken for those of one who is quite wealthy, but she was certainly hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. In fact, she was extremely far from it.
She got up off her old and worn sleeping mat, rolled it up, and entered the only other room of her family’s small hut, where her mother gave her a plate with a small piece of fish on it. She wolfed it down immediately. It could hardly be called breakfast, but she didn’t complain, for she wasn’t the only one who was hungry; her whole family was. In fact, nobody in her small village could say they had full bellies.
They were all poor, but Saka’s family had less money than most, for they had a rather large family; Saka, her brother Okaji, who was eighteen years old, her mother and father, her little brother (named Majakao), and little sister (named Kanu). They were six year old twins. It meant many mouths to feed, and with not enough money to do so properly, the whole family lead a very hard life.
Saka went back to the other room, where the family slept, grabbed a basket her mother had weaved out of reed, and a small pouch with some money in it. She then ran back to the other room, said good-bye to her mother, and dashed out the door.
Saka wasn’t in a hurry; she was just in a good mood, and running under the clear blue sky, the golden sun, and the wispy white clouds made her feel free, like a bird.
As she ran to the market, she was joined by a big black dog named Tsabu. Tsabu was a dog she had found about two years ago, abandoned as helpless pup, alone in the world. But Saka took her in. She cared for Tsabu, played with her, and loved her. Saka had named her after the Empress Tsaburaki, who ruled her land, the land of Akai, but everyone called the dog Tsabu for short. She didn’t depend on Saka’s family for food though; she caught small animals from the wild, and even though she was very skinny, she managed, just like Saka and her family.
When Saka arrived at the market place, she began looking for Okaji. She wandered among the stalls, searching for him, but it was Tsabu who found him. When she spotted him, she began barking, and bounded over to him, for she adored him, and he was her favorite human next to Saka.
Okaji saw the dog running towards him and laughed. “Tsabu, slow down! I’m not going anywhere!” He was tall for his age, and quite attractive. He looked past Tsabu and saw Saka.
“Saka, did mother say that I should come back now?” he called.
“She wants you to be home within an hour,” replied Saka. “But for the time being, Tsabu and I are here to help you barter with those tricky old vendors.” She grinned, and Okaji grinned back. They both knew that Okaji would settle for any price, as long as he could get out of the noisy market as soon as possible, and that Saka wouldn’t leave until she got the best price possible.
Okaji and Saka went to different stalls, and Tsabu was torn between whom she should follow, so she pranced around the market, trying to follow both of them, which caused a lot of shouting and confusion amongst the shoppers.
Every day at the market was like this, tons of people from tons of towns and villages all over that part of the land. It was easy to get lost in such a big, crowded place.
Saka found a stall selling fruits and vegetables. She looked around for the owner of the stall, but there was none. She was about to leave, when she saw a woman hurry towards her. At first, she couldn’t make out who it was, when she realized it was Mako Gamaji, her mother’s best friend.
“Mako! How are you?” asked Saka. Normally, one would have addressed her as Jiiko, for that was the respectful word for one’s female elders, but Mako insisted being addressed by her first name.
“I’m doing wonderful! I’m sorry I wasn’t at my stall. I was buying some blankets. Is there anything I can help you with? These fruits and vegetables were just picked this morning, very fresh.”
“But Mako, you sell pottery!” It was true. The things she made were beautiful; they could light up any room, no matter how drab or small.
“Yes, but nobody seems to have money for such extravagances anymore, so I’m selling things from my garden. People do need to eat, after all.” Mako replied.
“That’s true. Well, how much would four oranges and a broccoli cost?” Saka asked.
“That would be twelve aokabes,” answered Mako.
Saka carefully counted out twelve aokabes, handed them to Mako, and put the food in her basket. She was about to bid Mako a good day, when Mako, stopped her.
“Saka, wait. Have you checked the notice board lately?” Saka shook her head. The notice board was a huge board in the center of eastern Akai, where people advertised their services, or let people know that they were looking for someone to do a job for them. Saka checked it at least once a week, but she was too young for most of the jobs advertised. She never stopped looking though. If she could get a job, it would mean more money, which was something they desperately needed. Okaji and her father both had jobs, but they got such low wages, it barely helped at all. . But Saka’s mother said they should be grateful for every last aokabe they had. And they were, Saka most of all. It was just that sometimes she wished she had more to be grateful for.
“Well, I was down there yesterday, and I saw a job that you might be able to take,” said Mako. “And it has good wages, but it’s pretty far away.”
“I don’t mind walking a few miles for a job! And it has good wages, you say? Well, that’s terrific! But… what exactly is the job, Mako?” Saka said all of this in one breath. She could walk a long distance, and it would be worth it with good pay. This sounded perfect. But she needed more information about it, like the time and location. “Mako, do you have the advertisement with you?” she asked.
“Yes, I took it back with me. I would’ve forgotten the place and what time you would start working and such if I hadn’t,” replied Mako. “And the job is… well, you’d be-” Mako hesitated. “Saka, how would you like to work for the Empress Tsaburaki?”