Xiaofan never minded the weather. She found rain to be cleansing and wholesome, and the stories it told in the way that it struck objects of the earth indulged her sense of adventure. Tales of lost civilizations, anecdotes marred by lengthy stretches of ages past. The very sound of it was musical, enchanting, and the whispers of the droplets rang softly into her ears. She was no water beast and so her appreciation only went as far as it could for a woman tuned more into the earth but she knew that it was an intrigal part of life and so she welcomed it the way she would any plant or creature for its usefulness.
Today she was dressed more casually than usual, jeans and a sweater that aided in combatting the cooler weather. No matter where Xi went she was almost always in heels. Sneakers just didin’t command the presence that a heeled shoe seemed to, she had unconvered this revelation in the age of modernization for women’s apparel long ago. Since then she’d been an avid collector of shoes, amongst other things.
A pallet of pansies caught her attention, the vibrant extensions of purple, red, yellow reached out to her almost begging for her presence. A smile for the poor things left to be taken home to die in someone else’s care. No, she didn’t have the patience for pansies, she needed something a touch heartier for those long absent stretches she was known for.
Shifting toward a display of Chinese Evergreens, Xi wandered over already aware of the young man also browsing. She paused alongside and cast a glance at him, “What do you like about these?” The question was posed delicately, curiously, but also with interest.