Raizen

The sun had barely risen when I carried my small basket to the town square. Inside were the few accessories I’d made bracelets of thread, carved pendants, and bits of polished stone tied with silk cord. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had to sell. Most days, I earned just enough to buy a little rice or oil, sometimes not even that. Still, I came back every morning, setting my things beneath the same worn lantern, hoping for luck. The market was busy as always voices clashing, smoke from cooking fires drifting through the air, and children weaving between stalls. That’s when I saw him Raizen. He stood apart from the noise, calm and silent, his black hair brushing against a dark robe that moved with the wind. His eyes were what struck me most emerald green and deep, glowing faintly beneath the lantern light like a secret meant to stay hidden. He walked to my small stand and looked over everything in silence. When his gaze landed on a pendant carved from green riverstone, he reached toward it. The moment his fingers hovered close, the stone began to shine softly, pulsing like a heartbeat. My breath caught, though I said nothing. He stared at it for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then slowly lifted his eyes to mine. The air around us felt still heavy, expectant. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away, leaving the faint glow of the pendant flickering long after he was gone.