The Yarn Wars, Part 2 (and a Blog Endorsement)

Thank you for your great response to the first part of the Yarn Wars!  I’m so glad you liked it.  It’s really fun to write, and I like having something to post every Sunday. 😉

So, here is part two.  Even if you don’t want to read it, could you please scroll down to the bottom of the post?  I have something awesome that I want you to see.  Thank you.

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After leaving Maeve’s house, Kira did not go home.  Instead she went to the crochet side of town.

Seattle in the year 2999 was divided into two halves, one for crochet and one for knitting.  Although people were allowed to cross over, they rarely did for fear of getting a bad reputation.  Kira tried not to be seen as she crossed Lakeview Park – the official divider.

As she walked, she tried to figure out what had compelled her to steal the yarn.  The main emotion had been something between pity and something that Kira couldn’t quite identify.  She had felt bad that the crocheters didn’t have good yarn choices, and wanted to do something, however small, to make a difference.

Kira neared the crocheters’ yarn shop – Crochet and Chocolate, a store that sold both of those items. Kira’s stomach growled, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten since lunch.  The sun was beginning to set, and Kira decided to drop the yarn inside secretly and then go home.  Hopefully someone would find it and think that it was their lucky day.

So Kira opened the door to the yarn shop.  A bell signaled her arrival, and an old lady with long white hair came to greet her.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” asked the lady.

Kira nodded politely.  She wanted to get out of this lady’s sight so she could complete her mission.  “It’s very nice, especially for Seattle.”

“Are you from around here?” asked the lady, studying Kira.  “I don’t remember seeing you before.”

Kira bit the inside of her cheek.  “Uh, no, I haven’t been here before.”

“Hmm,” said the old lady.  “You must have a different yarn store then.  Is that right?”

“Um, yes,” replied Kira, biting the inside of her cheek again.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” asked the shop owner.  “I’m Harriet, by the way.”

“I’m Kira,” said Kira, and instantly regretted it.  She hadn’t wanted to give away any personal information!

“Kira,” repeated Harriet.  “Nice name.  Had you ever heard that kira-kira means ‘glittering’ in Japanese?”

Kira shook her head.

“Well, it simply means that you’ll go on to do great things,” Harriet continued.  “Maybe you’ll put an end to all this.”

“To all what?” asked Kira.

“This,” replied Harriet, gesturing to the Crocheters Only sign on the door.  “Why only crocheters? Can we not share the yarn?”

Involuntarily Kira took a step backwards.  “You can’t say that,” she said shakily.

“Apparantely I can,” said Harriet, smiling.  “It’s all right, Kira.  You don’t need to pay any attention to this old geezer.  Perhaps you’re just like all the rest.”

This did not make Kira feel better.  In fact, it made her feel worse.  Just like all the rest?  What was that supposed to mean?

“I’m here for yarn,” said Kira sassily.  “Not to talk to a lunatic!”  She pushed past the old lady, ignoring the guilt rising inside her.

Quickly Kira found a heap of plain acrylic yarn.  She buried the 3000 yarn in it, patted it goodbye, and grabbed a ball of brown wool to make her visit seem less suspicious.  She headed to the checkout counter.  There was nobody there.

Kira looked around the tiny yarn store, but there was nobody in sight.  She peered into aisles, looked in the back room, and even checked the street.  She finally slouched against the wall, defeated.  The owner had abandoned her shop.

Kira headed back to the aisle to put the brown yarn away – she’d had enough stealing for one day.  Then she stopped in her tracks.  There, on top of a yarn pile, in plain sight, was the 3000 yarn that she’d dropped off just a minute ago.

She ran over to it and picked it up.  A piece of paper fell out.  Kira picked it up carefully, not knowing what to expect.  The paper was yellowed and wrinkled, and it looked like something you would find in a fairy tale.  Being careful not to tear it, Kira opened it.

Kira,

 I apologize about leaving so rudely.  It was best for both of us, and I didn’t want to scare you any more than I already had.  There was just something about you that I knew was different.

 I can tell that you are a knitter.  For one thing, you are wearing a knitted scarf.

 Kira dropped the paper in horror and looked down at her scarf.  The stockinette stitch was there in plain sight for anyone to see.  How could she have been so stupid?  Kira shoved the scarf down the front of her shirt and picked up the paper.

For another, you dropped off a ball of 3000 yarn in my store.  Only the knitters have that.

 I want to thank you for the yarn, but I must also warn you to be careful.  People are not accepting of the other craft now.  I could tell you how it came about, which might help you to understand better. 

 If you want to learn about it from the beginning, please meet me at the abandoned fountain on Cherry Street.  You know, the one with the crazy hill.  I will explain everything you want to know.

Harriet

Kira quickly crumpled the paper and shoved it in her pocket.  She sprinted out of the yarn store and ran home as fast as she could.  Ten minutes later, she slammed the front door behind her and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

She didn’t know what had happened at Crochet and Chocolate.  She didn’t understand Harriet’s letter.  But Kira knew one thing – she did not want to go back there ever again.

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Yes, I named one of the characters after my chicken, Harriet. 😉  I like the name.

So…the awesome thing that I promised you.  Well, my sister just started her own blog about chickens!  She would greatly appreciate it if you stopped by to visit her.  It’s a really cool blog (okay, I might be a bit biased, but seriously it’s awesome!)  And if you want to make my sister super happy, you can become one of her followers, or leave a comment.

To make it really easy for you to get there, I will insert a screen shot of her blog header below, and all you have to do is click it.

Okay, after this rather long post, I will bid you farewell for today.  In a few days I will be sharing pictures of my giant yarn haul with you. 🙂