"Eva, huh? Â Aye, she used to work here. Â That was a long time ago though - a couple years before that great red death from above came crashing down all around us..." Â The elderly Wildwood emphasized his point by bringing his palm down loudly against the surface of the wooden countertop, before smiling sheepishly and using his withered fingers to comb salt-and-pepper hair.
"Good with numbers. Â Always used to remind me about how we weren't really turning any profit. Â Not enough customers. Â Never enough customers. Â She liked watching them scan the shelves though, when they did come in. Â I think she and the others enjoyed all the quiet time with all the books though, even if we didn't sell none too many of 'em." Â His pot-belly shook as he bellowed laughter. Â "'Pater, don't you care about making money?' or 'Pater, aren't you worried about losing the shop?' - bit of a worry-wart, that one. Â It's too bad what happened..." Â The old elezen's smile faded suddenly and he moved back to the nearby wall, placing books from a neatly stacked pile up on the shelves.
"She still came to visit though - sweet gal. Â A bit rotund when I first met her, but she had a pretty face. Â I'd worked with her father in the past, before Thal took him. Â He wanted me to give her a job. Â I was skeptical at first, of course - lots of foul rumors surrounded him and his business, but I never regretted it. Â She was probably the best employee I could have asked for. Â Hard-working, kept the shelves super tidy, was friendly around the customers if a bit shy - when we had customers in here of course!"
He chuckled softly to himself again before continuing, "She met her beau here, actually.  A writer went by the name of Pemmy-something-or-other  It's been a long time.  Portly lad himself though, come to think of it.  They got along pretty famously for awhile.  I'm not her father much cared for the Greens, but... well, I'm not one to speak ill of the departed.  They were together a good long time.  I always used to tease her about when they'd be getting married.  They were good for each other though.  He loved to write.  She loved to read.  Can't get much more perfect than that, mmmh?  They both went swimming together a lot in the summers and kind of helped each other shed some of those ponz I suppose.  With everything that happened with them folks up in the North though, he decided to train for war.  He was a good lad, but foolish sometimes.  And his hands were better suited for a quill than a sword."
The aged man took a deep breath before continuing, "Guess there was an accident a couple moons after he went off to training; some kind of explosion. Â Took the boy's life. Â It's unfortunate, really. Â K- Â Ah, Eva was never really the same after that. Â Cried a lot at work, missed some days. Â It wasn't like her, but I understood. Â Loss. Â S'tough stuff..."
Pater bowed his head and allowed a reverent moment to pass before picking up another book and finding its place on the shelves, "I guess it was about a year after his death she decided to quit her job here and take off for Ul'dah. Â She an' Pemmy were going to elope there when he got back from training for the war. Â Her father was pretty sick by that point too, but she was able to hire a nursemaid for him. Â I guess she'd been ferreting away all that gil she'd earned working here. Â She'd still visit though, and spoke about places she'd seen and friends she'd made. Â I always used to tell her there was a big world out there to see! Â To be honest I missed her and the shop wasn't the same after she left, but I was glad to see her spread her wings a bit."
"She said how she'd joined become an adventurer in Ul'dah and bought an apartment there and joined some sort of league of other adventurers, and she took up weaving and became a seamstress. Â Made me a few pairs of pants for Starlight, even. Â Beautiful fabric and excellent craftsmanship! Â That one was always a bit of a perfectionist though." Â The old elezen chuckled, shaking his head at some passing memory.
"There was some business conglomerate she was involved with as well. Â 'Outer Heaven' maybe? Â I never really understood the meaning of the name. Â I guess that wasn't meant to last either, though. Â Or she wanted to take after her beau and help prepare for the war. Â I remember when she joined the Eorzean Guard and learned to pick up a spear like her ol' man did. Â She had a lot of questions about when I was younger and fought the good fight!" Â He smiled proudly and gestured to a strung bow hung over the entryway.
"I'd never have imagined it if I didn't see her in the armor with my own two eyes, standing right where you are now! Â She wore it well, and she'd become quite striking I might add. Â She was doing something for herself and I was proud of her, like an uncle. Â Training hard, and exercising. Â She used to visit me on her daily runs after she moved back to Gridania. Â Being apart from her father had taken its toll on her nerves, methinks, and she was never one for the intense summer heat. Â That's probably worse in Ul'dah, and I don't fathom there's many lakes and streams out in Thanalan - and if there was one thing she loved more than reading, it was swimming. Â I must confess I was glad to see her around the shop more often too, even if she wasn't working here."
"I guess the Guard didn't hold up either, but she followed one of her fellow soldiers to another group - The Everwatch. Â I still remember the recruitment posters. Â Hung a few of them up here in the shop even! Â It seemed like they'd be helping out around the Twelveswood, which I knew she had wanted. Â And she'd become respected enough to be one of this fellow's chief lieutenants! Â She even had a fancy name and a shiny dagger to commemorate the promotion. Â Although the title has been lost to me with the years. Â But the dagger itself was something to behold!" Â Pater gestured grandly with his hands before placing the final book up on the shelves, before turning around again.
"And it was good to see her happy again. Â She'd made some friends and had a renewed sense of purpose. Â But then her father passed on. Â He was kind of young too, but he'd been sick for some time. Â His mind wasn't right. Â She'd say he'd forget things sometimes - important things you shouldn't forget, you know?"
He paused a moment, wiping his brow before kicking a stepping stool to one side and returning to the counter. Â "That took a bit of a toll on her, but she had some friends to help her through it. Â And a budding relationship with the fellow that ran the company. Â She used to come here frustrated, sometimes. Â Always slow to anger, she was. Â So it was unusual for her to come here venting steam to this old man. Â She'd confide in me about her worry about how her feelings this fellow got in the way of her work, and how he could be all lovey-dovey one moment and a bitter lummox the next. Â It was plain to see she loved the man though, and after losing Pemmy and seeing how that devastated her, it was good to see her young heart find love again. Â She never thought she would, but... it always seems to happen when you never expect."
His gaze fell to the floor again before he went on, "It's tragic though. Â This fellow - I think his name was Oskar - was involved in some sort of cave-in. Â The crimson rays of Dalamud were peeking through the canopy by that point though. Â She scarcely had time to mourn his passing before the war came crashing around us all. Â Those final days, she was planning to run away to that place where her ancestors lived. Â She had some cousins there I think, and thought she might be safe. Â She had such conviction that everything would be all right. Â She said she would come back one day, ask me about some of those parlor tricks I used to show her..." Â His frown withered for a moment as he held up both hands, empty. Â A quick gesture of his hands produced a small, leather-bound book that appeared within them as if from thin air.
"She always marveled at my sleight-of-hand. Â She'd gotten pretty good at some of it herself, but no one tops the master!" Â A slight grin touched his lips as a similar flick of his wrists made the book 'disappear' back to wherever it had come from.
"I guess she was wrong about that part though. Â I'm afraid she's passed on to Thal's realm. Â A lot of lives were lost that day and I'm not sure anyone was truly safe. Â What might be most tragic of all - I think she may have been with child. Â The last time I saw her, she was holding her belly the way a pregnant woman might. Â And she had that glow that expecting mothers get. Â Even with all the sadness, she managed to hang on to some crumb of optimism. Â It's too bad... she was always one of the good ones..."
The elderly Wildwood shook his head a bit, sighing deeply. Â Polishing the wooden counter with an old rag, he paused a moment and looked up, "Why'd you want to know about Eva anyway? Â Were you a friend of hers?"
~ A conversation overheard in a backwoods book shop in Gridania
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
