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WC - 758


Calixa was excited that her sister was coming to see her. It had been forever since she’d seen her and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. So she helped her mother clean up, of course, but she also wanted to get her something nice as a gift. The only problem she ran into was that she didn’t have money of her own to spend and she didn’t want to take her mother’s money. Especially since she wasn’t even sure what to get for Zakia. But she had to give her something since her sister was taking the time to bring her a new familiar.

Well, have to was a bit strong but she felt the need because Zakia was such a good sister. And since she wasn’t going to spend the money on it she wanted to make something. That left her with the whole important job of figuring out what to make. At first she thought she could sew her something, like a blanket or a scarf, but then she realized that was too hard for her to do. Not to mention it would take too long and she had limited time to get the gift ready. Then she thought about weaving a basket. It was simple to do and she’d done enough of them with her mom that she knew how to start them on her own.

So she ran out to quickly grab what she needed. Although quick wasn’t exactly accurate either. Calixa was picky about the reeds she picked to use for the basket. She wanted the best and so that’s what she searched for. That whole process took her roughly an hour. Once she had all that she needed though, and she made sure to count three times, she made her way back to the house so that she could sit down and sort through what all she had.

Another twenty minutes was spent going through all the reeds and their colors. Some were lighter than others so she wanted those at the top of the basket. Once she had it all situated she settled down on the floor and crossed her legs so that she was comfortable. The beginnings of the basket took time, she had to make sure the reeds were the right length and then go from there. And the start pattern was hard to do on her own but Calixa was determined. Her little tongue was stuck out in concentration as she wrapped the twine around the reeds to get them to stay in position.

After getting her finger stuck and then finally free about four times, she was able to get the first reed threaded in and going. Calixa weaved it in and out of the star pattern with practiced fingers. One this way and then that way. Calixa worked like that for about an hour, grabbing nre reeds when she needed them, and was only halfway done. She sat back and wiped her little brow as she examined her hany work.

“I hope ‘Kia likes it.” She said to herself.

More than anything she just wanted her sister to like what she made. She wanted to be able to show off her skills to her big sister and have her be proud of what she’d learned. Having her mom be proud was nice too, but her mom was always proud of what she did. Plus she saw it all the time. Impressing Zakia, who she only saw once in a while, would mean a lot.

“Maybe I can paint the side of it too.” She wondered. Maybe a nice design would make it stand out more than the average basket.

With that in mind she set to work on finishing the object first. She still needed to get the last bit done before she could think about painting anything. Calixa took to humming a small tune as she worked and twisted the reeds around. It wasn’t much but it was enough to keep her focused and in rhythm for a while.

“And this one goes here..” She spoke out loud. “Then this one over here.” She was giving herself verbal directions to make sure she did it right. “And loop it behind that..” Now she was scrunching up her little nose as she worked and soon her tongue poked out of her mouth. When one reed was being particularly stubborn she had to twist it around a few times to get it just where she wanted it and tight enough to look good.

"Annnnd done!"