CE Christmas Shopping - Jen

Via Pinterest. But with blue eyes and
more freckles.

Purple yarn. That's all I ask for. Purple yarn. One would think that, with purple being my favorite color, that I would have had some in my personal collection, but, I didn't. One would think that the store would carry some ... and it does, just not the shade I'm looking for.

In my haste to get around to the other side of the racks so I can investigate other colors, I take the turn too sharply.

And find myself on my hands and knees.

As I scramble up to a sitting position, I hear a voice. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

I turn around to see a girl sitting with her back pressed against the . There's not much about her that would call attention to her. Straight brown hair, blue eyes, freckles ... she looks about fifteen. Two things about her catch my eye. First, she has a notebook propped against her knees, and there's a mechanical pencil in her hand. Second, she's wearing a golden bracelet set with a large purplely-pink gem.

"Um, no, it's my fault," I squeak out, my eyes fixed on her bracelet. "I wasn't, uh, watching where I was going."

She notices my interest in her bracelet, and lifts up her arm. "This was a gift from someone I greatly admire," she explains.

I nod distantly, then remember my manners, and hold out my hand. "It's very pretty. I'm Kendra, by the way."

She puts the mechanical pencil down to shake my hand. "I'm Jen."

"You write?" I questioned, gesturing towards the notebook. She looks like she has that notebook almost full.

She glances down and a smile spreads across her face. "Uh, yeah, I do, actually. Now."

"Now?" I question, intrigued by her comment.

She gives a half-hearted shrug. "A few months ago, I couldn't pin two words together. Now I have a story that spans almost two notebooks. I'm almost done." She thumbs through the pages that have been written with a wistful sigh.

I nod. "That must have been horrid."

She looks up and gives me a bewildered look.

"Not being able to write, that must have been horrid. I've had those days."

"You write, too?"

"Some," I said with a laugh, pulling my copy of Sew, It's a Quest out of my purse. The copy that goes with me everywhere.

"You're published!" she exclaims.

"Self-published," I correct.

She holds up her notebook. "I'll let you look if you'll let me look at yours."

"Deal." We swap books. For a little while, silence reigns as we each examine the other's work. Finally I look up. "This is quite intriguing." I point to the bracelet. "Is that your Ankulen?"

She nods in answer to my question. "Yours is better than mine."

"Mine has spent months going through the grueling process of editing," I say with a laugh. "Yours is longer than mine."

"Kendra, haven't you found that yarn, yet?" I look up to see my mom.

"Uh, no," I reply, suddenly remembering what it was I was in quest of. "I found a new friend."

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