Part-18

In his sleepy state, Ben wondered if he was dreaming already. The woman who had come in was almost too beautiful, with dark curls framing her delicate face and intelligent, hopeful eyes gazing about the shop. Her rose-colored dress managed to look both elegant and cheerful, matching the smile on her gently curved lips. Though Ben had seen his share of beautiful ladies around the Earth and Nebula 9, none had struck him like this one. He found himself momentarily enchanted by her graceful presence.

As Ben shook himself out of his daze, the lovely woman approached the counter. "Hello, Mr. Shopkeeper," she greeted him in a friendly tone. Her voice reminded him of a songbird. "Do you happen to have any toys here shaped like heroic figures or cars?"

"No, sorry Miss," Ben managed to reply, hoping he didn't sound as flustered as he felt. "I actually just sold all of those toys this morning."

The woman's shoulders dropped slightly in disappointment at his words. "What a pity," she said. "My daughter has been asking for toys like that since this morning. She will be quite upset."

A touch of sadness entered the angelic woman's eyes and smiled as she related the situation. Seeing her crestfallen expression made Ben's heart twist uncomfortably in his chest. At that moment, he felt he would do anything to replace that sadness with joy. Never before had Ben imagined he could become so quickly infatuated with a woman who entered his shop!

As the lovely customer turned to exit, her hopes dashed, and Ben made up his mind. "Wait!" he called out. As she paused and glanced back, he continued, "If you don't mind waiting here for about half an hour, I could try whipping up a small figurine and a toy car for your daughter." Eagerly he added, "It won't take long - say thirty minutes at most?"

The woman showed a surprised expression on her lovely face after hearing Ben's offer. However, a smile soon broke out as she registered what he had said.

"If you are truly able to craft some toys in that time, I would greatly appreciate it!" she exclaimed happily. "I won't mind at all even if it takes you over an hour."

Ben returned her smile, feeling a warmth in his chest at the chance to help replace her earlier distress with joy. He moved to take out some blocks of wood from his workshop area as the woman found a small stool to perch on, watching with great interest.

Having sold all his ready-made toys that morning, Ben would normally walk to his village and carve new creations from. But the rain currently pouring down made that difficult. Luckily, Ben often crafted new wooden toys right here in his rustic shop too. It was harder on days like this to gather more raw materials, but he didn't mind putting in extra time and work for this gracious woman and the daughter she had described.

Ben opened his well-worn box of carving chisels, running his fingers over the handles thoughtfully before selecting a few of the sharper, finer tools. As he began carving thin curled strips of wood from one block to form the basic frame of a toy car, the lovely customer sat observing every move he made with great curiosity.

At first Ben was too focused on his work to notice how the woman's expression shifted from curiosity to unveiled admiration the longer she watched him. Never before had she witnessed someone craft basic pieces of wooden board so skillfully into charming toys with such swift, efficient motions. Though Ben had a humble little roadside shop in a country village, the woman realized no ordinary shopkeep could possess his level of talent. She found herself enraptured not just by his handsomeness, but his set of masterful skills.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

As Ben carefully whittled wheels for the tiny automobile, the woman let her gaze travel about his modest shop. Shelves and surfaces were cluttered with all variety of wood scraps, paint jars, and carpentry tools. The more she saw, the more a question pressed into her thoughts: Why was someone as capable as this man running such a dusty old shop in a rural village? With his gift for toymaking, he looked worthy of working amongst royalty and charging copious amounts of money for his beautiful handmade creations. Yet here Ben stood, humbly serving the local families.

Part-19

She just could not wrap her head around it, though she dared not pry into his personal reasons. After all, everyone had their share of secrets and she was already imposing by asking for rush custom orders.

Still, no matter his reasons, the woman held firm in her belief that this man chiseling a hero figurine before her eyes was one of the most talented craftsmen in the world. Every cut he made with focus and precision only solidified her opinion. She resolved to one day return with her young daughter so the child could meet the kind and skillful creator of her new beloved toys in person.

Meanwhile, Ben worked diligently on, utterly unaware of his customer's glowing appraisal. To him, toymaking had always seemed such a modest skill set compared to great inventor-artisans back on Earth in his era. He vividly remembered the criticism of his Japanese carving instructor, who often called his blocky, amateurish attempts unworthy of selling. So Ben certainly never imagined that his mediocre crafting abilities by 21st-century standards would be viewed as top-notch mastery here in this pre-industrial fantasy world! To him, making affordable playthings for village children was nothing exceptional. Yet under the profoundly impressed gaze of the lovely woman nearby, he felt his cheeks warm slightly and his carving hands grow even more careful in their motions.

After diligently carving and painting for nearly forty minutes straight, Ben put the finishing touches on the rush toy order for the lovely woman. He held up the finished wooden toy proudly - an action figurine of a caped hero resembling S*perman and a colorful miniature model of a Toy*ta Coaster bus. Though simple, the handcrafted toys contained lots of whimsical detail from the hero's raised fists to the intricate grill on the bus's front.

"Here are some toys for your daughter," Ben said, offering them to the fair woman with a hint of shyness. He hoped very much that the little girl would enjoy playing with these.

The woman's face lit up at the sight of the proffered toys. She reverently took them from Ben's calloused hands into her own slender ones, turning them this way and that to admire every angle of carving with awe shining in her eyes. Ben felt his heart swell at her evident appreciation. Clearly, she valued the toys far more than the time and effort he had invested into creating them on short notice.

From a pocket hidden amongst the flowing fabric of her dress, the gracious woman drew out an engraved silver coin. Ben's eyes widened slightly in surprise as she offered it to him - six times the amount he would normally charge for such toys! But he understood the woman likely did not have any smaller bronze coinage on hand to pay for the custom rush order. As the surprisingly heavy silver piece dropped into Ben's palm, he turned to pull out his lockbox of earnings from under the shop counter. Carefully Ben counted out the difference in bronze coins to return to the woman - the toys were not worth nearly so much from his perspective.

However, as he held out the excess bronze coins with an awkward chuckle, the woman smiled and lightly pushed his hand back. "Please, you may keep the full payment," she insisted sweetly. "Crafting two lovely toys within the hour - you deserve that silver piece and more."

Ben felt his cheeks flush. "Well, if you say so..." he conceded, rubbing his neck. He still feared taking advantage of her generosity. But the glow of gratitude in the woman's eyes convinced him not to protest further. Carefully Ben deposited the silver coin in his lockbox with a smile. "Thank you kindly for the payment," he offered sincerely.

"And thank you even more sincerely for your swift, lovely work!" the woman returned. "I will be certain my daughter knows who crafted these special new toys for her happiness." As she turned to exit the shop into the rain, an idea seemed to strike her. Pausing, she glanced back and asked, "Do you also craft decorative boxes and containers by chance?"

Ben nodded. "Yes, I do! Though currently I only have wood materials to work with - no gemstones, metals, glass or the like for ornamentation currently."

"Do not worry over ornamentation," replied the woman. "Just a simple engraved wood box with a locking clasp would be wonderful. Might I return tomorrow or next day after tomorrow to purchase one?" Eagerly she added, "If it does not trouble you to take another custom order so soon, Mister...?"

"Ben," he filled in with a chuckle. "Just Ben is fine. And no trouble at all! Please do come by tomorrow, Miss...?"

"Miranda," the woman supplied with a dimpled grin that made Ben's heart flutter anew.