//------------------------------//
// The crystal store 
// Story: I remember you 
// by Strata 
//------------------------------//

It was a slow day at the shop. Prof. B Sombra, the owner of the jewel store, had opened it to make a profit from his love of archaeology. In particular, crystals. The small Spanish town was rich in precious metals beneath the surface, and so the wayward collector ended up here, and that leads us up to now.
He was thumbing through a magazine, listing the biggest and most expensive finds of the month. A ghost of a smile reached his face when he saw his emerald find on #6. The magazine got boring after ten minutes, so he occupied himself with drumming his fingers against the table. He grunted, then took out his phone, pushing in the numbers.
'Brrrr. Brrrrr. Brrrr. Brr- click'
"What's the deal, Amigo?"
"I'm bored. Come to the shop, and bring coffee."
The bell rang.
"That was fast! Oh-"
Sombra was surprised to find a young woman at the door. She was currently browsing through some assorted jewellery. He had to say, she was quite beautiful. And, extraordinary. She was the only person he had seen with deep purple eyes. The dyed pink hair matched them perfectly. He snapped out of the daze, and straightened up.
"Could I help you with anything?"
She turned to him, and smiled. "Just browsing right now, thanks."
He smiled back, nervously.
The girl walked around the shop for a bit, sometimes inquiring about various precious metals. She seemed quite interested in Sombra's own creations. He liked to occasionally forge various items, and the result was often disappointing. He did have a few successes though. After finding a large vein of iron, he decided to forge some medieval weapons and armour. It was good decor in the otherwise blandly decorated shop. He had his hand in a bandage for a few weeks, but he managed to create the chest plate of the armour. Over a few months, he also made quite a lot of other bits and bobs for the set. Eventually, he had made something to be proud of. He hung it in the shop, proud of his work. In fact, he was so proud, he decided to give forging another shot.
A bit more experienced, he went and forged a sword. It was a good sword, most notable for its ability to retain heat. The two items stood beside each other, taking up a space on the wall. After roughly ten minutes, the bell rang again.
A very tall but lean man stepped through the door, carrying two coffees.
"Drinks are here!" His accent was thick Mexican, and he had the goatee to prove his heritage.
He dodged past the girl. "'Scuse me, lady."
He put the coffees down on the table, and took a big swig of his.
"Drink up, Sombrero."
"You know I hate it when you call me that."
"Exactly."
Sombra sighed, and stared into space. Or at least he thought it was space. His brain was involuntarily forcing him to stare at the pretty young girl.
"Ohohohohhhhhhh, Sombrero."
He straightened up quickly.
"What? Whatever is the matter?"
"Amigo. You should take a run for her."
"NO."
"Come on, man. You need a girlfriend."
"I've had girlfriends."
"Name one."
Sombra stuttered for a moment, looking at his Mexican friend.
"Alex, that's not important."
"Ah ah ah, Discord. That's my name."
"You can't force your self-created nickname upon all those who know you, Alex."
"You're getting off-topic. You don't have a girlfriend, and never had. I'm your only friend."
"I have other friends!"
"Chris isn't a friend. She just really feels sorry for you. And, that's why you need to try and hook up."
"I don't need a girlfriend."
"Nope. Go."
He then pushed Sombra in the lady's general direction.
He stumbled a bit, and gave a Al a harsh look. He walked confidently towards the girl, and leaned on a wall near her.
"So, do you live around here?"
She looked up with a warm smile on her face, and gently placed the emerald down on the glass counter.
"Yes, but I just moved in. I know barely anyone."
"That's nice. What's your name?"
"Mi Amore Cadenza, but most people just call me Cadence."
"So, Cadence. Do you plan to stop by here often?"
"Oh, yes. Not many store owners are nice enough to try to engage in conversation. They mostly just look frustrated like I am required to buy something to be in the shop. This made Sombra smile a little wider.
They talked for a while, and Alex watched it all from behind the counter, with a smug look on his face that just said; 'I caused this.' It was almost half an hour they talked, and Alex had stopped being smug and started to get bored. He signalled to Sombra that the conversation had to end because he was bored.
"I think my friend wants something."
"Okay then. I'm sorry, but I need to go. I've got to go to an appointment. I'll be dropping by every now and then."
"Cool. See you round."
She smiled, and walked out of the shop.
He walked confidently back to Al, a wide smile on his face.
"Done yet?"
"Yes. And I have to hand it to you. For once, your crazy schemes didn't get me in serious trouble."
"What did I say? You needed a girl, and I got you one."
"She's not my girlfriend. Just a friend."
"Whatever. You can build up to girlfriend later. But for now, I have to scram."
"See you later."
It was a few hours until the shop closed, and Sombra couldn't stop thinking about her. Dusting the floors, dusting the crystals, it was his daily routine, he just couldn't get her off his mind. As he fell asleep that night, a strange thought crossed his mind.

'Is this love?'