1. The Two Bags
Nora is new in the village. She lives in a little house with a blue door. On Sunday morning, she rides her yellow bicycle to the market. The street is full of people, but Nora does not know their names. She stops near a bread stall.
Two cloth bags sit on the table. One is Nora's bag. The other has a small green leaf on its side. Nora buys a loaf of bread. She puts it in the bag with the leaf, pays the baker, and rides away. Her own bag stays on the table.
Sami is at the next stall. He buys three red apples. Then he goes back for his bag of seeds. There is a bag on the table, but it is empty. Sami looks inside it again. His seeds are not there. His list is not there, either.
The baker looks down the street. "The woman with the yellow bicycle has a bag," he says. Sami thanks him. He puts his apples in the empty bag and walks down the street. At a low wall, he sees the yellow bicycle. Nora sits beside it with her bread.
"Excuse me. Does your bag have a green leaf?" Sami asks. Nora turns it around. "Yes! But my bag has no picture." She looks under the bread and finds seeds and a folded list. "This is yours!" she says. They give each other the right bag and laugh.
2. A Table for Two
Sami lives near Nora's house. They walk home together. Nora pushes her bicycle, and Sami carries his apples. "What are the seeds for?" she asks. "Beans," he says. "I grow them by my window. Come and see." Nora leaves her bicycle by his gate and follows him into his garden.
There are green plants in old cups on the step. One plant is very small. "This one needs more time," Sami says. Nora touches an empty cup. "Can I grow one?" Sami gives her three seeds. "Put them near a sunny window. Give them a little water each day."
They sit at his small table. Nora shares the bread, and Sami cuts an apple. From the garden, they can see the other houses. One neighbour eats alone by a window. Another carries a cup of tea to her door. "I want to meet them," Nora says, "but I feel shy."
"We can ask them to eat with us," Sami says. They count the chairs. There are only two. Nora laughs. "We need a bigger table!" Sami points to the courtyard. It has space for a long table. They decide to have a breakfast there next Sunday at nine.
Nora writes an invitation. She puts the time at the top. Sami writes the food list below it. The writing is small. Nora puts the invitations in the neighbours' doors. One neighbour asks about the time, but Nora is already on her bicycle. She does not hear him.
3. Rain on Sunday
The next Sunday, Nora wakes early. There is rain on her window. She looks at her little cup of seeds, then at the wet courtyard. Water covers the table. She takes a cloth outside, but more rain falls. "Our breakfast!" she says. She cannot keep the chairs dry.
A neighbour arrives at eight with a chair. His name is Ben. "Am I late?" he asks. "The invitation says eight, I think." Nora looks at his paper. Her nine looks like an eight. She turns red. "No. I am sorry. We meet at nine. My writing is too small."
A woman called Hana arrives with six empty cups. She thinks the invitation asks for cups of tea, but she has no tea at home. Nora has bread, Sami has apples, and everyone has a different idea. Ben opens his umbrella above the wet table. The table is still wet.
"The bakery has a room," Sami says. Nora looks across the street. The baker is busy. She does not want to ask him. Then Hana says, "I can come with you." They walk there together. Nora takes a breath. "May we use your room for our breakfast?" she asks.
The baker looks at the rain. "Yes, until eleven," he says. "Please leave space for my customers." Nora thanks him and goes back to the courtyard. This time she speaks slowly. "Bring your chairs to the bakery. We can eat inside. We must finish before eleven." Everyone understands.
4. A Bigger Table
Ben and Sami carry the table inside. Hana puts her cups beside the plates. The baker gives them a pot of tea. Nora asks where they can sit. They choose a corner away from the door. There is still room for customers to come in and buy bread.
More neighbours arrive. Nora tells each one where to put their food. Someone brings cheese. Someone brings honey. A child holds a jar of jam with both hands. Nora helps him open it. Soon the table has more food than she expects. They pass the plates from person to person.
At first, everyone is quiet. Then Ben points to Nora's bicycle outside. "I have a yellow bicycle too," he says. Hana asks Sami about his plants. The child asks if beans can grow in a cup. Sami draws a little plant on the back of an invitation and shows him.
At half past ten, Nora looks at the clock. "We have thirty minutes," she says. They wash the cups and clean the table together. Ben asks about next Sunday. This time, Nora writes a big, clear nine. She reads the invitation aloud before she gives it to anyone.
They agree to meet again in the courtyard if it is dry. If it rains, they will ask the baker first. At home, Nora puts the new invitation beside her cup of seeds. There is a tiny green leaf above the soil. She opens her window and calls hello to Hana.
