Nilah's new pottery hobb

Nilah didn’t really know how to make a clay pot. She’d seen them — in shops, in Paati’s kitchen, in stories — but she had no idea where to begin. Still, that didn’t stop her. She found a lump of soft red clay near the pond after the rain and carried it back in a steel plate. Her skirt got muddy. Her hands felt cold and squishy. But she liked how it smelled like earth and rain mixed together.
ChatGPT_Image_Jun_8_2025_07_54_40_PM
ChatGPT_Image_Jun_8_2025_08_03_00_PM
She sat near the chicken coop and started shaping it. The first try looked like a soggy hat. The second collapsed into a flat pancake. On the third try, she slowed down — pressing her thumb in gently, turning it as she pinched the sides. It wasn’t perfect, not even close, but it stood. While it dried in the sun, she searched for decorations. She picked a feather, a mustard seed, a soft green leaf, and a piece of broken bangle she’d found ages ago and kept in her pocket.
When the pot was still a little soft, she pressed the leaf gently on the side. It left a perfect pattern. She made tiny dots with the tip of a stick, then added a swirl of mustard seeds along the rim. The feather wouldn’t stick, so she tied it to a thread and looped it around like a crown. She didn’t know if this was how you were “supposed to” decorate a pot. But it felt right.
ChatGPT_Image_Jun_8_2025_08_10_00_PM
ChatGPT_Image_Jun_8_2025_08_41_39_PM
Appa came by and raised an eyebrow. “That’s a very fancy pot.”
Nilah looked at it proudly. “It doesn’t hold much.”
Appa smiled. “Looks like it holds a story.”
Nilah nodded. “And a little bit of today.”