Woven Threads

I walked through the open front doors of the small fabric shop down the street. Inside, rolls of woven textiles stood leaning like tall pillars. Climbing onto the low corner of a broad pine worktable, I found a shallow basket filled with discarded embroidery threads and wooden spools. I sat down and pulled out a long strand of dark emerald and gold twisted silk. Carefully looping it over two smooth wooden pegs set in the table edge, I pulled the thread taut with both hands. It caught the morning light... shimmering just like the embroidered trim along traditional kurtas in the cultural books.