Grand Stone

Out here on the Main Road in Thalanatham, things are a little quieter than in the big cities. Our place is at 2/458, and it’s basically just a big yard filled with stone. We spend the morning checking the stock and making sure everything is where it should be. The sun can be quite sharp here, and it makes the granite glint when you look at it from the right angle. We don’t have any polished floors in our office; it’s just a place to sit down and talk business. Most of the people who come to see us are locals from around Thalanatham or the nearby villages. They want something that will last for years without giving them trouble. We show them what we have on the racks, and sometimes we have to move three or four heavy slabs just to get to the one they want to see. It’s a lot of sweating and pulling, but that’s the job. We don’t use any big words or try to act like we’re more than we are. We just sell stone. Sometimes we sit outside on old chairs when it’s slow, watching the traffic go by on the Main Road. It’s a good way to spend the day, honestly. People know where we are if they need us, and that is enough for us.