"The Tiler's Pattern"

"The Tiler's Pattern"

For thirty years, Luca had been tiling floors. He had tiled foyers, baths, and kitchens. He used to make a joke about having laid down more ceramic in his lifetime than most people walk on. The air in his van was constantly heavy with the smell of dried labour, with a subtle hint of dust and grout.

He came to the old home on Maple Street this morning for a seemingly straightforward task: re-tiling the kitchen. He was greeted at the door by the client, Rose, a woman in her fifties, who was smiling quietly and holding a mug of coffee. She advised doing whatever felt right. "Just... make it lovely."

She left him alone after that.

It was a small, light-filled kitchen. Each square of the Mediterranean-style, blue-and-white tiles she had chosen had a distinct personality. To see the pattern, Luca laid them down on the ground. He could have completed a simple grid quickly and neatly, but Rose's advice to make it beautiful stuck with him.

He then started a more complex design, a flowing pattern that resembled a river that ran from the rear wall to the door. Although it wasn't conventional, it seemed appropriate. Carefully cutting each tile, he pressed them into the mortar like fragments of a greater whole. The light from above glinted off a dazzling line of colour, and by the time he reached the last bend, daylight had disappeared.

Rose entered barefoot. At first, she just stood there and took it all in without saying anything.

Then: "It makes me think of home." I was raised in Santorini.

Luca grinned. "The tiles are sometimes more knowledgeable than I am."

She chuckled. There was something warm and ancient about the gentle laugh. "I am grateful," she remarked. "You fixed more than just my kitchen. You revived a small part of my history.

While driving home, Luca reflected on how everyone imagined that tiling was simply labour-intensive tasks like measuring, cutting, and adhering. But he was wiser. Stories were included on tiles. They were reminded of their origins. And occasionally, if you paid careful attention, they would tell you just where to put them.