A short story

A backpack and some good walking shoes and he was off. To travel to the other side of the world, to visit places he had only read about, to savour freedom from school and schedules and the looming responsibility of career and family. A little adventure, a reward for all the hard work. This young man travels to India and as a souvenir to remind him of this fascinating country he decides to purchase a beautiful, handwoven carpet. He continues on his travels happy in the knowledge that when he returns home, the carpet will be waiting for him to transform his bachelor pad into a magical and inviting space.
Our traveller is still travelling occasionally along with his wife. He is retired, the children are successful and gone and after many moves, a condo is now home. If you look around the condo, you will not see the beautiful, handwoven rug. After months of waiting, what he recieved were two bolts of unbleached cotton. One of the bolts was used for curtains and pillows and craft projects. The other bolt was gifted to me.
I do not care for drapes and curtains or anything else covering a window unless absolutely necessary. The bamboo blinds and awning are not enough for our west-facing picture window so I made some curtains. No sewing was involved, I just cut to fit and draped them over the bamboo blinds. The cotton is closely woven and does a great job of keeping out the sun and the heat. I saved hundreds of dollars and am indebited to a rug weaver somewhere in India.