Ch 8

            It was the day of the festival, and happiness seemed to flood the halls.  Groups of female Calculi could be seen giggling together as they scanned potential partners.  Even the few children that inhabited Sanctuary had their own role to play in the ritual, decorating the walls with all manner of ornaments that they could find lying around the giantess’s home.  Some Calculi who had already chosen partners had made their way to the spot of the house where they wished to conduct the ritual so that they could fix it up the way they pleased.

            Nami had been asked out by a boy named Mali, who was a flyer for another sect run by a man named Sinderion.  She walked alone in anticipation, as Mali had already made his way to their warm little nook in the house.  As it turns out, Nami was not in fact going to perform the ritual outside, but had instead chosen a spot in the large room where she spotted, on a shelf very close to the ceiling.  On that shelf were many of the windowed structures she was so fond of looking at, as well as a variety of bowls and dishes the giantess stored her belongings in.  However, the middle of this shelf was elucidated by an enormous band of leaves which had wonderful looking white lights weaved throughout its porous surface.  The giantess only ever put this on her shelf during the cold season, and Nami thought that it would be more than exceptional if the two of them spent their night behind its radiant shine.

            Xi was making her own preparations, so Nami walked alone in thought.  She passed by Thelonius without even taking notice to his presence.

            “Why hello there, my dear!  Thinking about tonight, I presume?”

            “Oh, hello sir!  I did not see you walk by.  Yes, I am actually quite excited.  The Festival of Lights is my favorite time of the year, but I suppose that it is how it is for everyone.”

            “Have you found yourself a suitable partner?  I cannot imagine that someone as lovely as you would have any problems with that.”

            Nami giggled, “Yes, I have, thank you sir.  I am going with Mali, from Sinderion’s sect.”

            “Ah yes, young master Mali, a fine companion.  His strength and naturally independent character will perfectly complement your attributes.”

            “What about you, sir?  Are you going to take somebody from the Concilium?”

            He chuckled at the thought, “Me?  Oh Mariah no, lass, for I have enjoyed many festivals.  My place is here, within the walls of Sanctuary, my home.  Do not fret, however, as I will be able to feel the energy as it swiftly takes hold of your souls.  That is enough to make me happy.”

            Nami smiled as she listened, but still couldn’t help but feel a little bad.  She quickly gave Thelonius an affectionate hug.  “Ok, sir, I understand.”

            Thelonius returned the gesture, gently patting the back of her head.  “Nami, I want you to do something for me.”

            “What is it?”

            “I want you to see your friends today, before the ritual.  Spend time with them, share yourself and let them share with you.  While the ritual may only be carried out with one other person, you certainly do not have to alienate yourself during the whole of festival.  Allow your positive energy to flow through yourself and through your friends, so that they may be that much happier when their moment finally arrives.  You can never be sure what the future holds.”

            “I will sir, I promise you.”  With these parting words, Thelonius continued about his business, carelessly looking around at all the decorations, as though he didn’t have a care in the world.  Nami laughed as she shook her head, and then proceeded to the dinner table.

            Meanwhile, in the personal quarters of Sanctuary, Aieté spoke with his friends.

            “But surely there must be someone else, Aieté!  Come on now, the ceremony is tonight and you still don’t have a partner!”

            “I realize this brother, but my heart is set and will not allow me to follow a different path.”

            “You cannot still be referring to the quiet girl!  I do not even know her name, for she makes herself invisible to just about everybody here.”

            “Yes, you are correct.  I feel, however, that she never speaks because she is never spoken to, thus your judgment is misplaced.  Besides, there is something enchanting about those eyes.”  He looked out in the distance in fantasy.

            “Your choices are yours to make alone, my friend.  I just pray that you do not wind up spending festival in isolation because you insisted on pursuing a fool’s errand.”

            “Thank you, brother, your opinion has been noted.”

            With that, his comrades took off, leaving Aieté to ponder his next move.  He always was a strong willed Calculus, and such words would not deter him in achieving his goal. 

            Leigh sat in her room, melancholy in expression while continuing to draw on her parchment.  She sat on a flattened rock and used a thick piece of metal (the same kind that stuck to the vertical side of the white tower, a phenomenon which baffled the Calculi) as a table.  She did not even hear Aieté as he entered.

            “Leigh?” He asked softly.

            She quickly turned around to be greeted by his nervous looking eyes. 

            “Oh, oh my…  H.. hi there.”

            Aieté closed the curtain which covered the entrance to her room, giving them some privacy.  “Hi, Leigh, how are you?”

            Not wanting to be rude, she fully turned around on her chair so she was facing him.  “Um, ok.  You?” She said each word quickly and anxiously.

            “I’m fine, I suppose.  I have been wanting to speak with, you, actually.”

            “Me?  What, uh, is there something you need?”

            Aieté found himself staring right into her eyes.  He had a bewildered sort of expression on his face, like he couldn’t believe someone could possess such a flawless feature.

            “Yea, um, actually yes.   The festival is tonight, and, uh, I don’t yet have a partner.”

            Leigh could feel her stomach drop a couple inches inside her abdomen.  The problem is, this time she had nowhere to run.  “Uh, yea?”  Her words were dangerously shaky, like she was riding a train.

            “Would you (he darted his eyes to the ground for a second) like to come with me, to the festival?” He rushed the last words out, “and perform the ritual, WE, we can perform the ritual together?”

            It was an endearing sight, the social butterfly of the community stumbling over his own words as he tried to talk to the social recluse.  Leigh stood up and briefly put her finger in her mouth to chew some of the nail off.

            “Um, uh..”  She was trembling uncontrollably.

            “I mean, it ok if you don’t want to..”

            “NO!  No, I mean, um, yea Ithinkitwouldbefun!”  Her last words were even more rushed than Aieté’s.  And it was done.  Leigh almost immediately regretted her decision, but it had been said.  She said it without thinking about it, but she had just committed herself, and there was no backing out now.  She pulled both her antennae hard.

            “Ha, great, that’s great!  I mean, yea, that fantastic!  You don’t have to worry about anything, I mean, I already have everything planned out.  If you can just meet me at the dinner table, we can set off together.  Yea, this is going to be so great, ha, I can’t wait actually!”  Leigh could tell that he was growing more and more excited with every word.

            “Yea (she gulped), fun!”

            “No I promise you, Leigh, you’ll be happy you came out tonight, I promise!  Oh this is going to be amazing!  I’ll see you later on, later tonight, that is.”  He was staring into her eyes again.  “Oh, and Leigh…”

            “Yea?”

            “That necklace looks very nice on you.”  Aieté cautiously moved forward, pecked her on the cheek, and hustled out of the room, leaving Leigh in disbelief.