The girls spent the next few hours wandering the park grounds, seeing the sights and hearing the sounds and passing the time till midnight.
About twenty minutes before midnight, Mireh sat on a bench in a quieter corner of the park because she was running on fumes, and Temera sat on the same bench beside her, taking a power nap because her needle was on E. Retta, to no surprise to Mireh, was the only one still reeving to go, but she hung out with them regardless.
“On a scale of My Meeko to Quicksilver Raconteur, how much fun would you say you had tonight?”
“Mmm...I'd give it a Degreaser.”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah, but just the first half,” Mireh said.
“I keep hearing that the second half is no good.”
“It's okay, but it becomes repetitive and even stupid at times.”
“Stupid how?”
“Like right before the final battle between Eli and Isaac, Isaac, even though he's supposed to be a genius or whatever, gets rid of his sword like, 'Eh, I don't need it,' even though it's the most overpowered thing in the world and he easily could've beat Eli down with it.”
“Way to not spoiler alert me.”
“Oops. Sorry. Guess you won't be finishing that now.”
“Nah, I put it on hold so long ago that it's considered dropped at this point,” Retta said. “Are the comics any better?”
“From what I've heard, no.”
“Haven't read them?”
“Haven't gotten around to them, but I will sooner or later. Probably.”
“You know what you need to watch sooner rather than later? Chronicles of the Celestial Luminaries.”
“I keep hearing it's amazing.”
“It is amazing.”
“So I keep hearing.”
“Mireh. You have no idea. It's one of those shows that you need to watch before you die.”
“I know, I know.”
“Then spend the next week of your life watching it,” Retta recommended. “That's all I did last week.”
“No wonder it took you half an hour to reply to my texts.”
“Another rule of the universe for you: when watching CotCL, ignore all distractions.”
“And that includes texts from your friends and family?”
“Among other things.”
“Please tell me you got up to go to the bathroom,” Mireh said, terrified of the answer.
“Duh. I was binge-watching one of the greatest things to come out of Azmato, not becoming a mountain hermit.”
Azmato was a country way over to the east.
“No, trust me: When you binge-watch something, you become a hermit,” Mireh said.
“I guess, but I still ate and took showers and used the toilet like a civilized person.”
“And neglected your homework and best friend?”
“Now you're starting to sound like my mom.”
“Maybe that's because I am your mom.”
“That'd be a hell of a plot twist.”
Plot twist: Mireh is Retta's mother.
“Be sure to get plenty of sleep when you get home tonight. And don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed,” Mireh lectured Retta using a Mom tone.
“Yes, Mom.”
“And don't even think about using the Flight tomorrow as an excuse for not doing your homework.”
“I wasn't gonna do it even if it gave me eternal youth.”
“Children these days...” Mireh shook her head. “No wonder they all work at a NcTonald's.”
“It's scary how much you really do sound like my mom right now.” And then in a Mom voice, Retta said, “'Retta, you have to get good grades and get into a good college or else you won't get a good job and you'll be stuck flipping burgers for the rest of your life just like that useless aunt of yours.'”
“Aunt Marci?”
“That's the one.”
“What's she up to these days?”
“Flipping burgers.”
“Obviously,” Mireh said. “What else is she doing besides her job?”
“Last I heard, she was skiing out west.”
“Lucky.”
“It's her third vacation this year, I think.”
“Third?! How? I don't pay rent or bills and I can't even afford one vacation.”
“I'm pretty sure she's got a ton of money saved up from her last job.”
“I wasn't aware that nurses were paid in bricks of solid gold."
“When you have a savings account like Aunt Marci, you can feel like you're getting paid in bricks of solid gold,” Retta said. “She's taught me that when you have a little bit of money and a whole lot of free time, anything's possible.”
“Like pissing off your mom?”
“Eh, my mom hates on anyone who doesn't work for the government or a hospital or is proving the existence of the multiverse. But then again, my mom and aunt were never very close, so.” She shrugged.
“Maybe she's jealous that she can't take three vacations a year.”
“That's what I said, but she was all like, 'No, Retta, it's not about taking vacations, it's about the fact that your aunt's moon is gonna crack open her skull one of these days and all she'll be remembered for is sitting in a beach chair on some island somewhere.'”
“Being remembered for sitting in a beach chair, huh?” Mireh mumbled.
“Like, who cares if all someone does is sit around in the sun all day, you know? As long as they're happy, what's it to my mom?” Retta said. “That's the thing that pisses me off about my mom sometimes. She acts like she's saving the world, but all she's doing is writing down a bunch of numbers for the state.”
“But she's happy, isn't she?”
“I can't tell,” Retta said, shaking her head. “The woman's at work so much I barely see her anymore. But...” She looked up.
Mireh looked up, too.
“...In a way, I think she is jealous of Aunt Marci,” Retta said. “When she looks up and sees her moon, she says to herself, 'I've only got X amount of time left, I gotta do something meaningful, fast!' while Aunt Marci looks up and says, 'I've got X amount of time to do all the things I wanna do in life.' And my mom's so caught up in making a lasting impact on society that she's forgotten about the things that make her happy.”
“What does make her happy?”
“At this point, who knows? There was a time in her life when simply having me made her happy,” she said. “But if I lived long enough, I think I'd be the same disappointment to her that Aunt Marci is. Heck, I might already be.”
“Attention, all attendees,” a female voice said over an intercom, “The Flight will be starting in just a few moments here, so grab a seat or find a nice place to stand where you'll be able to watch as the Keepers and their assistants bring out all the beautiful Aim Butterflies that everybody here tonight made. If you need a pair of Moongazers, they're still available for sale at a number of stands around the park, but if money's tight and you don't got the extra cash, you can always use your phone's camera to watch the Flight. You won't be able to see as much through your phone's camera, but hey, better than letting that pesky moon of yours ruin your night, am I right?”
“Wanna head back onto the hill?” Retta suggested. “That's probably the best place to view it.”
“That's fine with me.” Mireh nudged the slumbering Temera. “Hey, rise and shine, sunshine. The Flight's about to start.”
“Mngh, unnh,” she grumbled as she returned to life. She attacked her eyes and looked around, and she looked like a toddler that didn't want to be woken. “Wazzamaddr?”
“The Flight's starting,” Mireh said. “We're heading to the hill to watch it.”
“Kaaay...” Temera stood up with Mireh and followed, but she resembled a drunk with all the swaying and stomping she was doing as she walked.
“You're not a morning person, huh?” Retta said.
“Ittakesmeaminute...”
As they returned to the hill and Temera remembered how to walk like a sober human being, festival goers found a nice place to sit and watch or stand and watch the Flight, forming crowds around the pathways volunteers cleared to make way for the Keepers and their many assistants. Plenty of them, mostly older folk, were donning Moongazers, which were sort of like fancy glasses, but they allowed you to see the world without your moon in it. As the kindly announcer lady also mentioned, a camera of some kind worked wonders, too.
No Moongazers for the girls, though they did whip out their cells so that they could record the event and snap a few snappies. Mireh wasn't too photo-happy, but she did take one or two pictures of the scenery from their roost on the hillside. Plenty of people had also gathered on the hill, but they managed to snag a spot where they could sit on the grass and listen to the bands play until it was time.
“Are you ladies excited?” Retta asked them.
“A little.”
Temera nodded. “This'll be my first time viewing it in person since I was a baby.”
“Have you seen videos of it on MeTube?”
“A few, but I hear it's a thousand times better in person.”
“Well, duh,” Retta said. “Seeing it in person versus seeing it on MeTube is like watching a movie on BluRay versus watching 60 second clips in 240p where the camera's all shaky and the person recording it won't shut up.”
“That's how I used to watch movies,” Mireh admitted.
“But now you've seen the light and glory that is the BluRay disk, right?”
“When I have the money to spare, yeah.”
Retta and Mireh kept talking for a few minutes, while Temera took her snappies with Schildkröte/Nathan/Beelzebub in her lap. She started nodding off again after a moment, but Temera kept her alive by conversing with her about something. Mireh didn't catch what. She was paying attention to their camera habits.
“One minute till the Keepers come out.”
All the bands had one minute to finish their songs, but that wasn't going to be the end to tonight's music. A single orchestral piece was going to be played for the night's main event, but since this is, you know, a bunch of words, you won't be able to hear their song, reader.
So while the minute's running down and the bands're rushing to end a four minute song in less than sixty seconds, you should go and find something to listen to for this next part. Something with lots of drums if you wanna stick with the lineup of the orchestra. And if you really want to immerse yourself in the atmosphere, you'll pick something that's haunting yet beautiful.
If you need a minute to find yourself a nice song, go ahead. The story's not going anywhere.
…
Find something good?
Hopefully.
Now...
Time's up.
The lights faded out, and the bands ended their songs, and the crowd went silent, and for a moment, everybody's hearts were beating at the same spirited rhythm.
Taking pictures.
Wooing.
A few fine folks couldn't contain their excitement.
Then
Fires, bright ones, lit atop the many Founts sprinkled about.
Drummers started drumming, chanters started chanting.
The Keepers left their Founts, and behind them, dozens and dozens and scores of assistants carrying the Aim Butterflies all the night's guests had created.
60 seconds to midnight.
59
58
57
56
Paper lanterns had been attached to the Butterflies and lit, and the only thing keeping them from floating away were the strings the Keepers and their assistants held.
And there wasn't a single Butterfly that had been left behind at the Founts. Not a single one.
The girls watched the three Keepers from the top of the hill walk down its steps, and Mireh kept an eye out for theirs. Retta's should've been easy to spot, but there were so many of the origami insects that even a pentacolored one was difficult to spot, let alone hers or Temera's.
50
49
48
47
46
Correction: saying that there were so many Butterflies isn't giving the quantity justice. Sure, there were a lot, and sure, the Keepers and their assistants came out in single file lines, but that was only at first.
Watching the Butterflies was almost like watching a flock of birds, in how at first, you might see a spearhead of twenty or so birds, but behind them is this massive cloud, bending and twisting, and if there were any more birds, they'd blot out the sky.
There were just too many wishes to be had.
40
39
38
37
36
Temera had gone starry-eyed.
The dancing assistants.
The gymnastics they performed.
The Butterflies they let free for but a second before catching them.
She had seen more than a couple MeTube videos of people recording this event, but, as Retta said, nothing compared to seeing the procession in person. It was the sort of thing that poets devoted numerous stanzas to, but caught up in the lights and the movements and the music, no words came to her, and strangely, she was okay with that.
Mireh caught a look at her face and thought she looked like a child who saw a balloon of their favorite cartoon character at a parade. She nudged her a little. “This isn't even the good part, you know.”
“Yeah, and the reeeeal good part's tomorrow night,” Retta added.
“I know, but—” The miniature Baldrics stole her attention. Their glow, which had been steady all night, faded in and faded out now, faster and faster, like there were cylinders of light passing through them again and again.
No way she was back falling asleep now.
30
29
28
27
26
“You ever hear the story of why we write our wishes on origami butterflies?” Retta asked Mireh.
“Can't say I have.”
“The story goes that long ago, like waaaay before our grandparents' grandparents' grandparents were born, this guy had a wife who died from the plague or something right before the Flight of the Ones, and they were supposed to watch it together; it was their first viewing of it since they got married, too. Anyway, he went out to this field in the middle of nowhere and watched the Flight, and apparently made a wish to the Ones to be able to see his wife again. Then that night when he went to bed, supposedly he saw his wife in his dream.”
“Sounds like a children's bedtime story.”
“I think Mrs. Boyce said that that story had been disproved eons ago back in ninth grade, but people still believe it.”
“Do you?”
“Do I believe he saw his wife in his dreams? Sure. Do I believe that the Ones granted his wish? Who can say?”
15
14
13
12
11
“10!”
“9!”
“8!”
“7!”
“6!”
“5!”
“4!”
“3!”
“2!!”
“1!!!”
They flew.
The Aims flew up.
They flew high.
Hundreds of them, thousands of them. It wouldn't have been much of a stretch to say tens of thousands of them.
Like a migrating mass of real butterflies, they floated as a single swarm, their paper lanterns guiding them skyward.
On the wings above were all those wishes of all those people below.
Wishes of happiness.
Wishes of love.
Wishes of success.
Wishes
of something.
The miniature Baldrics were a solid turquoise now, lighting up the path for the Aims to follow.
They flew high, higher, high enough that they turned to pixels, then then to specks, and then when they had turned to nothing, their lanterns stayed visible. And even as the lanterns rose above the replica Ternion Baldrics, they remained as tiny orbs streaking across the nighttime sky.
A meteor.
At some point, Mireh realized that she had forgotten to breathe. She inhaled and checked on the other two.
Calling Temera starry-eyed now was an understatement. She had her phone's camera on and her thumb on the button, ready to take a snappy at a moment's notice, but it seemed she had forgotten that she had a body at all.
Retta, however...
She was crying.
“Hey, are you all right?” Mireh nudged her, and Retta came to.
“Huh, wha?”
“You all right?”
Retta seemed to forget that there was a world around her even though she was looking Mireh straight in the eye. She looked down at her phone, which was also ready to take a picture when commanded, then back up at Mireh, and only then noticed the water in her eyes. “Oh! Sorry...” She rubbed her arm against her eyes. “Heh, how embarrassing...”
“I didn't realize this sort of thing made you teary-eyed.”
“I didn't, either.” She was still rubbing her eyes.
“It's nothing to cry about,” Mireh tried to reassure her. “It's not like the world's going to end tomorrow.”
Sniffle.
“Yeah...You're right.”
Sniffle.
ns 15.158.61.12da2
