What her name stands for

Hoarse growls. Near a white and red shack inhabited by reindeers, my feet have finally touched the crumbly ground.

     Now allowed to move freely again, I am about to turn round before the director gets worried when the reindeer starts nudging me with his muzzle. Bringing my hands against it, I stroke it while glancing at his temple. He has the same round shaped device as other domesticated animals.

“Why… did you take me there?”

     The fur on his chest is so fluffy… Are even clouds that soft?

“Simple, my little darling. As you seemed overwhelmed with loneliness…”

     I wasn’t.

“…I thought a bit of company wouldn’t hurt you. Just stay here. I will take good care of you.” The reindeer suggests with a surprisingly deep and gravelly voice. “‘Can even offer you a little place in my stable.”

     I am not a reindeer.

“Cheating on me?” Another voice teases.

     Standing a few meters away, Marygold stands still, staring at us. Two cups of hot chocolate in his hands. He briefly closes his eyes and smiles.

“Quite the unfair way of asking for more attention if you ask me so.”

     The statement is what I find unfair. It was not in my plans of getting kidnapped by a reindeer.

     Though, I barely have the time to shake my head and wave my hands to dispel these unjustified accusations that the light-furred cervid sighs.

“Hmpf. You know this guy?” He adds in an annoyed tone.

“Of course she knows me.” Marygold replies before I have time to nod.

     With these words, he approaches me and hands me the cups.

“Aurora, will you be so kind as to hold me these?”

     Facing him, I take the cups. They give off a pleasant chocolatey scent.

“Thank you.”

     The director then leans forward slightly, and as he runs one of his hands down my back I feel the other pass to the back of my knees while he lifts me up without further ceremony.

“…!”

     Widening somewhat my eyes, I do my best not to spill the contents of the cups.

“Ughh.” The reindeer snorts.

     I catch Marygold’s eyes as he walks me away without paying any more attention to my kidnapper.

“Luckily, the prints in the snow put me on the trail.” He pauses to give me a bright smile, lowering his head. “But you should be more careful.”

     Though I have already been even closer to him… I feel confused. He holds me tightly, though his touch is also gentle, as if handling me with the greatest caution.

“You can put me down now.” I whisper as an observation.

“No.”

“…?”

“Who knows what else will take you away the next time I turn around? You’re going to stay there. Don’t even try to escape me.”

     My locks brushing his shoulder, I feel his warmth melting away my will to move.

“…”

     Before he has the time to notice the faintest change in my features, I hide my face until the tip of my nose behind the hot chocolate cups.

***

There is another place I want to show him. I brought him to Romanievi, but where I really want to take him is a little further away from here. As Marygold is reluctant to let me leave his arms, I point in the direction he has to follow.

     Night begins to fall while leaving the surroundings of the village we trail off among the white firs.

     Finally allowed to walk by his side, I guide him to the edge of a lake vast enough to let our eyes wander endlessly over the surface of the fallen sky.

     Sitting down on a wooden pontoon, I quickly notice his pensive expression.

“…”

     Raising a hand towards his cheek, I softly poke it so that I regain his attention.

“What are you… thinking about?”

“Oh… Mmhh… Well, my thoughts drifted to the reindeers at the village.”

     I tilt my head to the side.

“The one who kidnapped me?”

“Not that one.” He promptly corrects. “The ones flying over Santa’s workshop.”

“…?”

     One by one, silvery sequins dot the dusky lake.

“In a way, they remind me of Amahara Corporation. AI has made it possible to etch legends into our world in quite a vivid manner. Once programmed according to their characteristics, they continue to evolve in our world. Mere holograms they are, but still they do get independent minds, right?”

     I tilt my head to the side. What does he intend to say?

“Mmhh… I mean, like Jaana for instance. As a robot she was gifted with a flow of data, meaning knowledge. But then she had been activated and gained her own souvenirs, thoughts.”

“Jaana is Jaana.” I simply comment.

“Well, yes.” He chuckles. “All these obscure words to say that we can gift fake memories to artificial intelligences in order to recreate legends. Amahara Corp. is a bit different. How to phrase it… Legends are wandering wills, wandering clusters of thoughts. Since our technology allows us to manipulate particles, and therefore thoughts, we were able to merge blank AI and these clusters of thoughts.”

“That is… unclear. What about Kodama?” I ask in a whisper, lost in my own thoughts.

“Well, since a Kodama is…”

“…A spirit inhabiting a tree. A spirit protecting what nature holds as dear to its core.” I complete, repeating the memorised AI’s words.

“Yes. Hence, after the Garden of Amahara was built, it naturally gained one. Maybe about a century later. And then, the Kodama’s desire to protect this place coincided with the AI running the security system. The two eventually merged. The AI was missing a mind, Kodama filled that void. That enabled him to interact with us.”

“A legend brought to life…”

     Marygold Leafeyorb’s smile widens, and he puts a finger across his lips.

“Right. But don’t repeat it. We kept it secret. At the time this was pure chance, though that has changed over the last decades…” He trails off as something else catches his attention.

     Following his gaze, I set my eyes on the glowing sails beginning to enshroud the sky with an apple-green tint.

     Dancing as well upon the surface of the lake, the light stripes are alike to trails left by fairies. They seem unreal.

     A faint smile appears over my lips as I see the fascinated expression of the director.

“This is what I wished to show you. I wanted… to share their sight with you.”

“An aurora borealis…”

     Once again, I can behold his irises trembling deep in his eyes. My own gaze softens as I begin to understand which kind of emotions is able to make them tremble.

“I have never seen a sight like it before. It is something I am sure I will never forget.”

     In a slow motion, he lowers his gaze to look at me.

“Just as our encounter.” He gently whispers.

    I unseal my lips, taken aback by a sort of tickle I sense inside me.

“A well chosen name, truly.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small silver box. “Aurora. I have a gift for you.”

     Lowering my eyes, I take it carefully in my hands. When I lift the top of the box, I discern a pair of snowflakes earrings.

“They are magnificent.”

“Does it please you?”

     I nod, taking my eyes off it to raise my head. Marygold reaches out his hands to remove my earrings and replace them by the snowflakes.

“Thank you,… Marygold.” I breathe, giving him a sincere smile.

“How sweet. Isn’t it the first time I hear you say my name?” He notices with amusement.

     Realizing he is right, I avert my gaze. I must have embarrassed, or even hurt him until now. All because I speak little. I should have made more efforts.

     Though, not sparing me more time to get lost in my thoughts any further, Marygold Leafeyorb takes my chin between his fingers, urging me to look at him again.

“Don’t think I hold it against you. I know you don’t use your voice much. But that’s also what makes it so precious to hear. That soft voice of yours.”

     I can feel my cheeks take a faint blush as they warm up.

     Unhurriedly, I raise a hand to cover his. My gaze being lost in his.

     This moment could have lasted longer… But a notification sounds. As Kodama’s voice rises, the director takes on a concerned look.

“Mr Leafeyorb, the situation is about to become critical.”