One Last Festival

As the food wagon comes in, I wait with Marco at the center of the village until Mr. Ramos hops out from the front.

Unlike the first time I was here, instead of waiting for him to run away, the villagers were already outside their doors, patiently waiting for him to leave.

Seeing the change of scenery, he asks, “so? Did you fix everything yet?”

“We’re working on it,” I replied, “the villagers still look quite tense to me, so it might be best if you head to the entrance as usual.”

“Ya don’t need to tell me twice,” he says, scurrying off back to his usual hiding spot.

I looked at each of the villager’s faces as I clutched my gun in my hands. Each of them still looked worried and tired, but this time, the dash of anger and hatred that was mixed into their expressions was instead replaced by a hint of sadness and regret.

I wondered how many of them were also questioning the meaninglessness of their survival, just like I had, especially the ones who had killed just to get the next week’s food supply.

How many of them were harboring regret at what they’ve done for the sake of living another week locked away in their homes in fear of each other? How many of them have wanted to give up because the ones they cared about no longer existed anymore?

Perhaps realizing that they didn’t have to fight each other for food anymore had calmed them down enough to think more rationally. Perhaps doing so had made them come to realize that all the fighting they did was stupidly meaningless. Perhaps that’s why they looked sadder than usual.

One by one the villagers slowly begin to form a single file line, each taking their fair share of food from the crates. As they begin to head back to their homes, I realize that nothing was going to change at this rate.

I may have quelled their anger and need to fight each other, but I also hadn’t given them a reason to actually resolve their conflicts with each other. They were too content with the way things are and probably decided that I was their solution.

‘Thank goodness an Esper came here and decided to resolve our issue,’ was probably what they’re thinking. Anyone else who wanted to step up to resolve the situation would’ve had to do so with trouble, but because my appearance was random, they didn’t have time to complain, and since it was their favor anyway, they decided that they didn’t need to.

Maybe I should start unfairly distributing the supplies, I thought for a moment, but quickly quenched the idea. No, what I need to do is make them realize that they all want the same thing. Their sadness probably not only stems from the realization that the reason they were fighting each other was stupid, but also from the desire to repent for their misdeeds and mourn for the dead and being unable to because they think no one wants to celebrate the festival.

I looked towards Marco and an idea struck my mind.

“Y’know Marco,” I said, loud enough for the nearby villagers to hear, “I’m not going to be here forever. I have to go to the other places where my comrades died and give them a proper farewell as well. I’ll probably leave by the end of this week, but you should be able to take care of yourself right?”

I give him a sly wink as he catches on to what I was trying to do, and I breathe a huge inner sigh of relief that he was smart enough to do so. We’d had this conversation before, so perhaps hearing it again randomly helped him realize.

“Yes Mrs. Esper, I’ll be just fine by myself.”

Some of the villagers that were heading home paused and turned to look at us, while others stood there in confusion, trying to figure out how they should process the fact that their ‘solution’ they found was not only temporary, but also about to leave soon.

Finally, someone shouts from the crowd, “b-but you can’t!”

Then, one by one, more and more villagers began to agree in unison.

“Y-yeah you can’t leave us Mrs. Esper!”

“Please don’t leave us!”

“The food distribution is only going fine as it is because of you”

“How am I supposed to be able to guarantee that I’ll be able to eat next week?”

“A-and besides, how can you say you’ve properly honored your comrades when the Equinox Festival hasn’t taken place yet?”

Everyone stops and turns towards the person who said the last line. It was the same woman from a week ago who was the first one to check the notice board.

“What are you talking about?” says one of the villagers, “can’t you see she’s an Esper? If she wants to honor one of her comrades, then the Equinox Festival does nothing for her.”

“But that’s not true isn’t it?” the lady says, looking towards me, “I saw you looking over the monument a week ago, and smiling after you read one of the names. Even though your comrade is an Esper, someone from this village wrote their name on the monument didn’t they?”

The villagers began murmuring and whispering to each other, and although the numerous voices veiled what they were talking about, the fact that they were talking to each other was a hint of normalcy,

“And you know what? I’m not against it!” she declares, “Even though it breaks tradition. I think the old idea that Espers can’t be hard working is bullshit! …Back when the mountain collapsed on the main city, I remember an Esper desperately running into the village to warn us ahead of time… she was an older lady who had golden eyes and fish scales running up her right arm…”

Iris, I thought.

The woman then grabs a small child from behind her and guides her in front of the crowd.

“It’s because of that Esper that me and my daughter were able to escape on time,” she continued, “and even though it was dangerous, when I told her that my husband was on the other side of town, she decided to make the trip to warn those people there anyway… but the fact that my husband’s not here with me anymore means that neither of them made it back in time… so I don’t care what anyone here thinks! If you don’t think that Espers can be hard workers then you can refrain from participating in this year’s Equinox Festival! Because I want to hold one! And I want to hear the horns of the mountains blow one last time! And I…! I just want to give my husband one last, proper, farewell…”

The villagers stood there in silence one more time, contemplating everything that the woman just said.

“I-I want to hold one too!” Marco suddenly shouts as everyone turns to look at him, “...please?”

“Then... I want to hold one too!” a tall, gruff, looking villager announces.

“Me too!” someone shouts.

“I want to hold the festival too.”

“Yeah, same here!”

“We should hold the festival!”

“Let’s hold the festival again!”

And soon enough the village which had been so divisive and silent just minutes before, begins to erupt with loud chattering and the agreement on one thing; everyone wants to hold the Equinox Festival one last time.

“I’ll get to cleaning the village!” someone says.

“And I’ll begin decorating everything!”

“Fill up the notice board and drag out everyone who’s holed up in their house! Let everyone know that we’re going to celebrate the Equinox Festival again!”

“HURRAAYYYY!!!” a random person shouts above the crowd.

Seeing everyone happy and chattering again filled me with a sense of accomplishment and deep longing as I pulled out another photo of Iris to reminisce her memory once more.

Look here Iris, I said, pretending that she was watching the crowd through her photo, it turns out the people you saved can get along after all.