A Moonlight Festival

“Oh my gosh, everything looks so tasty and sparkly! What should we do first?” Lirhilde’s eyes shined like a set of full moons. “Wow...” Mahannana stared in stunned silence. With strands of golden lights, white and silver banners, and warm lanterns all around, the town square looked positively magical! While people were dancing in the inner courtyard surrounding the fountain, the outer courtyard was crammed with a ring of stalls. There were so many stalls that they and the decorations branched off into the five connecting streets that fed into the town center. It looked more like a carnival than a simple dance!

“It's so beautiful...!” Mahannana breathed, taken in by the scene. She wasn’t typically a fan of crowded places, but this one surged with positive, non-intimidating energy. The night was lovely and crisp, and everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. Watching other people be content and engaged in everyday life was something that always had fascinated Madoka. If she needed to get out for a little bit, she’d buy a drink from a vending machine and sit in a park for a couple hours. This situation was something interesting, like her people watching, but it also felt safe and comfortable enough for her to personally engage in.

“This is nothing. You should see it during holidays...it’s even more crowded than this and it lasts for days.” Aqua gave a shudder. Mahannana turned and looked at him. “If you hate people that much, you can just go home you know? You don’t have to be here. No one is forcing you to stay. Mama won’t care because I’m with Lir-Chan and Elfrida-Chan.” Aqua yelped at Madoka’s blunt attempt to comfort him. “I-I-I-” he whimpered, about ready to cry.

“Oi, would you stop that?!” Elfrida huffed, swatting Aqua across the back. “For heaven’s sakes! You’re one of the adults, but Ma-Chan is a thousand times more mature than you! Ma-Chan, don’t be so soft on him!” She scolded. “Aqua needs to learn to have a spine! How’s he supposed to deal with life when he gets older if he jumps like a rabbit when a little girl talks to him? You don’t get an out, sir!” Using her magic, she was able to push a reluctant Aqua forward towards Mahannana and Lirhilde. “You will go to the festival, and you will have fun!” Mahannana grinned apologetically at Aqua. ‘Elfrida-Chan is downright terrifying sometimes.’

“Now, where shall we start?” Elfrida beamed and clapped her hands together cutely, as if she hadn’t just been terrorizing someone. “Money is no issue tonight!” Aqua looked concerned. “No, I didn’t extort it!” Elfrida added as she turned and made a demonic face that caused Aqua to yelp and jump away. “I’m hundreds of years old and have had plenty of time to save up money! Being a scholar and tutor pays well,” She explained to the other two women, ignoring a quaking Aqua. “Wow, that’s generous Elfrida-Chan! But me and Ma-Chan did bring our own money.” Lirhilde attempted to wave off Elfrida’s generosity.“I’ll accept your offer, but I am going to repay you somehow eventually because mama believes in being polite and not just taking from others.” Mahannana paused and looked back.

“Come on, Aqua. You’ll get lost if you don’t stick with us.” She waved him forward. “So, what food would you recommend?” Lirhilde asked Elfrida as she led the way. “I want to try something I’ve never heard of or seen before!” “Hmmm...I have some ideas! Ma-Chan, is there anything you want to do?” Elfrida asked. “I want to find this apple tart stand I heard about,” Mahannana replied instantly. Lirhilde turned and wrinkled her nose in bewilderment. “Why something so ordinary?” The swan woman quickly returned to discussing the local food with the librarian as Mahannana and Aqua followed behind their more assertive friends.

“Apple tarts? Why that specifically?” Aqua asked. “The little old lady who ordered a buttload of your apples last week told me she was going to be making tarts to sell tonight. It sounded yummy and she was really sweet. She gave me a candy after I delivered her order.” “That does sound good.” Aqua admitted. “Strange as it sounds, I’ve never tried my produce in any dish made by someone else, even though taverns and restaurants buy from me.”

“Really?” Mahannana was shocked. “I know you’re shy, but you’ve never had a friend who bought your stuff? Ever?” Aqua shook his head no. “You never had friends, either, Ma-Chan!” He prodded back gently. “You’re right” Mahannana admitted. “But it’s not that I’m scared of people like you are! I’ve always wanted friends but it's more like...I never could find the right people. I used to try when I was younger, but people either used me or ignored me because they thought I was strange. I just gave up and waited for people to come to me, but no one did. No one without an ulterior motive, anyway.”

“I still find it hard to believe that you of all people had no friends.” Aqua responded, shaking his head. “You’re such a good, smart kid and you’ve been great at making friends here despite being an Otherworlder. You’re an amazing salesperson for my business, too! I’ve had people order specifically because they heard others praise your delivery service.” Mahannana looked at him skeptically. ‘You’re being overly desperate there, buddy! I know you want me to continue helping you, but you don’t need to butter me up in such an obnoxiously obvious way! I’m helping because I want to, and I like the work! You don’t need to bribe me.’

Aqua looked at her seriously. “I’m not exagerating! Why do you think we’ve been getting More and more delivery requests every day? Omthor and Lirhilde ordered from me specifically to meet other Otherworlders after they heard about you and your mother! People like you! Your enthusiasm for this world is infectious, and they can tell. You don’t treat this world like a joke and You aren’t acting like your world is superior or expecting us to act according to it's ideas of “normal”. If I didn’t know you were an Otherworlder, I’d think you were born in Nyxphiria.”

Mahannana smiled. “Really? Am I...”normal” to you?” Aqua looked at her in confusion, not entirely sure how to answer that question. “What’s “normal”?” He shrugged eventually. “That’s such a weak, meaningless word, no matter the world. We’re all a little bit weird and a little bit normal. You’re a good person and a fun kind of different. You aren’t hurting anyone and add joy and excitement to the lives of others. That’s how humans should be so, in that sense, I guess you’re normal.” Mahannana soaked in his words; turning them over in her mind.

‘Normal is a meaningless word...That’s what Mama always said, but I knew it wasn’t true. Most people who would say that were talking out both sides of their mouths and the most judgmental. But...Aqua isn’t lying. All the people I’ve met here have been nothing but kind. Elfrida-Chan, Lir-Chan, Mr Omthor, Mr Aqua...they’ve all liked me for just acting the way I wanted to act. Back home, even when I forced myself to shut up about videogames and tried to tailor my behavior to mimic my classmates, it wasn’t enough. I was weird for being myself because I was different, but I was weird for acting the way they said was “normal” too. Sometimes, I wondered if the real issue they had was that I was allowed any space on this earth at all. They probably still haven’t noticed that I vanished, but they still felt so offended and oppressed by my mere existence when I was there. There’s no real difference between people in that world and this one, so why are all the people here so more accepting than all the people I met during my entire life back home? What’s so different about Nyxphiria? What’s so different about me?’

“Are you thinking again?” Aqua asked and Mahannana nodded. While Aqua had initially been scared of her disassociation episodes, he’d become accustomed to them after she’d explained that they were just her having a deep-thinking moment. It was an oversimplification, to be sure, but one he could comprehend. “Yeah, just mentally filing away what you said.” Mahannana looked at Elfrida and Lirhilde, who’d stopped to debate which direction to go first. “Lir-Chan wants to try the local food, I want to visit the old lady I delivered to, and Elfrida wants to dance, but what do you want to do, Mr Aqua?” She asked, realizing he hadn’t been consulted yet.

“What I want?” “Yeah, you came with us voluntarily, so should do something that you want to do, too.” Aqua looked surprised that anyone would ask him what he wanted. “Well...there is one thing I want to do. It’s a bit embarrassing though.” Mahannana was intrigued. “What? I won’t laugh and I’m willing to try anything once.” “...flower fortunes.” Mahannana could barely hear him. “What now?” “Flower fortunes?” Aqua saw her curious face and elaborated. “It’s this booth where you’re given a flat, thin stick and try to lift a flower out of a pool of water. The flowers float on the water and, when you pull it up, there’s a card with a fortune tied to it.”

‘Oh, it's kinda like a horoscope!’ Mahannana’s face lit up. “That sounds like a fun game! We don’t have anything like that back in my world! Would it be okay if I tried it?” Aqua grinned. “Of course! I know I’ll be lucky with a mage around!” “I’ll tell Elfrida-Chan and Lir-Chan that there’s something I want to do with you!” Mahannana jogged over to their friends and, hopping between them, cheerfully placed her request. The two women seemed surprised but immediately began laughing playfully and Lirhilde threw an arm around the young girl.

Aqua felt a burst of relief. ‘Ma-Chan didn’t laugh and wants to try the things I like!’ It was a childish feeling, but he couldn't hide that her accepting reaction made him happy. He'd been an only child, and his parents had died and left him to fend for himself when he was young. He’d always had to work to stay alive and, between not having time to develop social skills and his intimidating appearance, he’d reached adulthood without a single friend and no cluehow to connect with others. Even though Mahannana could be insensitive at times, he enjoyed being around her and wasn’t nervous around her the way he was with other people. She was always willing to help him and was constantly curious about him and the town. It was like having a little sister and he wanted to make her smile and show her interesting things, especially on account of her unlucky situation of ending up in another world.

‘Well, it was unlucky for her and her mother, but it was lucky for me.’ Aqua grinned sheepishly as Elfrida began yelling at him to quit lagging behind. ‘Those two have definitely made my life far less lonely and boring.’