A Walk with Ficus

Albert dozed off in the middle of his afternoon break. Ficus had told him to accompany her to the Shy Moon Festival in the following week, but failed to provide the specifics. He had no idea where he was going to meet her, nor when he was going to meet her. As he continued pondering about his situation with Ficus, a question dawned on him. How did she know what happened between him and Lucy on the same day? Perhaps he should wait for her to tell him. On the condition that she would tell him where and when to meet up, of course.

The day for him to meet with Ficus drew near, as Albert whiled away behind the doors of Sweet Ales. They were filled with nothing of particular interest. Leo would visit once in a while to bother him and doodle on the blackboard. People came and went to dine. There was no sign from Ficus.

Even though the first and second nights of the festival had passed and the third night was breathing down the neck, Ficus still remained silent. Perhaps Albert had missed the day that Ficus had planned? Outside, the night was still light. The darkness was repelled by the bright lights out on the streets. The paths leading between the festival market at the main street and the higher grounds were well lit. At the city’s higher levels were where other concerts and displays, as well as more areas to view the moon, took place.

As always for Albert, it was the time for him to wrap his tasks up for the end of the day. Today, as well as the following few days, he would finish early because of the festival. It wasn’t as if he was excited to go, but rather it was so he could be free to meet Ficus if she ever contacted him.

After he finished wiping down the last table, Albert grabbed a light jacket and stepped outside. Maybe he would meet Ficus if he went outside to look. In hopes of this possibility, he followed one of the glowing trails.

There were a few people walking along the path with Albert. It was not enough to be considered a crowd, but Albert felt like he was able to blend into the group of people walking with his direction every now and then. A set of stairs caught Albert’s attention. Some people were descending and some people were scaling the steps. Following the few, he traversed up the steps that wrapped around the circular outlook that hosted a giant pavilion. Faint music flowed out from above the path. Short street lights on the railings shimmered along as the flames flickered to a gentle wind.

At the top of the steps, Albert met the pale blue bird that had harassed him at the window in the previous week. Perched atop the final lamppost of the stairs, it held its gaze with Albert. Even when he walked up in front of the bird. The people walking passed by, nonchalantly, as if they didn’t notice the exotic looking bird. With a few quick chirps, it flew away in the direction of a lady looking over the landscape of the unlit city, where no festivities took place. She had light ash brown hair and a figure that was concealed by a dark red shawl. A white dress cascaded out from underneath the red cloth. Although her outline was mostly hidden, it seemed familiar to Albert.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Albert said as he approached the woman.

“Right on time, Albert.” She turned to face him, and Albert could immediately realize who it was.

“Ms. Ficus?”

Ficus’s face brightened up into a smile. “Yes, I knew you would come, so I waited for you here. Don’t worry, I only arrived 5 minutes prior.”

“What happened to your hair?” he exclaimed.

“This is the first thing you say?” chided Ficus. “How rude.”

“Sorry.” Albert looked away in shame. “It’s just… unexpected.”

Ficus brushed away his apology and walked towards the seats at the pavilion. There was a small ensemble at the center stage providing a soft ambience for the pavilion’s atmosphere. “Let’s go sit down and enjoy the music first.”

“R- Right.” He was unsure of how to act because Ficus seemed to still be mad at him, but he still followed her.

They sat at the back of the right seating area. There was no interaction between the two. Although Ficus sat right next to Albert, there was an invisible wall between him and her. The gap made the wonderful music with the scenic background of the nightlights of the city’s party turn bland and dim. Albert quickly lost focus of the present, his mind drifting off. This feeling that everything was gray. He would gladly take it as Ficus’s punishment, but she may have had other plans for him. Ficus’s personality and actions so far did not suggest that she would act out of malevolence. What was going to happen?

As Albert floated away in his train of thoughts, reflecting the colors that had disappeared from his life, the ensemble’s performance came to an end and the pavilion’s spotlights on them dimmed in unison. Within the fog of darkness, the festival glowed brighter for the audience from the outlook.

“Albeeeert.” Ficus was calling out to him. “Hello. Is Albert alive and well?” She started snapping her fingers at his ears.

“Y-yes,” Albert flashed back to the present. “Sorry. I was thinking about… stuff.”

Ficus looked at Albert’s apologetic face. “It’s fine,” she replied. “I was just suggesting that we go down to the main street and see the market stalls.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” said Albert as he nodded in agreement. “Let’s go.” He stood up from his seat and stretched. From the dimly lit pavilion and his half active eyes, he felt as if everything was in silhouettes. Everything blurred in front of him.

Seeing how he was standing there and not moving from his spot, Ficus took Albert’s hand. “If we don’t hurry, the popular items will be sold out,” she said.

Ficus led Albert down the stairs, careful to not cause him to trip. At the bottom of the steps, perched on a nearby tree, lay the same pale blue bird. It seemed to have its own source of light. From the shadows of the leaves and branches, its blue hue popped out and marked its location. It flew towards Ficus, sprinkling light behind it as it fluttered. She did not appear to be bothered by the bird, and offered it a hand to perch on.

“Isn’t she pretty. Albert?” Ficus asked as she brought her hand along with the bird in front of his face. “She’s also smart and obedient.” The bird let out a few coos as Ficus gently stroked the back of its neck with a finger. After lifting her hand, the bird flew back up to the sky, back to where it belonged.

The pair stared at the trail of stars it left behind. “That species of bird was thought to be extinct a few centuries ago,” explained Ficus. “It would create rain as it pleased. No one knew about it, however. It blended in with a clear sky too well to be noticed. It was not humans that caused its demise, but rather its sense of direction.” Although the traces of the bird were now long gone, Ficus continued to stare at the night sky. “It preferred the sky so much that many of them flew to their end by flying far enough to turn into stars.” She was about to add another lengthy informative session, but she caught herself. “Oh my, I may have rambled on quite a bit,” she said as she smiled at Albert. ”Sorry about that.”

“Who are you, really, Ms. Ficus?” Albert asked.

“Hehehe,” Ficus giggled. “Let’s walk as we talk.” She grasped his hand tighter and pulled him along the path.

The lampposts scattered along the street glowed dimly. Outshining them were the chains of light strung upon them. There were significantly less people on the streets now. They most likely had already arrived at the place they wanted to be or decided to find themselves back at their home. Now, it was as if Albert and Ficus were alone.

Ficus brushed her hand along the occasional city-planted hedges. The sweeping motion made no sound against the leaves. There was no rustling, as if she was waving away air. “About me…” she started before pausing to think about whether or not she should explain herself. “No, about Camie first. That’s why I wanted you to come here with me. We can talk about me after we get to know each other better.”

“That’s fine by me,” Albert accepted the change in topic. “I also happen to have quite a few questions concerning her, after all.”

Ficus smiled. “Perfect.”

“Now then,” she said as she stopped in her tracks before a potted white orchid. Turning to Albert, she asked, “where should I start?”

“The beginning, I suppose.”

“Right, right,” agreed Ficus. “That’s always a good place.”

She continued her walk towards the festival market. “The start, huh? I’m guessing that was around fifteen or so years ago. You could say I found a child in the form of a doll. Her body was so frail, she could barely move about, so I applied some of my skills and fixed her in a way that she allowed her to feel less pain. That’s pretty much the whole story I have for Camie. She exists because I could make her exist.”

Albert was confused. He wanted solid answers. “So you don’t know why a doll can move either?”

“From the looks of it, both of us accepted the fact that magic made a doll move.” Ficus laughed. “Hahaha, I guess we both love the idea of legends and the myths of magic. Honestly, magic has faded from our lives for so long, seeing an autonomous doll like Camie makes it look like the world is ending for many people.”

They reached another set of stairs. This one was different, however. Stone planter boxes split the stairs into two sides. Dandelions and other wildflowers thought to be weeds populated the space in a harmonious manner. There was no need for additional lights. On both sides of the corridor hung antique lamps. These glowed a warm yellow hue that flickered every now and then. From the view down, one could clearly see that it was a straight path down to the end of the street.

“I bet you already know how Camie is,” Ficus continued. “She enjoys life as it is, but having someone around her puts a cherry on top. Now that she has tasted what it’s like to have it everyday, she can’t bear to part with it. Typical of a child.”

“She certainly is like a child.”

“And so, a child is better off with more supporting adults. Be it a mother, father, uncle, or aunt.”

This was something that Albert could agree with to the extreme. He had experienced the difference between scrounging the streets for food and having a roof over his head with people who would say ‘I care’ without any prompt.

“I don’t think I was ready to be that adult, though.” Guilt flooded Albert’s face as he confessed. “I’m always too busy with keeping the shop given to me afloat, so I can’t find the time to support her.”

“An adult is not a bad adult just for working a lot,” comforted Ficus. “Everyone will need to work someday to earn their living. That is life. It is simply harder for you to do it because you are alone.”

“Even so, it doesn’t make me someone well liked.” Albert complained. “Camie and Lucy—”

Ficus interjected. “Camies likes Lucy more because she spends more time with her. She is like a child after all. Whoever gives the most cherries will be the one she is the most attracted to.” The pair made their way through a park as a shortcut. “Remember that Camie also likes you. She doesn’t hate you. With that, there is no need for any enmity against the two.”

The dirt road cutting across the park was well kept, but there were little to no light sources. The few lamps were spread far apart to discourage late night outings there. Albert stumbled a little, as he tried to feel his way around the dark. Fortunately for him, Ficus was able to catch his fall.

“Shall we sit down to rest for a while?” she suggested. “It appears that your hard work in your shop doesn’t exactly make you fit for this kind of walk.”

“That would be nice.”

As if she could see clearly in the dark, she led Albert to a nearby bench without hesitation. “Have some water,” she offered. From out of nowhere, or rather it couldn’t be seen in the dark, Ficus produced a canteen and handed it over to Albert’s hands, which he took gratefully.

“I’m kind of ashamed,” he admitted after a moment’s rest. “To have a lady look after me like this.”

Ficus laughed. “It’s not about being a man or woman sometimes. It is the duty of the older one of the two to take care of the younger.”

Ficus gave Albert some more time to rest before continuing their walk to the festivities on main street. The moment they neared the exit of the park, the lampposts became more frequent, returning Albert’s clarity to the surroundings. The excitement from the markets could be heard around the block. Albert and Ficus stayed silent until the entrance of the rows of stalls.

“Feeling better about your involvement and place with Camie?” Ficus asked suddenly, as they merged into the crowd.

“A bit. But why me?”

“It didn’t have to be you. Lucy alone would have been better. But I think it would benefit you as well if you had Camie. Besides, as a unit, you three are sure to be strong.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Also don’t forget. You still need to apologize to Lucy and Camie.”

Albert remembered the festivals he spent with Lucy when he was younger. Her family’s flower themed stands. The time he spent with her and Leo, exploring every item on sale. Everything was a fond memory for him. It would be a waste to let that all crumble before him.

“I’ll try to find them in this crowd.” Albert’s mood seemed to be optimistic and bright.

Ficus smiled again. A smile that wasn’t painful or forced. A genuine smile. “That’s what I like to hear.”

“Thanks again, Ficus. Your wisdom definitely helped me.”

Ficus put her mouth by his ear so he could hear her clearly in the midst of the whirl of conversations from everyone else. “I am a goddess, after all.”

“What?” Albert was surprised and wasn’t sure if he had heard her correctly.

As if confirming what he heard was correct, she put a finger to his lips to make sure he doesn’t repeat what she said. “That's a reward because you got to know me just a little bit better. Now, go find Lucy and Camie.”

With those parting words, she left and disappeared into the sea of people, leaving Albert speechless.