Chapter 19:

Pueri

A Steam Requiem


Fiz had spent much of her life in her happy little trash heap. She knew every hidden cave shrouded by plates of oblong metal. Her parents had once guided her across the heap gleefully. 

They spoke of its wonders, the mysteries and the great use that giant piles of seemingly pointless metal provided.

Bunny hopping between these sheets Fiz wanted to see if she could find a new cave today. Her light overalls allowed her to fling through the air with seemingly no air resistance, although that may have been the cause of her intensely hyperactive persona.

She had been upbeat for as long as she could remember, passing by one particular shard of metal she remembered how a small slip from her withered father had impaled him on the iron. 

He died a few hours later, but somehow her ability to speak with him before his passing gave her peace. Since then, she never truly saw the consequence of death, it came to many and if she lived a joyful life like her father, and late mother she too would die in peace.

So that was her aim, to die with as few regrets as possible, meaning that if there was an undiscovered cave in the heap, she would find it! 

She could even get her little helper Eugo to assist in the search, although he had been spending a lot of time with George recently. Eugo never spoke much which part of her liked, it balanced out the immense amount she spoke anyway.

§

Approaching the outskirts of the heap she danced her way around various tiny holes and hidden caves. Most of which she had already explored, but she knew somewhere around here laid hidden treasure. 

Her two eyes darted across the repetitive landscape of spiky silver shards; she was searching for a hole.

She found one.

With unnecessary inhuman speed, she pounced towards the hole, eyes gleaming brightly with hope. The plates of metal baring her way didn’t last long, as she used every ounce of muscle in her body to fling the sheets into the far distance. 

Poking her head inside she looked around, nook there… cranny there… another nook there. This information spent some time bouncing around in her head, seemingly processing countless images of photographic data. 

Her head reached a conclusion, this was not a new cave.

“Awww heck.”

With her exclamation of disappointment, she decided to not be completely disheartened, a state she rarely reached either way. Continuing to clamber across the wide range of various metals, Fiz continued her search for simply an unexplored small hole. 

Something she at the very least found enjoyable was that there was someone else who shared her interest. As far as she knew most other people in the dome didn’t enjoy looking for random holes hidden underneath the metal. 

She was used to it, still vibrantly smiling. Although she couldn’t deny the pleasure that came from talking with Eugo. He may not be expressive or share an interest as grand as hers, but he at least cared. She liked that.

Before Fiz continued she decided to do some stretches of sorts. This included a jog around the entire heap which tended to take around an hour and a full set of random workouts that she burned through in record time. 

Her body rested in a constant cycle of work, only replenished by the morsels of food she collected from time to time. Speaking of which, Fiz remembered she had to get her food, she forgot sometimes.

Fiz waltzed her way towards the announcement centre, happily bobbing with each step. Up and down, up and down her hair seemed to rest in a constant state of movement. 

Fiz’s eyes saw opportunities for wonder in even the smallest of objects. A small metal cube on the sidewalk, perfect to kick around for a few meters. A sudden split in the ground causing steam to bubble up from beneath, the best possible hopscotch location. 

Cartwheeling her way to the announcement centre, ever confused eyes would watch her as she went.

She collected her small container and bread and found out that coal supplies would once again be diminishing. Just about to depart home to continue her journey, she felt a small tug at her leg. Turning around two pleading eyes looked up at her expectantly.

“Who’re ya, young missy?” The girl’s eyes stared back blankly and slowly began to well with tears. Just before they did Fiz lifted the girl, placing her high on her shoulders.

“Don’t be crying up there lil missy, you looking for your elders?” Fiz looked up at the girl’s face now dry after she reluctantly wiped her tears, she nodded.

“Well off we go then, hope you enjoy the journey!” Fiz wandered around the announcement centre, a child in haul. Asking person to person if anyone knew the cute button that rested atop her head, literally.

“Hey, have any o ya’ll seen this cute button up here before?” Her question was met with significant failure, with most either ignoring her or just blatantly saying no.

“Hmmmm, where’d you last see your elder’s missy?” Realising that the girl didn’t want to talk, Fiz needed a new plan. The cogs in her brain turned faster than they had in a while, she had never really been one to use her brain that often.

“Uhhhh, missy how bout ya point to where you last saw them?” The girl struck out a thin arm into the centre of the town, both crowded and bustling with people. Fiz creeped her way between some people, making herself as thin as possible for ease of travel.

Fiz spun herself around a few times until she noticed a small gathering nearby. The elder body of a man had collapsed in the centre of the town square. Fiz received a light tap on the head, signifying the girl’s knowledge of the man.

Dropping down to ground level, Fiz let the child step off in front of her. She edged her way closer to the body and began innocently tugging on it.

“Hey, missy come back here quickly.” The girl tugged for a few more seconds but then obliged.

“This ya papa lil missy?” A nod

“You know where your home is?” A shake

“There someone waiting at home?” A shake

“Want to come on a fun lil adventure with me?” A nod

“Don’t worry we’ll come back and visit your father soon!” The girl’s eyes brightened, and she crawled her way back onto the shoulders of her saviour.

Fiz, spent some time thinking over what to do… in her mind, she knew someone had to care for the child. She had never taken care of someone other than herself, and she was rarely able to do that properly. 

Either way, Fiz was up to the challenge, knowing that if she left the child then and there, she would feel nothing but regret.

§

The duo traversed their way back to the trash heap and Fiz sat the girl down on a metal sheet.

“Are ya able to speak at all missy?” She silently shook her head.

“But ya can understand me?” The girl nodded.

Fiz noted the sudden task that had presented itself to her, it most certainly wasn’t going to be an easy one. Though she would do her best to put her absolute all into it.

“Ok missy, come with me we are going to find a few secret caves!” The girl happily nodded in response. Fiz guided the girl to what she believed was an easy to explore cave, it had a hole just large enough to slip through when she was young. 

Similarly, the inside was surprisingly large despite its claustrophobic appearance.

Fiz ushered the girl inside.

“Missy, if you go in there, you’ll find a secret cave! It might seem small but it’s actually pretty large.” The little girls’ eyes seemed to widen at even the smallest of things, she crawled her way into the hole… and didn’t come back out. 

In fact, Fiz saw her spend practically half a day lazing about in the tiny cave.

“Ya sure to like that cave missy… want to explore some others a bit later?”

Once again, the stary eyed girl nodded happily in the dark cave.

You could say Fiz felt overwhelming guilt behind what she had done, as she felt the need to take responsibility.

“Missy… I promise I’ll let ya see your dad a bit later, but he’ll still be a bit tired. After that… I don’t think we can see him for a little while.” Fiz noted the girl's muddled face and was sure to reassure her with a pat on the head.

“Do you have a name lil missy?” The girl nodded.

“Can ya say it for me, as best ya can?” The girl seemed to go into a state of deep concentration and with a bit of effort, something muffled something escaped out of her lips.

“T… Ti… Ti, Til.”

“Til?” The girl nodded vigorously, seemingly ecstatic at her success in speech. Fiz promised in her heart to take care of the young girl, so she would never feel alone.

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