A Festival of Sunflowers

My companion’s head turned to me, probably curious about what I just said. The sound of a heavy cart passed by my right, then a clack from a wheel rolling over a stray pebble, and boxes started toppling.

She tried to get my attention, but by the time I snapped out of staring at the painting, the boxes were already on their way to crash down on me.

"Ah… Sorry about that."

Just a mere second away from hitting me, a magical glow wrapped around them, stopping them in place, and a familiar voice spoke up, looking over the box.

"Oh, it’s you, and your friend is here too. You’re not hurt, are you?"

It was the wizard from before. I nodded yes, but was still a bit stunned from both the painting and almost being crushed, even if they didn’t seem that heavy. She grabbed a handful of coins and gave them to the street artist before rushing over, making sure no blood was spilled.

"What are you doing here, by the way?"

She asked as he checked for any damages before placing the boxes back on his cart.

"I’m helping with setting up the summer solstice festival, do you not celebrate it where you’re from? Or have you two not been keeping the date?"

Her interest peaked when a festival was mentioned. The fin ears of hers flickered a little, snapping back to face the wizard, hands on her chest to keep herself from flying outward with excitement. She didn’t even need to say anything, her body language had already asked for her, and the wizard laughed and answered.

"Of course you two can attend, and it starts tomorrow. Do you want to help me set things up? It will be easier for me, and I can show you how we celebrate it here along the way."

She turned her head back to me, to ask me like always, but I wasn’t behind her, I was already ahead, calling to her and saying, "Let’s go." A face of pure happiness lit up on her face.

We headed to the town center, the street down the middle gave us a perfect view of the castle up the hill. We hung up ribbon banners and celebratory decorations on houses and stores behind the festive stands being set up.

Bending down to grab another set to be hung up, it gave our stomach enough movement to make a loud growl, reminding us that we forgot lunch. The wizard, hearing this, grabbed the basket in his cart and walked over to us.

"Here, have this. It’s a test batch of fruit pie for tomorrow, given to me by the bakers. It's not a proper meal but it should be better than an empty stomach since the nearest diner is all the way on the other side of the city. My treat, for helping me with preparing for the festival."

It certainly wasn’t a proper meal, but it wasn’t a normal pie either. The crust was flaky but still held its shape even after biting into it, and the filling was perfectly tender. It might have been a little too sweet though, but the sourness balanced it out.

"And is there any problem with the pie? I need to report back to the bakers as well."

"It could still be sweeter…"

She said with an unsatisfied face, I could only sigh in response.

"Haha, I’ll be sure to tell them to make a few batches with extra sugar then. And while we are taking a break, why not let me give you two a run-through of tomorrow’s events?"

He led us through the stands and gave a brief explanation of what they would offer.

"But beside a play in the Grand Library at midday, there isn’t much while the sun is still up. The market and shops usually offer discounts, so you might want to give them a look."

He walked back to the center and looked up at the sky.

"The main event is right after sunset, a great fire will be lit to celebrate the full arrival of summer. The stands surrounding us will be turned into an outdoor kitchen, and a great feast will be held. Then when the moons climbs to the highest point… I think I should leave it as a secret for now and let you experience it for yourself, since it’s not something you can see anywhere."

###

The sun set and the sky turned purple, we had finally put up all the decorations. The wizard took out a list to check off a line.

"Just one more task left, but it will be a little tiring, so let’s have dinner after it’s done."

We followed him to a storage shack just outside the town center. I helped with opening the massive door, and stacked logs rolled down, but he was able to catch it with his magic.

"We need to move these back to the center of the square and stack them into a bonfire. We will be depending on your strength, warrior friend, since my magic can only lift them so high."

He said, levitating the logs back into a more stable and accessible position, then turning to my companion.

"Sorry you can’t help much with this… Ah, I know, you can roll them closer for us to pick up quicker, but please do be careful."

Soon enough, a cone built with logs formed in the town center, surrounded by still empty stands, kindle placed aside to prevent accidental fires. The wizard took out his list again, checking another line off. Seeing a line not crossed over, she went and peeked over his shoulders to have a better look then asked.

"Isn’t there one more thing on the list?"

"That will be the secret event, so be sure not to be under a roof around midnight or you’ll miss it, and if you want the best view, I’ll recommend the foot of the castle hill. Now let me make sure I didn’t miss anything, and I’ll show you two a great place to eat."