Sky Drawn Lycoris - [End of Arc 2]

I walked out of the library, still somewhat confused with myself, not fully sure what I was feeling. A golden ray shone down at a steep angle, the sky was turning purple, and the sun was racing off to hide behind the mountains. My companion looked up, staring up at the near cloudless sky with the setting sun.

“The sky’s so pretty…”

Her hand reached out, pointing at one of the clouds.

“That one looks like a heart, doesn’t it? But we have to hurry back to the town center now, hope they still have some of those pies left.”

She spun around and grabbed my hands, pulling me closer. Then with a turn of a corner, everything was in view. Torches mounted on bamboo poles surrounded the stone pavement with the unlit bonfire in the middle, making the entire center glow a bright orange, its light leaking halfway into the street leading to it.

Each step towards it got warmer and hotter, and after passing the torches on either side of the far-reaching street, the inside felt like the middle of the day even after the sun had completely set.

The townspeople's cheers and chants, their dances, and the overwhelming smell of alcohol flooded the whole city with festivity. The clock tower rang, signifying the turning of a new hour. Kindles were poured into the corner of the bonfire, a knight held a blazing torch high, setting it aflame as the crowd cheered on.

Mages fanning the fire with their magic, guiding the flame into an upward spiral, splitting at the very end, turning it into a fountain of flame. The chefs laid out food on the stands’ tables, with more raw ingredients on the side, ready to be chopped and cooked.

Pork and beef sizzling on a hot iron plate, their fat drained to be made into gravy. Potatoes golden brown with charred lines where they met the grill, salt and spices dusted over them. Mashed potatoes packed into tiny porcelain bowls, and an entire stick of ham spinning over a small fire, a knife at the side ready for slicing.

We lined up for our share, the fire behind siphoning air in, pulling the smell from the feast as well. Picking what we want before turning back and huddling around the massive flame.

“Are you sure that’s enough?”

She stared at my portion, which was at least two and a half times less than hers.

“It’s good enough.”

Pushing the food around to fully judge how much I picked out, then looked at hers. She saw me starting to compare our size differences and switched to stare up at me and giggled.

“I thought you would complain and say ‘Why are you eating so much’ or ‘That’s too unhealthy’ again.”

“I know what a feast is… I won’t complain about it tonight.”

“If only you could stretch it throughout the whole day…”

Kicking her legs up to fix her robe being sandwiched between her chair before digging into her meal. Ember spat out from the fire, and the logs under it crackled, spilling ashes out. A few more bell-rings and there was only one hour left before midnight. The crowd had calmed, and a sense of tranquil peace and silence rolled over with only a few soft chatters remaining.

The muffled footsteps from the bakers in the distance sounded as clear as day in this quiet night, going over to everyone still awake and not passed out drunk to hand out their leftover pastries as desserts.

“I’m glad you two were able to come celebrate with us, hope you enjoyed it. Here, we have a slice of that pie saved for you.”

The moment that pie reached her sight, her eyes lit up as bright as the stars above, gasping as she forgot to breathe, grabbing the plate with both hands.

“Thank you!.. Oh and yes, we had fun today! It’s nice to see so many people this happy.”

My face was the opposite, sour to the point of turning purple seeing that pie again, I tried my best to hide it from her, more so after what she said. Accepting it with my back turned to her while she was busy thanking the bakers. One of them sneaked off and bent down next to my ear, one hand on my shoulder and the other covering his mouth.

“This one has a normal amount of sugar, don’t worry.”

Giving me a thumbs up, trying to hold in a laugh.

“We know it’s basically uneatable, but it wouldn’t be nice to decline such a small request, so we just made just one for her.”

Putting the pie up to my face, it definitely smelled less sweet, and the fruity scent was even alluring, but my hands were refusing to let me taste it. Looking over to my side, her mouth was wide open, ready to devour it in one bite. But then she paused, jumping up, almost dropping her beloved pie, and pulled me up.

“We almost forgot!”

Pulling me through the street, juggling our two plates.

“To where?”

“The castle hill, he told us to be there before midnight! For that special event that he won’t let us help with, remember? How could you have forgotten about that?”

“Didn’t you also forget abou…”

A shrieking whistle shot through the sky behind us, a line of red sparks and smoke followed through, soaring into the clouds, exploding as it touched the moons, drawing a fiery spider lily in the sky. It was beautiful.

“it as well…”

It stole our eyes as we watched it rain down, burning out before hitting the ground. The image reached deep into my soul, it was like a key, trying to unlock something sealed within me for gods know how long. My legs went limp, barely still standing.

Two more shot out from either side, lines of red scaling into the sky, before blooming midair, its shimmering pollen raining from above. She broke through its enchantment, dragging me all the way to the foot of the hill.

“You could have at least tried to walk…”

She let go of me, and my legs gave up, letting me fall back, the slope of the hill helping me sit. Another bang went off, blooming another flower and etching it into the sky behind, finally regaining her attention.

“You two finally made it, I worried you had forgotten about it.”

The wizard's voice came from my right, I didn’t even notice he was there until he spoke up. The sky show above wouldn’t let me turn my head to face him, but neither was he able to, it seemed.

“So what do you think, the magical sky show developed by my father, one not everyone can have the opportunity to witness, since it can only be seen here in Citra on festive nights. I’m letting my appren…”

His words faded out, and no more sounds were able to reach me beside the roaring bloom of the spider lilies. From scarlet red to golden yellow, perfectly complementing the deep indigo purple sky behind, casted by the divine over the absolute.

Then time slowed, in my eyes at least. The thundering boom followed by the fiery flower springing into life, its petals uncurled, exposing its stamen.

Then there was a turning of a key inside an ancient lock.

I’ve seen this before, even when I shouldn’t have, the closest were gossips between adventurers in a tavern hall describing a night just like this one, at another time, way before this.

Then within a single blink, Citra left me. I was now sitting at a river bank, its slope the same as the castle hill foot, a river flowing in front of me, a concrete bridge to my left, the spider lilies were still violently blooming in the sky, this sky more blue than purple.

A girl sat next to me in my peripheral vision in a water lily like dress, white as if it was shining like the stars, flowing in the wind like floating on a still lake, and its tranquil purity equal to a newly bloomed water lily.

I know her, and yet I don’t. A mountain’s worth of memories then crushed over me, memories of dreams I keep having, then forgetting, memories of us dying over and over again, memories of not even being able to see her face.

Willing myself with all my might to turn my head, to see her, for just once. Only to come back to Citra, under the watchful castle walls, my companion sitting alongside me, hands supporting her chin, admiring the blossoming sky.

A lifetime’s worth of affection burned my weak, tiny heart to cinder. I cannot deny it anymore. It is love I have been feeling all this time, every night after those dreams haunted me, and every moment when I am with my companion. But is it for her who appears in those dreams… or is it for her who’s sitting right next to me?