This month I am writing 30 short stories in 30 days. (Hopefully one a day.)
Here is the Day 1 story:
The Festival of the Equinox
by J.D. Udall
"Wake up, sweetie."
"Vin. Wake up."
Vin sat up on his bed. He glanced out and was relieved that the sun was still shining.
"Come on, sleepy head," said Nari. "Time to go to the festival."
Vin swung his legs off the bed and rubbed his eyes.
"Thanks, Mom."
"Of course," said Nari. "Hurry up now."
Vin did try to hurry, but the nervous knot in his stomach made it harder than normal to move quickly. It did, however, provide extra motivation to make sure he did his hair multiple times, and adjusted his favorite sweater to make sure it looked nice on him before he walked out the door.
"You look so handsome!" said Nari as she kissed his head.
Vin squirmed away from her grasp.
"Mom!" he yelled as he checked himself out again in the mirror by the door.
"Don't forget your coat, Vinny."
Vin didn't admit that he had almost forgotten his coat as he grabbed it from the closet.
"See you next year!" yelled his dad from his office with a chuckle.
Vin rolled his eyes and bolted through the door.
"Love you!" he yelled back at his parents as he stepped off the porch.
"Aw, I didn't know you cared," said a familiar voice. "Sorry, pal, I'm saving myself for Binnie."
Vin almost fell off the stepping stones.
"Kazyct!" cursed Vin. "You about gave me a heart attack!"
Nakt, laughed.
"Save the mushy stuff for Wicca, lover boy," said Nakt. "Let's go."
Nakt waved his thumb over his shoulder then spun on his heels and started down the road. Vin rushed to catch up.
"I was saying bye to my parents."
"Sure, sure," said Nakt. "Don't tell Wicca you're a momma's boy until you know she's into that."
Vin put a hand through his hair and smoothed out his vest again.
"Come on, man," said Vin. "I'm nervous enough already."
"I'm just kidding you," said Nakt. "I'm sure she will smooch your face off at Sunset."
Vin swallowed and shook his head. In some ways kissing Wicca seemed more terrifying than her laughing in his face.
"Thanks, Nak."
"Sure, pal," said Nakt. "Now what flavors are you going to get on your Nox Flauffle?"
*---------------------*
The town Equinox Festival was packed with people. Luckily Vin was a bit taller than most and had a good view of the crowd. The butterflies in his stomach took away most of his appetite, or he would have been first in line for glazed fortnuts. As is, the smells of the holiday treats was just adding to his nausea, and there was no sign of Wicca.
"Hey there, boys!" said Binnie as she waved to them wearing a fancy blue holiday dress.
"Hi, gorgeous!" said Nakt. He picked her up and twirled her around as she let out a squeal of laughter.
Vin made sure that no one in the crowd got sucker kicked by Binnie's flying boots. He noticed Wicca was still nowhere to be seen.
"Hi, Binnie,” said Vin. "Have you seen Wicca around?"
"Yeah, she was sitting on a bench over by the sugar tea stand," said Binnie as she pointed over the crowd at a concession stand.
"Okay, thanks," said Vin. "I'll go see if I can find her."
"Okay, Vinnie," said Binnie. "Just know that she didn't seem in the best of moods."
"Thank for the heads up," said Vin. "Good to see you, Binnie."
Vin took a breath to calm his nerves and forced himself to walk in the direction she indicated.
"Go get her, champ!" said Nakt as he punched Vin in the shoulder.
*------*
Vin saw Wicca on the bench Binnie had described. Normally he felt his breath taken away whenever he saw her. She was very pretty in her fancy Equinox dress. Vin felt a little underdressed looking at her Luxday-best outfit. Today there was something different about her. She had a strange look on her face. He saw her stand up and look around, not seeming to see him despite the wave he gave in her direction. She moved away from the crowd and into the small forest the surrounded the festival.
He had thought that maybe she was going to meet up with another boy. His stomach sank even more, and he thought about turning around to go back to his friends. Then he thought of what his dad said, when Vin confessed to him about how nervous he was to see Wicca today. He said that it is important to try, even if it means failing. Growth happens from taking action, and the only way to fail is to fail to act.
Maybe she wasn't meeting anyone. That could just be the fear talking. She just as easily might be feeling sick and could use some help. He took another deep breath, looked up at the sky, and walked into the forest after her.
*------*
Vin looked at his watch; 19:24. The sun would start to fall any minute now. He had to catch up to Wicca quickly. He saw her way up ahead. She was much faster than she looked, but her blue and cyan outfit stood out against the yellow and green of the forest. The path through the forest ended at the top of a cliff ahead. Wicca stopped and crouched near the overlook bench. This was his chance. Vin sped up.
By the time he reached her it had moved past 19:30. The shadows started growing as the sun started to fall from the sky. A choir began singing, although Vin couldn't make out the song.
At first Vin was happy to see she was alone, but then he saw her and realized what she had come here to do, and what the look on her face had been about. Wicca heard him walk up to her and she stopped messing with the knot she was tying on her wrist.
"Stay back!" yelled Wicca.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Wicca," said Vin as he held his hands out in front of him to help calm her. "What are you doing out here?"
Vin knew exactly what she was doing.
"None of your business, Vinathon Brich."
The use of his full name rang loud in his ears. She seemed so angry. Why was she doing this.
"Is that a Jumper's Knot, Wicca?"
He knew it was.
"Go away!"
Wicca took a step back and held her arms against her chest. Vin could see clearly that she had tied an expert-level Jumper's Knot. The knot was tied tightly around her left hand, and a loop hung where a jumper could pull to release the knot when they jumped into the void.
The shadows on her face grew as the sun continued to fall. Gods, she was beautiful, but in such pain.
"Hey, Wicca," said Vin slowly. "You don't want to do this. You are so smart and pretty. You have your whole life in front of you!"
"What do you know about me?"
She was right. Vin hardly knew her. He had admired her from afar for so long. He had imagined talking to her, and asking her to the videoplex, but he had let his fear and shyness stop him.
"You're right," said Vin. "I let my shyness stop me from talking to you for so long, but I notice you in every class we share. I thought about asking you out countless times."
"Well, a lot of good that did," said Wicca tears streaming down her face. "It's too late now."
"Why?" asked Vin. "Why is it too late?"
He took another step towards her.
"Stop!" yelled Wicca.
"Okay."
Vin took a small step backwards.
"Why is it too late, Wicca?"
"I'm a failure," said Wicca. "I got a C in trigonometry. I'll never make it into Kinley now. My life is over."
"I'm so sorry, Wicca," said Vin. "That must be heartbreaking. I didn't know you were hoping to go to Kinley next year."
"My parents," said Wicca. "My friends. They all will know I'm a failure."
The sun was falling faster now. The shadows of the trees and buildings were stretching across the ground all over.
"Wicca," said Vin as he took another step towards her. "I'm so sorry you had so much pressure on you. You know you don't have to be perfect, right?"
"No, I don't."
Wicca sat down on the bench and sobbed into her hands. Vin slowly walked over to her and sat next to her. He put his arm around her, and she laid her head on his chest and cried.
"Please don't go."
Vin looked down at her head as she shook and cried. The light from the falling sun turned red as it reached the horizon. He felt the familiar panic in his stomach as the world entered the nexus and gravity slowly leached away and everything became weightless.
Wicca lifted her head from Vin's chest and looked out at the Sunset. The wind stirred and the weightless leaves and dirt were lifted into the air. The ground swelled up as the counter forces to gravity began to take over and pressed the surface up high into the air. The canyons opened wide, and a deep chasm opened at the bottom of the cliff they were on.
As they became completely weightless the wind lifted them up from the bench they were on, and Wicca held onto Vin as he held her tight.
"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner," said Vin.
"I'm glad you came," said Wicca.
Wicca looked up at him as the whole world fell into darkness. The tears on her face shone in the twilight. Vin brushed one from her cheek and stared back into her eyes. She moved slowly towards him and closed her eyes. Vin was shocked at how warm her lips were when they pressed them into his. He suddenly became aware of how warm her whole body was pressed up against him. He pressed his lips back into hers and cradled her head with his hand.
She pulled back slowly as the cloister bells rang 20:00. She looked up at him and smiled through tears. She pulled the release on her rope, and it fell loose from her arm. Vin panicked momentarily but then she wrapped the rope around them both and tied it, anchoring them both to the bench. Vin looked down and noticed that they were floating about a meter above the bench.
"For safety," said Wicca with a smile.
"Right.” Vin laughed. It was good she felt like joking. It seemed more like her normal self.
They embraced again and slowly came back down as gravity returned and the twilight turned to darkness. They looked up at the blanket of stars in the sky, and at the crystalline nexus moving away from them as the world moved away from it and winter officially began.
The florescent pattern on Wicca's dress glowed in the darkness and Vin looked around for his coat. Luckily it hadn't drifted too far away, and he could see it back on the forest path.
"Should we go back to the festival?" asked Vin.
"Yes. Let's go back."
Vin untied the rope from around them and held her hand as they walked to the path and picked up his jacket, which glowed in the darkness, even against the other glowing plants and branches of the forest along the path. The lights of the festival shone in the distance, and they could hear the village singing along with the choir as they welcomed the new year.
"It's a New Year," said Vin. "Full of new possibilities."
"Yeah," said Wicca. "That's work for tomorrow. Tonight, I just want a grassberry flauffle and to sit by the fire with my friends."
"That sounds like a great plan," said Vin as they walked out of the forest and back to the festival.
The End
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