Seven pairs of eyes watched the suns. Hands clenched into fists, drummed against thighs, fiddled with sleeves and hair as their owners watched the sky with anxiety. It had only been moments since the eclipse, and everyone still feared that the machine had been shut off too late.
Darkness was only a heartbeat from taking over all of the O.Z. - a heartbeat that threatening to burst through seven ribcages.
But the suns remained in the sky, in clear view, and eventually moed harmlessly away from the full moon. Seven sighs of relief, and DG finally broke the silence.
Glitch found himself unable to contain his relief. "I'd have an even harder time finding my way around without sunlight," he said, mostly to himself. But he felt a comfortable warmth. He felt tired. He felt pain in his head. He felt DG's eyes on him.
So he looked up, and there she was, not looking at the sky but at him. It was as if he was, for that moment, more important, greater than the sky. He couldn't remember ever feeling like that.
DG was beaming, looking like she was about to laugh. So Glitch laughed, so that she wouldn't have to, and opened his arms to her. It was so simple, the warmth of her body, the warmth from the sky.
"My mother," she said, when Glitch released her, and nodded to the woman now approaching from the windows. She was smiling too, a smile much like DG's, and Glitch bowed his head to her with uncertainty.
"My name is Glitch," he blurted nervously, looking away from her lavender eyes that seemed to look through him. "And you?"
The damage was done; she smiled at him, but it was a sad smile. He knew he had done something wrong. He just didn't know what, and it hurt to try to think about it.
