Nobody is certain of when Molly Beirne arrived at the island. She just appeared in town one day and told us she was starting a new farm East of us. She did not smile or elaborate on her plans. It seemed odd to the villagers and for this they were concerned. Who was this young girl and why settle in this wasteland? Better yet-if the ships no longer ran, how did she get here?
You would not have called this woman a social butterfly. She was seldom seen talking to the other villagers. People believed she was spiteful of the community for its lackluster spirit. After all, the land was bare and everyone was despairing. Nobody wants to contract despair from another person. Thus, she secluded herself with her sheep and crops on that dusty old farm of hers. She did not seem to have any more luck than her neighbors, but she never let anyone hear her complain.
It was not until I was visited by the girl that I myself worried for her. She knocked on my door during a windstorm. Thinking she was another person asking for their fortune to be read-at least somewhat prepared for the weather, I did not rush coming to the door. Then came a horrid cry. "Would you open the door, for Goddess' sake?!"
I swung my door open and gasped. She was ripped and bruised, indicating that she had tripped on the way here. I could see a bit of snot running from her nose. She pushed past me into my living room. "Took you long enough! What if I had been swept up in a tornado waiting so long?" Well excuse me! She lowered the hood of her thin jacket, revealing a tangled mess of red hair, drier than hay and no better managed. Her bright pink eyes were fixed in a glare at me. Her face was flushed and sunken. I'm not sure if the cold had done that to her...
Or if she was suffering like the other citizens. Either way, I quickly poured her some makeshift tea. She trembled at the heat coming from her cup and seemed to have a hard time lifting it to her mouth. She cringed at her first hot sip and nearly spilled it all over the table. I rushed to clean it up, throwing an extra towel on her lap. You really are weak, aren't you?
"Th-thanks," she mumbled. Then staring straight at me, she asked, " You've been on this island for a while right?"
"That's a great understatement. Yes, why?"
She hesitated. "You wouldn't happen to know the melody of the bluebell, would you?"
"The melody of the what?" I did not know that the flowers had songs, let alone ones that never grew here before.
She groaned and sat on my bed. "This town, so I hear, is run by the song of the 5 elemental bells-red for fire, blue for water, green for wind, yellow for earth, and...I'm not sure what the fifth one is for, nor what it looks like. Since they haven't rung in a while, the land is dying out. Each bell is said to have a harvest sprite standing guard over it. I figured that since water is a staple of life, then I should work on that first. But the twerp that usually tolls it has somehow forgotten its melody. From what the villagers say, you've lived on Castanet Island for a long time. I figured you've heard the bell at least once. So do you remember any bells at all?"
Where have I heard a bell? Okay, they usually ring twice a century as far as I know. What tune plays whenever the water starts to churn? All I can think of is the town tune for some odd reason. To think that I could remember Sephia's aria to the key signature but I cannot even place eight stupid bars! Of all the times to go senile!
My head pulsed in a preeminent migraine. "I'm sorry, Molly. I cannot help you right now. If I remember, then I shall-"
"Forget it. If you'd forgotten already, then there's no use straining yourself. I need to fix things fast, so I frankly can't stay long. Thanks anyway." She got up and strode toward the door. Her glare had returned to cloud her eyes. "And thanks again for the tea." And she was gone into the storm, not waiting for me to mend her injured knees.
Not that I could exactly help such an impatient girl. I may have preferred the villager's whines and pleads to...whatever the hell that just was that I just got from her, but I almost felt sorry that I couldn't remember for her.
Luckily, she did not give up hope and I would be seeing her again soon enough.
