Chapter 14
Kibou's Recovery
It is foolish indeed to spend one's life in this world between dreams, doing things one doesn't enjoy, observing the suffering.
- Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure
As Kibou recovered boringly, Luna could not bring herself to work, and she instead walked off towards the Lost Woods to kill time, explore, and feel free within the wilderness. This time, however, her anxiety caused her to pace back and forth, or walk around randomly, passing through shrubs and plants aimlessly. She did work a few times of course, such as helping cut wheat or barley, pick fruit from trees, forage berries or mushrooms, and such simple tasks, never reacting to those who thanked her. She repeated menial work for the next three days, ignoring everyone, even Elmo, who tried a few times to cheer her up with presents, but Luna remained a ghost.
Luna returned home every night to check on Kibou, bringing back herbs and flowers for him, trying anything that would potentially speed his healing and make him happier. Soon, her dwelling was full of herbs and flowers.
Kibou's friends, especially Nina, came once in a while to see him, not needing Luna's permission to come into her house, as she already said she didn't mind company over when she was gone. Kibou's fairy friends informed him of the things going on, such as the Kokiri's activities and Luna's behaviour. They would chat about various topics. Chloe, Arvo, Patty, Kayk, and Foa (the pink fairies friends with Kibou) enjoyed to be in Luna's home, it smelled very nice with so many natural goodies everywhere. At times, they felt like they owned the dwelling. Kibou's friends, being pink fairies and so having healing powers, may have also helped heal Kibou, but could fairies could heal other fairies? It did not seem to be the case, even after the Pink Fairies spiralled around Kibou to heal him.
"...Well, we saw Luna at the Lost Woods again. She usually walks around there before going home, but sometimes she just stays out there all night." Arvo commented, hovering beside a jug of roses. He found them to be very pretty, but never knew where roses grew, which were hard to find in the wild.
"At least she's happy, I think. She probably can't bear the thought that I'm so sick and wounded, but thank you for your help, too." Kibou said, his voice still muffled. He was just sitting on the bed with the fairies hovering nearby, but Nina sat beside him.
"I guess so. Anyways, Mido is planning a festival, he wants a celebration dedicated to Luna. I told him what you told me, but I think he doesn't agree with it." Nina said, turning to face Kibou.
"Oh? Uh, I hope the attention makes her feel welcome, but she doesn't like attention, she likes to be left alone. Too bad I still can't fly, my body still feels so swollen. I'd go to Mido myself and tell him, but I have a feeling he wouldn't listen anyways." Kibou remarked.
"He can be stubborn at times, but maybe your idea is wrong, and his idea will work?" Nina asked.
"I don't know, maybe. Maybe you are right, maybe Mido's festival is the best thing to do. Maybe I was wrong this whole time, Luna did ask me why I was so stubborn once." Kibou replied, thinking about the little argument when he found Luna last time, when she was with the Wolfoses.
"I think Luna is doing pretty good, she does a little work and does a lot of walking, she does what she likes and works at the same time. I think she'll gradually develop a sense of belonging doing that." Kayk remarked, and the fairies nodded to that. They chatted about nothing for the rest of the night.
"I hope you're feeling better." Luna remarked one sunset as she put some flowers in a jug of water on the table. Kibou's fairy friends were gone for now.
"Better." Kibou confirmed, his muffled voice gone.
"Can you fly?" Luna asked, then looked out the doorway to see the setting set.
"A little."
"Oh? OK, I'll go now. It's evening but I still want to go for a walk. See you soon, love you." Luna remarked, her words making Kibou blush, and she left to go for a walk, but she did not return home that night.
Kibou waited all night alone, a little worried, but he knew Luna did not run away.
Throughout the village of Kokiri Forest, children here and there talked about the festival while working.
"Did you hear? Mido planned a festival!" a Kokiri boy exclaimed while haying with a rather big pitchfork, his green fairy floating nearby.
"What? No one told me." a black-haired girl mumbled while scything away, her purple fairy sneezing for some reason and flying back a few inches from it.
Elsewhere, a small group of children, a few boys and a few girls, were making baskets as quickly as they could while sitting in the shade of trees, occasionally sipping water from wooden cups, which they then placed upon a stool nearby.
"I can't wait for the festival! I wanna get everything done early to get ready for it." a redhead boy stated eagerly, his hat falling over his eyes for some reason, so he lifted his head quickly to raise it, but it then fell over his eyes again. His yellow fairy swooped by, holding it up for him.
"I heard Mido was planning it for a quite a while, but that he was keeping it secret." a short blonde girl remarked, finishing a pretty little basket.
"I think he only told a few people about it, probably the older Kokiri, so that less people got distracted from work." a chubby boy commented.
"Really?" the blonde girl asked.
"I dunno." the chubby boy replied.
"Don't worry, let's just finish a bunch of baskets!" a blue fairy remarked, the chubby boy's, and at that, the kids just focused on their work.
Mido indeed had planned a festival for some time, probably thinking about Luna for so long and gradually taking action. A sudden celebration in mind was what children loved, and once word spread, more and more Kokiri worked away making masks both bright and fantastic, costumes of every colour, musical instruments of many shapes and sizes, decorations, and so on. No one told Luna about it, and she did notice the activity, but did not pay much attention. She would never expect that the festival would be about her, and the Kokiri's willingness to make her feel as one of them was not even an afterthought for her. For Luna, the Kokiri were just a bunch of happy and busy children, two traits she did not have, and she didn't care.
That day, everything began to feel unreal for Luna. She could not work, and simply walked around the village aimlessly. Every face she saw looked like a sheet of paper, the Kokiri were like wooden puppets, the sky appeared to be colour wiped from a painter's brush, and the sun was just a yellow light in the sky. She did not talk to people as usual, losing interest in everything, and would only nod with a smile every time a Kokiri asked her what was wrong, and they figured Luna just wanted to be left alone.
"I think Kibou, her fairy, got stung and is sick, so she probably doesn't feel like talking." a boy said to his friends, this group of children picking various fruit at an orchard Luna happened to walk by. "I hope Kibou gets well soon!" he continued as Luna walked passed him as if he did not exist.
"Bye-bye Luna, see you later." a girl said softly as the albino walked away.
Luna headed home with an empty expression on her face. Kibou's misfortune had a very strong impact on her, and she even felt guilty about it. She climbed her tree to go home by sunset, and just as she stepped through the entrance, Kibou flew around her and appeared in front of her face.
"I'm back!" Kibou stated proud and loud, Luna staring at him with her big pink eyes, pausing for a few seconds, and then she lowered her face, eyes still looking up at him, and smiled.
"Oh, Kibou, you waited for me to surprise me? Good to see you back to normal again." Luna said with relief, her shoulders and back feeling light and loose all of a sudden.
Kibou hovered with a jingle, then shimmered in the air, and Luna just stood motionlessly. She suddenly embraced the black fairy, squeezing herself together, feeling the warm light emanate into her body. She also felt Kibou wriggle.
"Luna, you're squishing me again." Kibou muffled casually, and Luna loosened herself, but still held her fairy with both hands. She held him close to her face, rubbing her nose against him in a fit of childish joy, her eyes closed but face beaming red.
"Stop that you snivelling little weasel!" Kibou cried, laughing at the tickling Luna's affection gave him.
"So, what are you two lovebirds up to?" Nina asked, giggling, suddenly materializing out of nowhere with Foa, Arvo, Patty, Kayk and Chloe.
"N-Nina? Oh, uh, hi guys!" Kibou exclaimed, wiggling out of Luna's grasp, feeling embarrassed at the thought that other fairies saw what just happened.
Luna turned around, seeing Nina and the five pink fairies hovering. Luna smiled at them, showing some teeth, also feeling a little embarrassed by her little outburst of joy. She was glad no other Kokiri saw her snuggle with Kibou, or maybe some did? All they had to do was look up, though Luna did not notice anyone looking up. But, at least Kibou was back to normal, or at least healed enough to fly on his own.
"Well, glad to see you're feeling good now!" Foa exclaimed happily, ringing with glee.
"I'm good enough to fly, but I still feel sore." Kibou admitted.
"As honest as always." Patty commented.
"I don't want to be rude, but can I steal Kibou for a while? I want to run around with him now that he's better." Luna butted in shyly, looking down and putting her hands behind herself.
"Oh yeah, sure, you two deserve to be together now! Sorry for getting in the way." Nina said.
"Actually, how about we all go together somewhere? The sun is setting, we don't have much time left." Luna said, suddenly changing her mind, and the fairies nodded.
"OK, let's go." Arvo said, and off they went.
Luna jogged towards the Lost Woods, the seven fairies close behind her. They didn't go very far, just far enough to disappear from the village, reaching a field of dandelions and lavender growing amidst leafy trees. As usual, the trees were quite huge, stretching for a few to several dozen metres or so. The dandelions and grasses were thick and tall, almost reaching Luna's shoulders. Bees and other insects buzzed to and fro among the dandelions and lavender, finishing the last of their work for the day. Luna liked to wave her hands over the flowers, feeling nature and its beauty, and watching the bugs flying around, feeling a big fat bee buzz by her ear, which made her smile. Luna did not seem to be afraid of bees, but a swarm of wasps was another story.
The setting sun cast a reddish sky, clouds absorbing the roseate hue. This was the reason she wanted to be alive, to enjoy nature, and be free. Luna said nothing, just enjoying the sunset and sitting in the grasses and flowers, head at the same level as the height of the vegetation, and the seven fairies sitting on large dandelions nearby.
"What a pretty thing a sunset is, this is always my favourite sight to look at. I can watch this forever. It's so magical, it's perfect." Luna remarked, not taking her eyes off the sunset behind the canopy, every breath inhaling the aroma of lavender, feeling the scent flush her insides.
"Yeah, I like sunsets too. Reminds me of the day, and helps me get ready for the next." Nina said.
"I think I like full moons more, maybe because I'm from the wild." Chloe remarked, a breeze gently swaying the dandelions the fairies sat on, the fairies angling their wings to keep balance.
"Full moons are beautiful, too." Luna agreed, and quite appropriately too, considering the meaning of her name. "Just staring out at the sun and the moon... they are so mysterious. I always wondered where they come from, where they go, why they move through the sky, how many things they must move over."
Kibou thought about when he tried to fly up to the sun so long ago, but he also thought of what Luna just said. Could it be that this whole time, wanderlust made her run away so many times? Well, he certainly did not want that subject to unfold, so he kept quiet, as did the other fairies, and they just watched the sunset. Luna had her elbows on her thighs, and cheeks on her palms, looking like she'd fall asleep in that position.
"Um, Luna? Maybe we should go home now?" Kibou whispered, hovering beside Luna, who lifted her head and rubbed her eyes.
Luna didn't say anything, obviously sleepy, she put a hand on the ground to pick herself up, and looked around sleepily.
"Well, guess that's that for today. I better get home before Vera worries about me. See you tomorrow!" Nina exclaimed, hopping off her dandelion, she and Kibou looking at each other, saying goodbye, and then she took her leave.
"Guess we'll get going too, then! Bye!" Patty said, and then she and the other pink fairies flew away one by one, Kibou bidding them farewell.
Luna got up and made her way homeward, thinking of going to bed. She suddenly looked very unhappy, but Kibou did not say anything about it. He followed her home silently.