Night faded in rapidly, stirring the dark purple clouds across the thick and starchy black sea of a sky. And what a wonderful sight it was for the night of Winter 24th when the stars were their brightest--in a sarcastic sense, of course. Ann began to wonder just how the Starry Night was indeed the Starry Night when half the town was gathered inside the church instead of outside watching these stars. Her fingers curled in natural positions over her the valves of her flute and she chattered with Elli, also a flutist, for a little while about this paradox. Elli laughed and said this was just a crazy illusion, that the villagers at this time of year felt free to be senseless in the midst of the end-of-the-year joy. Ann could relate with what her friend was saying, especially when Elli got to the part about how no one was ever this joyous any other time of the year, then quoted Shakespeare; "all's well that ends well".
That was when Jack walked into the church. He obviously hadn't been in church for quite awhile and looked around as if to see what changed and what hadn't since he'd last set foot in here. He remembered to take his cap off inside and this time his hair wasn't pressed down untidily. Ann beamed with approval even when he sat down next to Cliff and began talking right away. Nothing could ruin the bliss mixed with anticipation that she was feeling. Jack was here, and not only that but she decided that her views about Cliff had changed completely--he was only a jerk when he wanted to be.
"Good to see you, young sir. Tonight is the night to pray to the Goddess when the stars are their brightest in the sky. We're very happy you could come, and the performance will start soon." Pastor Brown smiled amiably and handed Jack a program, just as the boy was making his way up to talk to her.
He greeted Maria first, shy little Maria behind the organ with those nimble and unseen fingers. She smiled up at him but using nothing more than that receptionist's hello-how-are-you smile, and with impatience Ann tapped her fingers against the valves of her flute. Pastor Brown's usage of the words "happy you could come" made it sound boring and vulgar, and Maria's smile made it seem Jack was just a boy, not above the rest of humanity like she saw him.
"Hi, Ann." The strawberry-blonde spun around and at first wondered just how Jack came up behind her all of a sudden from behind the organ talking to Maria, but when she saw Cliff there she nearly jumped out of her skin. He held up one of his large, rough hands and moved his fingers up and down in a wave.
"Oh, hi," she said in a far-less-than-romantic tone. "I didn't think you'd be coming."
"Neither did I," he replied with a casual shrug, "but I thought you might be here, so I came. You play flute?"
Jack was looking at her and Ann almost didn't hear his question, but she pretended to busy herself with a feigned interest in their conversation. "Yeah! I've been playing it for a really long time, ever since my brother bought that flute for me as a present for my sixth birthday. He got it from the craftsman Saibara, and I started learning the day I got it. 'Cause it was shiny and new, ya know? Saibara's works are always beautiful when you first buy them, but even when it's old it looks good, when you know how to play and you're good at it, and...yeah."
Even Cliff looked at her strangely. "It's unlike you to have this passionate an interest. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Ann rudely craned her neck to see where Jack was going. So far, he didn't seem to be going anywhere.
"Nervous for the recital. You'll do good, don't worry." Cliff placed a hand on her crown and rubbed her hair affectionately, and it wasn't until he did so that Ann paid attention to the attached significance he gave to their small-talk. She shuddered for a moment, placing a hand on her hair where Cliff had rubbed her, pretending to be smoothening it out.
"Hey, Ann!" Jack said when Cliff made his way back to his seat. "Sorry I couldn't say hey earlier; I came in late. But I'm at least glad I didn't miss the performance!" He chuckled. "I saw the way Cliff wished you good luck," he said, hiding his disappointment with a wink and nudging her with his elbow. "How cute!!!" he added jokingly.
"No, it's not like that," Ann hissed, nudging him back. "You know that."
"Yeah, I do," he confessed. "Oh! Look, it's 9:15. I'm gonna take a seat before I look like an idiot holding your performance up."
Ann laughed and held the flute up to her half-puckered lips, then began to blow softly, as if blowing the white seeds off a summer dandelion when Pastor Brown began to conduct the song. She almost laughed a few times in the middle of playing, but Elli was skillful in carrying out the notes steadily, loudly covering up for her. When she let her guard down thinking about Jack, she remembered Elli's joke about the embouchure of the flute being like the pucker of the lips after sucking a lemon. For the remainder of the piece she was able to play, although whimsically, and remembered to lower her raised arms and flute when the song ended. Cliff and Jack gave a standing ovation and Ann couldn't help smiling as if she was playing the whole thing as a solo.
"That was really good!!!" Jack praised her. "I mean, you achieve such a good volume!" Fortunately for her, though, he didn't realize that it was Elli playing so beautifully. "For a minute you looked like you were laughing and your tone didn't change. It was really nice."
"Thanks," she accepted his praise graciously, but shyly. Maybe he wanted--? No, he wouldn't go for that. Or maybe. All she had to do was ask if he would join her.
"Well, I just came to say good night. I can't stay out much longer 'cause I've got a thing to finish up with the Mountain Carpenters," Jack looked sorry to bid her farewell so early in the night but placed a hand on her shoulder and wrung it as if massaging it for a moment, then with a few more unimportant words exchanged, left the church.
Ann sighed and finally carried her flute as she made her way toward the door when everyone began filing out slowly. Cliff came up to her, though, and praising her in a different way than Jack, censuring her on her whimsical lack of focus and willingness to laugh in the middle of her playing, but adding that it was nonetheless pretty good.
"Thanks," she muttered indifferently. "I'm glad you could come."
"That's nice of you to say that....Hey, they're right. The stars really are their brightest tonight. Come watch. If you're not too tired, that is." Cliff pointed up to the sky and named about four constellations.
"I didn't realize you knew so much about the stars," Ann said later, standing beside him and looking up.
"When you're a traveler, you see the stars differently everywhere you go, in different colored skies. See that one?" he extended his arm way up, pointing his index finger. Ann didn't see the star, constellation, or whatever that he was pointing at but paid close attention to the way the upper half of him leaned over to one side. She was at the point now where she could ignore the fact that his sand-beige jacket was made of suede, especially since it was so warm when it almost brushed against her shoulder. That spicy-sweet scent she took in also. Although suntanned, the skin on his cheeks looked creamy and smooth in the moonlight. The light of the stars reflected in his navy eyes, making him seem a much gentler creature than how he appeared in the daytime.
"Are you paying attention?" he turned slightly, his left hand still up in the air.
"I...I just don't see it." Ann pretended to have been searching for the star in particular, or whatever on earth was so darned important that she just had to see, and for which he wanted her to abandon her consciousness of her surroundings.
"That," he said firmly, moving his right arm around her and clenching the muscle of her arm with his hand. He easily moved the full weight of her up further, and she looked at a particular cluster of stars that looked like an elliptical ring.
"Looks like a halo, doesn't it?" he asked when she remained silent.
"I bet Maria could figure out what it is," Ann said.
"The position you're standing in, it seems that the halo is hovering over your head," he stayed on the subject of the halo. "Ann, are you an angel?"
"Ha!!" Ann snorted. "Far from it." She blinded herself to the meaning behind his words and chose to be casual and funny. With her baggy overalls and the way she carried her arms and legs in the tomboyish way, she was just as far from being an angel as Cliff himself.
"Nah, you're an angel." He nudged her with his elbow and Ann didn't shove back. "But, I'm gonna go sleep, all right? I'm lodging with the Mountain Carpenters and I hope to get a job there, but they kinda want me back early." He nudged harder to get her to pay attention. "Ann... you want to come visit me over there sometime? The carpenters won't mind."
"Sh-sure," Ann stuttered, then waved and began walking toward the ranch. "Well, g'night!" Cliff nodded and watched her leave. Ann walked all the way back home feeling the same numbness from the other day with Jack, and with a double sinking feeling in her stomach, but the kind of sinking feeling one gets when they feel a premonition in another's intonations and gestures.
That was when Jack walked into the church. He obviously hadn't been in church for quite awhile and looked around as if to see what changed and what hadn't since he'd last set foot in here. He remembered to take his cap off inside and this time his hair wasn't pressed down untidily. Ann beamed with approval even when he sat down next to Cliff and began talking right away. Nothing could ruin the bliss mixed with anticipation that she was feeling. Jack was here, and not only that but she decided that her views about Cliff had changed completely--he was only a jerk when he wanted to be.
"Good to see you, young sir. Tonight is the night to pray to the Goddess when the stars are their brightest in the sky. We're very happy you could come, and the performance will start soon." Pastor Brown smiled amiably and handed Jack a program, just as the boy was making his way up to talk to her.
He greeted Maria first, shy little Maria behind the organ with those nimble and unseen fingers. She smiled up at him but using nothing more than that receptionist's hello-how-are-you smile, and with impatience Ann tapped her fingers against the valves of her flute. Pastor Brown's usage of the words "happy you could come" made it sound boring and vulgar, and Maria's smile made it seem Jack was just a boy, not above the rest of humanity like she saw him.
"Hi, Ann." The strawberry-blonde spun around and at first wondered just how Jack came up behind her all of a sudden from behind the organ talking to Maria, but when she saw Cliff there she nearly jumped out of her skin. He held up one of his large, rough hands and moved his fingers up and down in a wave.
"Oh, hi," she said in a far-less-than-romantic tone. "I didn't think you'd be coming."
"Neither did I," he replied with a casual shrug, "but I thought you might be here, so I came. You play flute?"
Jack was looking at her and Ann almost didn't hear his question, but she pretended to busy herself with a feigned interest in their conversation. "Yeah! I've been playing it for a really long time, ever since my brother bought that flute for me as a present for my sixth birthday. He got it from the craftsman Saibara, and I started learning the day I got it. 'Cause it was shiny and new, ya know? Saibara's works are always beautiful when you first buy them, but even when it's old it looks good, when you know how to play and you're good at it, and...yeah."
Even Cliff looked at her strangely. "It's unlike you to have this passionate an interest. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Ann rudely craned her neck to see where Jack was going. So far, he didn't seem to be going anywhere.
"Nervous for the recital. You'll do good, don't worry." Cliff placed a hand on her crown and rubbed her hair affectionately, and it wasn't until he did so that Ann paid attention to the attached significance he gave to their small-talk. She shuddered for a moment, placing a hand on her hair where Cliff had rubbed her, pretending to be smoothening it out.
"Hey, Ann!" Jack said when Cliff made his way back to his seat. "Sorry I couldn't say hey earlier; I came in late. But I'm at least glad I didn't miss the performance!" He chuckled. "I saw the way Cliff wished you good luck," he said, hiding his disappointment with a wink and nudging her with his elbow. "How cute!!!" he added jokingly.
"No, it's not like that," Ann hissed, nudging him back. "You know that."
"Yeah, I do," he confessed. "Oh! Look, it's 9:15. I'm gonna take a seat before I look like an idiot holding your performance up."
Ann laughed and held the flute up to her half-puckered lips, then began to blow softly, as if blowing the white seeds off a summer dandelion when Pastor Brown began to conduct the song. She almost laughed a few times in the middle of playing, but Elli was skillful in carrying out the notes steadily, loudly covering up for her. When she let her guard down thinking about Jack, she remembered Elli's joke about the embouchure of the flute being like the pucker of the lips after sucking a lemon. For the remainder of the piece she was able to play, although whimsically, and remembered to lower her raised arms and flute when the song ended. Cliff and Jack gave a standing ovation and Ann couldn't help smiling as if she was playing the whole thing as a solo.
"That was really good!!!" Jack praised her. "I mean, you achieve such a good volume!" Fortunately for her, though, he didn't realize that it was Elli playing so beautifully. "For a minute you looked like you were laughing and your tone didn't change. It was really nice."
"Thanks," she accepted his praise graciously, but shyly. Maybe he wanted--? No, he wouldn't go for that. Or maybe. All she had to do was ask if he would join her.
"Well, I just came to say good night. I can't stay out much longer 'cause I've got a thing to finish up with the Mountain Carpenters," Jack looked sorry to bid her farewell so early in the night but placed a hand on her shoulder and wrung it as if massaging it for a moment, then with a few more unimportant words exchanged, left the church.
Ann sighed and finally carried her flute as she made her way toward the door when everyone began filing out slowly. Cliff came up to her, though, and praising her in a different way than Jack, censuring her on her whimsical lack of focus and willingness to laugh in the middle of her playing, but adding that it was nonetheless pretty good.
"Thanks," she muttered indifferently. "I'm glad you could come."
"That's nice of you to say that....Hey, they're right. The stars really are their brightest tonight. Come watch. If you're not too tired, that is." Cliff pointed up to the sky and named about four constellations.
"I didn't realize you knew so much about the stars," Ann said later, standing beside him and looking up.
"When you're a traveler, you see the stars differently everywhere you go, in different colored skies. See that one?" he extended his arm way up, pointing his index finger. Ann didn't see the star, constellation, or whatever that he was pointing at but paid close attention to the way the upper half of him leaned over to one side. She was at the point now where she could ignore the fact that his sand-beige jacket was made of suede, especially since it was so warm when it almost brushed against her shoulder. That spicy-sweet scent she took in also. Although suntanned, the skin on his cheeks looked creamy and smooth in the moonlight. The light of the stars reflected in his navy eyes, making him seem a much gentler creature than how he appeared in the daytime.
"Are you paying attention?" he turned slightly, his left hand still up in the air.
"I...I just don't see it." Ann pretended to have been searching for the star in particular, or whatever on earth was so darned important that she just had to see, and for which he wanted her to abandon her consciousness of her surroundings.
"That," he said firmly, moving his right arm around her and clenching the muscle of her arm with his hand. He easily moved the full weight of her up further, and she looked at a particular cluster of stars that looked like an elliptical ring.
"Looks like a halo, doesn't it?" he asked when she remained silent.
"I bet Maria could figure out what it is," Ann said.
"The position you're standing in, it seems that the halo is hovering over your head," he stayed on the subject of the halo. "Ann, are you an angel?"
"Ha!!" Ann snorted. "Far from it." She blinded herself to the meaning behind his words and chose to be casual and funny. With her baggy overalls and the way she carried her arms and legs in the tomboyish way, she was just as far from being an angel as Cliff himself.
"Nah, you're an angel." He nudged her with his elbow and Ann didn't shove back. "But, I'm gonna go sleep, all right? I'm lodging with the Mountain Carpenters and I hope to get a job there, but they kinda want me back early." He nudged harder to get her to pay attention. "Ann... you want to come visit me over there sometime? The carpenters won't mind."
"Sh-sure," Ann stuttered, then waved and began walking toward the ranch. "Well, g'night!" Cliff nodded and watched her leave. Ann walked all the way back home feeling the same numbness from the other day with Jack, and with a double sinking feeling in her stomach, but the kind of sinking feeling one gets when they feel a premonition in another's intonations and gestures.