The fourth of Martii came, and with it, Nell's eighteenth birthday. Having late-night classes wasn't the best way to celebrate, but it wasn't like he would have a party anyway. No one would come; two months had passed, and he still couldn't muster the courage to talk to anyone.
He'd given Mum a present already – a set of high-end gardening tools – and Dad would be disappointed with whatever Nell gave him. Doctor Esmeé, one of the kindly Delvalians who certified Nell as a nursing assistant, would send the gift back – she wasn't into Vernish customs, least of all the tradition of giving others presents on one's own birthday.
Nell walked into the bookstore, remembering the Delvalian girl he'd seen at school. The neatly stacked books, journals, quills, and paper reminded him of her – the paper being her flawless white skin, the ink her shimmering raven hair...
Nell frowned. The girl had obviously been upset about something more than spilled ink. Maybe he could get her something beautiful – she was nicer than the Delvalians back in Cindel, at least. Symbols were etched into the mahogany wood of the writing kits, and ten quills from exotic Salinean birds rested in neat rows within the case. Twenty-five in all – and it came with three ink pots.
Nell looked at the price, and his heart dropped. A whole solstice, around three months' wages at the clinic. Sighing, Nell took a bag of veggie straws and walked to the front, where jewelry lay in thick glass caskets.
Remembering her lovely eyes, Nell's gaze wandered to a necklace with a white stone set in it. It shimmered all sorts of colors – green, blue, red, orange, pink. White, and yet...it wasn't, somehow.
"How much for this necklace?" he asked the shopkeeper.
"It's a genuine opal," the potbellied satyr replied. Pushing his half-moon spectacles up on his eyes, he smiled. "Three solstices."
Nell's mouth dropped open. "Ninety moons?"
"You heard me."
Nell lowered his eyes. "Is there...any way I could pay it off?" he said softly. "I only make about ten moons a month."
"You're poor, then," the man said, adopting a kind expression.
"I wouldn't say that, but..." Nell sighed. "I want to give someone a present. A good one. I'm Vernish, and it's my birthday."
"Ah," the man said. Cornelius – that was his name. "Son...how much do you have?"
Nell fished in his pocket, pulling out the gold-and-silver coins. His total was twenty-five moons – not even a full eclipse, let alone a solstice. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't have nearly enough."
The man looked on him with pity. "This is my shop. And I am a charitable man. If you'll pay this forward...the rest is on me."
"Sir?" Nell said. "I can't accept that. That's ninety moons!"
"Actually, it's sixty-five," the man said, taking Nell's money and handing him the necklace. "Take the straws, too. But I only ask one thing in return."
"Yes?"
The cashier winked. "That you remain a patron at my shop. Now, go give your special someone the necklace."
Dumbfounded, Nell blushed. Mum would be furious that he'd spent all his earnings on this present, but he had to do something kind with his money. Hopefully this would make a good present to the Delvalian girl...wherever she was.
...
"Quand la corruption fait son chemin,
Quand l'esprit se perd,
Quand tout ce que j'aime s'efface,
Je serai toujours là."
Light Spinner sang an old Arxian hymn as she pruned her roses in the night. Her illusion textbook sat open on the garden bench. She'd tried studying, but the frustration of configuring math calculations got the best of her. Why did the universe have to rely on numbers so much? What did light have anything to do with them?
She'd try tomorrow – Light Spinner wouldn't let her opportunity slip away. Not yet.
A rustle in the bushes caught her attention. "Who's there?"
There was no noise. So she went back to gardening – perhaps it was the wind...
"Um...hi."
Light Spinner turned around. The boy from university – the one who had given her a pen for class – stood on the other side of the fence, avoiding her eyes. "Your singing is quite nice."
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I, uh..." He cleared his throat, holding out his hand. "Hi. My name's Nell. Yours?"
"Light Spinner." She didn't shake his hand. "Don't you live across the street from me?"
Nell nodded, awkwardly pulling his hand away. "I didn't know you were the Head Sorcerer's daughter."
She shrugged. "It's almost midnight. Why are you stalking me?"
"I...I didn't mean to seem awkward. It's my birthday, and I've got no friends. I wanted to give you a parcel."
Light Spinner tilted her head, opening the box. Her mouth dropped open behind her veil. "Nell, how were you able to afford this?"
"It's a long story."
"That sounds suspicious," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"It's not, I swear. The owner of the shop let me pay what I could, and he just gave it to me."
"Ah...old Cornelius," Light Spinner said with a fond smile. "The man's far too generous with his goods." She turned to him. "Thank you for this. It's beautiful."
He smiled, looking away. "I'm glad you like it. I have to go to bed now. I guess...take good care of it?"
He began to walk away. Light Spinner gazed down at the white stone on her jewelry. Nell didn't seem upset with her. He didn't look at her with the uncomfortable, hostile gaze of others. Awkward, he certainly was. But she didn't mind that so much...
Light Spinner's hands tightened around the necklace. "Wait!" Nell turned around, and she swallowed. "Could you...come back tomorrow?"
"I guess. Do you...want to be friends with me?"
Those blue eyes captured loneliness more relatable to Light Spinner than he knew. She nodded. "My friend Sarah and I will be studying. You could join us, if you want."
Nell gave a soft smile. "Of course. Thanks for giving me a chance. You might be the first Delvalian that doesn't find me disgusting."
"Why would I find you disgusting?"
"I...I'm a Del. Aren't I a promiscuous, non-religious heathen to you?"
Light Spinner tilted her head. With a sigh, she lowered her gaze. "I have some experience with stigma. I understand, more than you know."
"Stigma? But you're the Head Sorcerer's daughter!"
Light Spinner couldn't answer. She could barely talk about anything with Sarah, not to mention someone she'd just met. "It's a long story – you'd best go to bed. But thank you for being willing to join us."
Nell nodded silently, giving another shy smile. Then he disappeared into the night.
...
Did you know...
- I had this as a small flashback in Starwalker: PRIME, when Shadow Weaver was working out. It ballooned into these seventeen memories kind of by accident. I definitely think they add a certain melancholic richness to the story and keep things fresh, though I worry I'm placing them at awkward intervals sometimes.
- I wish I'd done more with the opal necklace, but I didn't have the foresight to include something in Alura with it. I might write a short story or two about it sometime, but till then, it'll remain as a relic of the past.
Tell me what you think...
- What is Light Spinner after right now?
- What about Nell?