THE TANABATA FESTIVAL

[goldless]

[ It's a breezy summer day on Isle Bermuda. There are gulls crying, a few lazy clouds, and plenty of sunshine with a cooling wind.

Today also happens to be a special event! It's time for Tanabata, and seemingly out of nowhere, a thicket of bamboo has sprung up in the trees near the shoreline. Speaking of the beach, a festival seems to be underway; there are lanterns strung up, fresh food, and plenty of goat-people selling fresh food and games.

The festival goes long into the evening, so don't miss it!

The tradition of Tanabata, as you will notice, is to write a wish on a tag and hang it from a bamboo tree. So make a wish and hope for the best! ♥ And what's this? A mysterious, female voice is drifting along, carried by the wind; ]

The bamboo leaves rustle,
shaking away in the eaves.
The stars twinkle
on the gold and silver grains of sand.
The five-colour paper strips
I have already written.
The stars twinkle,
they watch us from heaven.

Comments

[chainsomnia]

[Is that laugh supposed to be making us nervous...]

There was more than one school?

[a_smile]

[it's not intended to but it is still kind of creepy.]

Yes. Just two of them. One was harder to find than to other. Not for me though. I'm already in both.

[chainsomnia]

...What's it like? [Both schools in general, that is. Despite there being lots of different buildings and places in her dreams, there are absolutely no schools anywhere to explore in her dreams...]

[a_smile]

They're just schools. I'm there and some other kids are. [and other things, but he's not going into it.]

[chainsomnia]

What do you do there? [To be honest, she can't really picture someone like Smile being the type to actually sit at a desk and do schoolwork for some reason.]

[a_smile]

Stand and wait. [so no sitting.] Sometimes the other kids would wait with me.

[chainsomnia]

...What were you waiting for?

[For Sabitsuki to show up, maybe?]

[a_smile]

For Sabitsuki.

[seems your line of thought is right. but what would they do once she came?]

[chainsomnia]

Mm. Thought so...

[Even though she doesn't ask (is it even any of her business to ask about this kind of thing?), it's pretty obvious she's wondering what Smile and the other figments would do with Sabitsuki when she got there...]

[a_smile]

[Smile doesn't mind if she asks. the figment just won't promise he'd tell her the truth.]

It's a long wait sometimes.

[chainsomnia]

Sometimes it's a long walk to get where you want to go.

[Or to try to avoid a place where you don't want to go, as the case may be.]

[a_smile]

It's not far from my home. But I guess starting in reality makes things longer. Time doesn't mean much to me anymore.

[chainsomnia]

...Mm, I guess it really wouldn't anymore.

[Time doesn't mean much to the living either when you spend every day in a room. Only that you'll eventually run out of it when you get older and older and then die alone if you end up never leaving.]

[a_smile]

[he gives her a bit of a look.]

What do you dream about?

[chainsomnia]

Nothing that would be of interest to you.

[A rather quick answer, and possibly a lie at that.]

[a_smile]

[he doesn't look too bothered by it.]

Alright. But I'm still curious. Only know the inside of her head.

[chainsomnia]

I don't really want too many people knowing the inside of mine.

[Especially not the potential nightmares of other people knowing.]

[a_smile]

[aww...he's not that bad. just really creepy. and murderous...]

Okay. I won't ask again. It'll stay not known for me.

[chainsomnia]

Good. [Maybe someday she'll say something about it if she ever actually feels like it. But not now--she doesn't really trust you at all.]