A Familiar Tune

Chapter 6

-XXX-

Stern

-XXX-

One week later…

WHIRR—!

The blanket flipped over.

In an instant, cold wind hit me.

THUD.

Something slammed onto the ground.

My head shifted, still resting on the pillow.

“Laurel?” I rubbed my eyes.

The wooden floor creaked as she ran around the room, spinning and dancing.

I groaned, slowly lifting myself up.

What now? Had she gone mad or something?

“Festival day!” She yelled, still spinning around with her hands in the air.

Right.

Forgot.

Kair told us we’d have half of the day off.

-XXX-

The previous day…

I tilted the watering can, the clear liquid poured out onto the flower. Just beside me was Laurel, leaning on the counter.

“You guys are lucky. Half the town’s still gonna be working.” Kair grumbled from the other side of the room.

Laurel blinked, still leaning. “Huh?”

His fingers pinched the bridge between his brows.

“Festival.” He groaned.

“Festival?” Her head tilted, eyes flickering towards me.

My tongue clicked.

How do you keep forgetting we’re in a different world?

I tapped my fingers across the window sill, hopefully loud enough to snap her back to senses.

“Ohh!” A sweat trailed down her face. “It must be ‘cause… well…” She pressed her hands together.

“You already know we’re not from here.” I stated, moving the watering can to the next plant.

The man scratched the back of his neck. “Thought the Snake’s Blessing was a worldwide festi—.”

In a snap, hands slammed down onto the counter.

“I need to know everything about it. NOW!”

My head turned, way too slow.

Didn’t know you liked festivals that much, Laurel.

The man raised an eyebrow.

I warrant that the reaction should’ve been much larger than that.

My gaze shifted back to the watering can.

‘Snake’s Blessing’.

An interesting name.

I drew the can closer to the flowerpot.

Could be related to that weird snake goddess thing I met.

-XXX-

Present…

My legs draped down, sliding into my slippers. I stretched my arms, dragging myself towards the mirror.

Laurel was skipping somewhere off in the side.

I grabbed the hairbrush sitting on the dressing table.

At least having half the day off meant I’d get more time to search for that lady.

-XXX-

“Enjoy your flowers!” Laurel waved a bye.

The woman left with an annoyed gruff, door slamming behind her.

“Ouch.”

“Don’t take it too harshly, no one who buys absolises is sane in the head.” Kair mumbled near a flower pot, watering a nearby plant.

“Your work’s done for today.”

In an instant, she jumped over the counter.

“Finally!” She paused. “Wait, what would I do anyway?”

A finger tapped on her cheek.

Then slowly, her feet shuffled back behind the counter.

“Actually, could I continue?” Her head tilted.

“Seriously?” His eyes narrowed.

She nodded, squealing. “And today’s the most customers we’ve gotten!”

“Obviously,” I muttered, taking my jacket off the stand. Slipped it past my shoulders.

Not like she was gonna do anything important anyway.

“I’m going out now.”

“Don’t forget to buy the listal!” She yelled from behind the counter.

She waved from the corner of my eye.

I raised my hand, waving back.

Didn’t look at Kair. He still hasn’t given me extra for that.

The door shut behind me.

We'd been able to afford new clothes with the money we earned.

Alongside that, a stable shelter was also nice.

The job was pretty easy, so no troubles there either.

Most of our survival headaches were gone.

But the headaches that weren’t…

Still existed.

The soles of my shoes slapped against the gravel path.

I turned a corner.

My eyes landed on a tall stone statue.

Right, the same one I passed by that day. When I was walking with Mrs. Weslie.

A crowd had already gathered around the statue. It wasn't surprising.

After all, it was the reason for today’s festival.

-XXX-

“Is this about snakes?” Her hands were pressed against the counter.

The man’s fingers dug into his forehead. “Where the hell did you guys live?” It came off as more of a rhetorical question.

I lifted the can up, walking towards the final plant in that corner of the room.

“Then what?” She dragged herself further.

“Have you seen the statue outside? It’s only a turn away.” He muttered, a palm on his face.

She nodded, giving a thumbs up. “Amazing craftsmanship!”

“He’s the reason we celebrate this festival.”

“The statue?” A finger tapped on her chin. “Or the one who made the statue?”

A groan escaped my mouth. “The statue obviously.”

“Ahh, same thing!” She waved an arm.

“No, not at all.” My eyes narrowed.

“Anyway,” Her eyes landed on Kair. “So, what’s the story?”

A sigh drew out of him.

“The stories say the world used to be crawling with monsters." He snickered. “Real nasty ones too.”

Laurel’s attention snapped to focus, eyes sparking.

“Back then humanity was reduced to a single village, hiding in the edges of the world.”

He placed the watering can on the window sill, shifting his body to face us.

“One day, a dragon came. Big enough to blot out the sky.”

She leaned onto the counter, for once she was quiet.

I sighed.

To me, it was just a generic fantasy story.

Doubt I’d get anything helpful out of it.

“Every villager dropped to their knees, and began praying.”

Tilted the watering can just enough for the water to start pouring into the final flower pot.

“To the goddess.”

I froze.

My head turned, far too slowly.

“Then a clean strike sliced the dragon in half. Blood rained, and a man stood amidst it all.”

He scoffed.

“No one knew how he did it, nor where he came from.”

My eyes widened.

“But one thing they knew for sure was…”

He turned around once more.

“Whatever he did,”

His hand reached the watering can once more.

“It was nothing short of divine intervention.”

…

….

Was he—

THUD.

Her palms slammed onto the counter. Again.

It broke me from my thoughts.

“THAT’S SO COOL!”

She squealed, her eyes sparkling.

I sighed.

A palm dragged across my face.

Earth. That’s the only explanation for this.

“Scarlett?”

My gaze snapped towards Laurel.

“Yeah?”

“So…” Her voice trailed off. “How much water are you gonna give that plant?”

Her eyes flickered behind me.

“What?”

My fingers shifted, tightening around a handle.

Oh right. The watering can.

I was still holding it.

My head turned.

The flower pot was soaked to the brim.

My eyes trailed further down.

The water began to spill on the window sill… and the floor.

Great.

-XXX-

Even if I knew the man was from Earth, the tale was a thousand years old.

He’s long dead by now, probably.

A groan escaped me as my gaze broke from the statue and the gathered crowd that was throwing flowers on it.

My pace quickened, I’d have to get this grocery list done quickly if I wanted to spend the rest of the day searching.

After another corner or two, my foot finally stopped.

My eyes locked onto the tall dusky arch before me.

Stern’s Marketplace.

I stood right at its mouth.

Warm lights hung from one end to another.

On a closer look, they were just listals tied up with strings.

They weren’t glowing yet. Suppose it’s still too early.

I glanced around.

A long trail of stands occupied both sides.

Voices overlapped, children ran.

My shoes still crunched against the gravel.

I stopped near a fruit stall.

“2 gomans.” Just mangoes.

“Sure, miss!” The man picked up a bag, began shoving them in.

“And a drefura, a bunch of rapvines, and an ananas.”

He continued to stuff the fruits in the bag.

What a mouthful, literally and figuratively.

I left a few coins. Ones from Kair’s shopping money.

-XXX-

My eyes ran across the list. Checking if I missed anything.

That was it.

Just in time too. The sun was starting to set.

I was heading the opposite way now, out of the marketplace.

A crowd of people rushed by me, heading further in. This place had gotten a lot busier compared to when I first got here.

For the festival? Maybe.

Continued walking straight…

I still had to find Eyara. Something I planned to do later tonight.

And other than that…

Finding Loulin was also a priority.

The last time I saw her was on a stranded island.

My teeth gritted.

…

Whatever.

All I had to do was drop these bags off at the flower shop. Then the rest of the day’s mine.

My gaze dropped to the ground.

Just some time more, I sighed.

A faint glow began to spill across the path.

My foot stopped. Slowly raising my head up.

The listals hung all over the marketplace began emitting a faint light.

Started to grow brighter.

And brighter.

Glowing in all kinds of shades.

Just like a rainbow.

A sight for sore eyes.

Hadn’t even realized when the sky turned black.

…

The next time I come here, it’ll probably be in a week.

The bag in my hand swung as I turned around, heading back towards the marketplace.

The slap of my shoes still echoed on the path.

Listals.

They’d be useful.

-XXX-

It took me walking all the way to the centre of the marketplace just to find a listal stall.

The shelves were filled with glowing crystals of all kinds, carved in many different shapes.

The one I got resembled a torch. The flame part being the crystal.

It’d be useful during my night searches.

I took out a few coins, this time from my own money.

“Two of them.”

The old man behind the stall went near the shelf in the back, his fingers grazing the wood.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

I turned around.

My eyes landed on the crowd that had formed near a fountain.

In the dead center of the intersection.

Wonder what this was all about.

I squinted.

A blonde woman stood before the marble fountain.

In her hands, there was a short bamboo stick.

One that had been carved into a flute.

She pressed it next to her lips.

They had flutes here too?

Must be a performance. For the festival, probably.

Didn’t have time for those.

I took the listal torch things, shoved them in the bag.

About time this trip was gonna end.

My shoulders slumped down. Finally, lifting my legs—

Fweeee~!

My foot froze mid-step.

A lone note drifted in the air.

Fiuuuuu~!

One that sounded familiar.

Too familiar.

My head turned around at a snailish pace.

Eyes locking onto the lady, standing just a few inches before the fountain.

My gaze flickered to the bamboo pressed against her lips.

Her eyes were closed, fingers moving in a perfect synchrony.

Like she’d played it her entire life.

I swore I’d heard it before.

Drew my hand closer to my mouth.

Now that I think about it.

My eyes flickered towards the lady herself this time.

She looked familiar too.

The wind swayed her messy short hair to the side.

The entire crowd watched mesmerized, like they’d witnessed a new renaissance.

Where had I heard this? Or seen her before?

Tweeeee~!

She struck another note. Her eyes finally opening.

They were a bright, dazzling blue.

…

That shade.

My eyes widened.

“Oh.”

That was when it clicked.

-XXX-

14 years ago…

The television flickered, static overriding the screen.

My mom was on a business call. Pacing back and forth in the kitchen.

Dad was away on another one of his ‘work trips’.

My brother was at football practice. But the rain was starting to hammer, so he’d be back soon.

Or spend the rest of the evening at one of his friend’s houses.

I tried pressing on the remote’s buttons.

But I had no idea what it did.

Eventually, I gave up.

The tv channel had switched to an interview.

There was a lady. Her hair was tied in a high blonde ponytail.

“Ms. Ashlynn, what inspired you to be a musician?” The interviewer propped the mic next to the lady’s mouth.

Her eyes sparkled blue, like the shade of the ocean.

“My mother, well, she was a good reason why.”

I don’t remember the rest.

I’m pretty sure I started playing with one of my dolls after that.

-XXX-

4 years ago…

The school bus’ tires screeched against the road. Finally stopping.

The Glass door slid open.

One by one, every kid got off.

I was one of them.

The day went as usual.

“Pshh... Oi, Scar-y!” The chair creaked, a girl sat down next to me.

A friend of mine.

Probably.

“Creative name there.” I turned my head around.

Her lips curved into a smile, brown bangs barely reaching her eyes.

“Anyway, have you heard about it yet?”

“About what?” My head tilted.

“Ashlynn Woods.” Her tongue clicked. “She had a seizure mid performance.”

The name sounded familiar.

“A musician?”

“Yes, and after that…” She pressed a hand against her cheek. “The ambulance carrying her got in an accident!”

“She’s dead?”

“Unfortunately.” She sighed. “I loved her songs too.”

I looked away.

“A shame.”

SKRR—!

The seat beside me was empty.

Instead, she stood in front of me.

“Hey!”

“Yeah?” I nodded.

She dug a hand into her pocket. Took out a white case.

It clicked open.

An airpod was pinched between her fingers.

“Wanna hear one?”

-XXX-

A hand slowly covered my mouth.

I stood there, frozen, staring in disbelief.

It was actually her.

She—-

The crowd cheered, applauding.

It snapped me out.

My eyes darted around.

The nearest local.

Before I realized it, my hand had already grabbed his collar.

“HEY—-”

A glare was all it took to shut him up.

Though it came out more vicious than it needed to.

His face went pale.

My teeth gritted, tight.

“The performance. When does it end?”

He gulped, a lump forming in his throat.

“I-In an hour. I think.”

I let go of my grip.

THUD.

He fell to the ground. 

“YOU SON OF A—-”

I stared daggers into his eyes.

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

In a snap, my foot turned.

And in one swift motion, I bolted.

Faster…

And faster.

I couldn’t lose another lead.

Not when it was right in front of me.

My jaw clenched.

Not this time.

~A Familiar Tune~

Characters:

Scarlett Ernest (MC, and the POV)

Laurel Ains (The  f̶a̶k̶e̶ med student)

Kair Nuvas (The flowershop guy)

Ashlynn Woods (The ex-musician)

Official site for this series :D --> https://sites.google.com/view/seas-the-site