Amentia

Chapter 28 - Letting go

The audience was thrilled. There was a standing ovation that lasted a good five minutes as the entire crew made the same gesture with their left hand: fingertips touching their chests and then moving the hand in an arc to point at the audience. The girls began to clap but quickly realized that clapping didn't exist here; people just stomped their feet on the ground and yelled, so the girls joined in. Meiko tried to join them, but felt she lacked the physical energy.

The crowd began dispersing a few minutes later, and the girls caught Adam's eye as he walked off stage and made a gesture with his head to go over to him. As they walked through the thinning crowd, the saw Maylin grabbing the two fat bags filled with all the payments, throwing both of them over one shoulder with ease, and going ahead back to the caravan on her own.

Adam was accompanied by the man who had collected the payments before the play. He was rather a dashing person, dressed more formally than the rest of the theater crew, and without a single drop of sweat on his brow; he stood tall and proud even with the small round belly of a person who does not exercise at all, and he bore the wrinkles on his orange skin around the eyes and mouth with clear confidence. With an expression of kindness but also sternness, he was a man to be respected.

"Adam tells me you are in need of shelter," he said to the girls after introducing himself as Azariah. His voice was not as deep as his face hinted it to be.

"You would be willing to take us in?" Nati asked, genuinely surprised.

"I would, if you earned your place in it. We don't feed mouths for free."

"Of course," said Anna.

"Alright then, welcome to the Theater of the Sacred Lotus. We can discuss your duties in the morning. Let's have dinner for now."

The girls couldn't believe it had been that easy. They happily followed Azariah back to the caravan, while Adam asked them how they'd liked the play. Nina had been fascinated by Adam's power to transform his body and thought the narration and stage design had been marvelous. Upon Nina's question of how she managed to remember the entire story perfectly, Omylia said, "Memories are very important to me, so I like to train my mind to keep it sharp and not lose anything."

Nina thought that was a beautiful sentiment and made sure to let her know.

Nati, on the other hand, had spent the entire time thinking the story sounded familiar to her but couldn't quite remember from where. Zoe complemented the narration as well, saying that Omylia's voice traveled clearly through the ground and that the small creatures in the earth had probably enjoyed the sound of it; Omylia thought that was the most unusual yet uplifting compliment anyone could give her.

Anna and Meiko walked behind everyone in silence. Meiko was looking grimmer by the second and Anna still doubted whether or not to reach out to her, not knowing which option would be the helpful one. It was the first time she hesitated so much when considering showing some form of affection to someone. She always went headfirst, but this was different, delicate; she couldn't risk hurting her or that precious melody. The protection of the wind was all but gone now, and all she could do was worry and wait.

Meiko felt faint. Her thoughts were blurred and confusing. She knew she'd enjoyed the play and had wanted to give the actors a compliment about it, but somehow she was unable to form a proper sentence in her mind. And Anna's presence next to her made her feel so restless and uncomfortable, like it had a weight of its own, like it screamed at her. Why was Anna always walking so close to her? Why couldn't she just make it easier for her and keep her distance instead of always giving her those glances? Why couldn't she just stay away? Why was that small and personal conversation from the previous night replaying in her mind right now? It felt wrong. It was wrong.