Ch. 7

            The cold months were approaching, and the giantess was more active than she usually was.  Such was her tradition; every year, around the middle of the cold season, the giantess would depart from her home for several days, leaving the Calculi free to roam and celebrate in relative safety.  Ironically, she would also decorate the inside of her domain with an impressive array of multi-colored lights during this time, which drooped from her ceilings in a spectacular display.  The occupants of the other houses outside also seemed to engage in the festivities, making men out of the white powder on the ground, placing plastic replicas of other animals in their yards (many of which the Calculi had never seen), and illuminating their homes with magical looking decorations.

The Calculi particularly enjoyed watching the giantess during this time, as her mood seemed higher than during the other times of the year.  The colony buzzed as she swept a green wire, off of which hundreds of colorful beacons protruded and shone, across the top of her door.  Many of the Calculi would try to match the light radiating from their chests to those of the lights on the wall.  This beautiful display of color took hold of their imagination.  Not knowing what their purpose was, the Calculi took to calling this holiday “The Festival of Light”.

The colony was also busy during this time of the year.  During her absence, the giantess usually left a fairly large amount of supplies behind, which the Calculi happily took, in order to engage in their own celebrations.  To the Calculi, the Festival of Light was the time to celebrate not only unity, but connection, specifically the connection between light and soul.  Their traditions could be traced back to the days of Vilitrus, but had certainly evolved since then.  Typically, two Calculi would choose one another in order to carry out an old ritual.  On the second night of the giantess’s departure, both individuals would find a quiet, private location in the house and join hands, representative of the way Mariah and Isabella had.  Through this action, they were glorifying the unification of light and soul, signifying that the two had become one.  They would then spend the rest of the night together, alone, to relish each other’s company.  It was a wondrous ceremony which was caressed by love’s comforting touch.

Nami and Xi walked together through the halls of Sanctuary.  The colony flourished with activity as every sect began preparing for the festival.  Various precious metals and reflective mirrors were strewn across the walls.  The dining room table was a great menagerie of food, flowers, clothing, and generally anything else the Calculi needed to prepare themselves.

Next to the table were a series of metal tubes which spanned the distance of the ceiling.  Sanctuary had interesting architecture because, unlike the rooms which the giantess inhabited, the region above the ceiling actually provided much more space for the Calculi to live.  The narrow spaces between the walls of the house usually only served as a conduit for movement to other regions in the ceiling.  These metal tubes ran up the wall in this narrow space, past the table the colony dined at, and down another narrow passageway which bordered the washroom.  It was from these tubes which the Calculi obtained their supply of water, albeit slowly.  Small leaks in the metal surface, which they had intentionally damaged, slowly oozed water out into a region of the floor which had been hollowed out into a stone basin, allowing the Calculi to retrieve water when needed.  Nami filled a cup she carried with her and drank.

“Have you been outside, Xi?”

“Not for very long.  I saw the large one eating earlier in the pantry, but that was a while ago.”

“No, that is not what I meant.  I mean have you been on the outside, outside of this house.  It occurred to me that I never have.”

“You are surely joking now, Nami.  Why would I want to go out there, in that bitter cold abyss?”

“Do you not grow tired of the stale air of this house, Xi?  Outside of this place, I imagine, is a world beyond our understanding, but one which offers hope and new beginnings.  I believe that as the fresh light from the sky above hit our faces, we would be rejuvenated.  If I could, I would bring my partner outside for the festival, if only for a short while, before the cold became too much.”

“Ha ha, and how would you expect to get out, or back in for that matter?  Once we got a hold of you we would have to thaw your body out in the warming vents!”  Xi laughed kindly.

“Maybe.”

“Who do you plan on asking to perform the ritual with you, Nami?”

“I haven’t decided, but I feel like that boy from Sinderion’s sect likes me.  I’m actually quite flattered.”  Nami coyly smiled as she looked at the ground.  “What about you?”

The two of them continued talking as they rounded a corner.  Leigh was sitting by herself fussing with a torn piece of parchment.  Upon closer examination Nami and Xi could see that she was actually drawing a picture on it using a piece of graphite, which she most likely obtained from one of the giantess’s writing sticks. 

“Hello, Leigh.  What are you doing?” Nami spoke first.

Leigh, startled, quickly tucked the parchment away in her faded drabs and looked at the two of them.  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“Oh, hi, hello, Nami, Xi!”

Xi pressed on, “Hey Leigh, what have you got there?”

“Nothing!  It is nothing..  I, just, uh… how have you been?”  Xi could tell Leigh was growing more and more flustered, so she changed the subject.

“We have been well, just walking the halls, talking about the upcoming Festival of Light.”

“Have you chosen a partner for the festival yet, Leigh?”  Nami inquired.

“Me?  Oh, well, no, I mean, I don’t think I’m going to participate this year.  That is, I have some other matters that require my attention, and, um..”

“Other matters, Leigh,”  Xi cut in, “Just like every other year?  Honestly, I do not believe I have ever seen you with someone during one of these events.  Why is that?”  Xi moved closer toward Leigh, like a detective pondering the validity of a witness’s statement.

Leigh scooted away from her, further back on the small door that the large one used to seal her bottled drinks which served as her chair.  She pulled one antennae down as she responded, “Now I have indeed been with someone!  That is to say I will be this year, uh, I mean, I don’t know.  I suppose I am just too busy, but, I..”  Leigh was amusing both Xi and Nami as they continued to playfully poke at her shyness.

Xi continued, “I believe, Leigh, that you are simply too afraid to approach someone and that you shy away when approached.  Why is that?  Nobody here holds any ill will towards you.”

“I, uh..”

“Xi, go easy on our poor Leigh, for she has done you no ill either.”

“That is true, but I don’t mean to attack you, my friend.  It saddens me, though, that you again choose to spend the festival alone.”

“I am fine, truly, please do not concern yourselves with my shortcomings.”  Leigh was looking around sheepishly, as she seemed to be searching for any excuse to end the conversation.

“What about Aieté?  Have you asked him to be with you?”

Leigh jumped a bit in her chair as she heard his name.  Aieté was an energetic young flyer in Nami’s sect who was known for his enthusiastic personality.  He was a handsome Calculus, with broad shoulders and a masculine complexion which did not sacrifice his youthful demeanor.  He was known for having conversation with as many members of the colony as he could in a given day, a characteristic which complimented his naturally helpful personality.  Socially, he was the exact opposite of Leigh, who shied away from any and all social situations she was presented with.  That isn’t to say that Leigh was not a helpful individual.  If you could actually manage to secure a conversation with her, she was perhaps one of the sweetest Calculi in the colony.  She simply suffered from severe social anxiety, choosing to spend her time alone drawing rather than interacting with the others.

Nami gently continued the discourse, “I see the way you look at him, Leigh…  its actually very cute!  You watch him desperately from the corners, but don’t dare approach.  Why is it?  Is it because you feel that he is too good for you?”

“No!  Of course not!  I mean, yes he is wonderful and attractive, but I mean, no!  I don’t stare at him or anything, I just, watch things happen sometimes…”  Leigh was now pulling both antennae even harder down the sides of her head as she seemed to physically curl herself into as much of a ball as possible while still looking at the two of them.

Xi sat next to Leigh, causing her to become even more uncomfortable.  She took off a pendant which hung around her neck by a piece of string.

“Here, Leigh, I want you to have my necklace.  It helps bring out those pretty eyes of yours.  Please ask him, and wear this when you do.  He would be crazy to deny.”

Leigh uncoiled a bit, and slightly opened her eyes to look at Xi.  Xi placed the necklace on her lap and then stood up.  Nami spoke to her again.

“You better have a wonderful story for us after tomorrow night Leigh, I mean it!”  The remark was again, lighthearted.  Nami and Xi then walked off.

“Thank you, Xi.”  Leigh quietly said as they walked away, a slight quiver in her voice.  She took the necklace in her hand.  It was simple, like much of what the Calculi owned, consisting of a piece of polished red glass which had had a hole drilled through the top, allowing a thin piece of plastic wire to pass through and be tied at the back.  Leigh looked at it for a moment, and then covered her eyes with her hands.

Later in the night, after the giantess had gone off to bed, most of the Calculi were making way to their bunks as well.  Aieté sat in the area outside of his room and conversed with some other Calculi as they ate some bread and drank.  At the far end of the hall, Leigh, donning her new piece of jewelry, stood in the shadows and watched him.  Their conversation seemingly over, the other Calculi walked off as Aieté sat alone, finishing his water.  He looked at the wall in front of him, appearing to be in deep thought.  Leigh, with those long, athletic legs perfectly suited for running, slowly made her way towards him.  The closer she got, however, the more she began to tremble.  Aieté, believing he had heard something, turned his head, but by that time, she had already vanished.