90th of Autumn, 502AV
Morning
Sydelle fidgeted. There was no other word for it, and she couldn't seem to help it, despite mum's stern warning look. The eight year old managed a few ticks of respectable stillness before her hand wandered out to play with the skirt of her dress. The tiny, delicate patterns of vines and flowers was too much of a distraction to be ignored, and her small fingers followed diligently as the design curled itself over her knee.
Imagination was running away with her, and Sydelle pictured the vines coming to life, growing up out of the skirt and high into the air above her head. She would braid them and make a secret tent where she could hide inside them, sniffing the beautiful yellow and blue flowers all--
A hand clamped down over hers. interrupting her daydreams, and Sydelle looked up with a guilty flush to meet her mother's eyes.
"Sit still, Syddie! Mind yer hands and sit on them if you must, but stop fussing with your dress." Though the words were quiet enough, Sydelle had no trouble identifying the ring of impatience in her mums voice and stilled instantly. Ticks later, when her hand was again under her own control, she squirmed them both under her bottom and sat on them, as suggested.
But her mind, unlike her hands, would not stay still - and Syd couldn't exaclt sit on that. Her mother sat, impossibly still, unknown prayers on her lips. It was the change of seasons, and Ebelle had always set aside this time to give thanks for the passing season and ask for blessings in the season to come.
What this meant for Sydelle was that, twice a season, she was expected to sit and think about the good things that had happened and be thankful for them. And when she was done with that, she was supposed to ask the next season to be just as good. But it was so hard !
Still she gave it a valiant effort as she sat there, thinking back over the days of Autumn and the interesting things that had happened:
Gemmel stopped pulling my hair. That was a good thing. And he gave me a little piece of his candy. Even though he did call me a dumb girl after that. But that's 'cos his friends were being mean about him being nice. And he doesn't really want to kiss me - yuck! But just sometimes we don't hate each other.
In her heart of hearts, Sydelle didn't mind if Gemmel wanted to kiss her. His mum made the best candies in the Outpost and if Gemmel wanted to kiss her he would prob'ly let her have his candy any time she asked. Absently, she licked her lips, imagining the taste of the candy again. But she wouldn't ask for all of it because that would be selfish and Syd knew that being selfish was not a nice thing at all.
As an afterthought, the little girl thought a quick 'thank you' to the Goddess Bala, even though she couldn't figure out what the Goddess of Autumn had to do with Gemmel's mother's candy.
And thank you, Bala, because the apples grew extra big this year and dad let me have one that was bigger than my whole hand!
Sydelle remembered the apple in question. She had to use two hands to hold it, and after she had eaten the whole thing, her tummy hurt just a little bit. But she didn't tell her dad, because he gave her the apple and he might have felt sad if he knew it had made her sick. But it was the best apple she'd ever had, in all her whole life, and thinking about it - and about Gemmel's mum's candy - was making her hungry all over again.
Morning
Sydelle fidgeted. There was no other word for it, and she couldn't seem to help it, despite mum's stern warning look. The eight year old managed a few ticks of respectable stillness before her hand wandered out to play with the skirt of her dress. The tiny, delicate patterns of vines and flowers was too much of a distraction to be ignored, and her small fingers followed diligently as the design curled itself over her knee.
Imagination was running away with her, and Sydelle pictured the vines coming to life, growing up out of the skirt and high into the air above her head. She would braid them and make a secret tent where she could hide inside them, sniffing the beautiful yellow and blue flowers all--
A hand clamped down over hers. interrupting her daydreams, and Sydelle looked up with a guilty flush to meet her mother's eyes.
"Sit still, Syddie! Mind yer hands and sit on them if you must, but stop fussing with your dress." Though the words were quiet enough, Sydelle had no trouble identifying the ring of impatience in her mums voice and stilled instantly. Ticks later, when her hand was again under her own control, she squirmed them both under her bottom and sat on them, as suggested.
But her mind, unlike her hands, would not stay still - and Syd couldn't exaclt sit on that. Her mother sat, impossibly still, unknown prayers on her lips. It was the change of seasons, and Ebelle had always set aside this time to give thanks for the passing season and ask for blessings in the season to come.
What this meant for Sydelle was that, twice a season, she was expected to sit and think about the good things that had happened and be thankful for them. And when she was done with that, she was supposed to ask the next season to be just as good. But it was so hard !
Still she gave it a valiant effort as she sat there, thinking back over the days of Autumn and the interesting things that had happened:
Gemmel stopped pulling my hair. That was a good thing. And he gave me a little piece of his candy. Even though he did call me a dumb girl after that. But that's 'cos his friends were being mean about him being nice. And he doesn't really want to kiss me - yuck! But just sometimes we don't hate each other.
In her heart of hearts, Sydelle didn't mind if Gemmel wanted to kiss her. His mum made the best candies in the Outpost and if Gemmel wanted to kiss her he would prob'ly let her have his candy any time she asked. Absently, she licked her lips, imagining the taste of the candy again. But she wouldn't ask for all of it because that would be selfish and Syd knew that being selfish was not a nice thing at all.
As an afterthought, the little girl thought a quick 'thank you' to the Goddess Bala, even though she couldn't figure out what the Goddess of Autumn had to do with Gemmel's mother's candy.
And thank you, Bala, because the apples grew extra big this year and dad let me have one that was bigger than my whole hand!
Sydelle remembered the apple in question. She had to use two hands to hold it, and after she had eaten the whole thing, her tummy hurt just a little bit. But she didn't tell her dad, because he gave her the apple and he might have felt sad if he knew it had made her sick. But it was the best apple she'd ever had, in all her whole life, and thinking about it - and about Gemmel's mum's candy - was making her hungry all over again.
