When my birthday arrived, my mother invited Sontakai and Kremos over for a small party. My nanny, Haillag, had taken over keeping the house immaculate, even though she was pregnant now. Although she tried to be strong, she didn't hesitate to scold me if I was lazy and didn't help out!
We heard knocking at the door. They had arrived! I rushed to open it with a huge, goofy smile! When I opened the door, I saw everyone smiling! This was the best gift!
But we didn't stop there! They came inside, and the chatting began. As I went to the kitchen to fetch sodas for Hitomi and Galaxia, I heard Mom talking with Haillag, Marley, and Gioulnour. They had started a conversation about work and whatever was preoccupying them. On the other side, as I walked toward the living room, I heard Kling and Anisim speaking in a serious tone about "very serious" matters, such as how the story should continue in a tabletop game they all played, including my father. This group met every Friday night, along with two or three other people, depending... A serious matter, indeed.
When I brought the sodas to Hitomi and Galaxia, Hitomi, with a wide smile, hugged me and immediately gave me her gift—she couldn't wait. Galaxia told her, "Don't rush, he'll open them all together, girl!" But Hitomi replied, "Oh, come on, do whatever you want, hmmm." Hitomi couldn't contain her excitement. She had made the gifts with love, and she had one for each of us, so she wanted me to open mine right away. She looked at me, "Come on, open it! This is for you, and this is for you, Galaxia, and one for me too!" Galaxia and I exchanged glances.
Sweetly, I turned and looked at her, "Okay, the one for Galaxia is fine, but why is yours in a little box?" The look she gave me was full of awkwardness and embarrassment. She blushed, "You are silly, know that!" I looked at Galaxia, and she laughed awkwardly. I wondered again, "HMMM, eeer?" and shyly said, "Thank you very much! Whatever it is, it will be wonderful." I said it with a smile, and she blushed even more, quickly turning her head to the left.
When she heard the unwrapping, she turned around! It was a bracelet! Its chain was made of lava crystals, which seemed to smolder faintly. The two ends were joined by a golden Sun, but it could connect with something else too…
"I'm truly surprised by the work you've done, Hitomi! I don't... I have no words! Honestly, I love it! THANK YOU," I hugged her tightly!
Galaxia opened hers, and it was also a bracelet, but made of materials from a comet, which you could shape however you wanted. It was an expensive material! When I saw it, I just widened my eyes, because a one-kilo bar cost just 100 thousand gold coins! Galaxia was thrilled, she loved it, and almost burst into tears, hugging Hitomi!
"You remembered that I loved this comet-metal because it has various colors, and when you sculpt the edges, it gets that blue-white-gold finish. And… oh, what is this clasp? A sphere with the galaxy inside?"
Hitomi smiled, saying, "Hehe, yes, exactly right! The Kaourenneg was found years ago near the area where the new vineyards are. So my father went with the team he was with at the time, they removed it from there, and he kept a little material with the permission of his employer back then. And this is our Galaxia! Isn't your name Galaxia (Galaxy)? Where do you think your name came from? Besides, it's so vast that no one really knows what awaits them. We've traveled far from our Earth, but you hold so much knowledge and hidden secrets! Since you already have a fondness for books, you will be a boundless galaxy of knowledge and wisdom! You just have to smile!"
She smiled at her, winked her left eye, and raised her right hand with her thumb up.
"Although mine is in a box," she said, giving me a half-glance. It was terrifying. "Because I wanted this to be a gift for me too, I put so much work into it! This one is mine! Ta-da! Look at it, metal that changes color the moment I put it on my hand! Its edges are forged with Mithril and close with a Moon. Isn't it wonderful? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Indeed, the metal had taken an incredible color: gold, pink, blue, purple, yellow – it was wonderful! But I noticed something!
"Hey, Hitomi... is it just me, or does your Moon complete my Sun?"
For a second, Hitomi froze. Her cheeks turned crimson, and she averted her gaze. She stood up abruptly, but not before I noticed her fingers clenching her sleeve. Was she shy? Or perhaps... something else?
She got up quickly, looking toward the hallway, as if trying to avoid the subject. "Excuse me, I'll be right back!" she said quickly.
We both looked at her and nodded, saying, "Okay!" I looked at Galaxia: "Sorry, what did I do? What did I say?" She just smiled, telling me, "I don't know what to say. Maybe you just don't get the hints?"
I raised my head toward the ceiling and lowered it, saying in a very relaxed voice, "HMMMM, eeeeee????" She burst out laughing.
The Sun had a gap on its right, so with the notches the Moon had, they became one. It was an ornament. I felt quite strange with the crystal in my hand. I raised my left hand, where I was wearing it, let the Sun dangle, and saw an aura of flame coming out from within.
(Meanwhile, Hitomi thought) "It's crazy... How did he figure out that our two bracelets match? They're practically a continuation of each other... He's annoying sometimes! You can't even surprise him! If I had actually said 'yes'... I'd never answer him. Idiot Aither. I'd better splash some water on my face and go back. But that's why I like him!"
(Back in the living room) We had placed the food in the center and slowly started eating. Our table, with the adults, was on the other side of the room. Hitomi also came back. But just as we were smiling, the door opened, and a voice called out: "I'm back!"
As the party reached its peak, I heard the sound of the front door opening. It was my father. A warm feeling enveloped me as he lifted me high, as he always did. Yet, something in his gaze seemed troubled, even when he was smiling at me. My father is constantly away at the borders because of his job.
As my father sat down at the table, he smiled faintly and pulled something strange out of his bag: a wooden effigy of a girl, with a tear-shaped red crystal in the center of its chest.
"I found it… I thought you'd like it," he said.
He was looking at the effigy in a way I hadn't seen before. For a second, his gaze darkened, as if he remembered something–something he didn't want to say aloud.
My father hadn't brought me a gift because money wasn't plentiful, even though we were managing as best we could. Yes, he was a military man and earned good money, but due to the objections he raised on many issues, large monetary amounts were withheld from him. So he didn't want to abandon his beliefs just because they were threatening him with money. Moreover, thanks to him, they weren't mourning hundreds of dead, because he changed and falsified the tactics given by his superiors, and in that way, many people were returning home close to their loved ones.
As for my mother, I had her there for three consecutive days, I was helping her around the house, and she prepared everything I have here today. I am grateful. On the other hand, my father brought me the wooden effigy, saying it reminded him of the God of Light from the Kingdom of the Fiery Lake. He took it from a large crate where they put things after the war, to separate them and send them to different departments.
As soon as I touched it, a sudden warmth enveloped my hand. At first, it was gentle, like the feeling of the Sun on a winter morning. When I touched the crystal, it was as if something was waking up inside me – something I didn't know existed. It wasn't just warmth. It was as if it was calling to me, wanting to tell me something. But what? It was terrifying and exciting at the same time.
But as the seconds passed, the heat became more intense – not hot, but suffocating, as if a flame was wrapping around me. An aura of glowing lava began to swirl around me, as if responding to my touch. What the heck was this?
I was excited because it was pulling me in... But then, my father abruptly pulled back, as if he had touched fire. His eyes widened, and his voice, full of worry, broke the silence: "What the…?! "
His gaze darted between me and the object, as if he saw something that shouldn't be there. My mother took a hesitant step forward, saying doubtfully, "Aither... what did you do? You shouldn't… just…" Her voice broke for a moment, and then she glanced at my father, expecting something. My father shook his head, as if telling her, "Leave it." Her voice was cold, almost a whisper, but it had an eerie resonance, as if she wasn't addressing only me, but something else in the room.
The others looked on in silence, and then I realized that something was wrong. If it were just a strange crystal, why did my parents look so troubled?
I looked at the crystal on the effigy. Although the room was full of voices and laughter, for a few seconds, the whole world seemed to fade. What was I holding in my hands? Why were my parents so troubled?
My mother looked at us with concern and distress, approached me, and touched my shoulders, saying, "W-We'll look into it another time." My mother glanced at my father, her lips tightening slightly. As if she was telling him something without words. My father nodded faintly and looked away from the crystal. It was as if they silently agreed that it was not the right time to say more.
My mother looked at me with a mixture of love and fear. The moment her palms lightly squeezed my shoulders, I felt that it wasn't just a reassuring movement. It was something more… something she didn't want to say out loud.
My mother continued, "Let's not let this event weigh us down with thoughts; let's start eating!" And so the room filled with the smells of the food, the mixture of wood from the fireplace, and the light scent from the bracelet I was wearing. But the crystal on the effigy, with its deep red color, dominated my thoughts – like a flame that never went out.
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