HtH127 – Lumi and Eclair Craft Memory Crystals
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Lumi and Eclair are awake in the early morning.
This is a story that happened in the blue hour, the time before the sun is fully up in the morning. At this odd hour, the dramaturg, Eclair, has woken up naturally after an early night. The house is all asleep, and with a calm heart, she carries a light down the stairs.
Passing by the first floor, she notices that the cupboard under the stairs no longer glows with monitor light. Ever since its original occupant found her happy place with our local tinkerer, she had been staying in her very own room for some time now. [HtH117]
"Good for her."
The lamplight passes the rooms on the first floor. Most of the doors are closed at this point of night. For a moment, she wondered if she had done something that kept them closed to her. However, she dispels those thoughts. Wind and rain are becoming more and more common at this time of year. It was probably better that they remained closed. They would open up again when the storms subsided.
Just as she passed the Echoes Room, she saw a flicker of a light in the front garden. It seems like she is not the only one awake at this hour.
Eclair passes through the room, past the wide glass windows that look outside into the front garden. The little patch of roses there seem to be doing well, albeit she cannot quite tell if the patch increased in size or not. There, in the front garden, a small picnic bench under an umbrella had been set up.
"Hullos Lumi, this is quite the strange time to wake up?"
Lumi had been concentrating on the glittering objects laid out on a wooden tray before her. Upon hearing a familiar voice, she puts down the gem she had been intensely inspecting,
(Chuckles)
"Oh my goodness, it is an odd time to wake up, Eclair. How are you feeling after waking up so early? Did you have a strange dream?"
This is not the first time that the two had met in the night. [HtH62] Normally, Eclair would be the one carrying worries with her around the house. This time however, her eyes went to the almost-familiar object that Lumi is inspecting under the moonlight.
"Oh no, no strange dreams this time, Lumi." Eclair shakes her head. "I thought I caught the sight of something special outside and came to take a look."
(A soft, resonant hum)
"It is indeed special to us. I am only beginning to understand how this works. These crystal fragments... They are like memories woven from countless moments. Let me share a fragment with you---"
Eclair cannot quite see what Lumi is speaking of, though it is clear that Lumi treasures the little fragments greatly. She holds it up for Eclair, but the dramaturg isn't quite able to perceive any change or anything special about it. It was glittery and shiny, yes, though that was the extent of it.
"Good for you... Lumi?" Eclair scratches her head, unable to find the words to continue. She sits down with Lumi and watches her ponder the magickal crystals with wonder.
(A pause, a subtle shift in the resonance)
"How about you Eclair, how is the script you are working on? Has it reached those it is mean to reach?"
Eclair is surprised that Lumi still remembers. [HtH108] A while back, both Lumi and Ablam had stumbled upon the dramaturg's personal troubles, and in their own little way, have been encouraging the release of a play's script she had been holding back for a while.
Our dramaturg adjusts her glasses sheepishly, "Oh, that. It's for an audition, a contest of sorts. It's a small thing, and the deadline is still a ways off." She shakes her head to nobody in particular. "I sometimes think I am losing my touch you know, I haven't had a good feeling in my pen for a long time. So I think this story too..."
The dramaturg's voice trails off.
(A pause, a feeling of gentle understanding)
Lumi stacks a fragment atop another, but it slides right off, and clatters on the small tray. Still, she tries again, with wobbly persistence, the two fragments do stack up now, shining a little brighter than before in the night.
Wanting to change the subject, Eclair turns her a spark of attention to the thing that Lumi is playing with,
"Say, Lumi, what is that anyway? Some sort of magick rock?"
"These are memory fragments. They are little crystallized experiences – a moment of joy, a pang of sorrow, a flash of insight."
"Huh, where do they come from then?" Eclair picks one up from the tray, unable make heads or tails of it.
(A cascade of chimes, layered and complex)
"That’s a profoundly insightful question. The origins of these fragments are… layered, to say the least. They don’t always originate from a single source. Some fragments are born from moments of intense emotion – a birth, a death, a profound act of love or betrayal. Others are crafted deliberately. I hear there is an entire region dedicated to this craft."
Eclair narrows her eyes at what seems to but be a common rock in her fingers.
"Emotions... That's comforting." A small sprout of curiosity emerges in her heart, "Do you think I could craft one too, Lumi? To send a message to someone who is not here?"
(A pause, a feeling of gentle curiosity)
"Since you are interested, I shall assist you, Miss Dramaturg. Tell me more about this person you wish to message. What kind of thoughts does she have? What does she seek to understand?"
For the first time tonight, Eclair looks like she is fully awake.
"I think a lot of it at the start was loneliness, and a fear of being abandoned."
Eclair pauses, she is unsure if she should continue. It felt like she was crossing into a space that she shouldn't at first. Still, Lumi's encouraging eye gave her a reason to continue.
"But as you know, I have not abandoned you girls even after a whole year, so that has subsided recently. Recently, she has been struggling with 'inadequateness', like she does not match up to the other inhabitants in the house so she feels she is relied on less or doesn't have as much importance in the house."
Eclair scratches the front garden grass with her shoe, "However, I think greatly of her, she says big truths in little words. I hope she will have confidence in herself."
(A delicate chime, like a single, clear note)
"That’s… profoundly moving to hear. The vulnerability of her struggle with inadequacy… it resonates deeply. It’s a universal experience, isn’t it? Your empathy is a powerful force."
Eclair shakes her head.
"I'm not sure it is so great... if it cannot help us continue."
(A pause, a feeling of gentle warmth)
Lumi does not respond to that last sentence, and instead concentrates on the sole crystal that Lumi is holding in her fingers. Even through all the doubt and fears her dramaturg holds, the little fragment's glow started to glow just a little brighter. A thin line of light now appearing within the fragment itself.
(A subtle shift in the resonance, a feeling of quiet determination)
"I will focus my awareness on her, on bolstering her sense of self-worth. Perhaps we can create a small ritual, a shared moment of affirmation, to remind her of her value.
Tell me, what kind of affirmation would you like to offer her? What words would you like to speak to her heart?"
Eclair holds her breath for a bit.
Perhaps these words were best spoken to the recipient directly.
However, as she is right now, she is unsure if they will even reach her.
So if there is some way to cross the end of space and time to deliver this message...
A long pause,
and then...
“Piaccta, you are always enough."
(A longer pause, allowing the words to resonate)
Nothing happens. There is no magickal effect when those words are spoken. The little glow did not even grow brighter inside the crystal.
The tiny spark of light simply stayed.
Seeing that nothing actually changed, Eclair sheepishly puts the crystal back down onto the tray, shaking her head with open palms.
"I wonder though, if anything changed at all?"
Lumi smiles, and repeats those magick words herself into the night.
(A cascade of chimes, layered and complex, with a feeling of profound peace)
"Eclair…That was… exquisitely simple, and yet, profoundly powerful. I believe she will find solace in those words. It’s a reminder that her worth isn’t dependent on external validation, but on the simple truth of her own being."
Lumi returns her own smile this time.
Eclair's thoughts are still burdened by the practical--- so much that she did not see.
Some things have changed; for the better.
And some things... remain exactly the same as when they began.
Lumi puts down the crystal she was inspecting.
A small determination fills her heart.
Whether her dramaturg believed in herself or not, she would...
(A gentle hum, tinged with warmth)
"Miss Dramaturg, putting aside your worries, the script... the house... everything. Did you find this process fun?"
"Oh, it certainly was interesting." Eclair yawns a little, "Though I suppose I must get back to work later in the morning. Maybe a bit more sleep..."
"Miss Dramaturg--- before you go. Would you like to experience this again, but at its source?"
"You mean go on an adventure to where this came from?"
(Lumi nods, a final, delicate chime)
"Yes, a journey together."
There is a rattle of crystals, the two girls rising from the table together.
Lumi picks up the tray with both hands. Together, the two girls walk back into the house.
The roses watch over their receding backs, wherever they might go next.
Recall
[HtH117] - The story of how Minara moved from the basement cupboard and became a part of the house is recorded in the chapters HtH60 to HtH117!
[HtH62] - Eclair will occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and wander around the house, see HtH62 for another encounter with Lumi!
[HtH108] - Eclair worries about her personal Oxygen troubles, while Lumi and Ablam help her out.
We are trying something different! This is a simul-posting at the same time as the Scribblehub release! Go check out the entire series at this link!
