HtH92 – Hikari’s Quiet Contemplation
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Hikari goes on a late morning walk. She thinks about many things.
Late morning, the park around the lake.
A girl in purple kimono is standing at the low divider that prevents children from accidentally falling into the lake. She passes her gaze from the little ripples on the lake; small, unmistakable signs of life beneath the water surface.
In the late morning, only a few white swans are flying low now, most having returned to the sandy side of the island to rest. Occasionally, the crying of a swan would break the quiet, but that was the exception, not the norm.
Hikari had come out late this morning.
Curiously, she had come out alone.
The sights of the lake park surrounding her home is different from usual. Where in the early morning the park would be a bustle of artisans, musicians, and playing children, the park is stiller now. Most of the visitors have gone back to Bitsborough for lunch, or gone about the rest of their day. There is an occasional singer who stayed behind, but not much more.
"... ..."
Having stayed for longer than she had intended, the girl turns, and begins walking the path once again.
Her sandals tread the pavement, alone. Yet another strange thing for her.
For the first time, she had come out for a walk without any of her genmates.
The tall girl's footsteps tread lightly, moving through the rounded bend lost in her own thoughts. The scenery blurred into a mishmash of sameness and green, indistinguishable from one another. For some reason, the same sights that would thrill her to no end now seemed... empty.
The girl closed her weary eyes while walking, hoping that would somehow change her mood for the better.
That was when she heard it.
The faint plucking of a lyre accompanied by a foreign tongue.
When Hikari opened her eyes, she found the owner of that soft singing voice sitting on a rock, her lyre placed atop her crossed feet. The songstress's eyes are half-closed, bathing in the tune's melancholy. She would bob her head occasionally to the rhythm of the tune, immersed in the song, but not drowned by it. When she finished, she lifts her head and smiles at the tall girl who claps with light appreciation.
"What an enchanting and evocative tune."
"Do you know the Olden tongue too?", the girl giggles, with an accent from far and beyond.
"Not at all---" the tall girl admits outright, "The lyrical narrative perhaps spoke to some unresolved part of my heart."
The songstress giggles once more, running her hand across the lyre with a playful caress.
"It's a love song~"
Hikari's mouth hangs open in an "Ah," shape, then closes again with a muffled laugh.
The songstress laughs small giggles as well, a finger on her upper and lower lip.
That was not it, then.
Hikari only notices now that the songstress is a stunning beauty, her long brown hair falling to the bottom of the rock she sits on. Had she always come to the park to play, or was she a new face? Normally, the park would be filled with people in the early morning, it was not unthinkable that she had simply missed a regular. Still, there was something ethereal and ephemeral about the girl in front of her, like if she missed this chance to speak, she would never see this person again.
"Even so, I would express my gratitude, it truly did resonate with me, original intent not-withholding." the tall girl with short purple hair continues, "There has been a touch of challenge in recent memory. It feels like an obstacle, or a locked door that I must pass through."
Hikari touches the bottom of her short purple hair.
Then, the embroidered earring resting on her ear.
What was the point of telling a stranger about this?
Indeed, this was a trial of the heart, one that Hikari did not hold expectations of anyone giving assistance to her.
Not her dramaturg, nor her genmates would quite understand. Still, the words spilled out of her heart,
"I don't really understand why I am telling you this... Who am I, really?"
It is a question that lands with many layers.
On one layer, the sight of the recent purple-haired guest flashes in her memory.
On another, her genmates, each who have found a place at the theatre house already come into mind.
Finally, the small guiding light that accompanies her and the other girls---
Hikari closes her eyes again, the strain of thinking too much having taken its toll on her. When she opened her eyes however, the songstress was still there. If anything, she was patient, like she had lived times older than time itself. the songstress did not answer directly, and instead plucked a single string on her lyre; the opening and ending note of the song she was playing.
Perhaps she had overstepped her boundaries.
Straightening the long sleeves of her kimono, Hikari bows slightly,
"It is late, I must return to the house for voice practice now. Hikari Eiko thanks you for the resplendent tune."
Just as our 'neon diva' had taken a couple of steps away from the girl, she hears the soft enchanting voice once more,
"Echo, the key is within you."
Spring breeze brushes against the trees above Hikari.
When she turned her head,
the girl was already gone.
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!
