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By Sarah G. Crespo
Chryseis sat on the bench of their garden and
looked at the reflection of the two moons on her mug of coffee.
“Just like looking at the sea,” she thought, and with a grin,
dipped a finger on the mug. The ripples tickled her fancy. She
couldn’t wait to see the lunar eclipse which happens only once in
a decade. The two moons would align and give birth either to a new
god or star. All the people in Gaea were as excited as her. There
was anticipation in every corner of the land as Gaeans designed
their paper lanterns and practiced their songs, each one of them had
a smile on their faces, sometimes even humming a tune. They were
hoping that this time the offspring of the moon would be strong
enough; they wanted to see the birth of a god, although they knew
that most of the time it was weak, it just became a star. It has
been 2,000 years since one came into being. His name is Odin, the
god of wisdom, who sacrificed one of his eyes for knowledge.
With the reflection on her mug, Chryseis tried
to angle the cup so that the two moons would seem aligned. The
coffee spilled and her mother saw this. She called Chryseis to get
inside the house to help her fold the clothes.
“Ma, can I buy ice cream tomorrow?” she
asked, as she entered the house with a coffee stain on her robe.
“What for?” her mother replied.
“I want new shoes.”
___
The afternoon sun rays made the dust particles
dance on the streets of Gaea. The dry heat kissed her cheeks as she
waited for the Knights of Odin to come by. And while waiting beside
the window, she played with the two copper coins her mother gave
her. “Heads or tails?”
She flipped a coin. Tails. Not a lucky day
for her, she bet on the head. But she would buy ice cream anyway.
A knight of Odin passed the street as Chryseis
frowned at the tail. She almost missed the knight. They are the
sellers of ice cream, the men in velvet robes, or as some Gaeans
would put it, the dream givers. They would usually come in a caravan
hauled by two white wolves tied in a silver chain. There were about
25 of them but no one was sure about exactly how many they are. Each
of them would round the streets of Gaea every week to sell ice cream
and to grant the wish of the lucky one. When a person chanced upon
the lucky ice cream with the philosopher’s sand mixed in it, he
could wish for anything as long as Odin did not deem it excessive or
destructive, but certainly, no one could wish for the ‘Forbidden
Longings.’
But most of the people’s wishes were granted
except for a few who wished for excessive wealth and beauty.
Children would usually flock around the knights of Odin because of
their lucky ice creams. The old ones would buy it because it made
them feel good inside. According to the elders, the ice cream is
Odin’s special mixture. No wonder why it doesn’t melt like the
snows. It is forever cold despite the afternoon heat, and it always
sparkles, just like the moons when they are about to align.
She called “Knight of Odin, I will buy one.”
The caravan stopped and the knight went to her window. She ordered
the strawberry-flavored ice cream and handed the two copper coins.
Her eyes, the color of the sea at twilight, lit up with glee as she
tasted the ice cream.
“Make my wish,” she whispered.
But her hair did not turn blue. That is the sign
that you’ve eaten the lucky ice cream, your hair will turn blue
for three days.
The knight got back on his caravan.
“Knight, bye bye, see you next week, hope you
will sell many.” Chryseis said.
But the knight did not respond. Chryseis always
tried to see if there were emotions of any kind coming from them.
She had observed since she was seven that they didn’t smile. Their
faces were always the same. The serene look and an air of peace
never left them. She wondered, seeing the thinning figure of the
knight crossing another street, about how they live, why they
don’t have friends, or why they won’t talk to people.
Her father told her that she should not give her
name to any knight of Odin. There is a belief among the people that
they are soul stealers. The secret ingredient of the philosopher’s
sand is the soul. Chryseis asked her father—if nobody would give
his name, then lucky ice creams will run out. And how can that be
when no one even talks to them in the first place? Her father
brushed her comments aside and told her, “Just listen, okay? Never
give your name, if you don’t want to lose your soul.”
___
Chryseis and her friends went to the market for
some errands, on their return home, the sound of kitchen knives
could already be heard in every corner, the aroma of different
spices mixed with the air, paper lanterns lighted the streets. The
feast for the lunar eclipse would start the following day. Total
darkness would fill the place but the Gaeans were more than ready
for it. In fact, they waited for the darkness. This was the time
when their hand-crafted paper lanterns could be showcased. One could
see the shapes of unicorns and the heads of the different nymphs,
the fairies in the forest and different animals illuminate Gaea.
They would also use their fireworks to light the starless and
moonless sky.
“Chryseis, look at that!” her friend pointed
to a lantern shaped like a knight of Odin. “The color of his eyes
looks like yours”.
She noticed how the everlasting candle inside
the paper lantern illuminated the eyes of the knight. It looked as
if the eyes had fire inside them. Just like what her mother would
tell her, she had fire in her eyes. But her father would stress that
they were the color of the sea during twilight.
At the temple the people gathered, the songs and
poems composed by Odin were recited during the feast. He loved to
hear his poems and songs performed with lyre and violin. An elder
said that Odin writes songs and poems everyday and that he plans to
do it for eternity. The other gods were too busy for this feast;
they have the whole eternity to witness this event. Only Odin cares
that much about mortals, that is why, he is the favorite of his
mothers—the two moons.
Darkness soon fell on Gaea but the paper
lanterns dispelled the creeping melancholy. When the two moons and
stars disappeared, Chryseis felt hollow inside. She felt alone. No
matter how beautiful the lanterns were, something got lost when you
couldn’t look above for a light. Somehow, the light of the moons
and stars reassured her that somebody else was there outside Gaea,
that they were not alone. Even the songs and poems of Odin
couldn’t compensate for the loss of light. The dancing of the
maidens, the combined voices of people, the sound of lyre, violin
and flute, the songs and poetry, caused her head to ache.
She went outside the temple to breathe some air.
The night was cold. The wind sent a shiver down her spine and a
tingle on the tips of her ears and nose. A knight of Odin passed by
in front of the temple. She was surprised to see him. The knights of
Odin did not make the rounds when there was no sun. She knew that it
was futile to try to talk to them. Her head grew heavier
“Give me one,” she said as she searched the
copper coins her mother gave her after finishing her errands at the
market.
The knight gave her a strawberry flavored one.
The ice cream felt hot on her tongue and her head felt like
bursting. Before she knew it, people were already flocking about
her. Her hair turned blue. An Elder went to her and said,
“Child, you’ll have the chance to wish for
the Forbidden Longings, be very careful about your heart’s
desire.”
Chryseis eyes searched for the man in velvet
robe but he was not there anymore. Someone shouted from the crowd
“wish your mother a new life.” And another voice commented
“see the future and tell us what Gaea will look like.” There
were whispers everywhere. People began to touch her hair, as if, the
luck could be brushed off to them, some even hugged her, others
looked at her with envy. She did not know how to react. Her heart
was filled with swirling different emotions. When she caught sight
of her mother and father, she ran towards them and cried.
Suddenly, they heard Odin’s voice, singing his
song for his mothers. Everyone looked at the sky. The wait did not
last long, the sky burned with a thousand meteors, stars emitted
colorful smoke which formed a nebula. The two moons were parted by a
light coming from its center. Then the light enveloped the nebula,
forming a ball of fire. An explosion followed, the sound shook the
land of Gaea. Moon dust rained from the sky. It was not a god. There
was no blinding light that followed the explosion.
___
The Forbidden Longings: to wish to see the
future and a new life to someone already departed. You could wish
for any of these two, if you will get the lucky ice cream during the
lunar eclipse. But Chryseis only wanted new shoes. The night after
the lunar eclipse, everyone in Gaea talked about her.
To be continued
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