The Availables

            “That badge you just saw is a milestone. Once you’ve had five Other Halves, meaning, five amorous annual relationships, you are given a badge. The more badges the better. Each year spent with an Other Half allows you to grow; each year spent without, you shrink. Simple as that.”

            They pass by a large, otherwise preoccupied couple blocking the road and Ronnie cringes as saliva rains down like an April shower.

            “What can you do for fun here?” she asks, eager to at least hear about something other than love.

            “Well,” says Medeus, “there are celebrations every two months.”

            Ronnie perks up but ducks to avoid the swinging of a hand as she and her tour guide scurry past yet another giant couple.

            “Valenfind, Valenpine, Valenmine, Valentwine, Valendine, and Valenwhine.”

            “Sorry, what?”

            Medeus repeats himself and elaborates as they travel under an archway hung with a ridiculous amount of mistletoe.

            “Valenfind is on the first of March. Amorians scour the entirety of the city for their Other Half, and if they can’t find him or her, they must wait until next year’s Valenfind.” He shudders violently enough for Ronnie to notice. “Of course, this rarely happens. Valenfind is the most important day of the year and everyone, I mean everyone makes sure to find someone.”

            Ronnie wrinkles her nose at the notion. Twenty-four hours to find the person of your desire? “What happens when you find your Other Half?”

            “Nothing.” Medeus smiles expectantly at her. “No advancements are made until Valenpine.” At her raised eyebrows, he continues. “It is celebrated on May first, a day dedicated to letting your O.H know you are ogling them.”

            “Your Oh,” Ronnie repeats under her breath. “And after that?”

            “Valenmine.” His eyes glimmer. “The day you discover whether someone else has an eye on your Oh and you fight to declare your love.” His mind is absent then, busy thinking of a memory, no doubt.

            Ronnie needs to give him a not-so-gentle push to avoid stepping on some small creature. It is only then that she really notices the vast number of them swirling around their legs.

            Curiosity getting the better of her, she plants a foot in the way of one of the sluggishly moving things and kneels to inspect it as Medeus continues to jabber on about the holidays.

            “…Valentwine, where you finally are allowed to be with your Oh. Then there’s Valendine, such a sweet holiday commemorating the joys of dates. And finally Valenwhine, when relationships come to a close in preparation for Valenfind again.”

            Ronnie barely hears him speaking. She is more interested in the shade of a man who barely reaches her ankles. Without thinking, she cups her hands around him and brings him up to her face.

            Despite being snatched out of the blue, he stares blankly at her. His skin is chalk white and his features look like they’ve been drawn with a dull pencil.

            “What, um, who is this?” She holds her hands out to Medeus.

            “Hmm?” He is busy admiring the legs of a passing girl. The top of his head barely reaches her waist.