Celestial

one-der

P r o l o g u e  •  what came before

The festival was loud with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos making a ruckus, coupled with the delighted shrieks and laughter from the individuals in attendance. It was bright, colorful and most of all, magical. A young girl's pair of eyes greedily absorbed all of the wondrous events unfolding before her while her new bright red bow remained perfectly perched on top of her creamy brown tresses. All sorts of entertainment was available; an elephant riding a bicycle on a tight rope, a young boy suspended in the air with nothing but a spider's web and flowers blooming from every nook and cranny of the city blocks.

It was all truly a sight to behold. This was the famous Yekachi festival held every year in the city of Effluent. Every species and creature could be found roaming the streets for a month before and after the celebration. Stalls that sell all sorts of wares are set up on the sidewalks or even in the middle of the street. It is a festival of unrestrained joy for everyone. For one week, anything that would not go against the Customs is allowed.

The young girl clutched her mother's coat tightly, in fear of being lost. Unfortunately, her brilliant brown eyes wandered onto a pair of the most gorgeous shoes she's ever seen. She looks up to her mother who was busy bartering with a patieons seller and decided that it was going to take a while before they settled on a price. The stall with those stunning shoes was just 25 steps away. She stops and stares at them, completely enthralled by the subtle yet elegant design.

The girl's mother tucks her purse into her satchel and reaches for her daughters hand. She's slowly filled with panic when she realizes that her youngest was nowhere in sight. But before she worried too much, her logical mind creates a barrier over her motherly heart. Rations have been hard to come by these past few months and harder for a family of 5. She bangs her fist on her chest 3 times, and blinks away tears of guilt and sorrow. She catches a glance of her daughter's red bow and almost loses her resolve. Another tide of the crowd makes her lose sight of it completely and she turns away from her lost child.

The young girl was standing long enough in front of the stall for the keeper to notice. She looks at her from head to toe and estimates that this was not a thief but rather just another commonfolk's daughter that was passing by. She smiles kindly at the child but she spooked the poor little thing instead and ran off. Oh well, it was not like the child could have bought anything without her parents close by. Wait, where were her parents?

The young girl felt someone looking at her and looked up from the shoes, it was the keeper. Instantly frightened she runs away without noticing the kindly smile on the lady's face. She runs past people, creatures, zenekī, demorvians, bïans and practically every race found on their planet and beyond. When she finally stops to rest, she realizes just how far she must have run from her mother. She retraces her steps and hoped that she would be saved from the wrath she knew erupted when her mother noticed she was gone.

They lived 50 miles from the capital and had to ride 2 TPs ( transportation pods ) home. Her mother must be furious but she would risk her mother's wrath than be left wandering the city alone. It didn't help that her dress was starting to itch and she could already imagine taking a bath in their modest but comfortable abode. She ran around and passed the vendor her mother was bartering with but no mother. She went to possible shops her mothet could have bought from but there was no trace of her.

After wandering for several hours, the sky already was turning bright purple, signaling the nearing end of the day. The festival would keep on going of course, Fasqe forbid it stops. Stalls and attractions never close until the end of the week alloted for the festival. The young girl is found sitting on the pavement behind in a dark alley, rosy pink cheeks damp with tears. Despite her horrid situation, she manages to look up to the sky and watches as the sky erupts into gold and silver. Her bright eyes suck in every little detail and commit the picturesque sight to memory. 

By this time, the little girl must have guessed what had happened. She knew they were never financially stable but it still hurt to know that her mother left her there without even a whisper of goodbye. Other children would have relentlessly pursued their family in blissful ignorance of what was done to them but not this girl, sadly, she was often too clever to fain ignorance.

A sigh with such sorrow and defeat blew out of the little girl, so out of place for someone so young. She hugs her knees to her chest and tried to think of what to do next. The clothes on her back was all that she had, and maybe a few lollipops she picked up from the streets. She sighs yet again, a habit she seemed to have developed quickly after accepting that she was left on the streets by her mother to have one less mouth to feed.

After realising she might never have a roof over head for at least several weeks, she was ready to heave another sigh when she hears an annoyed growl. She gets up and pushes her back against the  wall of the building she's been leaning on for the past few hours. Getting ready to run, she almost fell back in relief when a gray cat with bright green eyes emerged from an abandoned box. Well, at least until the cat started talking.

"Why in Fasqe's name do you keep sighing? Lost your parents or some shit?" The cat spoke in a very annoyed yet calming voice.

" I - I didn't lose them. They left me here."

"Huh, seems irresponsible not picking you up when it's nearly midnight, eh?

The girl's eyes widened when she realized just how late it was and the seriousness of her situation splashed onto her like ice cold water. Her elder brothers must be sleeping soundly beside her parents by now. She crumples back onto the pavement, still with shock and a sadness that left her chest feeling hollow. The cat jumped out of the box and stares at the lost child.

"Hmm, too scrawny.... food."

Then walks away from the alley, leaving the little girl all alone. The runway of tears down her cheeks start running again. Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears of sorrow and pain. The cat was a reminder of what her mother did to her and her wound was too fresh to have salt rubbed on it already.

She hugged her knees closer as the night began to rob away her warmth. It was a villanous presence, wrapping her in cold and frigid air. Her teeth started to clatter with nothing between her small body and the freezing night but her thin sundress.

Just about ready to give into the bone chilling wind, she heard a pitter patter of tiny footsteps. She looks up and sees the cat carrying a plastic bag in its mouth. It came closer and dropped it infront of her.

"Here kid, have some grub. You look thin as fuck, don't your parents give you rations? You look more bone than meat. How unappealing."

"Thank you very much, Mr...."

"Name's Belzebub, kid. Looks like you'll be staying with me awhile, eh? What about you, young one?"

"My name's, Celeste."