was how we live for the dead.
Four Days.
Hayden is back with us. We try to spend the day playing, we run
through the strets like rabid dogs tease and tangle with aliens we don’t
recognize and throw rocks in the woods and climb trees as high as we can.
We do everything we can but go near the red river. The day feels ‘blah’ bland
like it never happened. I go to bed and have nightmares again.
Three Days.
We mourn together at the river. No one tells us to go play. No one tells
us anything. Strangers pass us by in the streets and pay their respect with
prayers and flowers.
Two Days.
Every belong I have except for some clothing is now packed and loaded
at the dock. Aira spends the day with her mother. She knows this is the last
time she will see her little girl the way that she is. She spends her day trying
to make up for a lifetime of resentment. Hayden and I spend half our day at
the river and the other half walking, memorizing the smell and look of the
alleys and streets of Errikus.
One Day.
The streets are flooded with music and species of all shapes, sizes, and
color. My mother buys me an instrument called a guitar. It is an instrument
she says originated on Earth. It is as long as both my arms and has seven
pieces of metal wire running down from top to bottom (or rather from one
side to the other). When I first saw it I thought it was weapon but a Pok
named Flet showed me how to strum it and pluck the strings. It was far from
being a weapon. Flet told me how he learned to play from a group of humans
and how this instrument had changed his life for the better. I’m glad for all
the whispers of savagery and war we have still made a small difference to
some. The music it makes is beautiful. He tells me I’m a natural and even cuts
my mother and I a deal on the price (not that we needed the money,
everything on the Erebus would be shared or rationed). I thank him for
making me smile.
Day Zero.
I woke up screaming again. Another nightmare about the undertow.
Another nightmare about Dom. I spent the morning in a cold sweat wrapped
in my mother’s arms before she finally got up and brought me medicine and
something to eat. After breakfast she takes Aira and I to the memorial. We
never thought our last few hours on Errikus would be in mourning. The red
river had been dyed blue for the festival. The city founders had thought it
would be a neat trick to dye their river the color of the ones of Earth. There
in the deep I could still see the red. I could still imagine Dom’s body sinking
to the bottom. I could feel the pins and needles stabbing at my feet. Any
moment now I thought the jaws of a shark would come out of the water in a
wave that would pull me under wrapping its snake like body around me. I
was all in my head. It made me sick.
We finally made it to the docks. It took us several hours even by airship
to make it to our designated positions. The city square up to the landing rail
was filled with thousands of people. Everyone was counting down the
minutes until the Tritan would arrive. If I had to compare this event to
something on Earth I would call it the ‘Burning Man’ of the stars. I was
standing next to my mother. Across the heads of dozens of other men and
women stood Aira on top of someone’s shoulders.
5,4,3,2,1 . . .
Silence. Nothing happened. I looked at my mom for answers. I was
about to ask her the same question that had overtaken everyone’s mind.
Where was the Tritan? I didn’t ask. I didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t have
any answers. Like everyone else we stood there waiting. She looked at me
and grabbed my hand. She squeezed firmly. Hysteria slowly began. People
began talking and causing a small uproar. The founders of the city scratched
their heads. A group of Myra screamed and then we heard them smash a
window as they began trying to loot a store. They wanted chaos. Their boney
crowns and armor were no match for the Eek security. No one knew
Four Days.
Hayden is back with us. We try to spend the day playing, we run
through the strets like rabid dogs tease and tangle with aliens we don’t
recognize and throw rocks in the woods and climb trees as high as we can.
We do everything we can but go near the red river. The day feels ‘blah’ bland
like it never happened. I go to bed and have nightmares again.
Three Days.
We mourn together at the river. No one tells us to go play. No one tells
us anything. Strangers pass us by in the streets and pay their respect with
prayers and flowers.
Two Days.
Every belong I have except for some clothing is now packed and loaded
at the dock. Aira spends the day with her mother. She knows this is the last
time she will see her little girl the way that she is. She spends her day trying
to make up for a lifetime of resentment. Hayden and I spend half our day at
the river and the other half walking, memorizing the smell and look of the
alleys and streets of Errikus.
One Day.
The streets are flooded with music and species of all shapes, sizes, and
color. My mother buys me an instrument called a guitar. It is an instrument
she says originated on Earth. It is as long as both my arms and has seven
pieces of metal wire running down from top to bottom (or rather from one
side to the other). When I first saw it I thought it was weapon but a Pok
named Flet showed me how to strum it and pluck the strings. It was far from
being a weapon. Flet told me how he learned to play from a group of humans
and how this instrument had changed his life for the better. I’m glad for all
the whispers of savagery and war we have still made a small difference to
some. The music it makes is beautiful. He tells me I’m a natural and even cuts
my mother and I a deal on the price (not that we needed the money,
everything on the Erebus would be shared or rationed). I thank him for
making me smile.
Day Zero.
I woke up screaming again. Another nightmare about the undertow.
Another nightmare about Dom. I spent the morning in a cold sweat wrapped
in my mother’s arms before she finally got up and brought me medicine and
something to eat. After breakfast she takes Aira and I to the memorial. We
never thought our last few hours on Errikus would be in mourning. The red
river had been dyed blue for the festival. The city founders had thought it
would be a neat trick to dye their river the color of the ones of Earth. There
in the deep I could still see the red. I could still imagine Dom’s body sinking
to the bottom. I could feel the pins and needles stabbing at my feet. Any
moment now I thought the jaws of a shark would come out of the water in a
wave that would pull me under wrapping its snake like body around me. I
was all in my head. It made me sick.
We finally made it to the docks. It took us several hours even by airship
to make it to our designated positions. The city square up to the landing rail
was filled with thousands of people. Everyone was counting down the
minutes until the Tritan would arrive. If I had to compare this event to
something on Earth I would call it the ‘Burning Man’ of the stars. I was
standing next to my mother. Across the heads of dozens of other men and
women stood Aira on top of someone’s shoulders.
5,4,3,2,1 . . .
Silence. Nothing happened. I looked at my mom for answers. I was
about to ask her the same question that had overtaken everyone’s mind.
Where was the Tritan? I didn’t ask. I didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t have
any answers. Like everyone else we stood there waiting. She looked at me
and grabbed my hand. She squeezed firmly. Hysteria slowly began. People
began talking and causing a small uproar. The founders of the city scratched
their heads. A group of Myra screamed and then we heard them smash a
window as they began trying to loot a store. They wanted chaos. Their boney
crowns and armor were no match for the Eek security. No one knew
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