Rising Shards

I told myself to not think about Ovie’s phone over and over in my head, but that didn’t really work. If Ovie knew Jeans, that opened up a lot of reasons explaining why she hated me. I just tried to think about my frequent daydreams of visiting Iho Vinai instead. I had read a production book about Tower of Hate and Love so many times I had the trolley ride memorized, and I could almost guess exactly when the long mossy tunnel between Sky Clay and the village ended.

“Do you think this is the same trolley Hanss Gerslin rode on when he came up with the show?” I asked.

“Most likely not,” Lillia Cadence said. “There was heavy maintenance on Sky Clay’s transit systems in AB-810, and I assume most of the trolleys were replaced.”

Lillia sat on the other side of us, writing in one of her notebooks like she usually did.

“Oh, hi Lillia,” I said. “I didn’t know you were a fan of the show.”

Lillia stared at me. Or glared at me. I couldn’t ever tell with her.

“I hope you will be on your best behavior,” Lillia said to Aira.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aira said.

The trolley came to a hissing stop, and Oka and I zipped off as quickly as we could. The village was just like the old pictures, and thankfully hadn’t been touched by all the corporate stuff Rising Shards had. The town square looked so welcoming, with a fountain in the center that had birds bathing in it, small shops that had friendly looking workers waiting outside to welcome people in, and an old-fashioned style that felt like home. Not really my home because I grew up in the big city, but still.

“Zeta, this is it!” Oka said, pointing to a stone gate.

“Yes! They must have looked at this for the show, it looks exactly the same!” I said. We started rattling off stuff that happened in the first season at the gates while the others left. Aira and Laenie rejoined us.

“What was that about with Lillia?” Oka asked.

“Lillia hates Aira,” Laenie said.

“How come?” Oka asked.

“Why do you think?” Laenie said.

“I don’t know if it’s hate really,” Aira said. “I mean, there was that presentation she did on Rising Shards’ history that I fell asleep during. Then woke up too fast and fell down towards the front of class. And that time I accidentally spilled my punch over her. And then I fell asleep again, and then punched her when I woke up.”

“What should we do first?” I asked.

“Well, I do need to get—” Laenie started.

“Whoa, look!” I said. “You can see the farm!”

In the rolling hills overlooking the small village, beautiful fields of radiant grass flowed. The farm the mastermind of my favorite show grew up at, and the inspiration for the early home of the Tadriff family whose cursed bloodline was the foundation of the series. It almost made me faint.

“Do you think we can go all the way out to it?” Oka asked.

“That would be very far out of bounds,” Lillia said. “As a representative of Rising Shards and the entirety of Cani, I would advise you follow the rules.”

I screamed, as Lillia was suddenly standing near us. She didn’t react to my yell, she just brushed her hair to the side with her hand like she was posing for a photoshoot.

“How long have you been there, Lillia?” I asked.

Lillia glared at me again before leaving.

“She’s scary,” Oka said.

“No kidding,” Aira said.

“There’s still so much to check out here, though!” I said. “AH! There’s the Auburn Café! Let’s go there first!”

Oka and I led the way to a small coffee shop with a fence around it.

“Zeta, do you think we could get that drink that makes you remember a happy memory clearly?” Oka asked.

“We better ask!” I said.

“I love the show too, of course…” Laenie said. “But I would really like to get to the flower store…”

“We’ll get there, don’t worry!” I said.

We ran into the café before remembering we didn’t have any money.

“We can’t get anything here without money, huh?” I said.

Oka snapped her fingers. “The fountain!”

Aira was more than happy to join us in hunting for coins in the fountain, while Laenie looked nervous as we took our shoes and socks off to step into the water.

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Laenie said.

“What are you girls doing there?” Someone with a deep voice from behind us said as soon as I took a step into the fountain.

We whirled to see two men looming over us in trench coats and fedora hats. They looked just like the detectives in Tower that found out that one of the first main characters was actually a serial killer. While I felt starstruck, the bigger man kept itching his nose, while the shorter man with a beard got his notepad ready.

“Are you…the Midnight Detectives?” I asked. “Because I’m a huge fan!”

“We’re huge fans!” Oka said.

“Pfft. No,” The bigger one said.

“But we are paid to look like them as a tourist attraction,” The shorter one said. “I’m detective Zak Cavalier, and this is detective Biggs. We’re part of the detective agency here in Iho Vinai, as well as in Sky Clay. And you’re standing in our fountain.”

“Oh!” Laenie said. “They’re very sorry about that!”

Laenie frantically gestured for us to get out, and we stepped back on the ground.

“Lookin’ for change,” Biggs said. “The same old story.”

“That’s right, Biggs,” Cavalier said. “Arrest ‘em.”

“What?!” I said.

“Just kidding,” Cavalier said. “But don’t get in the fountain again.”

“Sorry,” I said. “We just needed money.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cavalier said. “We’ve seen it all. Tell em, Biggs.”

“Tell ‘em what?” Biggs said. “I’m tired. My tootsies, Cavalier.”

“What about em, Biggs?” Cavalier said.

“They’re achin’.” Biggs said.

“Ahh, you’re always aching,” Cavalier said. “What’ll it be?”

Cavalier had his notepad ready.

“What do you mean what’ll it be?” I asked.

“What do you want to drink? We’re also the waiters here for every restaurant.” Cavalier said.

“We wanted to try that memory drink,” I said.

“Alright, four Lovely Sunshine Sparkling Teas,” Cavalier said. “It’s on us.”

“I don’t think I can drink those…” Laenie said quietly.

We sat down at the café and enjoyed our drinks. Or, Oka, Aira, and I did. Laenie didn’t touch her tea even though it was free. They didn’t really make me remember or think of anything. The detectives sat near us after we were mostly finished.

“So I put my cupcakes down, I got two of ‘em,” Biggs said. “And I set ‘em on the carseat next to me. While I'm driving downhill, how come they don't fall over?"

“What flavor were they?” Cavalier asked.

“One vanilla and one chocolate,” Biggs said.

“Mmm. Mhmm. Mhmm.” Cavalier said.

“And they weren’t even buckled in. How do you explain that?” Biggs asked.

“We should probably get going,” Laenie said. “We only have a bit of time left here.”

As Laenie stood up, I turned to the detectives.

“How do you keep up with being detectives and waiters?” I asked.

“It’s been busy lately,” Cavalier said. “It’s nice to have a light day like this.”

“Ever since that Feral Flu incident down at Sky Clay we’ve had to do real work,” Biggs said. “And I hate real work. Especially when it’s hot. It’s hot today, too. Every part of me is sticking to every other part of me.”

“Ew,” I said.

“Don’t pay Biggs no mind, he’s a bit of a fool and a lot of a simpleton,” Cavalier said. “Speaks whatever’s on his mind. So you four are from Rising Shards?”

“That’s right!” Aira said.

“Good school for you fang kids,” Cavalier said. “If you four ever need anything, let us know. We do a lot around here. Security, detective stuff, waiting, shopkeeping, if you got a dog we’ll walk it any day.”

“Cavalier is a dog walker,” Biggs said. “Loves the dogs.”

“Do you know where the flower shop is?” Laenie asked. “Or the library? Because—“

“Can we go up to the farm?” Oka asked.

“Ooh, yeah!” I said.

“Afraid not,” Cavalier said. “Farm tours only run on weekdays, and they cost a cool four hundo, and even pricier in this lovely Octrember weather. If you need anything Tower of Hate and Love related, we can direct you to the gift shop.”

Our eyes widened, and we were lucky Cavalier and Biggs understood the excited near-gibberish that came out of our mouths when we heard that.