Yesterday, 03:45 PM
Cali opened a single eye, then both, squinting in the winter light. A man stood a respectful distance away on the garden path, bundled against the cold. She recognised him from the soundbath, and was pleased to see he was still with the Sanctuary, though not terribly surprised either since it was the Luminar himself who had swept him under wing.
“That’s a very polite question to ask someone sitting in a flowerbed,” she said. Her accent softened the words, Irish rounded and gentle around the amusement. Cali tilted her head, studying him openly now, curiosity outweighing any embarrassment. There was no discomfort in her expression, only warmth – and a faint sheepishness, as though she’d been caught practising in front of a mirror.
“I almost had it,” she admitted, voice quieter now, like a secret shared. “That place where everything goes still. Where you stop wanting and just… open.” Her eyes flicked briefly to the snow-covered beds around them. “But I just keep thinking. Remembering. Planning. Hoping. It’s like trying to cup water in your hands.”
She laughed a little, shook it off with a shrug.
“You said interrupt,” she added lightly. “But you didn’t, really. I’d already fallen out of it. I’m Calliope, but most people call me Cali.”
“That’s a very polite question to ask someone sitting in a flowerbed,” she said. Her accent softened the words, Irish rounded and gentle around the amusement. Cali tilted her head, studying him openly now, curiosity outweighing any embarrassment. There was no discomfort in her expression, only warmth – and a faint sheepishness, as though she’d been caught practising in front of a mirror.
“I almost had it,” she admitted, voice quieter now, like a secret shared. “That place where everything goes still. Where you stop wanting and just… open.” Her eyes flicked briefly to the snow-covered beds around them. “But I just keep thinking. Remembering. Planning. Hoping. It’s like trying to cup water in your hands.”
She laughed a little, shook it off with a shrug.
“You said interrupt,” she added lightly. “But you didn’t, really. I’d already fallen out of it. I’m Calliope, but most people call me Cali.”