Festival of Lights and Sound

I return to the halls, wandering in the dim light. If the pumpkins have a pattern I do not register it, but all the same I am at her door. I reach my hand up and prepare to knock. Just then I hear loudly echoing through the door and halls *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* I stand stunned, how would she know I was here now without a peephole, I wonder? Furthermore, who knocks on their own door!? Before I can even drop my hand she opens the door as she had done the night before, eyes blazing at the intrusion. She sees me and a portion of the fire drops from her eyes, skittering from her feet to the floor and shooting off to either side of me, snaking and crackling down the hall. I turn and watch the two trails leap forth and out of sight, traveling ground, wall, and even ceiling somehow, reminding me almost of wires carrying a charge. 

 

I turn back and realize my hand is still up, prepared to knock, and I notice she's realizing this as well, confused look on her face. I see her perk an ear, leaning ever so slightly over the threshold, and after a second she looks at me stunned. I lower my hand and consider this series of unusual events and her reaction, it takes me a few seconds to catch up before it hits me. To mark recognition I place my hand on the wall just off the threshold, now gazing up at the top of the doorframe, and speak of what I have seen, and of things to come.

 

"What is in a name?

Besides a word assigned flesh?

Concept given form?

 

Brick by brick we build

For this house contains a name

New and permanent

 

Hope springs eternal

The rest is temporary

Until the door knocks

 

Until the birds fly

Returning with olive branch

Returning no more

 

Fortresses aflame

Can fire fly like current?

Enduring blessed spark?

 

Hand in hand we walk

Hand to hand we have battled

Scars and voltage earned

 

The 13th chime rings

Thunder speaking for the sky

Breaking 12's cycle

 

With less more is said

Names forever on my lips

Heart aligned with head."

 

I look back down from the frame of the door, and the bright ember eyed little girl I saw last night stands before me once more. "I think I'll call you Hope." I say, extending my hand. She puts her hand to her chin as before, eyes to the hall in consideration. Then she looks up, smiles, and grabs my hand joyfully. We walk into the hall and down the burning red lit corridors, following the trails of flame to where our next adventure will begin.

 

We emerge in a light jungle, by a river mouth, facing toward the sea. Ahead of us is a beach with several people, gazing out at lights floating on the water away from shore. "It seems the festival has already begun!" I try to place the cues for location and season, but the details elude me. "Ah nerts! I don't know this one, but fortunately..." I pull out my phone and confirm I have bars. "We have the internet here!" She watches me with wonder as I mess with my phone a bit, plotting location, date, and event. "Ah, here it is! We're in Thailand, at the Loi Krathong festival." I read a little bit further along the page and then turn off my phone, once more admiring the view with my companion. "The lights are pretty, right?" I can see her nod out of the corner of my eye, still engrossed with what lay before her. "Now with any luck we are near Chiang Mai..." I turn my head back and up, dropping her hand and turning around. She looks at me and then follows suit, quickly grabbing my hand again after we've turned. Just above the scattered canopy in this direction the sky is littered with lanterns floating upward. Even I am overwhelmed by the spectacle, and I can sense she is the same even without glancing over. We marvel at the parade of what might be tiny sky ships, sailing off on adventures of their own, for a time.

 

Suddenly I notice a glint to my side, where the canopy is most thick. Curiosity gets the best of me and I give her hand a squeeze as I make my way for it and she hurries to stay alongside. We push through a few branches and then emerge on the side of a lake. I turn back, a bit befuddled, seeing now only a curtain of beads of some kind of carnival attraction that seems to have been set up for this night. I shrug, stranger things have happened in my travels, and I turn my attention back to the lake. Now there seem to be hundreds of people by the lakeshore, all marveling at as many or more lanterns floating on the water. Something seems strange, as I look at the stars. I am a far cry from an astronomer, but they look significantly different than before. I pull out my phone once more and check our spacetime coordinates again. "Oh! It seems that on this adventure it is time which has lost track of us! Space as well." I chuckle at my own nerdy joke. "It seems we are in my hometown, not a mile from my place. It's funny how the same customs can span so far and wide." She seems to register what I've said, though her primary focus is still on the lights. I grow curious now at this out of the blue scene shift, and when the timing seems right I pull on her hand once more, back toward the beaded door.

 

We emerge from the door into an alley just off of a bustling street. I can see Hope's eyes grow wide at all the people moving so quickly, at such close proximity. She squeezes my hand and freezes in her tracks, eyes locked on the crowd. "We don't have to stay, but I wonder why we're here..." Pulling my phone out again I quickly plot or location, noting once more the difference in date. "Ah, this one must be the Pingxi Lantern Festival! Oh, this one shares some similarity with Tanabata, where you can write down a wish. Here though you write it and put it in the lantern and release it into the sky." Knowing the drill by now I look up, and point her focus up along with mine to countless floating lights. "Look! Each of those contains someone's wish, what they hope is to come." She pulls her attention away from the crowd and I can sense she is once more dazzled, perhaps overwhelmed, by the grand display. On instinct I shoot a glance to a darkened corner and see a box. Leaving her for just a moment I step over to examine it, and sure enough it is just what we needed. "You can write down a wish as well, if you'd like." I say, now pulling the lantern, pen, and other supplies from the very conveniently placed box. I hand her the pen and paper, as she now stares at me mouth agape. "Remember, in these places we have some control over what happens, even if we are not entirely aware as to how." She takes the items from me and looks back at me with a request in her eyes. I catch her drift, it is privacy she seeks; I stand, walking to the edge of the alley to take a look at the crowd. There is a sense of joy here, drowning out the constant hum of stress on this night. I realize as I stand with my hands in my pockets that they all pass by with hardly a notice of me. I consider that this may be the general nature of a stranger in a crowd, but I can't help but feel a certain electricity as I consider the notion that I may just as well be invisible to all these passerbys. I turn back and Hope is just behind me now, both arms extended with the lantern in hand. I see no sign of the pen or note, I smile and take the lantern from her, pulling the lighter from my pocket. With a few clicks and sparks it is lit and starts its journey into the night sky. We both watch it until it merges with the rest and we can pinpoint it no more. "There, now we are a part of this festival of lights!" Before the sense of the crowd can intrude upon her enjoyment once more, I look for our exit, spotting once again an unusual door. I take us through and just like that we emerge into a highrise penthouse of some sort. 

 

I look around somewhat nervously, concerned we may be inadvertently intruding in someone's home. My eyes are drawn however to a single sticky note, like a herring hung red on the otherwise pristine refrigerator door. Before anything else, I walk over for a quick read. "Hope you enjoy the view ;)" I smirk, but in gratitude, return to my companion, and lead us to the balcony. Down below is a sea of lights spanning the city and Hope runs to the edge and presses her face to the balcony bars to soak it all in. I pull out my phone, for the first time in these adventures thinking to call my soulmate, wondering where in the world she might be tonight. Instead, I continue the process of geolocation that has become so accustomed tonight, remaining solely focused on showing Hope around. "Diwali!" She turns my way with a questioning look. "It's a tradition in India, apparently multiple faiths observe it for different reasons, but in similar ways at much the same time. Oh, and it says here there might be fireworks!" Her mouth forms a little :o although I cannot tell if it is because she is familiar with fireworks or is following my lead. I drop to a knee "climb onto my back." which she does dutifully, and I prop her up onto my shoulders to see over the bars, though a cautious couple of steps back from the edge now. Seemingly right on cue, fireworks erupt below. She jumps just a little at the first *boom*, perfectly reasonable I reason and then, without need for explanation, she enjoys the show. I am pleasantly surprised at the frequency of the display; given my unfamiliarity it is hard to tell if this is out of place on account of the way in which we arrived or a difference in custom, but it is as if they have begun with the finale. Sparkles and booms light up the sky, and we watch, without thought of flagging, right through to the end. As the fireworks fade I can sense my companion is starting to as well, though there is one more thing I want her to see. I let her down and we walk back inside, and I wonder how strong my control remains of this place like a dream. I focus on where I'd like us to go, and once in the penthouse I spot a door with a lei hung like a wreath; my confidence surges. I remove the lei from the door and place it around Hope's neck "It's a Hawaiian tradition!" She admires the pink flowers and seems pleased, so I grab her hand once more "close your eyes." She does, and we walk through the door. 

 

I am glad my instincts held true, the other side is pitch black, but Hope is none the wiser. I trust the path to be straight and clear though, and we journey headlong into the darkness. Several steps like this we proceed, until I feel the crunch of branches under my feet. I look down to confirm, though in pale moonlight it is hard to say for certain. I look back ahead "You can open them now." Once more we are on the forested shore of a quiet beach. "Welcome to Hawaii! This beach must be more private than most, a perfect way to end the night." We take a seat on a patch of grass and look out through the trees at the glassy calm ocean, with several more lanterns arranged atop. "How many lights do you see?" Hope scans our little beach and counts. "Nine three times!" I take a look out to confirm. "Sure enough, 27, well done!" I look out at the lights floating off into the distance and ponder the intertwined nature of this place and hers, albeit still somewhat uneven; her influence has been subtle, but perceptible if you observe closely enough. My eyes refocus and I nudge her "did you notice the pretty lights behind those though?" I can see her squint and stare over the horizon, into the dark depths of space; I wait patiently as her eyes adjust, myself still admiring the stars. She finally remarks "Oh yeah!" tugging at my sleeve excitedly. "Those are called stars. I hope to travel out there one day and see them up close, maybe we can see some together. We have a star here too actually, I hope to show you that soon as well, if you haven't seen it already." She puts her head on my shoulder, a single chime is heard from somewhere, elegantly counterpointing the lights that have shined for us all night. The sound fades but in memory it echoes; in this silence I stare out at the starry horizon and speak.

 

"The glass is blown gears locked, hands set to pace

With great strain this is made temporary

Hands on a single sword flashing in place

Agree to disagree part and bury

 

The bells can be heard as if keeping time

A shared illusion reminds us of home

We embed hopes and fears into our rhyme

That sifting sands might explain why we roam

 

For what use is time's' contrivance but chains

When who we want to spend it with is gone?

The last and first tick are all that remains

The drain circled until we can see dawn

 

Set the sundial as the fifth reason

For one to remove it, highest treason."

 

The beach scene starts to fade; smoothly we transition to me carrying Hope back to her room. I wake her and set her down once more. Rubbing sleep from her eyes she gives me a hug and then pulls a flower from her lei, handing it to me. "Thank you! I'll come back again tomorrow." She smiles brightly before a pleasant exhaustion overtakes her once again. She opens her door and closes it securely behind. 

 

I make my way back to where I stay, whistling a tune. Along the halls, here and there, as if by water or air, paper lanterns bob alight, at just around waist height. Between stretches of dim these lanterns light my way; a gift, I wonder, or simply signs of joy, a cup overflowed?