Reddit Theme Thursday
Media Prompt: Jim Oliver – Constellation
This was a refreshing prompt, made by one of the moderators in reddit/writingprompts, AliciaWrites. Music has always been a medium for inspiration but I'm a person of normalcy, in music especially. I don't actively explore or experience new music by myself, I just listen to the same old movie soundtracks or 90's music from when I was a teen.
It took a while for me to find the music-piece since I had some trouble with Youtube. I managed to find it in a playlist in Spotify with some google-fu and it was soooo my cup of tea.
Constellation was a beautiful piece of music that was both haunting and sweet. More importantly, it set my mind on full throttle and I had an idea of what to write a minute into the music.
And continue reading for my prompt!
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Distance
Distance
Hugo sighed as he relaxed in the embrace of his elder sister, if only the iron bars weren't in the way.
The cage was of average size, huge enough for his sister Adela to walk around without any discomfort but the brother couldn’t imagine how cold his sister felt during the nights. He could feel her shivers just through the hug and it’s to be expected since they didn’t give her any clothes for comfort. A naked female inside an iron cage, guarded by an armoured civilian in fear of what she could do.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this, she used her knowledge to help people. It was thanks to Adela that the wheat had increased in production, thanks to her that fewer people had died due to sickness. As long as she could help, people acknowledged her. But as soon as a difficult problem emerged, she had to take the burden. That was the reality.
As the winter lasted longer for each year that passed, so did the worries and fear of the village. The conclusion was that the village had angered the God of Season, they had tampered too much with the natural orders, demanding too much crop, saving too many lives. It was the witch’s fault. It wasn’t theirs. They had to apologize to the God of Season by sacrificing the witch, there was no other solution.
Adela argued and tried to convince the village about the long winters, that it was a natural occurrence, a regularity that happened. They just needed to endure. If there were long winters, surely long summers were also a possibility.
But the village didn’t listen, and the brother watched in despair as they stripped Adela of her clothes and pushed her into a makeshift cage of iron.
The guard was strict in the beginning when Hugo tried to sit beside his sister. The old man pushed the boy away, telling Hugo to leave. That Adela was cursed. But the boy didn’t leave, he grabbed hold of the guard's boot, begging the guard to let him be close to his sister, to give her a blanket for warmth, some bread to still her hunger and water to quench the thirst. He cried openly, even though it was shameful for a man to shed tears. He didn’t care for something trivial like pride, his sister was freezing and hungry. The boy’s desperate effort weakened the guard’s resolve and finally in a silent manner shoved the boy to the cage.
Adela’s eyes shined bright in the night as Hugo came closer. The brother presented gifts of a heavy blanket, a loaf of bread with butter and a skin of wine. They were now nestled together for warmth, the blanket around them but cold iron bars reminding them of the harsh situation.
“Hugo, it’s time for another lesson,” said Adela softly. “Look up at the sky, what do you see?”
The boy tilted his head upwards trying to focus on things that may have caught his sisters’ interest.
“Darkness. The moon,” said Hugo carefully. “I also see small lights.”
“Those lights are called stars,” explained Adela. “They are massive, much bigger than a mountain, bigger than anything you could imagine.”
“Why are they so small then?” asked Hugo.
“They are far away from us. You wouldn’t be able to walk to these stars during your lifetime. The distance would take a long time to travel. Imagine you riding on Blaze, the village’s fastest horse. Even if you rode from the moment you were born to the moment you died, you wouldn’t have reached half of the distance. “
“What if I could live for a hundred years?” asked Hugo. “Not even then?”
“Not even if you lived for a thousand years,” said Adela stroking her brother's hair.
Hugo didn’t say anything. He stared at the sky, at the small stars while trying to figure out what to say next since Adela loved questions.
“Mountains don’t light up, what makes these stars glimmer in the night?” asked Hugo at last.
Adela smiled a happy smile, proud that her brother showed interest in the unknown. She continued to play with his hair and explained carefully, the brother listened closely. Her voice always calm and encouraging, occasionally asking questions to see if her brother understood and rewarded him with a pat on the head whenever he answered correctly.
The lesson continued for a while until the guard once again appeared next to them.
“It is time,” said the guard with a stern voice but not making eye-contact with any of the siblings. “Go away Hugo, I don’t want to use force.”
“Please give me a bit more time Mr Brose,” asked Adela. “We are nearing the end of our lesson.”
The guard hesitated and Adela added. “Please, I just wish to say goodbye.”
The guard nodded and said, “I will let you say your farewells, you did save Danna after all.”
“And she grows up so fast and healthy,“ said Adela beaming with soft delight. “She’s turning three next month?”
The guard nodded and left the siblings alone.
“So Hugo,” said Adela turning her attention to Hugo. “Can you summarize today’s lesson?”
“Stars are beautiful lights, they shine and illuminate brightly across space, but even though we see their light, the star itself might have faded since time.”
“This is because of…”
“This is because of how everything needs time to reach a certain destination,” continued the brother. “We live far away from the stars so they will need a long time before the light reaches us. Like if a soldier runs away from a battle to ask the neighbouring country for aid but the battle might be over when the messenger finally arrives with the news.”
“Yes, the further a place is the more time it takes to travel, this is a rule for everything. Not only for places and lights, but also for goals, life and feelings,” said Adela. “Remember that it will take a long time for you to achieve your goals, the bigger the dreams the longer it takes. If you falter, remember how the light of stars don’t waver and keeps moving, even though their source might have long been gone.”
“But my goal is to be with you,” said her brother with a quivering voice as tears fell down his cheeks.
“And my goal to be with you,” said Adela kissing her brother on the cheek. “It’s the grandest of goals, so it will take the longest of time to fulfil. Live your life to the fullest, and when we meet again, it will be your turn to teach me about the world.”
Hugo couldn’t stop the tears, nor did he want to stop them. He gave a hug of a lifetime that ended in a moment. He kissed Adela on the forehead and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Fare well, sister.”
“Fare well, Hugo.”
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