A Place of Promise

July heat in Altair lowers in the late evening when the sunsets just beyond the mountains. Around this time the hustle tends to slip to nothing as Altair’s market district merchants begin to pack up. Today, however, is different. Lights illuminate the main square of Altair, and the merchants seem to be even more energetic than usual when tending to their customers. Many people were dressed in traditional robes, with gold lining, and silver jewelry, while others wore dresses and suits.

I make my way away from the crowd of people, approaching a small shop; a five minute walk from the market district. The bell hanging upon the produce store jingles as it opens. A tall figure walks from the back carrying crates, paying no mind to me.

“We’re closed.” A gruff sound escapes his lips as he puts the crates down, and looks up from his work. “Oh! Althea, hey! I thought you went to go play.” My older brother smiles playfully, kicking the crate forward as he spoke.

I shrug my shoulders in an attempt to show indifference. “Galen, you know how Mother and Father are about this year’s festival. They don’t want any of their kids disappearing on Amyths.”

Galen’s eyes narrow, “Exactly how old are you sweet sister? Twelve? Did you nearly forget you had a twentieth birthday only months before today, did you happen to hit your head again?”

I rubbed my arm gently, beginning to get nervous at his scowl. I did not respond, just stood there. He went back to picking up the box of produce to place it in the back of the truck parked in front of the shop. The store had been cleaned and prepped for tomorrow’s newest produce coming from home. They left Galen and me in charge of the business while they remained at home to care for the other two younger children, as well as cultivating the crops. I never quite enjoyed it, but I didn’t have an approaching date of marriage as Galen did coming in next spring.

Galen came back into the shop, dusting his pants as he walked. “Are you going tonight with Naavah?” I nervously ran my fingers through the knots in my black hair.

Galen raised an eyebrow, “You’ve been like that since you were a kid, you know?”

“Like what?” I asked as Galen approached me, and patted my head gently.

“Nervous. Like someone’s out to get you. I’m your brother Althea; I’m not going to harm you. You know I worry about you, but you’re old enough to make your own decisions. Now I can take the food back on my own and I’ll let our parents know you decided to go to the festival. You won’t be there to hear their nagging, and I’ll be at the festival with Naavah, so I’ll take you home at the end of it. Okay?” Naavah was my brother’s bride to be. We all used to be fairly close, as Naavah’s father was a consistent visitor to our shop in my younger years. Our Father had opened shop after I had my accident. My mother convinced him to quit his job in the market district so he would stop being tempted to bring home all types of stories with him.

“I understand. At the very least, please try to calm them down. I’d hate for you to leave them there having anxiety attacks.” I smiled wryly at my brother’s face. His brown eyes reflecting mine as they wrinkled in the corners.

He nodded his head in agreement, “Don’t worry. I will do my job appropriately!” There was a sudden moment when my heart squeezed tight, and my stomach fluttered; a notion of excitement arising in me. I gave a grateful goodbye to Galen, and I bounded off into the streets.

This year’s Amyths festival was extremely crowded with lined market stalls nose to nose, close enough where merchants were standing merely inches away from one another. I could hear the hum of chattering, and the smell of burning wood in the center of it all. Perhaps everyone that was now aware of the twenty year myth wanted to test its parameters.

The disappearances ranged from male to female of all races and sizes. The only supposed criteria that matched any of the missing persons were their age; always at their prime of early to mid-twenties. But in all actuality, believing in those silly myths hardly contributed to what the celebration was about. Amyths was a day to celebrate the woman deity who was separated by her mother upon marrying a human shepherd. It is only on Amyths that they are able to reunite by a bridge formed across our sky, as our Milky Way galaxy typically separates them.

The origin of this legend came many years before I had been born, and far past my parents, and grandparents. The large city known as Altair was once governed by a woman known as Yuki Nakamura. She was a descent of a large land across the Eastern Sea. Many people of different origins came to Altair, which was said to be a blessing across the vast unfertile lands surrounding it. Now, there is a reminder of past mistakes scattered across those growing lands that are being cultivated to live. Altair is one of those few lands that have grown significantly since its nurturing period.

Even so, Altair has its own reminder. In the corner of the land, where the ocean meets us, a fallen metal scrap lays between the ocean and sand, filled with small carriages attached to its rusted hinges. The scrap used to be used as a way of entertainment that carried people around in slow rotations, where it is said that at the top most peak of this machine, you could see the highest point of the Earth. Many visit the place as a memorial, but others use it to launch themselves in the ocean for the excitement of the fall.

I wound my way throughout the stalls in the market, and could hear heavy steps following behind me. For an instant I tensed at the sound, preparing myself for an impact of another body, but a hand gently rested on my shoulder.

“I didn’t think you would come out tonight!”

A girl giggled behind me, and I excitedly turned around to see a bright, green-eyed girl standing behind me with a large prudent smile on her face. “I was just looking for you, Valda.” I smiled and gave her a hug. “How’s your parent’s shop this summer? I haven’t seen you since you started there.”

Valda stuck her tongue as she mimicked tying a noose around her neck. “It’s awful Thea! You have no idea just how many times I’ve had to run after little scoundrels from stealing clocks from us. Can you imagine? A stupid old clock! What can a seven year-old do with one of those?”

“Target practice?” I giggled. She huffed slightly and took my arm, and walked down the street. The sounds of our dresses ruffled against one another’s as the pebbles beneath our boots crunched. “Say, where do you think people disappear to on Amyths? There’s not another prefecture for at least hundreds of miles…”

Valda shrugged her shoulders, her tan skin glowing beautifully in the firelight. “I wouldn’t know.”

I gave her a sideward glance seeing if the reminder spooked her, but she seemed preoccupied looking at the pork dishes being made by a man to our left. “Maybe they were murdered…” Something throbbed at the back of my head. Almost like a tip-of-the-tongue urge, but I could not seem to find the right words to give a profound meaning.

“Shhh…” Valda whispered. “It’s not real. We’re adults now, hardly time to be thinking about trivial matters. Besides, we should be thinking about who will be with us for the next fifty years!”

“How can you say it’s trivial?” I cried. “People are missing!”

Valda aggressively flicked me on the forehead, leaving a red mark in its wake. “Thea, why do you always have to ruin the fun? We should be celebrating the deity and her love reuniting! Not talking about missing person’s cases. Besides, it’s not like they found a body…” She huffed and let go of my arm. She made her way up to one of the stands making pork skewers. “Can I have two please?” I heard her ask the merchant. I stood there looking around me, and then looked up at the sky. The sun had fully gone down, and the moon was shining with a red hue at its edges.

“Here, take one.” Valda handed me one of the skewers she just bought, and started walking ahead of me. “How about we go to the memorial? There’s going to be a lot of people we know heading up there. Let’s get a good spot, to stargaze!”

I chewed delicately at the skewer thinking for a moment. “I guess.”

Valda rolled her eyes in my direction, “What a bore, I thought you have been dying to go!”

“I did—I mean I still do!” I shrugged my shoulders pathetically, “I…I just don’t know. Something feels funny today.”

“Well stop thinking about missing people! I’m sure that’s not helping.” I sighed and caught up to her, while heading in the direction of the memorial. The highest point could be seen from the main market plaza, and there stood a silhouette of a person falling from the top; their bodies contorting in the air, before disappearing from my sight.