The sun rose early and Blinchik rose with it from her bed. The weather promised to be just perfect for shopping all around the Inkwell. Spring and Blin had planned it long time ago but Spring was always busy with work. And now the time had come.
Well, not yet. Blin actually woke up a bit too early for that. Spring was still sleeping even by the time the pancake was all ready to go. She had nothing to do. So, she was just watching outside the window. At least the postman should be here soon.
And he was. The postman was early as always but today even he failed to come earlier than Blin. She had been already waiting for him. They shared their daily smiles.
“I saw something interesting there today. I bet you, it will be really busy near and inside the swimsuits shops,” the postman commented, giving the mail to Blin.
“We’ll see about that. Thank you!” She replied, taking the mail.
And so, waving goodbye to the postman, she went home.
As the door was closed, Blin started looking through the mail, seeking for that something ‘interesting’. She did not need to look for long as two bright papers caught her eye.
Summer Beach Event? Oh, that was interesting.
[This event is brought to you by @bananasnbagels !]
The day came to an end but the party was still on. It was somewhat slower at night but nonetheless active.
Blin was watching the moonrise with her godmother by her side. It was beautiful. Of course the sun was pretty but the night time had something special in it. And this beauty was filling Blinchik with a lot of emotions.
She put her head onto Spring’s shoulder with a sigh. Spring gave her the soft look.
“I feel like I ain’t the one you want to be with right now,” Godmother whispered, putting her own head onto Blinchik’s.
Blin did not reply at first. She was just watching the stars reflecting in the water.
“It’s not true. You’re one of those people who I’d like to see it with,” Blinchik finally said and hugged Spring. Godmother hugged back, letting out her own sigh.
“It looks wonderful. Just like you, dear.”
“You’re the wonderful one here, Spring... thank you.”
As always, this even is brought to you by @bananasnbagels
This drabble is writing practice and a kind of relaxation for me. Feel free to read or ignore it.
Ft. @alittlebiggerberry ‘s Cherise. I write her here, using the mun’s permission.
Warning! A lot of words!
When the sun finally disappeared from the view and the sky looked more black and blue, Blinchik decided it was time for them to move. She was already good to go and all she needed was to wake up Cherise, so they could go stargazing together.
“Hey, Cherry... wake up!” She whispered to her friend as gently as she could.
“Nh... Is it morning?” Was the response of a sleepy bird.
“No-”
“Then let me sleep...”
“Come on, it’s the best night to see the stars! The moon’s not going to be a problem tonight, so we can see the stars just perfect! We’d have to wait for another month for the next new moon! And I really, really, really want to watch stars with you,” Blin explained, showing her stubborn side of character.
Cherise sighed and stood up, “...I’m no night bird, damn it...”
Blin giggled at such response and offered a hand for Cherise to hop on it. So, not without some grumble, the bird did. The pancake girl’s smile grew a little as did her mood and she made her way out of the house.
A way through the attic to the roof.
Soon two teenagers were on the top of the house. Not that it was much but it was something. The stars up above were something that was important in the moment.
And the stars were magnificent. Even the lights of the night city couldn’t hide their light, filled with wonders.
But for Blin these weren’t just stars. She saw memories. Happy and sad. Moreover, she could see herself in them. The one that she was now. And she felt like she saw future in them. Wishes for the light and promising future.
“Волшебно...” Blinchik quietly said in awe on her breath, as she felt chilly wind on her hair and skin. She received a strange look from her friend.
“What did you say?”
“Ah? Oh! I said it outloud? I meant that stars’re enchanting!” Blin translated, “Aren’t they?”
Cherise paused but soon found the answer, “These white things are interesting. That’s for sure. What are they anyway?”
“Smart people started saying that they’re made of gases,” Blin replied, receiving another weird look from Cherise, but then countinued, “I don’t disagree but... Thinking that stars’re made of wishes much more romantic.”
“You say one strange thing after another,” Cherise said. She was so confused right now.
Blin chuckled, “I know. But for me, everybody has its own star that works like safe. It keeps wishes of its owner. And when we see a shooting star, it’s somebody’s wish comes true. We should make a our own wish upon it, so the kind star would make our wish come true as well. My parents told me that.”
“That’s weird!” The bird beamed, trying to understand the way it all worked.
“Stranger than white things made out of gases?”
“... Maybe not. How can gases made constellations anyway?”
“Oh, you know any constellations?”
“Yes, a few. I don’t remember where I heard about them but who cares.”
“That’s awesome! Maybe next time we grab a book or something to know more about stars. As for now, I’d like to just listen to stars singing.”
“Stars don’t sing, Blin.”
“I’ll tell you about this later, Cherry...”
Needless to say, next morning was kind of lazy and hard for both of them. But they had a good time together. And Blin made one more wish to her star. A wish to watch the stars with Cherise again.
Blinchik was in the same position when her godmother and guardian Spring got back from work. She was more than surprised to find the pancake girl in such state. So, Spring hurried to understand what happened but she did not get the answer.
Poor girl could not even cry anymore. However, she was still shivering and she did not want to show her face. She was afraid to look at Spring. She thought that all these words of worry she was hearing and gentle touches she was feeling... She was afraid it would just disappear if she opened her eyes or if she said a word.
Spring let out a sigh. A tired smile showed on the woman’s face. Meanwhile, her eyes were full of pity and worry. She decided that Blinchik really needed a break. And some attention. And comfort. So, the guardian carefully took the pancake in her arms. Just like Blin carried any of her younger friends, she was now carried by her godmother. Maybe someone could call it a bridal style. All their way to the girl’s room Spring was telling something about their everyday routine.
It made Blin feel warm inside. She knew that everything was in the past now. She was not alone. That there was someone for her. All these anons were wrong all along. Maybe the part about friends still hurted but she was going to prove this wrong as well.
When Blinchik was placed on her bed, she finally looked up at Spring. The girl smiled brightly.
After the beach party was over and Blin had some time for herself to cry, she finally felt somewhat calm to ask Spring for advice. She needed someone to talk about that or she would never come up with anything.
So, here Blinchik was. With her head on Spring’s non-existent lap, while the said godmother was reading some new book she bought on her way back from the beach.
“...Spring. Am I pretty?” Blin asked with an unfocused look.
“Of course you are,” Spring replied, not looking away from the book.
“Is Cala Maria pretty?” The pancake received a strange look from her godmother.
“The gaint mermaid? Yes, she is.”
“Is she prettier than me?” Blin asked, looking right into Spring’s confused eyes.
“No. Neither you are. You both are pretty but in different ways... What is with those questions?”
Blinchik sat up and stared into the window on the opposite wall, “I don’t know-”
“-Is she smarter than me?” She chuckled sadly, “She’s older, she must be smarter.”
“Sweetie, first of all, ‘older’ doesn’t mean ‘smarter’. It means ‘ more experienced’,” Spring corrected. Blin did not know if she felt better. “Secondly, dear, is it why you were crying before and after we got home? Because of this fish lady? Or... was it that blue mug?”
Blin’s heart-marks on her cheeks lit up with blush and her posture straightened
when Spring mentioned Mugman. It was obvious, wasn’t it?
“You really love him.” It was not a question from Spring’s side. This woman knew the answer too well.
“Yes...” Blin replied anyway with already wet eyes. She hid her face in her hands.
Spring patted her foster child on the back, “You know she is not for him. And you know that you deserve to be happy with him.”
Blinchik was pulled into a hug when she repeated with a sniff, “Y-yes...”
“Spring... why am I like this? I fell again. I hurt myself with this fall again. But- I do have a chance now, right? I... I don’t know, I don’t want to let it go.”
“Because you are you. And if you don’t want to let go then fight.”
“Will you help me?”
“I will do my best but you will have to do everything with your heart and not my brain.”
Blin rarely had awful days. But today suddenly got terribly awful. She had a lot of things on her mind and it was too much for her that she could not keep her mood up. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to through her heart away because it hurt. It hurt so bad.
Cala Maria? It was not a bad choice but for Blin it was not the right one. She and Cala were like water and fire! Nothing alike! The mermaid was too old! But looked so mature. Was it what he saw in her? Was it something Blin needed? Blinchik had no idea.
Actually, she had no idea about anything right now. She was just... feeling. Feeling awful.
So, she just sat there near the water, leaving Cherise and Spring all by themselves. Blin was trying to calm down and start thinking. And to do so she picked up the nearest stick and started drawing with it on the sand.
After a short while, there were two faces in a childrish style. One was her and the other was Mugman. She smiled at it. But right after it was done, a sudden wave came and erased the sand picture.
It made Blin wonder the cause of the wave and when she looked up, she saw Cala Maria and a small figure near her. She could see it was Mugman.
Blinchik had to quickly stand up and walk away before she started crying about everything on her mind.
Now that Blin had someone to come with, she could focus on looking for something to wear.
Alas, she faced one big problem. Shops were empty in terms of any good swimsuits and full in terms of people who still wanted and needed to find something for themselves. So, she had to go home with nothing on her hands.
The thing was that she never actually needed a swimsuit. She could not swim and had never wanted to. But this beach party? Oh, she had some plans for it.
“Nothing?” Spring asked, fully knowing the answer.
“Nothing,” Was Blin’s disappointed reply.
“Good thing then that I bought you something yesterday, right?”
“Что?”[What?] Blinchik could not believe her ears, “Really?!”
“Yes, it’s in your room-” Spring explained but was cut short by Blin’s sudden hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She repeated over and over before running to her room with one last ‘thank you’.
It was late at night and everyone in the house were sleeping. Well, except for the pair of mother and her daughter, sitting in the kitchen. They were having a quiet moment.
Blinchik felt like these might be the last moments she saw Vlada. But she did not know what to say. What did people even say in this kind of situation? It was not every day that member of your family suddenly came back from being dead. Moreover, it felt like it was not suppose to happen. At all. And yet. Here she was. Right beside her, looking through the window.
Vlada was also a bit confused by the whole situation. For her there were no nine years. There were a moment. But even now the moment had not passed and that was why everything was foggy for her. She felt like she was not in a right time nor in a right place. Blin was not supposed to be that old and she herself was not supposed to be a ghost.
“Тебя скоро не станет.”[Soon you won’t be here.] Blin wishpered, catching the other’s attention, and made a pause. “Снова.” [Again.]
“Если бы у меня был выбор...”[If I had a choice...] Vlada sighed, glancing at the younger one. She was silently crying. Again. It surpised the ghost.
She came closer and wanted to pat Blin but her hand just went through. And now, that she looked at her hand with a bit anger boiling in her, she noticed that it became a little more transparent. Her time was up.
The girl also noticed both the gesture and the problem. Blinchik took a deep breath, held back tears for a moment and asked, with a weak smile “Передай привет папе, хорошо?” [Tell dad I said ‘hi’, alright?]
The ghost returned the smile and made a gesture as if kissing Blin’s forehead before replying, “Обязательно.” [Absolutely.]
And with that she disappeared. Blinchik could not hold the smile any longer anyway.
