MELITA
The echoes of their shanty remained, long after it had dissipated from their howls – sifting along sand, drifting in along currents, poised and aloft near the shrine. Her hands reached for the solidarity of its presence, in the familiar shape and thresholds where she’d placed many an offering, expecting to find toys and trinkets left from others. Maybe the tide had taken them. Maybe Ludo itself. But her smile remained, registered, entangled, brightened, refreshed, after songs, ridiculousness, and a weight lifting from her shoulders. They were capable. This would be fine. One last maneuver. One last motion. Then she could return, and there’d be something beyond the fixtures of beasts, shadows, and the longest of nights.Aurelia hummed nearby, and the girl took hold of the ropes left drifting along, Fangorn still perched on her shoulder. “We tie it to the shrine, and it can stay.” Until she arrived when the veil of winter lifted, and Flowerbirth breathed its contentment – when the gods and heralds all returned from the dusk and Stygian abyss. She offered one loop to the smuggler, and then went the opposite direction, casting the bone so it would stay firmly in the middle, but below the surface, tucked and safe along the threshold of the shrine. "Then we have a few more drinks on the beach!" Another announcement made and spun on mirth and merriment.
You're all gonna watch me
Disappear into the sun
Disappear into the sun
