Shattered Legacies: Book 1, Holo Change

💠Chapter 14: Festivities of foreshadow💠

While the Neon City was hosting many private celebrations, if any at all, Paradise Falls was showing off it's love for the earth deity to the fullest. By the first light of dawn the town was covered from roofs to walkways in decorations like streamers and ribbons of gold green and beige. Lights were strung across trees, around light posts, atop houses in waiting for the eventual nightfall. The walkways were colored and still being colored by children with chalk to create nice messages and pictures. Crude drawings of the various forms the deity took on. From a woman pregnant with the earth itself, to a woman with her parts covered by the leaves and flowers or nature she nurtured. Some better drawn than others, obvious. But all done in the same spirit. There were stands with white gold have green clothes selling sweets created with a heavy amount of fruit. Hardy veggie dishes to be sold around meal time. And possibly most importantly, the stands set up by the guild to hand out charms made by hand. Stationed near each archway or point of crossing, with three guild members on duty at a time. From guards to Weavers. They handed out charms from the trays they'd used year after year, separating them into more easily managed piles of glittering fake crystal bracelets hair pieces and necklace add ons. The town already lively with people running about and enjoying the crisp morning air, something that was only different from normal thanks to the buzz of joy one could sense from every which way. Kids running, asking for sweets, people receiving the representative charms, reveling in the faintly playing music that could be heard as bands got ready for the afternoon festivities in advance.
It was truly something.

It coated the twinge of guilt twisting in Alex's heart in a sense of bitter sweet joy as he walked through the town with his mom and grandpa on their way to the plaza. Trying his best not to let it show as his eyes glanced around at the world. How much was happening. How much was continuing on, even though a member of the community wasn't here right now. He'd be lying if he denied the salt he felt towards such a fact. But he sighed it away. After all they couldn't just stop life because someone went missing. If that was the case, nothing would ever happen ever. He had to at least try to enjoy himself here, for Nara's sake. "Alex?" His mother's voice pulled him from his thoughts once the breath left his lips, "Hm?" causing him to stop, as he'd noticed they'd stopped walking, and turn back around to look at them both. His mom with a raised eyebrow and his grandpa beside her holding his unneeded walking stick/sparring tool, both sporting a ceremonial charm on their shell neck pieces. Having gotten them when they entered the more small city portion of town from the beach district. While he had refused one from the stand, wanting to get one elsewhere. Her hair pulled up in a ponytail, and her sunny yellow top sporting embroidery of plants that matched her ankle long white skirt. Yet her father received a level of comments on his Hawaiian retirement look. Dressed up for the day, in a way.

"Did you hear what I said?" She asked with a hand on her hip, hints of correctiveness fluttering in the question, sending him a tingle of realization. He had not been listening. At all. He was too busy planning out what to do today in his head, and preparing himself further to try and enjoy the day for what it was, that he'd zoned out. Honestly he was lucky he didn't fall over or smack into something. "Uh..." Watching his face turn nervous realization, and hearing the way his voice wavered as he tried to think of something to say, made her sigh out. A breath of letting it go, and not at all being surprised. "I asked if you were going to be alright on your own for a little bit." Before she clarified and filled him in, "I wanted to go talk to Mrs, Constantine for a bit." she'd asked her for a chat last night over a phone call. Which wasn't exactly like her. No doubt it was her on the phone, but it was still odd. Normally, she would have either texted or emailed, and normally, she didn't reach out in general. They weren't best friends, they just had kids in the same circle and could get along. But whatever she wanted to talk about sounded important. And after everything she'd done for her, Serena wasn't gonna push her away. Alex perked up at hearing this, to her surprise. "Oh yeah. Go ahead." Finding no issue with it or objections. As if it wouldn't hinder him in the least. Because it wouldn't.