Diary of a crystalfly

Chapter 1. Staying with you

The golden light that trickled down was my cue to exist. Cupped by long, cold fingers, I saw blue, which glitter was undoubtedly the epitome of beauty, because I've never seen anything quite like it since.

I was born strong and young, as a crystalfly at its early adulthood. But the world was all too new, all too cold that I could not find the courage to brave it on my own. So I wrapped my six legs around the gloved finger and clung onto it with the very life it granted me.

His expression did not change, perhaps he did not understand my unwillingness to leave because I had no face. So he waved his hand up and down, trying to propel me into the air. I kept my wings standing straight up to resist the current, tightening my hold.

After what seemed like hours of rollercoasting, which accelerated speed definitely has shaved off years of my life, the shoving finally stopped. His face crumpled. I did not know the implication behind the expression then, but it made me nervous nonetheless.

Then, there was a deep huff of warmth released straight from the man's mouth. It was my first touch of heat, and I loved it. To chase the sensation, I used my wings for the first time, carefully drifting beneath his nose, where the warmth was exhaled. There were a couple more huffs, each one more uneven than the previous, and I hear his voice for the first time.

"Fine," he whispers, towering his body over my wings.

I was promptly doused with hot water, which felt nice at first, but left a scalding cold patch soon after. But his warm breaths kept flowing, so I put up with it. Besides, there was nothing much I could do whilst being caged between a watering face and a pair of arms several times my size.

.

Thankfully, the man released me after a few minutes, taking care to dry me with his coat thereafter. What a nice lad, I thought, too bad my straw-for-mouth was incapable of making any sort of noise, if not I would have surely made some to express my gratitude.

We journeyed north soon after, taking a break only once a day. It must be nice being big, the man walked fast and steady, while I, on several occasions, had to resort to plopping into his curly hair and let myself be carried along. His stamina was terrifying, only taking care to break once a day at exactly 10pm sharp. During then, he would cook a small meal for the both of us, which I must add, is incredibly delicious despite its humble presentation. After our meal, which he would spend gazing at either the fire or the stars, he would sift out a crumpled paper and reread its contents at least three times over, each time with a more sour expression than the last.

Since we were no longer within the cold depths of the ice mountain, I sincerely hoped he wouldn't go into another session of "hot rain" as I have named it, since the heat would definitely be too much for me to bear without the cold to neutralise.

The man would run his thumb over the first word in that letter - that was how I could tell he was rereading it again.

Albedo .

I knew of the word after weeks of staring at him reread the letter when he finally muttered it once. The syllables rang a bell. I've heard it in one of my dreams before, whenever I fall asleep on the man's face. A tall woman robed in white would call the man so, and Albedo would seem overjoyed at its very sound. I've only ever saw the woman's back, but her voice was soothingly soft, and very tender. It was no wonder that every time Albedo awoke from our shared dream, he carried such a grim expression over his face.

.

.

"You're getting fat."

It was the second time I've ever heard him speak to me. And whose fault is it exactly? Was what I would've said if my mouth's sole purpose was not for eating.

But looking up, I might have seen his eyes soften for just a moment, and I could not find another way to describe it other than ' It made me feel warm inside' .

Albedo huffed once, making haste to pack up all his belongings as he prepared to set off. He must have been in a terrible hurry, because to my surprise, he picked me up by my wings and plopped me over his head before pacing onward. He usually left me behind to frantically catch up, but perhaps he had gotten used to having a crystalfly as a hat.

.

I could see his destination from afar because of how it stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to the other places we've been. The floor was all stone - no dirt, no soil, no plants, big wooden boxes loomed over us and the noise - it was extremely happening in this congested town. The living beings bustling around looked just like my creator - except uglier, yet their mediocre appearances were brought to a shine by the most peculiar expression I've seen.

Albedo has only ever displayed two faces throughout my lifespan of a few weeks: blank, and blank with a tinge of bitterness. If a human's default expression is the sunshine plastered over every civilian in this city, then was Albedo the queer one after all?

However, even with grim, downcast eyes, Albedo still stood out because of his glowing beauty, and somehow, I was proud to be rolling atop the head of said glowing beauty. Though, Albedo was not as enthusiastic about himself as I was, because he pulled his hood over his head, so low that I wondered how he managed to see his way with thick cloth hanging over his eyes.

His hood was hindering my vision, and our new environment was much too curious for me to sit out on. So I crawled out of his hair, finally stretching my wings to fly alongside him. And Albedo was right, perhaps I have grown fat, because my wings were aching after a few flaps, forcing me to perch on his shoulder instead.

.

For the first hour, I marvelled at the city walls, stringed balloons and dancing children. But thereafter, it became painfully obvious that Albedo was lost, because this was the fifth time we've come across the same flight of stairs, past the same woman that smelled of roasted chicken. The woman had been waving at us cheerily for the past three cycles, but perhaps having noticed the enlarging cloud of despair over Albedo's head, her wave was replaced with a weird eye by the fourth cycle.

Albedo was fumbling with his map, sighing repeatedly under his breath. His face was carrying the second expression from my very bare encyclopedia of Albedo's faces: brows furrowed and lips pressed to a thin line. All that frustration and the guy still stubbornly refused to ask for help.

Finally, he puts down his map, and I can already tell from his face that he's just going to wing it and walk another round.

"Excuse me, I've been seeing you pace up and down for a while now, do you need any help with directions?"

It was the lady that smelled like roast chicken. She was a sweet brunette lady, and undoubtedly our saviour from navigating around this labyrinth - or my saviour at least, Albedo definitely did not seem to think the same. At her kind gesture, Albedo withdrew two steps away like a vampire to sunlight, but still considered her offer thoughtfully. Eventually, he murmurs softly in reply, but shoulders still tensed as a rock,

"Yes please, I'm looking for the Adventure Guild."

"Oh!" she broke into a light chuckle, "It's just behind you, down the stairs and to your right. See the lady in green by the counter?"

"Ah," A hue of pink dyed over Albedo as he quickly lowered his head to hide his embarrassment,

"Thank you, please take this as compensation."

Albedo unhooks a bag of coins from his pouch and pushes it into the woman's hands. And that was perhaps all the interaction he could bear, because I have never seen him retreat so hastily before, towards the direction that the woman had given him.

"Two hundred thousand mora?! Wait!!"

The woman's voice echoed from behind, drawing curious eyes over Albedo. But he was evidently unwilling to do as she demanded, because I only felt the wind blow more boldly over my wings as my ride sped up to a jog. 

***

Notes

I wanted to try writing in a first person POV, but had no confidence being a human being, so come be a crystalfly with me :') I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter! I'm trying to keep this lighthearted as means to de-stress from upcoming deadlines and exams ;; -;;