Influences of Stars

Chapter 19

The dawn wakes Tibby up as it always does and she rises early so that she can be alone for a while. In the autumn morning, when the sky is barely bright, there is not a breath of sound and she can imagine that she lives alone. She takes her time in moving, watching the dust swirl in the cold sun rays and easing her hand into this gleam.

Halfway through this dream, she realises she forgot to fetch the water last night. With joy, she takes the pail into her hand and leaps into the morning, lightened by this excuse to venture outside.

There's something so delicate about the morning. Her breath leaves her mouth in wispy puffs, easing into the world of dew sodden leaves lying on the ground, twisting in the cold air and unfurling as they fall into the creek. The trees are half emptied and the birds are either lost in song or prepared to disappear very soon. Everything is in a state of halfway, lingering between the summer just gone and the winter soon to come.

Tibby moves as fast as she can to warm herself up, but her mind is soon so filled with glee at the gleaming dawn that it can hardly acknowledge anything else. She cannot move once she reaches the meadow, for it opens up bed view. The sun is creeping above the earth, turning the grass golden and replacing the lost colours of the now dead summer buds with its sheen.

The pail drops from her hand as nature beckons it into its fold. She goes willingly.

***

Gideon dresses himself before leaving the bedroom as usual. He doesn't look out of the shutters or lie down for a while in his own imagination. He simply sits up and moves into the day.

He is surprised by the silence which greets him when he steps into the kitchen. Normally by that time it is made alive by Tibby's presence, yet that morning it is animated only by the sunlight. Has she overslept? Not wanting to intrude on her, he decides to leave her to her sleep and start the day by himself, even if he had hoped to share the news of his position with her. He returned rather late last night and she had already retired.

It is unlike her to sleep for so long. He keeps on looking over at the door as he prepares breakfast, ready to see it swinging open and for her to come bounding out. It is only when he goes to boil the water that isn't there that he realises she mayn't be asleep. He looks out the back and sees that the pail has gone. She must have left to fetch some more water.

He waits for her return for a while longer, but the room becomes brighter and brighter and still she does not come back. Lord! How long does it take to fill the pail? How many times has she made that journey? It is quite impossible that she is lost!

Does she forget that he has responsibilities and that it is these responsibilities which provide for them both? His work demands strict punctuality and full attention; he cannot simply disappear into his imagination and fly back to his tasks whenever he so please!

Once his patience has fully exhausted itself, he stands up from the table in a huff and decides to go after Tibby to see where on earth she has gotten to. He follows the same steps she traced only an hour before, though he does not float in feathery wonder at the liminal spectacle which greets him. His black garments against the woods stand out like ugly thorns amongst roses.

He continues to storm through the trail, expecting to find her wandering about some tree by the well. However, he is brought to an abrupt stop when he reaches the crossing over the meadow, for on the edge is the abandoned pail, lying towards the direction of Tibby who sits in the middle of this scene. How has she not even made it to the well yet? Did she forget her task halfway through? Her flightiness continues to stagger him!

Steeped with irritation, he picks up the pail and moves to march towards her. As he does, he steps closer to her and is brought in alignment with the sun; it trails just before her. Once more, he is struck where he stands. He can go no further.