The Invisible Planet

Part 39: Gathering

It had been a little over three months since the shipwreck. The survivors were slowly adjusting to the village life, and most of them had grown accustomed to the strange appearance of the Guardians.

Angeline sat in on Dekita's weaving lessons, though the process bored her to bits. Even sewing by hand was less monotonous and mind numbing than spinning thread.

With scissors made of salvaged metal from the ship, she cut several lengths of cloth from the finished products and managed to stitch together a few skirts and dresses. As Shay warned, the weather was quickly growing hot — a humid and muggy heat, unlike the dry desert air of Kespan.

She still hadn't spoken to him. The longer she avoided him, the more daunting the idea seemed. Would he be upset with her for avoiding him? Would Aster be upset with her for not trying to get parts for his ship? It had snowballed to the point that just the thought of attending the village meeting made her anxious. She had even begun bathing in the village bath house to avoid the possibility of seeing him at the cove.

As the bell rang to sound the start of another meeting, she looked up from the off-white sleeveless shirt she was sewing together. Part of her wanted to go, just to get a glimpse of him. The fact that even that made her heart skip made her hesitate.

She readjusted her position on the bed and continuing stitching up the top seam on the front of the shirt. The cloth wasn't as soft as she would've liked, but it was light enough to breathe in the heat.

It took her most of the day to finish the seams, with a short break for lunch with Marita.

"Are you coming to the celebration tonight?" the woman asked.

"What celebration?" asked Angeline.

"It's Jessica's birthday. Niko and Skylan are watching the twins. The Guardians are bringing instruments and some sort of... fruit wine," Marita explained.

"Oh." The mention of the Guardians instantly dissuaded her from going. "Yeah, I might go, if I can finish my dress in time," she said, knowing full well that it would take much longer than one afternoon to even start on it.

She remained in her house, closing the last stitch on her shirt as the evening sunlight faded. It had a thin strap that ran through the top seam and over her shoulders, and ended a few inches above her bellybutton. She gathered the glowing yellow stones from her small table outside, where they had been gathering the afternoon sun, and placed them in the makeshift lantern so that she could keep working.

The village bell sounded again, marking the start of the celebration. Angeline sighed as she ignored it, laying out sections of cloth to create a layered skirt.

There was a knock on her door. She rolled her eyes as she set down the cloth. It was undoubtedly either Aster or Marita to make sure she was coming. With a sigh, she opened the door and froze.

"Why aren't you at the gathering?" Shay asked.

"I'm busy," she said, beginning to shut the door.

He blocked it with his arm. "With what?" he asked.

She scoffed as she let go of the door and gestured to her bed, where her partly-sewn shirt was strewn over the sheets.

"Sewing?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes," she said, crossing her arms. "It's hot, and I need things to—"

Before she could finish her sentence, he disappeared before her eyes.

"How's that?" he asked from behind her.

She gave a startled jump and turned to glare at him. Neatly placed on her bed were three shirts, a dress, a pair of shorts, and two skirts. "I didn't ask you to—"