Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under this year’s theme, Lost.
Belle Vue’s town centre was alive with Wintertide spirit. Shop windows were draped in seasonal colours of red, gold, and white. Vibrant pennant banners tied from lamppost to lamppost fluttered in distress against another gust of ice-cold wind. Lowborns and Highborns huddled together near the roasted nut and sweet bread stalls, either seeking the nearest available heat source; or falling prey to the sweet, cinnamon aroma erupting from large pans like smoke signals.
Children blurred by in excitement, pushing past adults to reach the herd of gatherers further down the bronze cobbled street to gawk at the parade floats in honour of Poseidon. Anxious parents called out their children’s names in admonishing tones to prevent them from straying out of sight.
Haloa was just one of the seasonal festivals that served as the perfect opportunity for a rise in criminal activity. Distractions in every store window, low priced goods, arrogances and pressures to spend more than people could afford flooded both General and Grandeur Gateway districts like a merciless wave. Riding those waves were thieves and conmen, slicing through the masses like starving sharks.
Naturally, any parent would be worried about losing their child in the mob of consumers, which was exactly the case Viera found herself investigating at present. Krystala, General Gateway’s most talented seamstress, had grabbed Viera’s arm, wide-eyed with puffs of white smoke bursting out her mouth as she pleaded for help to find her missing son, Cory.
Viera managed to pull crucial details between her panicked breaths. What he was wearing, the last conversation between mother and son and where he was last seen. Only until she was able to form a picture in her mind did Viera leave Krystala in the reassuring hands of her patrol partner, Officer Dumont.
Viera had distanced herself from the crowd by choosing the temple courtyard as a grounding arena to focus through even breaths and closed eyes. Until the whispers of ghostly voices echoed across her mind and her palms tingled with power.
A god given ability to see, hear and taste the emotions of others, as well as witness the memories of objects or spaces was a useful gift. Especially in her line of work in law enforcement. She unleashed the echoes like wild hunting dogs, sniffing out any emotion that set itself apart from the others, following the thread inside the marble walls of the Sacred temple behind her.
Worshippers were in prayer on white cushions; braziers flared with sacrificial objects donated by devotees, blue petaled wreaths adorned Poseidon’s statue while Priestesses placed offerings at his feet.
She bowed respectfully before heading to one of the alcoves that housed Hestia’s statue. She came to a stop beside the single worshipper at the pedestal who stared up at her slowly.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
“I’m not leaving, Viera,” the teenager snarled, “and you can’t forcibly remove me from this sanctuary. Temple rules.”
“Cory,” she crouched with a sigh, “you know I’m not one to break rules.”
His onyx eyes narrowed. The star birthmark on the left side of this face shifted as he bit the inside of his cheek. “Then why are you here?”
“Why are you? Shouldn’t you be heading to the train station with your mother right now?”
“I’m not going. My only friends are here. They’re my family. I’ll lose them if I go to Spero-Greece.”
She glanced at the goddess, allowing a beat to pass. “It wasn’t too long ago I was feeling the same way you do. My cousin left the country a year ago and he was my only friend too.”
“Were you mad at him for leaving?”
She smiled. “No, because it was never about me. He had to leave for reasons I could understand.”
He wrought his hands together in his lap. “Are you still friends even though you’re far apart?”
“Of course. It’s not exactly as it was before because we don’t see each other as often but it doesn’t change the love we have for each other. We write all the time.”
“Aren’t you worried he’ll find another best friend to replace you?”
“Is that what you’re afraid of?” At his nod, she smiled. “Well, let me ask you this. Is there another Cory out there in this world?”
He scoffed. “No…”
“Right. So how could you possibly be replaced if you’re one of a kind?”
A genuine smile graced his youthful face. He scratched his head, messing his dark brown hair.
“I guess you have a point.”
“Just because you’re going far away it doesn’t mean those friendships will change. Don’t think of the move as the end, think of it as an extension of the adventures you have yet to experience. More friendships. Exciting stories to share with the ones you hold dear to you.”
Cory breathed out a soft laugh. “They did say I need to invite them to the festivals next year or they’ll hunt me down.”
“You see?” She bumped his shoulder with hers. “If you spend all your time worrying about the what ifs, you’ll miss out on the right nows. It will all work out, Cory. Take it from me.”
He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right, Viera. Thanks for being here for me.”
“Don’t mention it. Your mother and I will be staying in touch so if you get up to any mischief don’t be surprised if I turn up at the door.”
His grin reached ear to ear. “How’d you know I was here?”
“I have a knack for finding lost things.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He stood up, straightening the creases in his suit trousers. “I should find mama before we miss the train.”
“I’ll drive you both to the station.”
While Viera followed Cory out of the temple, she couldn’t help but wish her gift could help her find what she was missing. A long-lost love she yearned would one day return.
She almost laughed at herself. A knack for finding lost things?
…Maybe one day.
Thank you for reading today’s story. The next story will be available to read sometime on the 16th December, titled “Lost In The Woods“. This link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.
If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it here.
S.R. Severn 