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 Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:23 am
Mireille watched the woman wrap up the quilt, not quite willing to look the clerk in the eye as she waited. She'd returned to the small curio shop on a whim, wanting the particular quilt where she'd found such a treasure. And treasure the egg was, whether it was clockwork or living, for it had entertained her the night before for hours with its occasional wiggling and the way the wings floated and moved about it.
So she'd returned to the shop, and avoided the woman's gaze as she gathered up the quilt she'd abandoned the day before. The lady was professional, offering no comment on the previous day, but it was still wearing to Mireille, and it was only when she could finally step back out of the shop, the quilt wrapped protectively in a bag on her arms, that she breathed freely again. Hopefully, the quilt would go well in one of her guest rooms. Or maybe in the living room, if she found the right place to display the egg...
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:36 am
"Oh, what a night. What a night..."
Cindy repeated to herself as she walked closer and closer to her destination. Sure. A mall. Why not? It wasn't like she didn't work at one. But she enjoyed the scene.
And now that she had a little friend to take with her, it was even more interesting. Today, she had decided on her tophat as the center of her outfit. The rest was straight forward. Red shirt, black pants. Oh, and her favorite red and black scarf wrapped around her precious egg that she held in her arms. It's wings were sorta.. Sticking out. And she'd thought about whether this had actually been a great idea... But her excitement outweighed her desire for safety.
And hell, if she was lucky, someone would come up to her like in one of those movies and say 'Oh my God, you have one of those?!' or some cliche line like that. Right now, she wasn't shooting any idea down.
"I'm not sure what I'm looking for today... What would you like to see Aesop?"
People passing by probably thought she was insane, since it looked like she was talking to herself.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:59 am
Mireille was all set to make her way to her car when something caught her eye. She paused, watching the younger woman for a moment before the sight really registered, and then she was striding forward, eyes locked on the wings just peeking out of that black and red scarf in her arms. They really looked nothing like the wings on Mireille's egg, but something about it still drew Mir closer.
"Excuse me," she called out when she was close enough to be heard. "That... item in your arms..." Not quite sure what to say, she let the words trail off, wondering if she'd get a reply.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:13 pm
Cindy blinked. She turned around to the woman who, she thought, was speaking to her. "that item in your arms" seemed like it was indeed pointed at her. "Y-yes? Oh... This... Egg-thing..." Did she tell or did she wait for a response from this other woman?
The little egg, at grabbing someone's attention, gave a few flaps of it's wings.
Cindy's eyes widened as she gave a nervous cough. "W-why do you ask?" Though. She didn't really ask a question, now that she thought about it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:20 pm
Mireille watched the wingflaps for a moment, then looked back up at the nervous girl, feeling that emotion mirrored in the butterflies in her own stomach. She hesitated, then offered a half-smile to the girl. "It's just... I was wondering where you got it from." It was on the tip of her tongue to add 'and if it's alive', but she couldn't quite bring herself to. "It looks... distinctive." Shifting the quilt on her arm, she couldn't quite help wishing she'd brought hers along, if only to compare. Now that she was closer, they really didn't look that much alike.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:33 pm
Cindy scratched her head for a moment, not really sure if she should just spill her guts out.
"Tell..." That all too familiar voice whispered to her.
"Well, I'm gonna be committed sooner or later, so why the hell not?"
It was more of a question to herself than to the woman. And, she was afraid to admit it to herself, but the egg was probably right. Something about her... Something... Different. Different? In what way? She was a woman with a quilt. That really didn't scream 'Tell me all your secrets.'
Realizing she was thinking to herself, Cindy quickly snapped out of it. "Would you mind if we sat down on a bench or something? It's... A long story." Her eyes scrambled for a place to sit when she finally caught it outta the corner of her eye. Moving over, she sat down on the bench and crossed her legs, the egg still cradled in her arms.
"Before... I start spilling my guts.. How much do you believe in magic? Fairy tales? Anything like that..."
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:43 pm
Ah, magic, that hated question. There were times Mireille hated the books she wrote. She moved to sit down beside Cindy, watching the girl for a moment before offering a practiced, noncommittal smile. "I believe that there are things that no one can really explain." They were rehearsed words, a line that Robin had suggested to her after her first booksigning had ended with a girl running out of the bookstore in tears. Best to say something that really answered nothing at all, and let the readers take from it what they would. "Why do you ask?"
She placed the bag on her lap, her hands working to smooth it, and the quilt inside, of wrinkles. And though she tried her best to keep her eyes on the girl's face, she couldn't help the way they flicked down constantly, watching for any hint of movement from the egg again.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:57 pm
Cindy raised an eyebrow at that answer. It was the kind of answer she expected from a teacher or a psychologist. Oh boy, a psychologist. There was a new stall in the looney bin, and it had her name written all over it.
"Alright, so.." She began, pondering whether she should just be straight forward or not. "Well, last night I decided to go driving because the power was out at my home and I don't like being alone in the dark... So I'm driving on one of my favorite back roads covered in trees, and there was this... Red light that shot down behind my car." Did she forget to mention it was storming? Yep, she sure did. "So I stop my car, run over to where I saw the light, and sure enough..."
She uncovered the egg and held it up. Hell, if anyone else asked she'd just say it was a new fad with the teens. People would buy that. They were stupid enough. "I found this."
The red crystal that sat in the middle of the egg glistened brightly, as if saying hello to the new acquaintance.
"It talks, too." Now she really sounded crazy. Her eyes were wide from explaining something that she really didn't understand. "I-it asked for a name." She moved the egg to her lap and stared at it.
"Did I mention a tree almost crushed me on my way home?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:08 pm
Captivated by the egg, Mireille barely heard the last sentence. She stared for a long moment, then blinked as something registered.
"It talks?" Her certainly hadn't, but then, she knew nothing about it... except that it did seem at least similar to this one. A different model, perhaps, outwardly, though inside perhaps it had the same clockwork.
...Or creature...
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:52 pm
"Unless it's all in my mind... " She lifted the egg to her face, so they were 'eye to eye' in a sense. "C'mon. Say something. You like talking, don't you?"
The egg only gave a simple flap of it's wings. Whether it was to say 'yes' or 'leave me alone', Cindy couldn't quite figure out.
"Be that way then." She commented and sat it back down, then looked at the woman. "Either way, it asked for a name."
That's when a big, bold, BRIGHT light went off in her head. It screamed 'Cindy! You idiot!'. "Oh my. You know, through all the clutter that is my mind, I never did think to ask your name! Or even tell you mine... I sware, I'm a bit of a mess right now. Y'know... With the whole egg falling from the sky and me almost getting buried six feet under by a killer tree. I'm... Just not well..."
Yep, she was rambling on again. She bit her lip for a moment. "My name is Cindy." She finally managed to say.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:58 pm
"It's nice to meet you, Cindy," Mireille said, offering one hand. "I'm Mireille." No last name. Though she was by no means the most popular of authors, she'd been recognized once or twice before, and the ensuing chaos was something she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to. "I'm glad you don't mind talking to me. I... well, I have something similar at home, and I don't really know what it is, or what it does." She paused, then offered a quiet, hesitant question. "Do you think... it's alive?"
Almost as soon as she said it, she felt silly. Clearly this girl did, if she had it wrapped in her scarf, and was carrying it around like one might carry a child. But rather than retract the question, she held still, wondering what the answer would actually be.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:33 pm
Cindy gave a nod to her and lifted one of her hands up to shake hers. "Nice to meet you as well." Though, when she heard that the woman had 'something similar' at home, it became a great relief to meet her.
Though, the question that followed was sort of tossed into her mind like a grenade and exploded, scattering her thoughts once more. "I was... Hoping..." She looked down at the egg questioningly, her eyes unfocused. "I know a fair bit about technology. Enough to know that something like this is impossible. I mean. I'm sure floating wings would be possible with magnets... But not like this. They're stuck there. And that doesn't even begin to explain how they could move on their own."
She felt the wings, which gave a few twitches. "And..." she started. "They feel... Like skin. And the egg itself.. It holds warmth."
Cindy stayed silent for a moment and gave a sigh. "I'm hoping beyond all hope it's alive..." The girl's eyes seemed to hold a sort of sadness. It was loneliness...
"Listen.. You... Listen."
"T-there it goes again!" She said to Mireille, the previous emotion that filled the pools of blue in her eyes gone. But what did it mean by listen?
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:25 pm
Mireille stared hard at the egg, not quite sure what she'd heard. It could so easily have been the wind, really... or someone's child nearby. But...
She looked up at Cindy, searching Cindy's face before shaking her head slowly. "I'm... not sure what I heard," she said honestly, not liking the little thrill of fear through her at the idea of the egg talking. It made no logical sense, and that scared her. "I'm sorry."
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:38 pm
"B-but..." Cindy started at the utter disbelief... Or at least denial of belief. "It said listen!" Her eyes frantically searched the egg for answers. Listen to what? Listen to what? Listen to what?
She stayed quiet for a good few moments as she tried to figure out the answer to the egg's simplistic yet unbelievably complicated words. Eggs. They grew things inside of them. They-
"Waaaaaaaaaaait a minute." Her blue eyes grew wide with realization. They slowly made their way over to Mir. A little grin crossed her face. She shook her finger at the woman, almost shameful that she didn't think of this sooner.. "I know now. The way to figure out if it's living is to see if it has what every living thing does.."
She carefully lifted up the egg and held it close to her ear, as if using it like a seashell to hear the ocean. Sure enough, there was a slow Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum moving at a steady pace. It was, of course a heartbeat.
"Yep. It's alive alright."
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:43 pm
Mireille stared, watching the display warily before swallowing just a little. If they were alive... "What's growing inside it, then?" she whispered aloud. A moment later, as her eyes dropped to the quilt on her lap, she added, "Where are they coming from?"
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