The Golden Twilight

Scars, Book One, Entry Seven

At the ritual cracked the atmosphere and minds of dreamers, the lights along the rail flicker on. 

From the bar at the back of the dingy basement, Aldo realizes it is later than it felt.

He muses to himself. 

A benefit of being so busy. 

It's been a hard night.

These rituals are getting more out of control.

Brie moves behind him quickly. He can hear them mix a potion as he slides a mug over to an inked-up dreamer speaking with a trippy staccato to nothing Aldo could perceive. 

The dreamer grins and drifts back into the crowd.

Aldo's eyes drift towards the hallway again.

Why have you not checked on Evi?

Do you even need to ask?

I'm tired.

Overwhelmed.

She dipped out as the rush was building.

Yeah, to help someone.

It still left me pissed.

We could still go check on her.

Why Hasn't Brie checked on her?

Earlier in the night, Brie came in with an unfamiliar look of concern in their eyes. He quickly told them about the girl Evi pulled from the bathroom. He expected them to rush down the hallway. But they did not even look towards the hallway; instead, they started mixing brews and insisted on helping at the bar.

He didn't push.

Aldo could’t stop thinking of Evi.

Where is she?

We should have checked on her a long time ago.

I hope she didn't relapse.

Not back there.

During the ritual, the back wouldn't be a good place.

It's not a good place to be alone unless you have the right company.

We should have checked on her.

I assumed Brie would have by now.

Usually quiet and mellow, Brie and Aldo with high energy, passing the last of the ritual cracking jokes, never really stopping, and effortlessly dancing around each other behind the bar.

It was usually more exhausting for Aldoo to work with someone new, but Brie held space differently. 

Brie and Evi never made sense to Aldo as partners until that night.

Shit.

Evi...

Throughout the ritual, they introduce new dreamers to the dingy bar. Most of them are here to watch the performance. He watches Brie pour their energy into their brews. They are full of talent and power as they connect with dreamer after dreamer.

Dreamers always promise to return, but most will leave the city by the next Golden Phase.

It is never personal. It is how the city works. Dreamers breeze through when they need something, but it is not a place to linger. 

Unless what you need is to linger, I guess.

Maybe it is time to move on?

Never.

Check on Evi, yet?

No time...Pay attention to what Brie is saying.

Aldo tells Brie his mind spun out and asks them to repeat themselves.

They do, and Aldo laughs at their witty comment.

Inside, he feels an anxious concern they have not looked for Evi all night.

It is not like them at all.

Aldo's mind spins around and around as he makes brews unique for each dreamer.

They are avoiding something.

Well, if anyone knows what avoidance looks like…

I didn't say it's a bad thing.

It usually isn't good.

Should I say something?

Would you want someone to say something?

Brie isn't me.

Who are you to dig into secrets?

I'm worried about Evi.

The lights along the rail signal the setting of Kat's Eye, or the Thief in Brie's tradition. The third moon and Golden Hours have many names, and the Hours are followed by a period of stars and relief. But the Golden Twilight is the most dangerous moment for dreamers to expose themselves. Still, once the lights flicker on, dreamers, in groups or alone, break away from the crowd between the bar and the stage and disappear up the stairs. Many will never be seen in the dingy bar again.

Twilight dreamers seek truth, prophecy, or whatever else in the Golden Twilight. 

Aldo was one of those dreamers.

Once upon a time.

When was the last time?

...

Maybe try again?

...

It didn't work before.

It could work now.

Naw. It cost too much.

He moves smoothly to the end of the bar and lowers himself down on a bench. He leans his crutches against the wall. 

Aldo watches the cracks of light in the atmosphere over the dance floor . The rituals were getting more rowdy as the Golden Hours grew more intense.

Twilight offers nothing.

Answers only lead to more questions.

The bar at the back of the dingy basement offers late-ritual brews mixed to support exhausted dreamers coming down from the emotional and physical highs of being lost in time with hype and nightmares.

The tender's cherished ritual is to refresh themselves with a similar drink before holding space for others coming down—sometimes mad and sometimes sad. No one is ever quite right, even if they are brimming with joy.

The tender's ritual is one of the things that makes this dump special. 

Brie glides over with two mugs after mixing a violet brew to instill gentle focus and energy. They hand one to Aldo, who thanks them.

The warm mug soothes.

The vapors loosen the tense air.

They are avoiding something. 

Don't push.

Aldo watches the words floating on his breath as he asks Brie about Evi.

Shit.

Their cheeks blush, and a spark of crimson flashes in their eye growing intensely before settling into the unforgettable look that Aldo saw at the beginning of the cycle. The look is mixes with a piercing glare.

Shit.

A red glow radiates in the atmosphere above the witch. Over their shoulder, Aldo watches a crimson spark ping through the fragged atmosphere, growing as it drifts into the hallway out of sight.

They didn't notice.

Shit.

Aldo doesn't say anything as Brie sits on the bench beside him. They rest their head on his shoulder. The pair sips their brews as Brie softly speaks.

The spark wasn't about Evi or the girl.

She trusts Evi is fine.

She worries about her old valley, her old village.

And Celia.

Answers only lead to more questions…