Celeste
Darien took me down into the village.
The festival was alive in a way I had never seen. Aderian had celebrations. Aderian had dances. Aderian did not have this. Games and competitions and stalls stacked with more food than a person could reasonably eat. Children with painted faces chasing each other under the banners. Musicians I could hear from two streets over.
I ate a meat bun. I ate another meat bun. I grabbed a skewer and Darien bought me a pastry shaped like a crescent moon, sticky with honey, and I ate that too. I did not apologize. He watched me eat with a small amused smile that I pretended not to see. I wasn’t going to pretend I was someone who I wasn’t. I loved to eat and play games … that’s the person he was going to see. I didn’t need to impress him.
"We're suppose
