Meran and Câlin

Listening to the sound of the Fiume river, Twinkle Star looked at her sleeping daughter. Meran was growing up so fast she could hardly believe it. Still, she was definitely just a little girl. She had been running around on her short little legs for so long that she had crashed on the blanket Twinkle Star had brought along and fallen asleep instantly. And it wasn’t even noon yet.

The beautiful summer day was reflected in the Fiume river, but it wasn’t the same as the summer before. The clear, purifying water had not come back. The river was just a river, filled with normal water, flowing slowly now but hard at times too. The effect of this change on the forest was also unmistakable. In spring, less flowers than usual had bloomed and the usual fields of plants and flowers that bloomed near the river failed to show up this year.

Oh, how Câlin had mourned this. For the past three years she had enjoyed the spring and the wonders the pure river had brought to the forest. But this year, while it had been a beautiful spring indeed, the beauty had stayed away.

Twinkle Star slowly lifted her daughter from the ground and took her back to their house. Câlin and Kiyoi were away to the village to buy supplies and food, and to bring some wood they had sold to the woodworker’s shop. They would probably be back in the afternoon, and it would be time for their summer night in the woods. They had done that every summer now ever since Câlin and she came to live with Kiyoi, a night or two of camping out in the forest while Kiyoi went to inspect the furthest zones of the forest, of course accompanied by Câlin.

This would be their first time camping this summer, because a small storm had ruined their previous plans. Câlin was of course excited, and her excitement had rubbed off on her youngest daughter, hence her activity that morning. Still, Twinkle Star couldn’t help but smile whenever Meran would yell “Camping! Camping!” in her high-pitched voice. Last year, Meran had still been too young to properly enjoy the camping, but she was a year older now and she had grown much. She would be able to enjoy this year’s trip a lot more, and so would Twinkle Star.

After she had put her daughter in bed, Twinkle Star began to pack all the items they would need; blankets, food, matches, and bottles for the water, as they wouldn’t stay close enough to the river. Time flew by while she was working and before she realized it was that late already Câlin and Kiyoi arrived.

“Hello, mom.” Câlin said before they had even entered the house.
“Hello, dear. Did it all work out in the village?” She asked, and Kiyoi beamed.
“Yea. He was so satisfied we can deliver another shipment next week!”
“Oh honey, that’s amazing!” Twinkle Star exclaimed.
After all, while they got their food, wood and drinks from the forest, they did need money to buy cloth, pottery and school supplies for the girls, so a little extra income was always welcome.

“Is Meran asleep?” Câlin asked, and Twinkle Star confirmed, which made the girl dash up the stairs to look at her little sister.
“You managed to get all supplies?” Twinkle Star asked, and Kiyoi confirmed that he did.
They continued packing, and by the time Câlin and Meran came downstairs everything had been put in bags and they were ready to go camping in the forest.

 Even though Meran assured them that she could walk the distance perfectly fine on her own, Câlin packed the special backpack which allowed Meran to sit safely on Twinkle Star’s back.
“Let’s go let’s go!” Meran kept yelling while running around all excited, and Twinkle Star was sure she’d need the backpack within ten minutes.
 “I have to agree with Meran. I want to see the forest. We want to see it. Let’s go.” Twinkle Star knew her daughter well enough to know that this was Câlin’s version of being excited, so within five minutes they had locked up their house and walked into the forest.

The sun was still rather high in the sky, so the rays of light were reflected by every possible shade of green. The floor of the path was now covered with young green grass as well, but Twinkle Star knew they would not live a long life. Now that summer was here Kiyoi and Câlin would enter the forest daily to search for berries, herbs and wood, so the path would be used often.

“It’s pretty isn’t it, Meran?” Câlin said to her sister who was staring at every little flower with wide eyes. Of course Meran had entered the forest before, but somehow it never ceased to amaze her.
“It is it is!” Meran exclaimed, trotting across the path like a new-born butterfly.
Of course, her energy quickly dropped and soon she began to ask when they would finally be there, so Twinkle Star instantly decided to carry her little daughter.

Câlin, who was ten years old now, was of course able to walk the hour-long walk to their first camping spot. Tomorrow they would move on to a spot deeper in the forest. After an hour or so of walking, which was way too long to Meran’s taste and way to short for Câlin, they arrived. The spot was as beautiful as it ever was; moss-green grass grew on the ground and as it was an open spot the sunlight had promoted the grow of the bushes and flowers, while leaving enough place for them to camp for the night.

“I guess we’re finally here. Câlin, Meran, will you two help me unpack?” Twinkle Star asked, and as Kiyoi started to gather wood for the fire, Twinkle Star and her girls started to unpack the items Twinkle Star brought.
“here, Câlin, this is your blanket and this is Meran’s. Do you two want to sleep in between Kiyoi and me again?”
“Yes.” Câlin answered after some hesitation.

“Butterfly!” Meran squeaked.
“Yes, dear, we’ll go look for them in a moment. Now, Câlin, will you put your father’s blanket in place while I go look for something to drink?” Twinkle Star asked her daughter.
As Câlin obeyed, Twinkle Star checked to see if Meran was still close, but to her horror she didn’t see her youngest daughter at all.

“Meran?” She yelled, but there was no reply.
“She chased the butterfly. I’ll find her.” Câlin said instantly, and dashed off.
Her youngest daughter was so small, she could have run off everywhere. Oh, why didn’t she pay more attention? Meran always stayed close no matter how energetic she was, but of course this would be different in a forest like this. There were just too many interesting things.

I found her. Twinkle Star heard Câlin’s voice in her head. Good, Twinkle Star thought back. It didn’t happen very often that Twinkle Star and Câlin communicated without voice because they did not want to exclude Kiyoi and Meran, but over short distances they were certainly able to, and it was very convenient in times like this. What was even rarer, was that Câlin kept the link open now, so that Twinkle Star could “hear” what Câlin was telling her younger sister.

Yes, Meran, I know the butterfly is gorgeous, but you can’t just dash off somewhere without telling either mom or dad or me.
No, there’s no need to cry… We just don’t want you to get lost or hurt.
Promise you’ll tell me next time?
I might even be able to show you more butterflies or flowers. Câlin and Meran appeared from the bushes as Twinkle Star heard the last sentence echo through her head.

“Meran, I told you this morning you were not to run off without telling where you are going! We’re only here for five minutes and it’s the first thing you do.” Twinkle Star said, trying to sound as strict as possible.
“I… I… I only wanted to see the butterfly…” Meran said, forcing herself to keep her tears in. Câlin winked at Twinkle Star.
“I know you did, but if you just tell us next time that you’re going to follow it, we might come with you and you can see it a lot longer.” Twinkle Star replied.

“What’s going on?” Kiyoi asked as he walked back to the site.
“Your daughter ran off to chase a butterfly. Luckily we found her soon enough.”  Twinkle Star answered.
Once Kiyoi had also made clear that running off was not the right thing to do, and he seemed to make a better impression than Twinkle Star had done, it was time for them to go out in the forest to look for berries for their evening meal.

“Here! Berries!” Meran exclaimed after only a few minutes of walking.
“Yes, they are berries. But you can’t eat those.” Câlin explained after inspecting the berries Meran had found.
“Why not?” Meran asked, looking rather disappointed that her find was not okay.
“Because they’re food for birds. If we ate these berries, the birds would get very hungry.” Meran pondered over this for a few moments.
“I like birds.” She finally decided, and they moved on.

Thankfully it did not take them long to find berries they could eat, and their bags were swiftly filled with different kinds. Especially the raspberries that Câlin found made Meran scream in delight, as they were her favourite kind of food. Begging Câlin for one the entire way back, Meran was exhausted by the time they arrived at their camping spot and fell asleep on her blanket instantly.

Twinkle Star and Kiyoi prepared food while Câlin wandered around admiring all the plants and trees.
“Even here…” Câlin said.
“What did you say dear?” Kiyoi asked after he managed to get a fire going in the stone circle he made.
“Even here, the trees are affected by the change of the water. I don’t know… they look less perfect. More like normal trees.” Câlin explained.
If she was honest, Twinkle Star couldn’t see the difference at all this deep in the forest, but she was sure Câlin could. That girl loved everything that grew on this earth.

An hour later dinner was done and Câlin woke Meran. Hungry from all the running Meran ate almost as much as her older sister, which of course made her complain about belly pain a few moments later. By the time they had finished eating, cleaned and washed their plates, the sun had almost set, and Kiyoi began to tell stories about the forest which was also beginning to become a custom. Of course, both girls listened with great attention even though Twinkle Star knew Câlin had heard these tales at least once before.

Meran had curled up to Câlin, sitting in between her front legs, which barely fit as Meran was growing larger. By the time Kiyoi was done, the sun was gone and darkness had fallen over the forest, the only light coming from the small fire they still had going. Meran was still awake, but barely so. Still, when her father was done, she gazed up at the night’s sky, which to Twinkle Star’s eyes was growing darker every night.

“Look… it’s the stars.” Meran said, after she saw a singular star shining right above her.
“They are. Do you like the stars?” Câlin asked, well aware that seeing the stars was a rare thing for Meran, as her bedtime was still very early and, especially in summer, before nightfall.
“Yes. They’re sparkly. Câlin, wouldn’t it be lovely if the entire sky was filled with nothing but stars? I bet they would be prettier still if there were more of them.” Meran said.

“Maybe there once will be.” Câlin said, “How about we go all-night star gazing when that happens? Once the sky is filled with stars… we’ll all go out together and gaze at them as long as we can keep our eyes open.” Câlin proposed.
“That would be nice…” Meran said, cuddling up against her sister even more.

As Meran’s eyes began to close, Câlin winked at Twinkle Star. Her two beautiful girls… She herself sat closer to Kiyoi, who kissed her slightly on her cheek. She gazed up at the stars herself, coming to the conclusion that she herself had almost forgotten what a sky full with stars looked like. It had always been such a normal thing… why hadn’t she ever appreciated it more?

Her thoughts trailed off to her mother and her sisters. What would they be doing now? Surely they noticed the fading of the stars just like she did. Would they try to stop it, to find the solution? She was sure they would. It was her mother, after all… She realized that if it wasn’t for her family, she would probably be off herself now, looking for the reason. But as things were… well, her family was simply more important than any star in the sky could ever hope to be.