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Siffrin glanced back at his friends—their family —sleeping close together underneath the canopies. The stars sparkled overhead, shining despite the crowding and dark clouds. Rain splashed on the ground outside, thankfully not splashing them.
While tentatively exploring the frankly ridiculously-sized giant tree stump, they had found a stack of orange, rectangular paper. Each piece shined with craft, ignoring the rain pounding on them from above. Outside of the tree stump, boats floated on the ring of water surrounding the treehouse.
Each with their own little message, each boat to be picked up gently, read, and then returned to the water. It was the equivalent of a handprint on a wall—I was here, I was alive, and I lived and loved.
Siffrin carefully took one of these origami pieces, holding it as if it would flake apart at the slightest breeze. Despite that wind was whistling past them and rain had been splashing on the paper for who knows how long.
He carefully walked past Bonnie and Isabeau, snuggled together. They hesitated at the entrance, bracing themselves for the rain. It was just rain. It wouldn’t hurt him. Nonetheless, they still felt the need to be cautious.
Siffrin darted out like a cat avoiding the rain, rushing to the water's edge. Paper boats already floated nearby, moving up and down from the ripples. He hesitated, trying to get their hands to remember the muscle memory—c’mon, Siffrin knew he had done this before. Many times. His hands moved slowly, trying to remember, remember, and remember.
Fold in half. Fold the top two corners down to the middle, then fold one bottom corner upwards. Same on the other side—and same on the back. The next step—ah, right. Take the top bottom piece and fold it up. Same on the other side again.
Pull it open from the bottom, turn it into a square, and take the bottom corner and fold it upwards. Not too far, or you’ll end up not even seeing the point of the boat. Same on the other side once again.
Siffrin’s hands were slow and careful, so focused on his task that he didn’t even notice the butterflies starting to swarm around them—trying to keep their light alive.
Finally, the shape of a boat emerged. And—ah. It appears that Siffrin forgot the most important thing. A writing utensil. Hold on, didn’t Odile have a pen? Siffrin stood up, fatigue washing over him. Oh.
Siffrin half-stumbled back to the treehouse, taking a breather next to the fire. Genuinely, they had no clue why sometimes rain made him feel as though they had run a marathon, and other times it was just that: rain.
Odile’s pen sat on top of her notebook. Easy to grab. Siffrin quickly snatched it, then abruptly stopped just before the pen hit the inside of the boat.
What did he want to write about?
The pen hovered just over it and then was slowly pressed to the paper. They wrote carefully, thinking over every letter.
Visiting with my family: Isabeau, Odile, Bonnie, and Mirabelle! Love them lots.
There. Siffrin’s message was complete. Now all he had to do was put it on the water. He tiptoed out of the treehouse once again, believing themselves to be sneaky (they weren’t at all).
He slowly set the boat onto the water. It didn’t sink. Water didn’t collect and pull it down into the depths. It was just that: a boat. But Siffrin could see the ink on the inside of the boat.
Siffrin lifted his head and noticed another boat slowly bobbing by. They reached out for it, and a short message was inside.
Visiting the elders! Be back soon! <3 <3 <3
Huh. They let it bob back around the water and reached for another.
Playing Abyss music with a band tomorrow at Harmony Hall, come watch!
Siffrin would’ve liked to listen to them. Too bad that he had no clue where Harmony Hall was, not to mention that this group was likely long gone. Although, the name did sound familiar—just not enough to jog their memory.
They wrapped their hand underneath a boat bobbing by, pulling it up and out of the water.
You do not need to set yourself on fire to keep those around you warm. A blanket would probably work better and be less traumatizing!
The sky was fading into a lighter shade. Probably time to get back. He stood up, brushed themselves off, and walked back over. Siffrin ignored the butterflies still fluttering around in a panic.