Chapter 4 - Comfort of a Woman

The pale moon cast light trails vehemently on the entirety of the Festival. The salty scent of the strait's water blowing into the air was left everywhere it had ever crossed over. It took control of the smell of smoking fires completely, though complaints from tent-warmers still arose once the time passed eleven and bedtime was soon mandatory. Crazy-circling imperial moths danced to the light shows twenty feet above everybody's heads.

Akira sat among the beach with her knees up to her collarbone and her arms embracing them. She watched miniature lights on apparently-miniature boats timidly flash on and off at a steady pace, the boats themselves keeping up with the calm and reflective waves they rode upon. An occasional horn, a friendly one, would roar whenever two boats passed by each other. Every time they did, Akira would toss a colored pebble into the water. Even the rocks were more festive than some Alaskan natives.

Long-lasting betrayal and self-abasement was all Akira was feeling on account of Eagle. Ivey lied down next to her while swatting rocks away with her muzzle.

Buoyant footsteps skid against the ground, growing larger and larger in audibility until they finally took a rest behind Akira. She could hear mounds of pebbles being shoved around toward the bay. A large blanket started to flip up and down while kicking dust into Akira's personal space. Once the blanket was flat on the ground, someone took a seat on top.

"I hate sittin' on rocks." The voice of a female stated just beside her where all of the noise was coming from. Akira turned her head and saw Jessica sitting down with a pair of shades resting over her eyes. Obviously, they were unneeded. Jessica looked from the ocean's natural beauty to Akira's hovering stare. "Don't you?"

Akira started to feel the rocks against her bottom. "I guess..."

Jessica let out a weary sigh and crossed her legs with great flexibility. Each one of her feet sat on top of the opposite knee with ease. "Look...I'm sorry for what happened back there. You looked embarrassed, and that's never good for a woman's complexion. Trust me - I've experienced breakouts from anxiety."

Akira turned her head with doubt. "You?"

"I know, right?" Jessica flipped her hair back behind her and puffed out a breath of laughter. "Mother Nature carries a bag of zits around all of the time."

Akira bobbed her head. "A-ha." She kept looking at Jessica, who was approaching a few rocks and articles of sand with her fingers. "Jessica, I admire you."

"Yeah, who doesn't?" She had regretted picking up the sand and started digging it out from underneath her fingernails.

"Of course, I didn't mean the protruding vainness." Akira rolled her eyes and scooted closer to her. "I meant...the fact that you're stunning and smart. What is your secret?"

"My secret?" Jessica looked confused. "Honey, I don't have a secret. Everything I obtain lies within my roots. My father was a handsome fashion designer, my mother was a beautiful hair stylist. What can I say? I got the best of each of 'em."

"I suppose...but how do you abstain from meaninglessness the way you do? How can you be so "you"?"

"Akira, what are you asking, exactly?"

"Like...how can you just be you? You don't cast a curtain in front of your emotions, or your feelings, or your high and mighty attitude. You just don't care about what others think of you, and you live such a relaxed lifestyle. Whenever I try to be myself, I end up risking everything I've got just to solve one problem. You get everything handed to you. How can I get that lucky?"

Jessica thought about her answer. Her eyes straightened toward her feet as she picked grains of sand and lemongrass out from between her toes painted baby blue. She would occasionally let out a "hmm" or suck air in through her closed mouth and open lips. Akira gave her something to think about while sitting on the edge of the bay.

Meanwhile, casualties of a strange snapping turtle attack swept in from the far side of the sand toward the Festival that had been pacifying for the past thirty minutes. Everybody was either asleep or in their tents doing God-knows-what beside Akira and Jessica. A few paramedics escaped from their hut and brought in the unlucky victims. Jessica didn't seem to notice.

"I don't exceed my expectations." She ultimately answered Akita's deep question. "When I dream, I dream with precise proficiency. I don't loll about wondering how I can sail the Omak River and climb the Ises Mountains all while I risk receiving something that may not even be there. I dream to succeed at living and that's it. I haven't received much in life, at least not as much as you think. I've got a house of my own, I'm single but that's only because I'm a selfish brat, and everything has been handed to me because I don't ask for anything that takes more than just a handful. I might be conceited, but I'm not rich, famous, any of those things. My parents divorced after a long and unhappy marriage, but you don't see me fighting to save them. I'm just a normal girl with extraordinary looks, and I never asked for them, either. Akira...you are a beautiful girl, too. Not as beautiful as me, but you're beautiful...take the compliment, I don't give them much."

"So, are you saying I shouldn't go on this expedition?"

"Well, I wouldn't, but that's not what I'm trying to get across. I'm trying to tell you that you shouldn't expect everything in life to go according to your plan. You're not gonna get through life with ease, and if you fail at attempting this implausible act, you're not gonna get another chance. This is something you depend on, and when you depend on something nobody's ever depended on and succeeded at, then...you've got a lot of nerve. A lot."

Akira took what she said into consideration. Nobody had ever done this before, and if a seventeen year old was the first to do it, she would be praised for the rest of her life. She would be rich off of all kinds of accessories: video games, t-shirts, posters, movies, TV shows; she couldn't see herself being in that position. She was too humble and timid. Nobody knew who she was. Why would they anytime soon?

Jessica noticed long streams of tears start to pour from Akira's red eyes after minutes of contemplation. She placed her open hand on Akira's bent knee. "Don't cry, Akira. Your makeup will ruin."

"I don't want my mom to die, Jessica." Akira wiped her eyes with her closed fist. "I can't let her die without at least trying - I can't."

Jessica wrapped her arm around her and let her turn and cry on her shoulder. Jessica could feel her shoulder start to get wet from Akira's tears and started to shed a few of her own. She wiped them on her shirt sleeve and started to rub Akira's back. "Do what you think is best, Akira. I won't stop you from being yourself."

As the time passed by, with nobody around or even watching, Jessica continued to comfort her.

More strong winds let loose along the bay as if they had been holding back for the entirety of the festival. A couple of detached umbrellas and wooden picnic benches started to toppled over and blow north toward the entrance. One of the umbrellas landed on top of Yura's tent. He could be heard screaming "Why me?" and a few other profanities not allowed on national television.

Jessica took her belongings and eventually left after making sure Akira was okay. Her body grew tired of partying all day. "If you get lonely, come sleep in my tent, okay?"

She set off to the tent safely secured by metal pegs stuck into the ground. Akira was alone again.

She started to catch fireflies in her open palm to try and calm herself down. She wasn't so upset with Eagle anymore; she began to wonder why he would defy her and tell everyone what was going on. It was like he wanted to cause problems and chinwag for no good reason. He just boasted about how good of a friend she was. How could he just do that and expect everything to be okay?

A few mosquitoes attacked her arms and forehead before leaving her with multiple itchy bites that could've been avoided with bug repellent. She started to violently scratch her arms and forehead. She continued until her arms were bleeding, and stopped.

She sat still where she was and didn't even think to head to bed yet. She had too much on her mind.

Déjà vu.

Akira heard some more footsteps approaching her, these familiar ones belonging to heavy boots. She could smell that Fraise Cologne and recognize the only person who wore it; Yura was paying her a visit.

He sat down where Jessica was beforehand and tried to find a comfortable way to sit without feeling too awkward with his bowl of ratatouille. It took longer than it should have. He had his legs in a crisscross position with his hands folded on top of them. His food rested in the gap between his legs and his body. "Hi Akira."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Not much. Just eating some food now that I'm awake." He took a toothsome bite and scratched his knee through his Mickey Mouse pajama pants. "An umbrella fell on me when I was trying to go to sleep."

"I heard. Nice PJ's."

"Oh, yeah, they're...thanks." Yura licked his lips a few times. He raised his hand to look at his wristwatch. "It's ten 'til midnight. What're you still doing up?"

"Thinking. Wishing. Everything I can do." She shook an ounce of sand out of her waistband and rested her head on her hands, her face toward his. "I already confessed all of my emotions to Jessica. That was all I had left."

Yura watched her meticulously. The wincing pain on her face, the way her eyes twitched as disturbed thoughts and prayers were all that filled her head...she was hurt badly by the truth that Jessica spoke. Her words bounced off of Akira's brain just to be deflected right back toward it again. Was she being too needy like Jessica said?

Akira looked more and more cross overtime. She spoke with a twang of antagonism in her voice. "I need an opinion now, Yura. Do you think I should back out? Not that you're my best friend or anything, but do you think I'm cut out for this?"

"Should I be honest?"

"Well, don't lie." Akira said straightaway.

"I'll be honest, then. You have the right mindset and the physique. There's no doubt in my mind. I just think maybe you should train a little more, get to know the terminal consequences if you happen to perish, get around to watching "The Call of Nature"...you know, the basics." He made Akira chuckle, something she rarely did. "At least you don't have to deal with Stefano. Did you see the way he looked at me with that bull testicle in his mouth?"

"And we're done here." Akira fixed her hands into the dirt and rose up to a standing position. She stretched her legs out underneath and bent down to give Yura a kiss on the top of his head. "Thanks, Yura, for the advice."

"No problem.... Hey! Are you leaving?" He turned around with the bowl cupped in both hands. "I just-...I just got here with my ratatouille."