“Why don’t you go to the festival? It’d be a great chance to get closer to Dimitri,” said Wynonna.

“I spend enough time with him as it is.”

“But you only ever hang out in the lab, and all you ever talk about is work.”

“We’re both passionate about our work. That’s how we bond.”

“That’s not how romantic relationships form.”

“Oh, really? I suppose you’re a relationship expert now?”

“No, I wouldn’t claim so.”

“Why are you so concerned about this?”

Wynonna looked at Ilya with a confused expression on her face. “I thought you wanted a partner.”

Truth be told, Ilya had been swept off her feet by the emotions she felt for Dimitri. But after the initial excitement over having found a kindred-spirit who shared the same passion for growth, knowledge and technology had passed, Ilya wasn’t sure if what she felt for Dimitri was love, or something else. Perhaps she had been grateful for his company and the conversations that his expertise enabled them to have. He provided a companionship that was fresh, foreign and fun. That did not necessarily mean it was love. It was true, Ilya enjoyed his company. But she hadn’t experienced similar emotions towards any other person before, so how could she verify whether or not her feelings for him truly constituted love at all?

All the definitions she had come up with for love didn’t make as much sense as they first did now that Ilya saw all of them had the prerequisite: One must have had a prior experience with love. Those definitions were only relevant from the second encounter with love. There must be a basis of comparison for the arguments to hold true.

Besides, there was the other issue to consider … Ilya didn’t have the luxury of time. And even if she was willing to give it a shot, it felt wrong to deceive Dimitri into a relationship that wouldn’t last.

“Ilya? What are you thinking about?” asked Wynonna, searching her eyes for a clue.

Ilya had trouble keeping up with the lie. “I did. I mean–I do. I just don’t see how going to the festival with him would make him fall in love with me.”

“But he’s your match. I found him.” Disappointment was evident in Wynonna’s voice.

“Yes, you did. That has nothing to do with my decision to not attend the festival. You know I don’t usually go for these things. That’s not about to change just because one Dimitri has suddenly appeared in my life.”

“I understand.”

“Good. I’m tired from all this fretting. I’m going to retire for the night. It’s your turn to man the clinic, though I doubt you’ll have any clients this evening since everyone will be at the festival.”

“Not everyone,” Wynonna said bitterly.

Ilya let out a laugh. “Touche.”

***

The night was alive by the large campfire. Dimitri thought it was a little strange that there were no marshmallows nor meat. Everyone ate their usual berries, fruits, nuts and veggies raw, leaving the naked fire to perform alone while they danced around the stones.

Dimitri gazed far into the distance filled with darkness and saw a faint spot. Then he lifted his gaze up slowly to the sky.

No amount of preparation could prepare him for the beauty that lay before him.

It would never be possible to see a sight like this in a city.

The town was worse than shabby, there was practically no amenities it could offer and the air was so foul its people had to suffer an inconvenience of drinking a daily concoction to make the stench go away. He wasn’t sure whether it was the effect of the music or the wine, but when Dimitri gazed upon the stars that night, he felt himself grow light, as if all his worries, anger and frustration had been dispelled in that single moment when he first discovered the majesty and beauty of the cosmos. It drew him further and further away from his surroundings and Dimitri let himself be swept away. He sank into the sweetness of a long-forgotten memory.

Every child has a moment in their life when they realise that the world did not revolve around them, though they are forgotten by most children. Dimitri didn’t, though. In fact, he had another such experience a few years later when he was learning science in school and found out that the Sun was a star, there were other planets in our solar system and there were other stars besides our Sun which had planets revolving around them too. He had been struck by the gradious of the universe particularly hard and it seemed, never recovered from that awe.

That was all before he delved into the negativity and depression in the cold laboratories which always had the lights turned on so you could never tell day from night and from which no one could ever see any stars. Swept in the bustle of study and work that the world had ushered him into, somehow Dimitri had forgotten the wonder and inspiration of it all, and it was by pure chance that he had stumbled upon it again, and in a rotting town at that.

“Is that Ilya? I must be seeing things.” Jordan sat beside Dimitri, breaking his trance. Dimitri followed his gaze.

There she was, her lilac hair a pale grey in the dim shadows transformed into silver streamers under the moonlight. She scanned the crowd and when she found Dimitri, her face lit up and she gave a small wave. Dimitri returned the gesture.

They weren’t the only ones who spotted her though, it seemed. A young girl had raced up to her and was pulling her. Upon inspection, Dimitri realised it was Amelia dragging her towards a group nearer to the campfire. Ilya looked at Dimitri, her expression a look of horror as she mouthed a silent plea for him to save her.

Dimitri laughed and lifted his bottle of beer to her before taking a long sip. He wouldn’t dare rob Ilya of the chance to have some well-deserved fun.

“Doesn’t she seem like a faraway star? One that our village can’t afford to lose.”

“I can see why you might think that,” said Dimitri. After a while, he continued, “You like her too, don’t you?”

“Don’t be daft,” said Jordan. “She’s my teacher.”

“Show some respect. I am older than you,” Dimitri said half-jokingly.

“Lucky for me, age doesn’t command respect here,” Jordan retorted.

Dimitri eyed the boy. “You were one of her students, weren’t you?”

Jordan nodded. “I never thought I’d learn so much,” he said quietly.

“She said you gave up.”

The boy sighed. “I had to. She was wasting time on me. You know what she means to us, how much she can do. How could I continue doing that to my people after I realised I was taking her away from them for my own selfish means?”

Dimitri turned to the boy. “As far as I know, your desire to learn came from a place of generosity.”

“Have you ever felt like there were things you would have been better off not knowing?” the boy asked.

Dimitri kept silent.

“Argh, now I feel even more useless than before I started trying to learn from her,” said the boy, burying his head in his hands.

“Look, Jordan, I don’t know much about you, but I know that Ilya would be very upset if she knew you felt this way,” said Dimitri, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Has she not taught you well?”

“Of course not, she’s a great teacher. I’m just incompetent.”

“And what exactly are you unable to do? Be like her, become your village’s second doctor? Well, I’ve got news for you: no one else is that capable.”

The truth Dimitri spoke did little to soothe the sadness. The boy was no less forlorn.

So he continued. “You know I’m not from around here. I’ve seen many great minds, even some of the world’s best, but hers is by far the most brilliant I’ve seen.” Dimitri paused to ponder upon his next words. He drew in a deep breath before he spoke again. “To compare yourself to her would be as pointless as comparing a flower to a star. Both are beautiful, but only one shines so effortlessly bright. But that doesn’t change the fact that both are precious and worthy of admiration. Both are loved and capable of leading perfectly good lives. Your village has more than enough room for two doctors.”

Dimitri had built up a small reputation for himself at the village in the short time since he arrived. It had been surprising to some that Ilya’s interactions with him had been more frequent than anyone else in the village, which wasn’t very difficult to accomplish since the girl, though well-loved by her people, had never been known to extend relations any further than cordial with any particular individual. Their friendship only solidified over time, and even before it blossomed into a seedling of love, there were many who knew that the man must not be an ordinary man, for he was able to hold many sophisticated conversations with her which none of the village folk were capable of. That clearly showed how he knew at least enough to retain her interest for such a long time.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

At present, Jordan found some wisdom in the man’s words. “Thanks Dimitri.”

“It’s not me you should be thanking, you know.” Dimitri stood up. “Who gave you the skills and knowledge you have today? Now, why do you think she spent so much time on you? Do you think she didn’t know what you only found out a year later when she decided to take you in? What would she have hoped for you? If you’re really grateful, you know what to do, don’t you?”

Jordan didn’t get a chance to answer. For some reason, the crowd had shifted closer to Dimitri while Jordan skilfully avoided the parade. He found a safe spot by the side where he stood, savouring his drink while being amused by Dimitri’s panicking. Somehow, Dimitri ended up sitting right in the middle of the ensemble. Next to the life of the party, he found himself enjoying the entertainment provided by a sequence of serenaders crooning to the troupe’s tune. He only realised that the ball had been passed to him when he felt a few arms pull him to his feet.

Dimitri was flustered. As a stranger to the town, he hadn’t expected them to include him into their list of singers. Having spent most of his life bent over books and computers, Dimitri hadn’t found the time to develop his musical talents. He felt more than a little inadequate when faced with the prospect of singing in front of strangers.

But Dimitri was cornered. The villagers had somehow huddled upon him and their eyes were filled with so much anticipation of what surprise he might bring that Dimitri saw no way out of the task thrust towards him without hurting their feelings. So he began to sing.

As he sang the songs he knew, rhythmic clapping ensued, and with the spontaneous harmonising, his confidence grew. Soon, Dimitri was belting to his heart’s content. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ever felt so free. It earned him more than a couple of claps at the end. Someone even gave a long whistle.

Jordan reclaimed his seat next to Dimitri once the satisfied party drifted away to find its next victim. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s a lot of emotion in you,” he said, picking up a stone. He inspected it, then tossed it away. “You’ve kept it in for a long time, haven’t you?” He hadn’t asked it as a question so much as he had meant it as a statement that needed no affirmation. “You’ve been through something, I don’t know what it is. But you’re out now. You don’t need to fear anything here.”

The boy was wrong. He didn’t know anything. How could Dimitri run away from the thing embedded in his skin?

Dimitri was deep in his thoughts, but just then he spotted Ilya walking towards them. She smiled and waved at him. He melted.

“You’ve been struck hard, haven’t you?”

“What? No,” Dimitri denied quickly. He couldn’t possibly have fallen for a girl he barely knew. Sure, he enjoyed spending time with Ilya, but they had only known each other for a few weeks. Was it possible to fall in love with someone so quickly?

Jordan raised a brow at him.

Dimitri laughed, shaking his head. “Is it that obvious?”

“One would have to be blind not to see.” Jordan said, tilting his goblet at him. “It’s plain on your face that you’re smitten with her. I don’t blame you. She’s easy to love. She’s not like other girls.” He put on his cap. Then, turning to Dimitri, he added, “but you already knew that, didn’t you?” Jordan offered him a drink, then gave Dimitri a gentle pat on the shoulder before getting up to leave.

“Where are you going?” Dimitri asked.

“Back to the books,” Jordan said. He flashed Dimitri a grin before running towards his future.

***

When Ilya finally disentangled herself from the band of tireless dancers, the first thing she did was guilt-trip Dimitri. “Thanks for nothing,” she said, sitting beside him.

“What did I do?” Dimitri answered in feigned innocence.

“You’re smarter than that. Don’t play dumb.” Ilya nudged him, hard. Then she rubbed her hands together and blew on them. She held them towards the fire.

In the cheery night, all you could hear was song and music.

“Your people love to dance, don’t they? It seems like some of them will be on their feet for hours.”

“Oh, we love music. You can’t find a house without music playing. If people are indoors, you’d make a good guess if you thought they went in because of a song.”

“Sing me your favourite song.”

Ilya smiled. “Just a short one.”

Dimitri waited until she finished.

“I can’t sing,” she declared when she was done.

“Nobody’s perfect.”

She punched his shoulder lightly. “You could at least pretend that you liked it.”

“I do,” said Dimitri, smiling.

“Don’t start now.”

“I like it. I mean it,” he said, turning towards her. “I’m glad it’s not a love song. There are more important things than romantic love, even though it seems like that’s all anyone wants to sing about these days.”

“I don’t think about love all that much, for myself.” she said.

“I guess it’s pretty unrelated to the stuff you usually work on, huh? I’m curious to know, what do you think about love?”

“The sky is as deep as it is dark,” she said with her eyes shut. “I think love is like that.”

Anyone who saw her then would have thought she was confessing to the wind. She looked so blissful, so beautiful and so happy sitting under the moonlight, far away from the fire. It seemed almost to Dimitri as if she glowed.

“Oh, how so?” he asked.

She took a moment to ponder. Then said, “It’s a large pool that, once you’ve fallen in, you have no way of finding out just how vast it is, nor how far you have before you reach a floor. If you get deep enough, there’s barely any way to tell which way is up, it becomes like a womb, and you don’t know if you can breathe, but you’re not thinking about that. You don’t think about anything, really, when you’re in love. That’s how it is for me.” She turned towards him. “What’s it like for you?”

Dimitri stared at her to get a better sense of the question. But Ilya’s face betrayed no emotion, though her cheeks had turned a lovely pink. Was she asking for research purposes, or was she trying to sieve his feelings … towards her?

He must have taken too long to answer because Ilya carried the conversation on her own. “I guess there’s not much point asking you, is there? It’s different for everybody, I imagine. It’d be impossible to collect opinions from them all.”

Of course, she didn’t think of him that way. Dimitri looked down, mildly embarrassed that he had been so vain.

“It doesn’t sound like you don’t think about love much,” he said.

“Compared to the amount of attention I place on each of my projects, I don’t think about love often. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a topic as intriguing as any other. Personally, I think it’s as wonderful a topic to contemplate as some of the greatest open questions of the universe. Nobody knows the answer. Sadly, that’s also the reason why it’s not very practical to think about that. There are many other more productive things to contemplate.” Ilya’s face was a bright red.

“That’s a first. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use ‘practical’ to describe love. And did you just say it’s unproductive to think about love?”

“I’ll say what I want to say,” said Ilya with a charming glint in her eyes. Then she let out a little giggle. Yup, she was definitely drunk.

Dimitri laughed at that and realised he hadn’t laughed so carefreely in a long time. Was he tipsy?

“I used to be like you, you know?” said Dimitri after he recovered. “When I was on the island, I didn’t look for love, and I didn’t want love to find me. I didn’t realise I had been avoiding it.” He looked up, as if reimagining a memory.

“And?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think about love now? Do you often think about it?”

“I have to say the episodes are getting more frequent.” Yeah, he was definitely drunk. That was the only reason why he would say such a thing.

“Any particular reason?”

“Oh, there was a certain girl I met when I was at my worst and she brainwashed me into falling for—”

“I definitely did not brainwash you,” Ilya protested with an indignant tone. But a small smile was playing at the corners of her lips.

“Did you really not know?”

“With my IQ, how could I not have known?”

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Just wanted to hear you say it properly.”

“I was going to.”

“I know you were, you just needed a little more nudging to get you there.”

“Thanks. Thanks for everything.”

“Don’t thank me. Just …”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

“I won’t say it.”

“Why not?”

“There’s no meaning to it if you do it just because I ask you to. It doesn’t mean anything if you just obey.”

“I get it. I promise you, I’ll do it.”

She shot him a quizzical look. “And just what are you promising?”

“I have no idea,” Dimitri answered honestly.

She laughed. “You’re silly, you know that? Nobody makes promises for what they don’t know they’re promising.”

“If I’m silly, it’s only because I trust you. And it’s also because I want you to trust me too.”

It made Ilya smile even more to hear him say that.

“So, did you have fun?” Dimitri asked, grinning as he rubbed his ribs from the impact. He took a marshmallow stick from the fire and offered it to her.

“Yeah. I did,” Ilya said. She took a piece of marshmallow into her mouth and her face melted into bliss. The girl had a beautiful smile. “I’m glad I’m here.”

“I haven’t asked. What made you change your mind?” Dimitri was sure he had been unsuccessful in his attempt to convince her to attend the festival earlier that day.

“The question isn’t what. The question is, who?” she said.

Dimitri leaned close to Ilya and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear so he could see her face better.

She stared at him, surprised.

A raindrop fell between them just then. Startled, Dimitri cleared his throat. “Is it raining?”

“It would seem so,” Ilya said as more raindrops started painting the ground a few shades darker. She held a palm out facing the sky to verify.

“Come on,” Dimitri said, getting up from his seat. “Let’s get inside.”

“Why?” asked Ilya. “We welcome the rain whenever it arrives. Don’t you have showers of blessings where you come from too?”

“We do, but most people don’t really like it when it rains. Except for the farmers, it’s usually good news for the crops,” Dimitri explained.

“What do you do when it rains?” asked Ilya.

“Run inside for shelter. Who wants to get wet?”

“What does it matter? You’ll dry off sooner or later anyway,” said Ilya.

“Well, what do you do when it rains?”

“Your people hide from the rain. I, for one, like to identify the colour of the rain. Sometimes I think it’s blue, other times it seems to be yellow or even green. We bathe in the darkness of the rainclouds, dance to the thunder and laugh at the lightning.”

Droplets of rain fell onto the metal limbs. Those prosthetics glittered under the force of the rainwater. They stole the show. The people seemed to move as a completely fluid entity, The night seemed like an endless stream of song and dance. Footsteps were rhythmic where one would expect them to be chaotic, and arm movements seemed untrained with refined grace. There were no shadows at night. Only silhouettes. After the rain, the metal heaps surrounding glittered especially shiny against the darkness, creating the most magical shroud for the people who lived as robotic fairies.