Wits and Design (Ominous, Kaplan)

On the day we first met...

It was on that auspicious day I smiled. Then again, didn't I always smile? People used to tell me that it was that smile that gave them a bit of peace in mind about the world around me. Of course, that's just them flattering me. Auspicious. What exactly made this day auspicious? Maybe it was the way the white flowers beneath me swayed gently in a gallant mix with purple flowers coexisting with them, or maybe it was how the sun hung over me, shining brightly in a way that could be described as only bright and warming. That could be it...but my mind hadn't exactly placed an answer to my question.

My feet walked along the grassy floor of the meadow. There was all the familiar sights I knew. The collection of oak trees around me. The clumps of white and purple flowers that mixed into a sea of calmness. The clouds that I always found to never be too dark or too transparent. This meadow was by far, one the nicest places in District 9 that I knew of. Wherever there was a chance, there was me following it towards the meadow. There was something peaceful about it. Something colorful. The flowers that swayed gently. The wind that caressed your skin in a likewise gentle motion. It only took one word so simple, and so correct to describe it. Beautiful...

The bright sunlight bounced off my eyes. I covered the disturbance with a light movement of my right hand to my forehead, shielding whatever sunlight tried to penetrate through my epidermic layers. My legs carried me up my favorite hill. It was neither largest, nor the smallest, but it carried a grace of its own between the middle. It was special in its own way for me. From atop the view, you could see both the ground and the trees in a collage. A feat that wasn't accomplished with anything larger or smaller than my hill. I loved it all. This was District 9's own treasure. My treasure...

My eyes perked to see an unfamiliar shape lying across the grass from a fair distance from me. Looks like I'm not the only one who comes here a lot. I thought to myself, smiling a bit. It was always nice to have someone who enjoyed the same things you did. I walked over to the humanly figure. From a closer glance, I realized that humanly figure was a female. An attractive one, too. Her hair was a curly black, and her eyes...they glistened; that pair of chocolate brown eyes she owned had a glow to them, an alluring one.

"Hey. I see you're enjoying nature over here. Liking anything so far?" I asked her. Maybe I was bit too casual, but I swore if I kept looking at her face I might have stuttered back there.

I found myself a bit embarrassed by the sudden change of words that flowed from my mouth. I regretted even thinking of such things, or even more so, attempting to construct a sentence based off such thoughts. I look into the girl's chocolate eyes again, neither staring, nor glancing, just a simple look acknowledging her presence. Grace, the curly black hair girl doesn't seem to notice my sudden change of words, perhaps she thought I paused for a second to think. Or maybe that's not the case. Perhaps she did notice. Perhaps she just didn't think much of it. I keep pondering this thought, wondering if she'll ever ask me why I did such, but no such action occurs. Instead she just gazes about at the scenery, and speaks as if I didn't say anything, as if a continuation of her last speaking.

"She's my best friend. I love to be with her. She's the one person that really understands me. Do you know what I mean?" She says. I reply with a curt nod, giving her the spotlight, as she seems to have more to say about this Dusty. I grow fairly curious. I draw the question in mind. In my head, I'm doing nothing but describing her in my head. Picturing this person with a vivid imagination. Just who is this Dusty? Caring. Kind. Delicate. Noble. True. She's blind, yet she never let's it become the source of anxiety. Her hair flutters in long strands, and her right hand reaches to caress them in smooth, gentle strokes, like how her smile stretches slowly with her lips. Her eyes. I can't seem to picture them quite well, but I imagine a soft, blue glow in their place. When I think about it, it seems like maybe I'm more interested with this Grace's story then I let on.

I wait for more of this story to be told, but I notice Grace looking off elsewhere. I follow her gaze and turn, looking for the source of her attention. When I look on, I see another figure, limping -- no, not quite. It was more like someone struggling to find their footing in this grassy meadow. But how is that even possible when you can see- Unless you're blind... The thought doesn't even have to float about for me to even realize it so soon. Dusty. She's coming near...

Grace's voice calls out to Dusty, calling her by her name, and at the same time, confirming my previous thoughts. The girl -- Dusty responds with a respective signal, telling us she knows where they are. I slowly stand up to help her, but her movements are what stop me as she manages to traverse the terrain without stumbling, clearly showing me that this was no difficult task for her. When she finally sits down right next to Grace, and by "sits" I mean she leans against her for balance, I get a good look at this Dusty. She's not even close to the image I had in mind -- but then again, I tend to be a bit too much imaginative -- but in a way she seems serene, and calm. Calm as a bird flying through a storm. So, this is the famous Dusty I've been hearing about, Grace?" I say, starting up the conversation. "You didn't tell me she was meeting with you today. I say with this grin on my face, already knowing of the answer.

Grace's eyes roll at me, possibly in annoyance, but I had hoped that wasn't the case here."I didn't necessarily know she was coming, though I'm more than glad that she did. At least you'll have more than one person to ask the questions to." She told me. I wasn't sure whether she was trying to be rude or not, but whenever I thought about it, my mind went back to her eye rolling. She's totally annoyed with me... I tell myself with depressive thinking. Although, I quickly forget such thoughts, and regain my optimism. Being depressed was going to get me nowhere, but being depressed. Perhaps being a bit sarcastic -- even if it was friendly -- with Grace was a bit pushing it here. I watch myself. I watch my words a bit, now. After all, I didn't want to unsettle this girl's perfect day today, so I made sure whatever came out of my mouth didn't sound like mockery, and what came out would be a bit the opposite.

"Well, I don't think it's quite possible to get bored of someone you just met, especially someone as nice as you. I smile at her, telling her I meant it, and possibly to also show that I didn't mean to be mean in any way. My eyes glance at Dusty. She was but a small dark silhouette from afar, but from up close she was quite attractive. Her blonde hair rustles loosely against the wind, matching the meadow grass itself. There's a brief swaying, before it settles. There was something about her that felt a bit reserved and refined in manner. It was the way she carried herself that told me this. She seemed like the type of girl who would rather listen to your story than speak about it. When I thought about it like that it became crystal clear, that these two were perfect companions for one another. There was a brief silence afterwards, in it I pictured a scene before me. I could almost imagine the a table. A small, round, white, and simple table that protruded from the grassy depths underneath, held by the white legs that collected themselves from the top, tied themselves in the middle, then separated onto the ground. It was like white vines in still motion. And sitting on two opposite chairs was Grace and Dusty. I could imagine it. Grace, chatting non-stop, while Dusty would listen, fitting an occasional brief nod as Grace finished her sentences one by one. I imagined that something like this could easily go all day between the two.

When reality broke into my thoughts, it used the form of a glimmer to announce its intrusion. Diamond earrings. Grace's diamond earrings. They had the occasional habit of gleaming casually, reflecting the sun's light with a multitude of sparkles from all sides and ends. It was a wonder how I could take my eyes off them. My gaze returned to Grace just as her mouth broke into voice. Her voice comforts Dusty, who seemed to be concerned of her for some reason unclear to me. Perhaps if I had set myself into reality more, instead of daydreaming, I would have known more about this little tidbit of knowledge.

When she returns my glance with hers she speaks again, this time it's my turn to be spoken to once more. "You never did tell me your name." "Oh, I didn't?" Wait... "Oh, yeah, I didn't!" I say the words a bit loudly in repetition, showing a bit of embarrassment in the process. I realized the error in my conversation with her, she gave me her name, but as for me, I didn't. "Um..." I start to say. "I'm Glaice... Glaice Rivers... I live a bit off in the more populated areas of Nine." I don't just say it, I point it out. My head turns towards the direction of home, and my finger trails itself, slicing through air itself, as it gestures towards the left of me towards where I came from. There were a couple of oaks in view, and my finger continued to gesture, pointing towards the small patch of dirt laid out like a road. A moment later I returned my eyes to Grace's. Hopefully, this would clear up a bit more about myself to her.