Stirna-Cycle
Stirna-Cycle
I sat in silence as the dark surface flaked away and grew lighter, and fingertips gently breached its surface. The Icari on the other side poked one finger through, then their hand, and then half of their body, tearing through the eggshell and almost crashing to the floor. I caught them and said hello.
She had black hair and pale skin, and her expression was a lot calmer than I expected, too neutral to be natural.
Maybe she was in shock?
I let her go and sat in front of her, inviting her to sit too. She did, and I asked her what her dream was like.
Instead of talking, she tried her best to mimic an explosion with her hands in front of her face. I nodded and searched through Risa’s translated book of names, until I found the one for “Explosion”. What an awful way to die.
The first translation that I saw was so close to Risa’s name that I knew I wouldn’t be able to bear calling her that. I skimmed through the list, eventually choosing “Stirna”.
“Your new name is Stirna, meaning explosion.”
Still, she didn’t speak.
“Well, Stirna, I think that you should get some sleep. I know that you must have tons of questions, and I can answer them whenever you’re ready to ask.”
She nodded and we made our way upstairs, the first two Icari to be born in this decade. I felt like Risa, which felt horrible. I could only hope that I wouldn’t end up like her, and Stirna wouldn’t have to mourn me as soon as she was cast into this world.