Three Bells: [WRITTEN] - New Horizons in Lit Appreciation

[simplestgift]

They have everything Shakespeare ever wrote in the library.  Everything!  It's a fountain of gold.  I could spend days here.  I'd sleep here if they'd let me.  I don't think I've ever been happier.  And there's no theatre group here?  None?  Do people here not realize what they have?  What kind of a world is this?

In case anyone asks, I'll be in the library for the rest of my life.

[Or really just the rest of the day.   At some point he'll have to come up for air and grab something to eat at the 7th Heaven, where he'll be buried in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  It'll be dark before he goes home, carrying only a single book.]

Comments

[simplestgift]

[A blank look again. Then he pronounces the word again. Being an Englishman of his time, he actually pronounces the first 'r'.]

That is the way it's pronounced. February. It's a bit awkward, isn't it?

[memoryboxes]

[She nods.]

Actually, I ran into a similar problem with Wednesday, when I was learning my days here! It's so strange, how some things work. Then again, I'm easily mystified by a lot of stuff people would find normal...

[simplestgift]

[He nods, wondering if most people shouldn't be mystified by this sort of thing. Then, realizing she must have no idea who he is, he holds out his hand.] Archie Kennedy.

1/2

[memoryboxes]

Oh—

[Giving that hand a confused staaare. And then slowly taking it with her own. Is this right? Did she forget how to do something here? 8|a]

[memoryboxes]

I'm Sayo! It's nice to meet you, Archie-san.

[simplestgift]

[He relaxes and shakes her hand gently, as if it might break.] Good to meet you, Sayo. Er. Why do some people here say my name with that word after it?

[memoryboxes]

Oh, then they must be Japanese as well! At home, in order to be polite, we use honorifics like -san. To express respect.

[simplestgift]

You're from the Japans?

[memoryboxes]

I am! You know about it?

[simplestgift]

The Japans, yes. I was in the navy, and it was considered bad form not to know generally where everything is in the world.

[memoryboxes]

The navy? What might that be, if I'm allowed to ask?

[And of course, like every single thing she doesn't know, she carries in her expression sincere and complete interest.]

[simplestgift]

It's...er, it's men who do battle at sea.

[memoryboxes]

[Luckily, she's been told the basics of battle—that is bad, actually. She frowns at that, a hand hovering at her mouth.]

Goodness—that must be a dangerous job... I had no idea people even fought in the ocean...

[simplestgift]

Battle's always dangerous, ma'am.

[memoryboxes]

...Yes... I imagine it must be...

[She runs her hand down the side of her face, thoughtful.]

How do you bring yourself to fight back against something else, though? Isn't it frightening, to have to do something like that?

[simplestgift]

[There's a pause, then a soft answer.]

Yes. Yes, it is.

[memoryboxes]

[She manages a little smile.]

Then you have my thanks, for what you're doing. Even if I'm not from your world, or not from your time, or even your country—fighting for your people is a very noble act.

It's certainly one I don't think I could do...

[simplestgift]

[His lips part slightly in surprise. He is clearly deeply touched.] Thank you. Thank you very much. I...[a little smile, almost shy]...I don't think anyone's ever said that to me. I'm just doing my duty. That's the way we look at it.

1/2

[memoryboxes]

Duty isn't something people have to do. Sometimes, they avoid it.

[A tiny smile draws on her lips.]

It's the people who actually face it head-on that are worth thanking, in my opinion.

[memoryboxes]

Besides, you do far more than myself! I spend most of my days just cooking dinner and cleaning my house—well, did. Since the Malnosso brought me here, I haven't been able to do my usual routines.

[simplestgift]

[A tentative smile, though he is still deeply moved by how she has honored him.] That's more or less what I've been up to as well, Sayo. It's harder than it looks. [He glances down.] Not to mention if there weren't a domestic world, I'd only be fighting to fight.

[memoryboxes]

The restless kind of person?

[simplestgift]

Oh! I mean, it wouldn't be important if there were nothing to protect. No, I'm not very much what one looks for in an officer, I'm afraid.

[memoryboxes]

That's alright, I think! I'm not exactly the best definition of a mother—I'm clumsy and forgetful and I tend to get lectures from my son instead of the other way around...

[She picks up her book, smiling.]

But as long as we're both putting our heart into things, I think it'll be okay. Don't you think so?

[simplestgift]

[There's some hesitation in his answer.] I do hope so. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sayo!