#haha i haven't bee this stimulated in a while.

[udretlnea]

The Divine City: Some Slices of Life

Part 1 (here) \ Part 2 \ Part 3 \ Part 4

“Amor Fati - ‘Love your fate’, which is in fact your life”

Friedrich Nietzsche

On the early morning of August 2nd, the grapes glistened like jewels as the rising sun reflected off of the morning dew. Their size and color was telling. It was time to harvest them.

The grapes of the Divine City were big and purple. Henry smiled to himself as he plucked several clusters of grapes with one hand. With Volksfest arriving this month, so too does the harvest. Naturally, this meant that the pumpkins were also ready; the wheat, ripened earlier in July, was in the middle of being gathered.

Sometimes, Henry imagined the farmlands to be as vast as half the continent. To him, this was his entire world (ignoring the bi-weekly trips into the city for the house). The farm boy thought about what it must look like to visitors; waking up at the crack of dawn, toiling in the fields, tending to the animals. It was all honest work that he deeply admired in his gut. 

A part of him thought it was romantic. There was just something about all of…that which made him feel warm and fuzzy. 

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his palm made him cry out. He pulled back his hand and clutched it close to his chest. Henry frowned at a particularly sharp branch, then slowly uncovered his palm.

He sighed in relief. It didn’t break the skin which means no blood. Good.

As he stared down at it, he saw he’d dropped a cluster of grapes. Tutting, he brushed it off and put it in the basket with the others before moving on. He looked around him.

In distant fields, neighbors were making quick progress judging by how far down they were on their grapevines. Meanwhile, he still had three quarters of his section to go. If he wanted to finish early, he’d have to go into overdrive.

 And so like all teenagers who wanted to finish early to play, Henry shut his mind off and went to work. That way, time would pass quicker. Before he realized it, Henry finished harvesting and placed his buckets of fruit in a cart with the rest. Then he jogged as quick as he could to the city.

Getting there took around ten minutes, but he made it to his destination. A boarded up hole in the wall leading to the inside. He recalled his dad calling it a service tunnel. For what, he wasn’t sure, but it sure did him a good service by allowing Henry to sneak past the entrance. 

The Divine City lacked a proper name because nothing could really describe it in one word. At least, that’s what Henry thought as the cart passed the gate after a brief stop. He could feel his excitement building up. It was almost difficult to contain, like trying to cover up an overflowing bucket of water.

He wandered around almost like a kid in the candy store.

Stores were already putting up signs advertising their wares. Henry noticed a man strongly hammering on a giant sign that proclaimed it sold the best high-quality wine. 

Not even several days in, and competition’s already started, huh? He quietly chuckled to himself. Resting a knuckle against his cheek the farm boy imagined himself of drinking age, entering one of the pubs. It was a pretty image that he entertained while the cart kept going. 

The taste of wine was something he had to fabricate from scratch. One of the downsides to being a teen was his lack of experience for everything; he was aware of his naivete to an extent. But he believed he made up for it with his good natured rascalism. He wasn’t going to apologize for being himself - unless it actually harmed an innocent.

Finally, the cart stopped. Henry hopped off and jogged away. There was something he needed to do here before the morning rush.

Henry ducked into an alley. He remembered the way - or more accurately he remembered what the store looked like and memorized the route for that singular place. And ONLY that place. 

It was a small antique shop sandwiched between a cafe and a hat store. The appearance was somewhat dull, but no less interesting.

Henry opened the door and was greeted with a pleasant chime. Almost immediately a rough voice yelled out, “Welcome to Timeless Treasures! How may I help you?”

A giant wall of muscle stepped into view. He wore a green plain apron over a white collared shirt and dark blue slacks. A nametag reading “Havel” was tagged on the apron’s left. In Henry’s opinion, his massive frame made for a funny image among the delicate looking and priceless antiques; he wisely kept that thought to himself.

“What is up, Havel my good man?” Henry asks casually as he saunters up to the counter. “I’m here for my super special thingy-mabob.”

The man rolls his eyes. “Aye. I’ll have your ‘thingy-mabob’ in a jiffy. Stay there and don’t touch anything.”

Henry does so. He waits for two minutes when Havel comes back holding a moderate sized wrapped box; the bright teal green and the golden ribbon made it pleasant looking. The teen excitedly reaches in his pocket to place a somewhat heft pouch. It lands on the counter with an audible thump. 

Havel picks it up and counts it off quickly. After he’s confirmed it’s the exact amount, he puts it under the counter. In that moment, Henry feels his chest glow warm with pride; all those months of saving his allowance combined with doing odd jobs paid off. He could almost imagine the look on his parents’ face when it was time to reveal his gift.

But that is in the future when Volksfest truly kicks off.

Henry gives the owner a brief thanks then heads back the way he came. To his amusement, he found the morning rush just starting to form; he turned to a cart parked in front of another cafe - seriously, how many cafes does a city need - and snuck back out the way he entered.

Henry ducks out of the service tunnel exit without a sound. The walk back home is silent. Around him, signs of life make itself known. Squirrels climb down to forge for food while the birds begin singing their songs. 

The breeze blows through hair and branches and the sunlight warms his skin. All of this reminds him that he is living in this moment.

He sees his house and vacantly wonders if they'd even love his gift. Doubt creeps in and weighs heavily in his gut, threatening to spill. Then, anxiety sweeps in and soothes his worries just as quickly. His parents and siblings will love it. In that he must have faith.

Before he even realizes where he is, he’s opening the door. His nostrils are assaulted by the sugary smell of cinnamon and dough.  So far, nobody seems to have noticed him gone.

He gives a silent thanks to Her Grace, though even now his guard is on high alert. Quietly closing the door, Henry sneakily climbed up the stairs. His room was empty.

He seized this opportunity by hiding the present underneath his bed. For added protection he covers it with some old white cloth.

Now satisfied, he dusts himself off. Henry turned around-

POMF

-to be hit harmlessly in the face with a pillow.

When Henry swats it away, a young boy with dirty blonde messy hair frowns at him.

The boy opens his mouth to reveal gaps in his teeth. “There you are! Where were you? I've wanted to play Upholders ever since we finished harvesting!” 

Before Henry can reply, his little brother grabs his wrist. He gives no resistance.

Thus in the morning of August 2nd, Henry was dragged away to play with his younger sibling. As the sun continued to rise over the horizon, its light managed to reflect off of a lone cloud in the otherwise clear sky. It observed the city almost like a hawk.

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A/N:

The Divine City by @yuriisclumsy

Volksfest: “╰[A Volksfest (pronounced [ˈfɔlks. fɛst]; German for “people’s festival”) is a large event in German-speaking countries which usually combines a beer festival or wine festival and a traveling funfair.] 

Volksfest begins in Autumn – August to November – because it is harvest season.

Please let me know your comments, thoughts, and critiques? Literally, anything to help improve my writing. I need to see if I can consistently update on a project and build on something pre-existing pleasingly.

Speaking of, you’ll get to learn more of these characters after this work. As I said before, this is set-up; we’ll introduce them all first before getting into the real character exploration stuff.

(ALSO FIND IT ON AO3)

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???: Done and posted. That...wasn't so bad.

???: Hm. Now comes the tricky part. Consistency's always a muddle-fudging issue. Oh. I see we're censoring our words now. Lovely.

???: Sir, I must ask: is this... post-commentary just copying the original?

'Sir': P-34, the Greeks did this thing where they commented on the action of a play. They called it a Greek chorus; also, it's what I named the lab after. Besides, these four squirts are gonna need someone explaining their actions. Though, buying a gift at an antique shop for their parents? Novel.

P-34: Yeah...if I were him I'd buy his parents something practical. Or tasty. Mmm...like potatoes dipped in cheese.

'Sir': I...remind me: were you always this hyperfixated on potatoes?

P-34: You tell me. You made me.

'Sir': Hmm...eh. I guess my little brother was rubbing off of me that one time. Whatever. Who's next.

P-34: Uhh says here...some female youth from the core section?

'Sir': Upper class. Lovely. I need to practice writing those. I'll go pull up files for any examples we recorded. Tomorrow.