@deathsfool / starter call.
â± Â : the lights the alraune place on the rafts and set down the river from the base of the grand tree ophiuchus are more than enough to illuminate the evening. she watches in silence as dozens of little points of light drift steadily along the waterâs surface, each symbolic of someoneâs wishes towards another, living or, possibly, dead. in a place like this, one could really never be certain what another had left behind.
yukari finds herself thinking about gensokyo more often than sheâd like, no matter how she tries to enjoy herself in the present â the choice is out of her hands anyhow, so thereâs no use worrying about any of it â but thatâs just the problem: she worries, and she worries, and she worries. of course, not a soul would ever read it from her face nor posture, nor would she ever simply say so aloud, but that little fear, that her home and her people have gone to ruin in her absence, gnaws at her insides like a rat in a sack of rice. all she can do is smile and carry on, as always.
and perhaps seek a little fun to pass the time, of course. she spots a nearby young lady to potentially antagonize, if the moment is right.
âthe lights certainly are mesmerizing, arenât they?â
âdid you come to ask the alraune to set one to the river for you?â
  it truly is beautiful. the soft, almost ethereal glow the countless candles create as they float atop the waterâs surface. sheâs been watching for hours now, silent, as if speaking would break some sort of sacred silence sheâs imposed upon herself. in truth, Minako was simply lost in thought.
    itâs been strange. to be alive once more and to have knowledge of a choice she made, a choice that ripped everything away in order spare those she cherished most from any pain. here, in this place, she remembers that choice. feelings of that have led her here, feet planted firmly as her gaze never leaves the water. she misses them. every single day, she misses them more than she thought was humanly possible. itâs as if there are tiny pieces of her missing, gone away and thereâs no way for her to get them back-- not that she feels as if she has any right to want them back anyhow. she made a choice and Minako has to live with it, as difficult as it has been. even if it was for their sake, there was a selfishness in that choice. but was it so wrong, to not want them to suffer? she doubts sheâll ever get an answer to that.Â
 those people were important to her. and even if her wishes will fall on deaf ears, she still....she still wants to do it. for them. they deserve that much, at the very least. she does not know what she will wish for. forgiveness? for them to find peace, wherever that be? a hope that theyâre happy in some other world? maybe all of the above. itâll do nothing to ease the guilt that gnaws at her heart, but she is not doing it for that.Â
   the womanâs voice does not startle her and briefly does the teen cast a glance to see who had spoken before her eyes return to the flickering lights. â They are. Iâve never seen so many before....â but in a place like this, no doubt there were plenty of people who carried wishes for others in their hearts.
    â...kinda. Itâll be more than just one, so I hope thereâs enough candles. â