#ct.open

Calliope had never participated in any kind of festival before. In the past, she had been so busy with work on the farm that she didn’t even know that there were events that went on in town. But she had convinced herself to make more frequent trips into town, and in turn, she had come to learn about the different festivals that took place in Clearwell.

The children in her class were eager for the day of the festival, excited to take part in the flower themed arts and crafts that Calliope had planned for them. And now that the weekend had arrived, she was eager to attend herself, even if only to walk around and look at all the beautiful plants. Sunflowers were her favorite, but she knew it was not the season for them. But the other flowers were just as beautiful. She was so excited, she even wore her favorite yellow sundress with her worn cowboy boots (she couldn’t remember the last time she wore a different pair of shoes).

She and Anna walked into town that morning. It was a bit of a walk, but the day was warm, the sun was bright, and she was feeling particularly happy just to be outside. Bear trotted along with her happily as they made their way into town, following Calliope as Anna drifted off on her own, amazed by the variety of colorful flowers unlike any she had seen at home in the city. the dog’s nose twitched in the air at the aroma of the flowers. Calliope sucked in a deep breath. Nothing was more pure than the air in Clearwell.

She took her time moving through town, admiring the flowers, calling to Bear from time to time when he had wandered away from her side to follow his nose. Calliope knew it was tradition to give bouquets of flowers to people in town, each color representing something different. But she couldn’t possibly remember what every color meant. Except red, of course. The most intimate or flower colors. Surely that was intended for romantic relationships, of which Calliope did not have. But perhaps there was something she could get for Anna to make up for their earlier fight.

She wasn’t quite sure what her relationships were, really. She felt like she was still just getting to know everyone in town. She didn’t think he was nearly close enough to any of them to give them a bouquet of flowers and was pleasantly surprised - touched, rather - when she did receive a beautiful orange bouquet from Riley, left sitting on her desk. Otherwise, that was the downfall to keeping to herself on her farm, she supposed - never having a chance to really form any friendships. She just hoped it wasn’t too late for her.

Tamara stood outside of her cabin and stared at the wilderness and weeds that had taken over the whole of the gardening space. She had moved on a whim without a thought in the world, as if her instincts had taken over just like the weeds in the raised garden beds before her.

She clapped her hands together, almost-dainty and covered in gardening gloves to combat the pricklers and the thorns.

Oh, this just would not do, she thought, eyes scanning the overgrowth and the wood under; oh, was it rotting, too?

It made her a little bit sad--she had hoped to start gardening as soon as she moved here; clearly, it showed just how naive she was to living on her own.

She reached into her shorts pockets (held up by a thin pair of black suspenders, her white shirt tucked neatly into the hem), digging around for her gardening scissors. Best to do away with the weeds before anything else, hm?

If pancakes had eyes, the pile in front of Holly would be winning the staring contest.

A pair of high-energy teenagers had found their way into the bistro, laughing loudly and ordering drinks and. much to the chef’s delight, a large plate of hotteoks. However, midway through the baking process, the quieter of the two realized she lost her wallet and profusely apologized to Holly for wasting her time.

Of course, it was no trouble at all, but now Holly was left with a group order of those perfectly sweet desserts. She figured she could eat a few of them, but by the time she could serve them to another customer, they would be cold.

“Can’t reheat these.” Holly mumbled to herself as she picked up the plate and walked towards the door. “No way no how.”

 Sybil sat on the front steps of her new home, tossing a ball to Jiji. She listened with a smile as the dog ran across the front yard, catching the ball in his mouth as it rolled across the grass. He trotted back up to her and dropped the ball in her lap so the process could continue.

She threw it again, a little harder this time, testing her limits. She listened to Jiji’s panting as it moved away from her. The ball made a light thud against the fence that marked the boundary between her property and the road. She calculated the distance easily in her head, based off the distance of the sound and the steps she had counted between the gate and the front steps. There was roughly fifty feet between her and the road.

Jiji returned, dropping the ball in her lap once more. This time, she tossed it upward slightly. She heard Jiji move away quickly, leaping in the air to catch the ball in his mouth before it landed on the ground.

They had been in Clearwell only a few days now. Her mothers, Alex and Blake, along with her sister Ellie and ‘Uncle’ Mark, met her in town with the moving truck the day she arrived, helping her set up her new home. Blake made sure, of course, that Sybil would have a house that was fenced in all around, because, you know, Sybil might go walking out into the so very busy road like a toddler. 

She didn’t bother to argue with her mother. In fact, it really didn’t matter what the house looked like - she couldn’t see it, anyway. But, she supposed they picked out the best one for her, and it did seem nice. It had a nice smell to it, suggesting it was fresh and clean. There was no sign of mold or smoke from a previous smoker. The wood floors had a very natural feel under her bare feet, and she had come to quickly appreciate the subtle sounds the house offered, speaking to her.

She made sure the furniture was all placed accordingly to allow her to move easily through the house. Ellie eagerly guided her older sister through the house, giving her a tour, when they finished decorating and setting everything up. Sybil memorized the layout quickly, feeling confident she would be able to navigate with or without Jiji at her side. She prided herself on her independence, despite the lengths her family went for her to make things as simple as possible.

Jiji seemed to like the new place, too. He settled in just as quickly as Sybil did, feeling relaxed at his master’s side. He had dropped the ball at her feet and settled in to lay against her legs as Sybil lost herself in another day dream. She supposed at some point, she would have to venture into town and do some shopping. Though Alex and Blake had picked up some groceries for her, it wouldn’t last her forever.

She felt Jiji tense up against her legs. He picked his head up, his ears pricked forward, a small whine in his throat. He stood up then, his wagging tail lightly hitting against Sybil’s legs. Someone was walking by; she could hear the footsteps just as Jiji had noticed their approach.

Sybil got to her feet. Jiji didn’t have his service vest on, but the dog knew better than to stray far from her. She let her fingers curl in the air, the sign Jiji had grown accustomed to, and she felt the dog lean against her legs, assuring her that he was still there.

“Okay, come on,” she said. She knew the dog was eager to introduce himself to the stranger walking by. And it was likely that they had their eyes on Jiji, perhaps hesitant about the dog who stared intently at them.

Patrol was typically a pretty routine procedure for Virgil. Pace the town, talk to the citizens of Clearwell, assure the people felt safe on their streets. Make sure no one threw out their back trying to carry anything too heavy, or was in the midst of taking an unnecessary risk attempting to get their cat out of the tree it had climbed into. It was peaceful, for the most part - some might have found it dull, but it was sort of cathartic compared to the rush and endless bustle of the city.

Today’s patrol, however, was a little bit different. 

“Excuse me.”

Virgil cleared his throat as he approached, should his words not have been heard the first time. It wouldn’t do to surprise anyone!

“I’ve received a warnin’ recently from Havencrest that a suspicious person ‘scaped here by train the previous evening. Have you seen this man?”

Unfurling the poster in his hands, he holds it up before the other individual.

...Uh. 

That’s... hopefully not a being that thrives within this plane in existence anywhere. Judging from the Sheriff’s grave expression, however, the... erm, vague nature of the criminal’s depiction has either escaped him or simply gone unnoticed in his search. He reaches up with his free hand and scratches his chin, frowning.

“... S’not indicated on the poster, but he’s ‘bout 5′10 and travellin’ with a bag full of stolen watches. They weren’t very timely ‘bout sendin’ me the information, so I dunno if he’s armed, but... no heroics, yeah?”

There was a lot that needed to be improved at the clinic. Most of it was really out of his control- the washing machine in the back, for example. An ancient, loud machine that likely dated back to the 1960s. Why’d a medical clinic have something like that? Who knows. And the medical files- god, that mess. They just didn’t have the technology of the modern world to put it in files on a computer, so they all had to stay in their musty grey file cabinets. Alma couldn’t fix either of these things- but they worked decently, so for now he didn’t have to try.

But goddess be blessed, the fix-it spirit so overflowing in Alma would not be put to waste. There were countless things that did need to be fixed, and to start, Alma would update the patient records, dusty as they were. He had organized much of them just the other day, weeding out those dead and no longer in town. Today he’d see what he could do to make sure said records were up to date by making phone calls to update records and make sure the townspeople were up to date on physicals and other such regular appointments. It’d be a disaster if the mess left by the previous staff caused some sort of medical...outbreak of something or other. At that thought, Alma made a mental note to make sure everyone had their mandated vaccinations. Yeah. Just to be safe. Someone had to make sure of that around here.

One quick glance at today’s schedule ensured a free afternoon, and that was all the assurance Alma needed to heft a stack of files from the back room to the front desk, pluck one off the top of the pile, flip it open, and start dialing the number listed. He had a long day ahead of him, but Alma was ready to tackle it with all the tenacity he had in him.

Myrtle stood in front of Clearwell’s town hall, wearing a light burgundy jacket and a frown. Despite the miniscule population of the area, the community noticeboard was bristling with event posters, local news, and the strangest requests for specific items or aid. But if Clearwell was so busy and engaged already, was there even a spot for the library to re-establish itself as a community resource?

 After ripping off a contact number from the Clearwell Fortunes advertisement - she had her suspicions a spirit was the source of the noises in her apartment walls - Myrtle decided to post her flyer neatly over a bulletin detailing past Winter events, as the frosty season was finally starting to melt away. One by one, she removed the tacks she had clamped between her teeth and pinned them to the corners, securing the poster against the cool breeze.

She took a step back and cocked her head, admiring her handiwork. The posters had only taken her an hour or so to design this morning, but bullying the ancient library printer into action had extended the task well into her lunch break.

YOUR COMMUNITY LIBRARY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!

Book borrowing, reserving, and order-in services available + MUCH MORE at the CLEARWELL LIBRARY! Find us in the residential district.

FREE INTERNET ACCESS!

The re-opening of the Clearwell Archives and Tea & Biscuit Tuesdays are COMING SOON!

Stay tuned for our upcoming community programs, events, and get-togethers!

PS. Allergic to cats? Please let our staff know before the library takes one in.

“Is it false advertising to announce ‘upcoming events and get-togethers,” Myrtle mused aloud, “Even if we currently have diddly-squat in the works?”

Alice watches the cow as it stands silently listening to something in the distance. Alice can’t hear anything over the repeating crank of the Bolex camera. She releases the little metal button and sighs. The camera’s crank stops spinning and the film stops taking. Usually this is enough, just the cows, but today Alice just isn’t loving it. Just another stationary cow. She already spent all the time getting the film in there; she had to find something, or someone, to shoot. She groans a little looking down the long winding road to town. She liked living in the outskirts because it is quiet, but she if there is any action in Clearwell today, it’ll be in town. Of course that’s a ways away.

Easily Alice lifts the tripod up over her shoulder and starts her march toward town. She cuts across a once full corn field. Breathlessly she admires the beauty of the barren fields coated in a light snow. Even the yellow dead stalks sticking out make her heart ache. Knowing that she’ll never be able to replicate this feeling of walking through a snowy field with just her camera. 

She wastes no more time then and speeds along to town to try and make it before most of the shops close and the bar opens. Alice smiles as she passes the little store fronts, their windows decorated, their doors open. She loves the friendly environment of a town living in the past. Inside she could see people talking to each other, working together, no one distracted by a device, people simply enjoying people.