You would think, considering the transient nature of a Wild One, I would grow inured to the comings and goings of those I call my sisters, but, and you can ask Valentina this, they all leave a bit of themselves within me. Right now, there are eleven of us: Ligaya, Kamboja, Daraja, Widad, Talei, Sevda, Areum, Ghufran, Etsuko, Valentina, and me. Five years ago, there were twenty.

The sky is soon painted in the crimson shades of a broken heart; it demands all our attention. Sunsets and sunrises are perhaps the only things that still command our reverence. One announces an end to pain and the other indicates a new beginning: two things that are invaluable to us.

“What Josefa said…,” Valentina says suddenly, and I look at her. She catches my eyes and becomes quiet. But of course, it’s far too late.

“What did Josefa say?” Areum asks.

“He warned us of a new danger,” Daraja replies, shivering even though it’s a hot day.

Now everyone is looking at me. I glare at Valentina and pretend I have all the answers. I am really good at pretending, in case you’re wondering.

“We have no information yet, so there’s no use panicking. There’ll be plenty of time for that once we know exactly what shape this monster takes,” I say. I understand why the girls are spooked. Thus far, we have lived, skirting the peripheries of the human world and the middle world, slipping under the radar of the magical heavyweights. We don’t like the idea of having targets painted on us.

“Let’s go back to the apartment. We still have a festival to go to! We’ll find out more about this person later. All right?” stinky Valentina says, trying to make up for placing her foot in everyone’s mouth earlier.

I jump off the wall and wobble. Ghufran steadies me without a word. I beam at her before I start walking. I wonder if they will have mangoes at the festival.

“Are you really not worried about this new threat?” Valentina says in my ear.

“I’ll worry about it after the festival,” I tell her, and walk faster.

Cotton Candy Sugar Screams

The Sugar Festival is an annual celebration in Lautoka City. There is a parade, but we are more interested in the festival grounds located in Churchill Park, not far from the city center. The festival grounds boast fair rides, food vendors, game kiosks, and a stage upon which musical performances, both traditional and modern, are held.

We emerge from our apartment two hours after the night swoops down, spilling darkness all over surfaces and shielding the cracks in the pavement from further censure.