Just like we expected, people started their day really early. I was barely surprised when some of the villagers already got up during sunrise and were moving around the buildings, searching for something. I needed a little bit of time to understand what was going on. My paranoid side was worried that there was awful going wrong. Maybe someone was attacking or something like that. But that wasn't the case. It seemed like one of the younger children who lived here had been up to some trouble last night. They took some of the tools for something and people were just searching for that.
Astrid and I also woke up early to see if people already knew what we were supposed to do. But to our luck, they were still discussing where we would be better utilized. Taking advantage of the situation, we just rested and ate some more food. The village here had a very wide array of fruits and vegetables that they could harvest and let us partake, even if we were yet to start our work.
Genevieve was also kind enough to leave some food behind us before she started on her duties as a guard. I found that a bit strange. She worked the late shift last night, but here she was waking up bright and early in the morning and going back to her post again. Another thing that was unusual to me was the lack of hunters. They instead only had fishermen. Which did make sense since they had to rely on fish as a food source, but the simple fact that people that went out to fight animals or monsters in order to bring back food didn't exist in this village was a very big culture shock for me. Astrid seemed to be more understanding of that, as her village had some periods where people didn't really hunt and only focused on fishing in one of the lakes or the stream that was nearby.
By the looks of things, Michael was also part of the fisherman's group. He left with some of the others and was carrying a large net that he was going to use inside the lake itself instead of just fishing on the shore. I couldn't really remember if there was a boat, a canoe or something that they could use, but I wasn't about to mention anything. After all, they knew the place better than I could ever hope to.
Eventually, we were called by Amelia some time after 10, according to the System. The matriarch had finally figured out a place where we could be better utilized. Astrid would be helping the construction crew. They were setting up a few extra houses and increasing the size of the fields while I would be part of the festival committee. Basically, just helping set up all the decorations and smaller babbles that would be decorating the festival itself.
But it was a bit of a pain to be a part of that group. The last time I had anything to celebrate was my birthday. That wasn't really something I wanted to think about since it was the day I lost almost my entire village. But at the same time, I felt very much like working with the children in my old class, making small flags and things to make the place pretty out of any materials we could find.
"So, what is this festival all about? I heard the matriarch explaining that it was to thank the lake, but she didn't go into details in about what's going to happen. Or why we thank the lake," I asked to one of the women that was working with me.
"Well, as to why is the lake? It's pretty obvious most about food comes from the lake. And all the water comes from it, even if we have to filter it properly to make sure that we don't get any bacteria or disease."
"Thanking for having water and food from it is not just understandable, but expected. It's the protection part that I don't get."
"Well, let me ask you a question, then."
"Of course," I nodded
"Have you seen any monsters?"
"I can't say I have. I think ever since we started seeing some of the small lakes back into Flatlands to any monster or even larger animal vanished. They were just nowhere." I replied and Carlota, who was explaining this, nodded with a smile and the other women did the same.
"Exactly. We don't know why or how, but most things seem to be afraid of approaching the lake. When people found it, they did try to figure out what was going on, but in the end, no one could come up with a realistic answer. There were theories that a massive monster exists deep into the lake, but they were never proven. And you can just go for a swim without having to worry about anything, so it's hard to believe it can be something like that. That's why I just think, maybe it's something from the old world," Carlota continued.
"It's probably something they built that stops animals from getting close," another one of the women added.
"Or just their soul protecting us. They wanted to make sure anyone who decides to live here could still do that, even after they were gone." And other women replied with a smile.
"I see. I guess if you don't have an answer, saying it's the spirit of the lake is an easier way to explain what's going on. But doesn't that bother you? Not knowing how you're being protected?" I pressed, this was really bugging me. It just didn't make sense.
"Not, really. I mean, we all know that there's so many things that could go wrong. So many things that could happen and hurt us. There's no need for us to be dwelling on something that may or may not have an explanation. It's easy to just accept this as a kindness of the world instead of trying to uncover every little secret. Besides, what if we do figure out what's going on and don't like the answer? Are we supposed to just pick up our things and leave for a place that's completely safe or should we stay here even if we know going to be because of something bad?"
I nodded hearing that. That kind of survival instinct was something I could understand. It made no sense for them to worry about something if they had no way of controlling it. And if I was in a place that had some strange secret surrounding but it was still safe, I would probably also decide to stick around. Unless the reason for that was something absolutely horrible. But if that was the case, it would be hard to hide something like that from the people here. There are too many eyes everywhere for evil secrets to be properly well kept.
"And what are we doing at the festival?"
"Oh, you're going to love it," Carlota opened a big smile. "We start off by hearing a few words from our matriarch who basically just will thank the lake for everything it has done for us. Then we're going to sing a song and eat the first fish we caught on that day. Everybody's going to eat a small bite of it and don't worry. It will be enough for everyone. No matter how small it is, we always make sure that no one stays without a piece."
"Even if you can only have like a gram of it," another one of the women said with a chuckle.
My expression made her explain that in one specific year, they were only able to get a very tiny carp that could barely fit in the palm of the children's hand. To make sure that everybody got a bite, they cut the fish into very, very tiny pieces after cooking it and give it to everyone, which was essentially a grain of rice worth of seafood during that part of the ceremony.
Chatting happily about the situation, they commented on how some people got really upset and worried that things wouldn't go well the next year because of this, but they didn't have any problems. Just by having that small gesture, it was already more than enough for the lake to bless them once again.
"After we have that small part of the festivities which, then we get to the fun stuff. We're going to have some music, we're going to dance, we're going to sing, and we're going to have a lot of food going around. You are free to make a dish if you would like. Everybody is expected to bring something that they make, but since you are a traveler, we understand if you can't make anything. Using someone else's kitchen is never as straightforward as one would think. That will last for most of the night until we reach the final event which is a raffle of sorts. The matriarch will put everyone's names on a hat and pick them out. Then that person or those people, because it can be more than one. Will be given a wedding dress and we will have a small wedding between them and the lake."
"A wedding?" Everything sounded fine so far, but having someone marry the lake just pushed this whole thing back into crazy town.
"Yeah. Not really married, you know. No one is going to be walking into the cold water, never to be too seen again or anything. It's just a symbolic gesture. It's kind of way of saying, thanks to the lake for what it gives us, then we are offering something back. Then the person who marries the lake needs to swim from one point to another. There, people will be waiting for them with some warm clothes and some food and drinks. Including a special booze, and a meal that the matriarch makes. She never really cooks even though she's absolutely amazing at it and that's the only time when you can get a meal that she made herself. After that, everyone can go back home. It sounds stranger than it is, really. I wasn't from here at first. But I've grown to love that festival."
"Okay." I glanced back down and continued to work on the decorations. Trying not to let it show on my face how weirded out I was about all of this.
"You still think this is weird, don't you? Which part was it?" one of the other women asked.
"The whole marrying the lake thing. I think that's where I drew the line on. It 'was then when I thought 'this is not just so some regular Festival, this is weird.'" I admitted.
The group of women chuckled, but Carlota continued speaking, "Yeah. I can see how you would think that. But it's really not. Yes, it's a bit strange and unusual, but there's no danger attached to no one's going to actually be married off to the lake. It's all symbolic, you know."
"And do the people who marry the lake come back later, or do they just mysteriously vanish?" I asked. I know that it was a bit too much on the nose, but maybe someone could give me a decent explanation.
"What you're talking about? We all see them in the next morning there's no vanishing." Carlota frowned.
I noticed a strange expression on one of the woman in the corner. She did notice me staring, but continued her work without saying anything. And her face returned to normal almost instantly. We continued making our decorations while I did my best to just pretend that everything was fine. Even though there was a voice in the back of my mind telling me, I should get out of here.
But there was no actual reason for that. People were happy, people were fine, people were safe, and people had enough water and food. There was nothing else really that could be asked. And yes, some aspects of the festival were a bit strange. But that didn't mean it was awful. It didn't mean the festival was evil or something like that. It meant that they had a unique culture here.
When putting perspective, blowing candles out of a cake in the old world was just as strange as this. What was the point of lighting a fire over the food they were about to eat, especially considering how dangerous fire can be? Children fought over the right to blow the candles even if the only person who should be doing that is the person who whose birthday it is. When placed into a different perspective, almost all traditions sounded strange.
But as a way to cope with the situation, I finished my day of work with the women making decorations and made sure to track that one woman who showed some hesitation when talking about marrying the lake. I didn't go after her straight away, of course, but instead watched where she went and talked to Astrid during her return. Only when night came and people were already going back home for dinner that I approached the woman in a quieter part of the village. Instead of going home, she was just looking into the distance, watching the sunset. The shadows growing and hiding part of her surroundings.
"Hey," I called, making her almost jump out of her seat.
"Oh hi, Cassandra, was it?" she asked with a polite tone.
"Yeah. And you are? Sorry, I don't remember your name."
"That's fine. I'm Pamela."
"Hi there, Pamela. I noticed your face wasn't as happy as everyone else when they were talking about marrying the lake. Did you think about something else, or was it related to the festival?"
She took a step back. "I'm not sure. Maybe I just thought about something else. I don't think it had anything to do with the festival." She glanced around, almost as if she was trying to find someone to ask for help.
"Are you sure about that? Because it did feel like you have something to say. And I don't want to be push you or anything, but I really want to know what's going on here."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She started to walk backwards, trying to move away from me. But I move forward, not letting her stay too far so I wouldn't need you scream my questions.
"That's fine. But do you mind if we have a small chat? I do have some questions that I would like to ask."
She turned back. "I'm sure any questions you have the matriarch would be happy to answer." She turned around and walked into a small patch of trees. It was just by the outskirts of the village and she vanished from my sights, forcing me to rush after her.
But once I crossed the tree line, instead of chasing a random person down the forest, I was grabbed by my arm and tossed against one of the trees. Pamela was now very close to me and holding my mouth so I wouldn't scream.
"We can't talk about this out in the open. But there's something strange going on here. And you've got to help me."