Ilia sat on a stool in a far corner of the workshop, unbothered by the clanging of metal as she read her book. Occasionally, she glanced up to admire Violet at work across the room, then returned her gaze to the book with a smile.
“Hey there Ilia, long time no see!” came a voice from the doorway behind her.
Ilia gently closed the book and turned around in her seat. “Oh, Orchid! It really has been a while, hasn’t it. What brings you here?”
“Just dropping by to check on you two, catch up a little,” Orchid grinned, pulling up a stool next to Ilia. “How’ve things been lately? You better be treating my sister right, y’hear?” she added with a tone of mock sternness.
“I do my best to,” Ilia replied, gazing at Violet again with a soft, warm smile. “We’ve been well. There’s been a lot more business these past few years; especially cyclemount repairs, it seems they’ve gotten quite popular. Today’s job doesn’t need any new glyphwork, so I’m just keeping Violet company, but I’ve learned more about motive glyphs in the last five years than I picked up in a century of schooling.”
Orchid chuckled. “Glad to hear it! Just don’t work yourselves too hard, ’kay? You’re getting older – or, well, Violet is…” She trailed off awkwardly. “Actually, huh. Is that a gray hair up there? Kinda hard to tell in all the gold.”
“It is.” Ilia smiled at Orchid. “Violet’s been getting a few too; they look lovely on her.”
“Huh. Funny how things line up like that.”
“Oh, it’s not coincidence at all. It’s…” Ilia paused. “There are many names for it in Elvish, but the technical term would translate to ‘synchrony’.”
“Synchrony?”
“How much do you know about elven ageing?”
“Mostly just, it’s really really slow – you basically live forever, right?”
“Not forever, necessarily, but it’s true that we don’t die of old age in the same way humans do, and that we age extremely slowly to begin with – at baseline, anyway.”
Orchid had a puzzled look, but didn’t interrupt; she was used to these sorts of lengthy explanations.
“Elves, as a whole, tend to tread lightly in the world, and my ancestors kept almost entirely to themselves for many millennia before we made contact with humans. That sense of detachment seems to leave us detached from time, as well; the years pass over us softly. But especially as elves and humans began to live together more and more, we discovered that we grow older more quickly when we find someone we want to grow with.”
Ilia had turned to look at Violet once more, wistful and loving.
“When we form strong attachments to others, we find ourselves drawn into the flow of time as it passes for them. Elves who develop close bonds with one another remain outside of time together, but those of us who bond with humans tend to age on human timescales… for a while, at least…” Her face clouded over a bit.
“Wait, hang on,” Orchid interjected, unable to restrain herself any longer. “So falling in love turns into a curse that eats away at your lifespan? That’s – …” She struggled to find words.
“No. Not a curse.” Ilia cut her off sharply. She paused again, collecting her thoughts. “… When I was a child, now and then we went to visit my aunt Itheia; she has a little cottage out east, Violet and I ride out there occasionally. For as long as I’ve known her, she’s had gray-white hair and skin covered in wrinkles. I remember being struck by how beautiful she was, the first time I met her. The way she speaks and acts, too – she’s a very contemplative woman, unhurried, even by elven standards. Her eyes and her voice have this sense of deep wisdom about them… and of sadness, too.” Ilia sighed. “My parents were always very cautious around her, as though she were something fragile, as though they’d damage her if they said or did the wrong thing. It took me a long time to understand why.
“When I was a bit older, I went to visit her on my own sometimes, bringing food my parents had made, that sort of thing. We’ve gotten on well since I was little, and sometimes when it was just the two of us, she showed me drawings of her wife, old letters, told me stories. Her name was Lorette… I could see how beautiful and clever and funny she’d been, how happy she’d made Aunt Itheia. And she’s gone now, but those memories are all still there. They had a long, happy life together, and my aunt carries all that time with her still, and doesn’t regret a day of it.”
Ilia took a breath, and turned to Orchid, calmly holding her gaze. “Love isn’t a curse for us, not any more than it is for you. And the pain of having loved and lost is a price worth paying.”
Orchid took a deep breath as well, and nodded. “… Yeah… Yeah, that makes sense… I’m sorry. That was shitty of me to say.”
“It’s alright.” Ilia reached out to give Orchid’s shoulder a squeeze. “I think time can be confusing and scary for all of us, in our own ways.”
Orchid nodded again, leaning in for a quick hug.
“… It doesn’t have to be love, either,” Ilia said as she let go of Orchid. “Synchrony can happen for close friendships, too.” She pondered a second. “It doesn’t have to be a person at all, for that matter. You know Relis, right?”
“Yeah, I know Relis, everyone knows Relis. Wait, are they –”
“From what I’ve heard, Relis came to Orange Hill when they were still just a child and it was still just a no-name town. Something about the place fascinated them, and they’ve stayed here ever since. As more people came and more buildings got built and it turned into a whole city, Relis gradually grew older, got taller. They haven’t changed much in the several decades I’ve known them, but there’s little things you notice, here and there. It seems like they and the city have both settled into a comfortable middle age, at this point.”
“Huh…”
From across the room, Violet set down her tools and walked over, wiping machine oil off her hands and face with a rag. She leaned down to give Ilia a kiss, then swept Orchid up into a bear-hug.
“Sis! It’s been ages, it’s great to see you! What brings you here?”
“Oh, uh, just here to visit and catch up a little,” Orchid answered, trying to focus back on the present.
“We should all go get dinner together! Ilia, what was the name of that place with the …”
Orchid quietly watched the two of them smiling and chattering, her thoughts still drifting to the past and the future. All the little ways Violet and Ilia had changed over the past decade; the ways they’d changed together. The ways they’d change from now on. The ways Ilia would change after that; and the ways she’d stay the same.
Time was sad and sweet and terrifying and reassuring, all in equal measure. Orchid stood up and followed the two of them out the door, staring at and through the city around them as they walked. She’d have more to think about later, but right now, she just wanted to take in the world a little. One moment at a time.