Paper Cranes

[alcuin_delaunay]

Alcuin found a book on origami in the library, and most particularly the legend of the paper cranes. So he's curled up in a chair in the main room, folding paper birds out of little squares of paper and adding them to a bowl. He's only got a small pile yet, but he's determined to fold a thousand

Comments

[permanent_blur]

how can rosencrantz resist little squares of paper? without an invitation, he sits down on the floor and plucks up one or two to start folding --

[alcuin_delaunay]

Alcuin smiles down at him, friendly. "Hello."

[permanent_blur]

"hullo -- !" beaming, he holds up a crane with a short, funny neck, and pulls at the tail -- the paper wings flap a little against his palm.

[alcuin_delaunay]

"Only nine hundred and ninety-nine to go," Alcuin smiled, folding more paper cranes and adding them to the bowl.

[permanent_blur]

"nine hundred and ninety-nine -- ! that's an terrible lot of birds, isn't it?" observes ros -- he has a certain flare for the obvious -- as he puts his crane down neatly on the floor. "i'd probably never get that far -- i'd probably start making frogs instead, or boats. i do like to make boats."

[alcuin_delaunay]

"Yes. But if you make one thousand paper cranes, you get one wish, anything you want, and it's supposed to come true."

[permanent_blur]

childlike, "anything?"

[alcuin_delaunay]

"That's the story. But you have to make every single one."

[permanent_blur]

and again, like a child, with the seriousness of a child -- "what if i made a thousand boats, do you suppose? would i get any wishes then?"

[alcuin_delaunay]

"I don't know, I don't suppose anyone's ever tried. Cranes are for sure, but you could try boats. Tell me if it works, okay?" Alcuin smiles, unhurried.

[permanent_blur]

"i'll make a thousand boats, then, out of tissue paper and wrapping paper and the brown paper they put packages in, and i'll float them out on the lake where lady the leviathan lives, and wish that you get whatever you're making all your cranes for. how's that?"

[alcuin_delaunay]

Alcuin laughed, delighted. "That's sweet of you. I'd love to see that." He put a little crane on Ros' shoulder, balancing it neatly. "I didn't know we had a leviathan in the lake."

[permanent_blur]

rosencrantz is beaming again, tilting his head to see the crane and touch its little paper beak -- "she's a very nice leviathan. the nicest i've ever met -- and i've only met the one, but we talked about fish. and she should know something about fish, shouldn't she, being a leviathan --"

[alcuin_delaunay]

"I suppose so. She won't mind the boats?"

[permanent_blur]

"i don't think she'll mind. she is a very nice leviathan."