Jubilee lay down on the dense, wiry grass and sighed. The sticky heat of summer was fading, and the air carried the rich scent of autumn like a sweet, organic perfume. She turned to the black fox, who was flopped in the shade of her shadow. -why do things change but stay the same, fox? The fox was idly snapping at the midges that hung in the air, the midday quiet sliced by the click of her jaws. ~what d'you mean, Juby? Jubilee sat up, brushing loose threads of grass from her hair. -I mean... why is it always spring-summer-autumn, why is it meet someone-fall in love-break up? The same process over and over. Why can't it always be summer? The fox narrowed her red eyes. ~You know the summer has to end sometime. Jubilee said nothing, and the fox sat up, yawning and stretching her arched spine. ~It's the wheel of stars, I guess. -The what? The fox looked up at the deep blue sky. ~If you were to focus on one star through the whole night, you'd see it doesn't just hang there, it moves across the sky in an arc. Every night it crosses the sky, and although it looks like the same route from such a distance, it isn't. the difference is infinitesimal, but it is a difference. The wheel of stars turns around us, and will turn long after we're gone. The fox stretched out in the cool strip of shadow again. ~Three is the magic number, she muttered. Jubilee stroked her warm, black fur. -This guy called me a crone the other day. I think it was meant to be a compliment. ~It was, you're either maiden. mother or crone. spring, summer or autumn. -I'd rather be a maiden, jubilee muttered. -What? Terminal puberty? The fox shook her head and laughed. ~Or screaming children and all that cleaning? Jubilee smiled at the thought. ~hope, sufferance or loss, beginning middle or end, spring summer or autumn. You are one of the three, there is no choice there, it just is. You can fight it, try to live in summer all year, but it'll wear you out eventually. -So what are you saying, fox? I am what I am? The fox closed her eyes. -Fox! Don't you dare fall asleep on me! ~Now we rise and we are everywhere, the fox said cryptically. Jubilee sighed and closed her eyes. It was too hot to think. The air held a faint tang of decay, of leaf mold and smoke. And suddenly she longed for the sleepy warmth of autumn. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the undead Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+ +-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+ +-+ "peculiarly deranged fanbase" "frighteningly named +-+ +-+ Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+ ++++++ ++++++ ++++++ August 27th Sinister Third Birthday Red Underwear Day ++++++ ++++++ ++++++ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+