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“What’s mimicry?”
They were in Welt’s room when Sunday suddenly asked. The man flitted his eyes from the paperwork he’s holding to the boy standing in front of him. “In what context is this?” he asked back, wanting to make sure he’s thinking the same thing as Sunday and not giving the wrong answer.
“March said something about you creating things from thin air. Is it something like dreamweavers do in Penacony?”
Ah, that mimicry. One of Welt’s abilities other than his gravity manipulation, which he rarely uses outside the Express nowadays. “Hmm… I guess it is similar in a sense?” He put down the paper he’s holding onto the coffee table in front of him before resuming. “Difference is that I don’t need to go to any Dreamscape to use it.”
Welt paused, thinking on how to explain this.
“I can’t willy-nilly my way creating whatever I have in mind like those dreamweavers do. I need to know how it’s made. What material do I need to use, the exact measurement and dimension of the-” Welt looked up, seeing the confused look on the boy’s face. He chuckled, before inviting the boy to sit down on the couch next to him.
He tried again, this time using simpler terms, and a demonstration.
“For example, if I want to give you a new night light, then maybe something small. Like a table lamp that you can carry around?” Welt brought out his hand, spread his palm in front of Sunday, and closed his eyes. In a moment, something started to form in his palm.
He heard Sunday gasped next to him. The sound made him smile.
“I would want to make sure it’s soft so it wouldn’t hurt you. Maybe squishy enough if you ever want to play with it. But a sturdy interior to keep the mechanism inside safe.”
As Welt described the item in his mind, the ball of light in his palm started to take shape. The boy kept his eyes on it, captivated.
“The light inside should be bright enough to illuminate a small part of the room, but not too harsh that it might keep you awake at night.” Welt hummed. As if to demonstrate, the shape glowed slightly brighter for a second. “And maybe a fun, colourful shape. It is going to accompany your night in your room, after all.” The man remembered how much Sunday liked to stargaze on the Express.
It glowed one last time, before a yellow star shaped lamp the size of Welt’s palm manifested in front of them. It dropped gracefully in Welt’s hold, before he handed it to Sunday.
Sunday’s mouth was agape the entire time, even after receiving the lamp. Welt watched as the boy blinked once, twice, before finally closing his mouth and looked at him.
“You can… create anything you want at any time ??! ” Sunday exclaimed. His eyes were wide, sparkling, completely fascinated with what he just witnessed. His eyes returned to the star in his hand for closer inspection.
“Yeah, but I can't do it all the time. It drains my energy, especially if I overdo it.”
The instant change of expression on the boy’s face, along with how he shoved the lamp back to Welt’s hands was somehow both comical and worrying. “Oh?” Did Welt say something wrong?
“If it harms you, I don’t want it.”
Welt can’t help but laugh hearing Sunday’s innocences.
“I’m fine, I promise.” He took hold of one of the small hands and placed the star back in the boy’s hold. “At most, this only made me tired, which nothing a nice rest can’t fix.” he assured, gently stroking the boy’s head. He can understand the concern, but this is nothing compared to the things that he had created back in his home world.
Sunday hummed, lifting the star lamp once more. He gave it a gentle squeeze, lighting the lamp to a gentle glow. “I always wanted to touch a star…” he mumbled. Slowly, he leaned onto Welt, lying his head on the man’s lap as he kept playing with the lamp. He tapped it several times, seeing the brightness level change, dimming it, until the point it turned off.
The boy muttered a soft thank you, and Welt responded by patting Sunday’s arm. The man then reached out for the papers on the table, being careful not to move too much, and resuming what he was doing as he let Sunday stay unmoving by his side.
