Raindrop's Arc

Chapter 13 of 15

The wider spiral kept slipping wide, and Raindrop knew foil and cord would not hold. He left the stage and ran for the brass-geared workshop, where gears clicked behind tall yellow doors. The engineer met him at the step and pointed back at the sky. "Steady base. True axis. Light top. You have the parts. Now mount them right." Raindrop climbed back up the metal tower with the stabilizer cage tucked under one arm. He locked its bracketed ring around the spinning crystal so the points held the axis true. The drum below thudded once, twice, and caught. Drops snapped back onto the curve. Last, he set the tightrope cat above — a small carved feline balanced on a thin cord stretched across the spire. It tipped, found its center, and held. The spiral straightened from base to crown. Raindrop felt the ripple spread outward across the boards. Then the drum slipped. One beat landed late, then another. The cage held the crystal. The cat held the top. But the rhythm underneath cracked, and the drops began to drift off-beat — still dancing, but no longer his.