Chapter Four: The Festival of Questions
Chorus:
A city that asks questions is a city that grows. Today, Thebes throws open its doors and its heart, inviting every voice to speak, every curiosity to be aired, every secret to risk the light. The Festival of Questions is not just a celebration—it is the city daring itself to listen.
Thebes, morning. The city square is transformed. Banners in every color flutter overhead. Stalls line the streets, each one bearing a sign: "Ask Anything!" "No Question Too Small!" "Answers Not Guaranteed!" Children run with painted masks, each mask bearing a question mark. Laughter and anticipation ripple through the air.
Antheia and Echo walk among the crowd. Jocasta, regal as ever, presides over the central dais, ready to field the first question. Agent Gray, armed with a stack of blank scrolls, is determined to record every inquiry and answer for posterity.
A bell rings. The Festival begins.
Scene One: The Opening Question
A small boy, no more than six, steps up to the dais. He clutches a wooden toy.
Boy:
Why is the sky blue?
Jocasta (smiling):
Because the gods wanted to paint hope above our heads.
And because, when sunlight dances through the air, it scatters in blue.
The crowd applauds. The boy beams.
Chorus:
Some questions have answers.
Some have stories.
All are worth asking.
Scene Two: Questions Big and Small
The line grows. A baker asks why bread always rises differently on festival days. A farmer wants to know if the new seeds from the caravan will grow in Theban soil. An old woman, voice trembling, asks if it's true that the lost city's ruins are haunted.
Antheia steps forward.
Antheia:
We found echoes in the earth,
But no ghosts—only memories.
Echo adds:
And memories are nothing to fear.
A merchant from the caravan steps up.
Merchant:
Why do you trust us?
Echo:
Because trust is the first gift we give to strangers.
And sometimes, it's returned.
Chorus:
The city listens,
And in listening, learns.
Scene Three: The Chorus's Interlude
The Chorus takes the stage, bursting into a musical number. Their song is a rapid-fire volley of questions—some profound, some ridiculous:
Chorus (singing):
Why do goats climb roofs?
Why do lovers quarrel?
Why do we laugh at funerals,
And cry at weddings?
The crowd laughs, some shout their own questions, and the Chorus improvises answers, sometimes wise, sometimes absurd.
Chorus (singing):
Because roofs are there!
Because hearts are wild!
Because joy and sorrow are sisters,
And life is never mild!
The square erupts in applause and laughter.
Scene Four: Secrets and Confessions
As the day wears on, questions grow braver. A young woman asks if she can change her name. A soldier asks if forgiveness is possible for old wrongs. An elder asks if Thebes will ever truly be united.
Jocasta answers each with care.
Jocasta:
Names are promises.
Forgiveness is a door.
Unity is a journey, not a destination.
Antheia and Echo move through the crowd, listening, encouraging, sometimes simply holding a hand.
Echo (to a nervous girl):
Ask anything.
The city is listening.
Scene Five: The Mapmaker's Challenge
Callisthenes, the mapmaker, steps onto the dais.
Callisthenes:
What will you do with what you've found?
Will Thebes remember, or will it hide?
Antheia meets his gaze.
Antheia:
We will remember.
We will learn.
And we will not hide from our own story.
The crowd murmurs approval. The city feels, for a moment, like a single heart beating.
Scene Six: Nightfall and New Questions
As lanterns are lit and the square glows gold, the questions continue. Some are whispered in corners, some shouted from rooftops. Children fall asleep in their parents' arms, dreams full of riddles and laughter.
Agent Gray, exhausted but satisfied, finishes his scrolls.
Gray (to Jocasta):
I've never heard so many questions in one day.
Jocasta (smiling):
That means we're alive.
Echo and Antheia stand at the edge of the square, watching the city settle.
Echo:
Do you think we answered enough?
Antheia:
We answered what we could.
Tomorrow, we listen again.
Chorus (closing):
The Festival of Questions ends,
But the asking never does.
Thebes is a city of seekers,
And every answer is just the start of another story.