"Oh, is that now?" Naima actually does know what day it is, given her mildly pathological interest in whether she's making good use of time, but hasn't actually memorized what day the solstice is. She takes Ines, who is initially more interested in screaming at her breasts than in nursing, but with some effort she can eventually be convinced.

"I'd completely forgotten. I don't suppose they'll have decorations or a zonzon or anything, but I can probably still make gifts for the children."

"Well what are the decorations, we might be able to do something simple. It's a major holiday in Galt?"

"Oh, yes. Every town puts up strings of glass and crystals and lights and things weeks in advance, and there are street fairs and public concerts, and then on the night itself there's a great public procession to deliver the zonzon doll, with all the children in front carrying candles – in Isarn they'd have two or three big competing ones with their own musicians."  

"That's lovely. Well, we can't do it with the city, as the city isn't doing it and we're not visiting, but I'm sure we could do something here. Something with music and a few decorations. I don't think I know what the zonzon doll is?"

"The Zonzon is – well, it's meant to be Zon-Kuthon, I suppose. It's an ugly little thing. They make it at the local temple of Shelyn and bring it around to every house in the district, so everyone can tell it about their happy memories, and their good wishes, and the names of all their family now in Hell, and then it's set loose in a river or something so it can find them all and say that we still love them" 

"Well that's sweet, if a theologically confusing thing for Zon Kuthon to do. All right. Do you know what the most important things are, if we only have one day to prepare and nowhere to go?"

"I think the idea is that Sheyln is sending the doll to Zon-Kuthon, and the rest of us are just taking advantage of her generosity? I can't say I had a particularly theologically robust introduction to the concept – that's just what we did. We do have to remember everyone in Hell, though, that's important, and we need to have gifts we've made ourselves, and we should sing, and eat candied chestnuts if it's at all possible." 

"Well, I'm sure someone in the world is selling candied chestnuts. Music is easy, if you can teach us the songs. Gifts we made ourselves is a bit difficult with only one day, but I might be able to sew something simple if I had some fabric..."

"Simple's fine. Simple's good. If only we had Frostbite – then it could be snowing, which would make it a really proper Crystalhue." 

"We might call a bit of extra attention to ourselves. All right. You go get some chestnuts and - hm, a plain wooden doll or cart or something and some paints and some fabric, maybe through the portal to where it's day if you have to, and we can at least do part of making something, do you think that'll count?"

"I'll see what I can find." 

It's morning in Goka, which means the casinos are closing and the markets are just starting to open. Chestnuts and colorful cloth are easy enough (he'll get some in every color; it's traditional). Unfinished toys are a bit more difficult. The merchants in the wealthier part of town won't seel them and seem confused about why the rich foreign gentleman might want one. But prisms, mirrors, beads, and bits of colored glass can all be had – and that gives him an idea. 

He'll stop by his workshop for some brass tubing and a pre-ground magnifying lens before returning to Sothis. 

Naima has gotten the baby to sleep (twice, actually, and is now holding her and avoiding making and sudden noises, lest she wake up before she's completely asleep.)

Hey. How'd it go?

I think we have enough to be getting on with – for the children, at least. Do you want me to take her? 

I'm a little worried she'll wake up, although I suppose I ought to be working on making things, too. You can have her if you're prepared to deal with the consequences, I'll say.

I can get a decent ways without hands, I think. But you needn't go to too much trouble – I'm doing this for myself more than for them, really. 

If it's important to you, then it's important to me. Though you may have to explain to all of us how exactly this works.

She ends up sewing a hand puppet with just the fabric. It looks enough like a real toy, she thinks, and it's one of the easier things to make in a single day.

Between bouts of soothing the baby, Élie can arrange the mirrors and the glass beads inside the brass tube so that they make a series of geometric patterns when the tube is rotated. 

These are very popular toys for Crystalhue, actually. They make them with all kinds of clever pictures inside.

It's pretty. I wonder how long it'll hold his interest.

I'd open the betting at three minutes. But that's fairly good for a Crystalhue gift, since they absolutely have to be made by hand. 

I've had homemade gifts that entertained me for months! Admittedly I may have had less competition. At least we won't be further spoiling him.

Perhaps my parents just weren't any good at handicrafts – I know they had no particular taste for them. They'd never stoop so far as to buy a gift, though. My mother in particular.

We had reed dolls. They're not too hard to make, though they're not very pretty, either. I used to play with them until they fell apart. And make them new dresses out of rags, before my mother would let me sew with anything she cared about. What toys did you have?

There was a cup-and-ball and pinwheels and a stick-horse – but mostly I'd take a stick for a staff and pretend to be a wizard. 

Of course you did. Well, if the boy has the same interests next year I suppose we ought to make him a toy boat, but this will have to do for now.