Chapter 21:

  Everything went out.

  It wasn't an ordinary darkness, but an absolute void that swallowed sensation itself. A thick silence rang like a distant bell in the depths of nothingness, until it felt as though "nothing" was the only possible truth. Then, with cautious slowness, faint colors began to bleed into that vacuum. Pale threads of blue and green, followed by distant sounds—the chirping of birds, delicate and intermittent, as if testing their own existence.

  ?Rin opened her eyes.

  Above her was a clear blue ceiling, resembling a cloudless spring sky. She stared at it for a second, then bolted upright, her breath quickening and her eyes darting around in panic.

  "What is happening?!... My room!"

  But it wasn't her room.

  ?She was lying on a soft grass floor, slightly cool beneath her fingertips. She stood up slowly, her steps hesitant, until she suddenly stopped, paralyzed by wonder.

  She was standing in the middle of a vast white room; its walls had no clear boundaries, and its blue ceiling suggested an endless sky. Flowers surrounded her on every side—red, white, purple—and tall, branching plants rose around her until she seemed tiny among them, like a child lost in a mythical garden.

  She took a step, and some of the plants parted on their own, moving aside quietly to open a path for her. There was no violence in their movement, only silent obedience.

  ?Everything felt real… eerily real.

  Rin gave a faint, cynical smile despite the tension tightening her chest.

  "Where are my nightmares?"

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  She leaned toward a nearby rose, contemplating it for a moment before inhaling its scent. The fragrance was deep, dewy—more real than it should be.

  "This is more than a dream."

  ?"Yes, it is more than that."

  The feminine voice came from nearby, clear and steady.

  Rin spun around suddenly, her body stiffening.

  There, in the middle of the white garden, sat a girl about her age on a wooden chair facing a small circular table. She was pouring black coffee from an elegant pot into a porcelain cup; the warm aroma of the coffee rose, rich and moist, overpowering the scent of the flowers.

  The girl quietly pointed to the chair opposite her.

  "Sit."

  ?Rin hesitated for a moment, staring at her face. Her features were familiar and strange all at once. Then she approached slowly and sat down, her eyes never leaving the girl.

  As she added sugar cubes to her cup, looking down at the coffee, the girl said:

  "Who are you?... You may ask."

  Rin shrugged slightly.

  "Yes, that's right. It's not every day we see a girl with green hair."

  ?The girl let out a soft laugh, captivating expressions reflecting on her face. Soft, fair skin, long smooth green hair flowing down to the small of her back, wide green eyes shining with a strange clarity, a small nose, and delicate lips drawn with nature’s own care.

  She extended her hand toward Rin with a warm smile.

  "My name is Inder."

  Rin looked at her in confusion, then shook her hand.

  "And I am…"

  The girl interrupted her calmly:

  "Rininder."

  Then she sipped her coffee and added:

  "I know… my name is the last part of yours."

  ?Before Rin could respond, Inder stood up abruptly. She approached her with quiet steps and placed her small hands around Rin's head. She leaned in and kissed her forehead, then rested her brow against Rin’s, whispering in a low voice that almost dissolved into the air:

  "Just remember that."

  ?Rin closed her eyes.

  And when she opened them—

  She was lying on her bed.

  The morning sunlight crept through the high curtains, warm against her skin. The real ceiling of her room was above her, and her walls were familiar and still.

  She breathed slowly… then she noticed.

  ?Moli was sitting on the edge of the window balcony, staring out at the gardens stretching beyond the palace. His back was straight, his features still as they always were.

  She didn't panic. Even his sudden presence no longer triggered fear in her.

  She pulled the covers around her, hugging them for a moment, then said with feigned coldness:

  "And what if I sleep in my underwear?"

  He turned to her with a smirk and replied breezily:

  "Then I wouldn't come in."

  ?She froze for a moment, not quite grasping his meaning.

  But he anticipated her shock; he rose gracefully and leapt off the balcony, his voice reaching her just before he disappeared:

  "Meet me outside the palace."