Dream Me a Sonatine

14 - Time and Fallen Leaves

Jinsoul and Jungeun took them to an orange and brown park, as the café had closed after midnight, and the beady-eyed moon peeked at them through crumpled leaves. A bench lingered on the edge of the path, and when the four of them sat down, it creaked like an old man's sigh. As the stars were muffled by clouds, Jinsoul began:

'Somewhere and somehow there is a place called Eden. It is cold and untouchable to mankind, because magic and wonder has leaked out of our world, our realm. We live only on the membrane of our world, a hair's breadth away from the power that used to dance around...'

She stopped. Something was stopping her from continuing, either fatigue or confusion or something else. She exhaled softly, the moonlight blues swathing her turning muted and her eyes kaleidoscopic.

Jungeun watched her cautiously. Jinsoul's thumb tapped the volume button on her headphones and she shook her head. Jungeun's jaw tensed, her eyes swimming with restlessness and she pulled something dog-eared and battered from her bag.

She handed it to Sooyoung. Despite herself, Jiwoo peered closer, her hair brushing Sooyoung's arm. It was a book, but not one you'd expect to find in the 'Brand-new releases' section.

Carefully, Sooyoung peeled the cover open, revealing a cluster of photos, haphazardly glued over the yellowish paper. Frantic scribbles framed every picture, illegible. Despite not knowing what the words read, Jiwoo could feel the raw excitement radiating from them.

There was a collection of photos featuring a teenage girl in purple dungarees. Oddly, they looked like holiday photos, the girl grinning in a pile of leaves and swinging from branches. She was in a forest of thin, towering trees and rocky mounds. A slightly legible scribble read: Tiveden Forest, Sweden: Lost the tour group, not sure where I am.

The photos changed.

Underneath the bright ones was a set with a darker colour palette, as if they'd been edited with an enhanced black point. The girl's smile was gone, replaced with one of sheer confusion. Then awe. She was staring blankly, one hand cupped over her ear.

The Lady King spoke to me: 'A deal must be made. Awaken the three, the sleepers, because Eden is dying. And time is slipping. Make the deal, Choi Yerim.'

Sooyoung turned the page. Jiwoo's eyes betrayed her and snatched a glimpse of her face. It was softened with awe and moonlight, Jiwoo's stomach gave a little tug. Her eyes snapped back to the page, which had more photos of Tiveden Forest. Now, the girl crouched on a purple carpet, dipping her hand in a puddle.

No, a mirror.

The carpet wasn't a carpet, it was a sheet of purple grass, splattered with tons of circular mirrors. The girl's eyes were alight and as her hand stroked the silver surface, it almost glowed. Scrawled underneath these pictures was: Magic leaks from the Inbetween. Possbily Possibly how the ancient Queen spoke to me.

'What is this?' asked Sooyoung. Jinsoul lifted an earphone from her ear.

'Only the beginning of the adventure,' she said quietly.

Sooyoung turned a page. This one contained no photos and was instead peppered with ink, spilling over the page like oil. It read:

Dear Jinsoul,

My mind has been melted by this research and I don't have time for introductions and feelings. I have to write this words now.

I'll begin with Eden. Once, Eden and Earth were connected by an elevator of sorts. A winding staircase. A bridge. It was called Inbetween and was the only thing keeping Eden's magic attainable to us. It was also the only thing keeping our humanity and life in Eden. And one day, it broke.