[Fabula — This Spiritless, Wonderful Land]

fleeting /ˈfliːtɪŋ/

lasting for a very short time.

In a story of wonderful nature.

A girl awakens on a shore of a distant future.

A maiden stands on the shore of a distant past.

They're sisters. Despite that, they can never stand on equal ground in the eyes of others.

The maiden, a woman of refined nature that knew how to stand fiercely for herself, was coated in red that shone a flaming beam should her path be lost in the dark. She is the eldest and the pride of her family. Whatever she desires, she can get. The girl, a blind young lady that did not yet know the dangers in the chasm of reality, hid behind an achromat, for her light was of great contrast to her sister's. Her entire figure is of pure white — colorless — nothing else. Whatever she desires, she can never get. Being the black sheep of her family, she's never given a chance for anything whatsoever.

Truth be told, blood does not tie them together.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

As a child, the girl was lost, drifting across the ocean like a wooden plank from a sunken ship — a child of the ocean.

With no memory of who she was or where she was from, she was left terribly fragile. There was nothing but a weary, immemorial book in her possession.

Fortunately, luck would have her be found ashore on the beach of a family of great riches and even greater authority of a monarchy. Out of kindness, her foster mother took her into her family. The family desired to deny her existence but they could not stand against the word of the mother. She treated her as if she was her own child, with unconditional kindness; a kindness not even shown to her own child, who was more or less left in the care of the family.

But that kindness was soon stripped away, remaining only as a fleeting memory.

Once the mother was stricken with illness, everyone laid blame on the poor girl. They claimed the time the mother took for that girl, the time she spent raising her, showering her with misplaced and undeserved love, withered her mind and reduced her to the sorry state that ultimately resulted in her unfortunate death.

Now with the mother gone, the family that always rejected her, was finally able to erase her existence from memory. To them, the girl was a parasite, a plague with estranged and tainted blood that couldn't be tied to the "esteemed" reputation of the family. This was a family of royal prestige and spineless nob.

They aimed for perfection. A crippled girl was a mere waste to be erased.

But even so, the eldest daughter, the neglected child of the mother of all people, opposed the family.

For the family, who thought their maiden would stand with them, they were in shock. No matter how hard they tried to wrap their heads around it, they couldn't understand why one of their own, and the most affected by the girl's presence, desired to defend her.

Believing such an act to be blasphemous, the family attempted to get rid of them both.

And so the maiden, the eldest daughter, took her sister's hand and ran away.

After all, that family couldn't understand; couldn’t comprehend its meaning: unconditional love; the love of siblings who had no one but each other.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

The sisters walk and walk a long road they did not know the end of yet.

It doesn’t matter where they are going or what they are going to do, where they went or what they did. Whether they knew something or knew nothing, it didn't matter at all. They need to keep moving forward.

Although the girl is blind, her older sister always tells her of what she sees, her words never to leave her mouth and her voice never to leave her younger sister's ears, for those are the only things her sister has for a world.

However, the older sister does not perceive color. She sees reality only for what it really is and not for what some glorified words in a storybook can describe. Even with a monotonous tone in her voice following the narration, her younger sister still loves them. The younger sister perceives the color in the world she sees but she cannot see. And yet, she does not envy her, only continuing to shower her with the love and kindness her mother rarely gave her.

She desires nothing but the wishes and safety of her sister. Whatever she desires, she will grant it for her.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

In a town, far from the clutches of that sickly family, the sisters come across an old bookstore — a rarity. The older sister desires to take shelter from the heat of the barren wasteland, and her sister desires to know what encases that building.

Naturally whelmed with curiosity, they walk in.

Wandering through the old bookstore, the sisters find nothing but simple picture books, lacking words of any kind, only made to be admired by image alone. Even the books that once held text within had their pages either torn off or carefully redacted so as to not taint the pictures accompanying them.

To the older sister, this is nothing out of the ordinary.

In this world, the people cannot read; the people cannot learn.

Ignorance exists and persists. It thrives to trap the people in a never-ending spiral of mindless dreams, locking and holding them back from attaining true knowledge. Still, they sing praises for it, without ever knowing the meaning of their songs.

The people will not learn; the people will not read. Such is the state of this world.

After all, what is a barren world but a prison to the people?

The older sister mustn’t do anything about it. She mustn’t say a word—

However, the sisters soon discover a bizarre dilapidated book, one that is hidden in plain sight within the shelves of the bookstore.

Unlike the other books, it doesn’t have pictures, rather in their place are words. Its ancient text is barely recognizable in the older sister’s eyes.

This book belongs to the age of Oldworld, an age that precedes both the sisters’ lives by millennia upon millennia. It’s something that mustn’t exist in this age under any circumstance.

But then…

'I want to read that,' says the younger sister.

Facing this obstacle, the older sister hushes her younger sister, pushing her aside to the corners of the store to avoid the eyes and ears. She explains the dangers of doing such a thing but still tries her best to chronicle what she sees to her younger sister.

It’s her wish after all.

And at that moment, the most peculiar thing happens.

‘I can read it,’ says her sister.

The older sister can’t believe it.

But once again, her sister reads the text. Somehow her blind sister is able to read the ancient text. Is this a miracle? A dream? Or something else entirely?

Yet another talent for the girl who lives in darkness.

‘She can read?!’ The old man gasps in fear, for not only is it impossible for a blind girl such as herself to read, while also having a blindfold shielding her eyes, but the mere mention of that word holds terrible weight in this land.

The older sister looks back at the man. Sweat is pouring down their faces as their eyes interlock with fear and determination. She is willing to do anything to protect her sister and he is willing to go to great lengths to understand what lay in front of his eyes.

‘This part is kind of creepy. Do you still want me to read it?’ Asks the younger sister, completely oblivious to the tension in the air. ‘Sis?’

‘I… I think we should leave. Come on leave the book’

‘Wait!’

Shouts the old man.

‘Damn it all! That was too loud. Listen, I know you can’t trust me but there is something you must know.’

The older sister relaxes her posture while the younger sister clings to her back.

‘There is a man who comes asking about this very book every once in a while. I don’t know why but I suspect he’s looking for someone who can read it.’

‘And that is our problem, how?’ Asks the older sister.

The old man grabs her by the shoulders and stares into her eyes.

‘I don’t know what he’ll do but I know he’s not here to carry you off to some paradise.’

KnocK KnocK

The sisters and the old man are startled.

KnocK KnocK

KnocK KnocK

He is here.

Behind the front door is a silhouette coated in black. Unmoving, unchanging.

The old man panics and throws the book into a bag.

‘Take it!’

He forces the bag into the older sister’s hands and pulls her to the back of the store.

‘Use the backdoor. Run until you get to shore and there you should find a ship that’ll keep you safe for a while.’

‘Why should I trust you?!’ Asks the older sister.

‘My brother used it once but if you have a better idea be my guest.’

With one forceful push that used all of the old man’s might, he forces the sisters outside and locks the door.

Before she has a chance to ask more questions, she hears the shelves collapse and decides to follow the only lead she has.

And so, the sisters walk again, leaving the old bookstore.

One is brimming with joy and the other is riddling with mystery.

The road is still long, the older sister thinks.

She must protect her sister.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

The sisters move through the town.

The older sister’s eyes twitch at the slightest hint of movement. Every shadow becomes a possible hiding spot for those would-be attackers.

Suddenly… she feels someone grab her leg.

It’s her sister.

“Is something wro—”

Her words are interrupted by the hunger of her sister.

“Oh… I see.”

They cannot afford to slow down but cannot afford to starve, so a decision is made.

They stop by a market and buy stuffed bread with what little money they have. The seller mentions a recent incident at the bookstore, but the older sister ignores it and leaves with her sister in hand.

“Mmmmmmm this is really good!” Says the younger sister.

Her smile is almost contagious. As if she isn’t aware of the shadow of danger that looms over them.

At times like this, the older sister wished to be as blissfully blind as her sister.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

Beyond the outskirts of town, beyond the veil of society is a long and winding road of nature.

It was not by man’s hand that the road had a direction but it was part of a grander design. It did not matter who or what you were, for nature would always guide you through subtle cues.

None of this mattered to the one who can see it. All she sees is a path towards a new life; a life of freedom, dignity and love.

Her younger sister cannot perceive such beauty but still, she is captivated by it.

She would stumble as the two walked through. She would catch a new smell or notice a strange sound which would give her pause for only a moment before her sister dragged her away.

They arrive at a cliffside.

The older sister is confused.

Did she take a wrong turn? Did she get lost along the way? The shore was barely visible but it would be impossible to make it without food or water.

‘I-Is something wrong?’ The younger sister asks.

Her sister says it’s alright but it’ll be difficult.

‘She was certainly right about things being difficult.’

That was… a new voice. One the young girl had never heard before.

‘As for you… give me the book and it’ll all be fine.’

Where? When? Who? What? A million questions danced around the girl’s head bouncing around the walls of her mind. Becoming more and more stressful by the second. She is hot, cold, dry, wet— Wet?

Wet?

When?

When did she ever get wet?

…

‘Seems like she’s not all there,’ a voice cries out from the back.

‘Yeah, seems so,’ the original voice replies.

But where was her sister?

Wait… she’s wet.

Her senses come rushing back; flooding her brain with sensation.

She was not wet. She was soaking, dripping.

The air around her was filled with a foul aroma and her soundscape was only that of running water.

‘What about the body?’

‘Who cares, just toss it over the cliff!’

‘You think anyone will notice her?’

‘Who even comes around these parts, just dump her and move on!’

‘Maybe next time the boss should keep her in one piece.’

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

The voices were so far, far away…

…the sensations were not.

A presence closes in and it smells of pestilence.

‘Your book is rather important.’

It says.

‘Can I borrow it? Only for a short time, of course.’

It removes the blindfold.

The girl jumps back terrified.

She can hear— feel everything. Every footstep, every breath, every fly buzzing around her.

Her back is up against a tree. She has nowhere to go.

With every pulse her eyes bulge.

The presence whispers.

‘Do not run!’

‘Be afraid.’

‘Play your part!’

The girl feels nothing… only the waves crashing into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff...into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff..into the cliff...into the cliff...Ỉ̸̡̡͈͉̞͍̫͚̝̥͔̯̘͍̪̗͕͉͚̻͙͂͒̑͌̀͜͝ͅN̸̨̡͚͕̫̜̗̖͈̬̘͈̠̤̭͙͍͈̪̣̮̹͕̽̇̇̒̈͛̽̎̏́̈́͐̒̔͆̃̈́̕̚͝ͅT̶̨̢̥̤̙̼͙̯͉̫͓̠͉̫̟̠̲̲̤̱͙̘́̈́͜Ǫ̴̡͚̠̝͖̺̳̺͉̩̰͚͎̼̯̲͈̗͎̠̅͆̏̂͌͆̓̀͐̒͆̚͜͝ͅ ̵̨̢̡̛̖̫̖̺̜̫̭̪̣̠͇̜̫̯͉͙̺̋͆͐͋̏̀̓̊͑͗̀̉̽̕͜͜͝ͅH̶̨̨̧͓͔̳͖̜̗̓̓̃̌̉̽̊̔̐͊̓̂̈́̃̆̌̄̕̚͝͝Ȩ̸̨̲͓̬̥̝̞̖͗̀͐͌̆͗̀̒͐͝͝Ȓ̴̢̩̯̗̘̺̻̲͉͖̱̏̑̔͆͂͠ ̵͚̗̖̖͔̖̝̥̮̠̠͙̲̥̳̰͔̭̱͓͔̈́́͊͐͊̆̾͋̏̉̈́̑͋̾̀̓̀̏̊͊̏̋̉̋̕M̴̨̮̮͕̗͕̮̖͓̙̘̹͂͊̈́͂͗̄̊͐̌̐̃͊́͌͒̏͗͂͒͋̋͑͘̚Ị̴̧̨̢̫̙͔͍͚̳̠̤̲̤̹̤͙̣̦͙̮̙̺̪̇́̓̀̐̍́̎͘̚͠Ņ̵̡̧͇͕͔̮̘͇̱̫̣̟͖̻͓̦̣͖̰̪̓̉̉́͋͑̚ͅD̷̟̠̗͒̉͐́̐͋̐̈̏̂̀̎̉̔̅̀̒̾̚͘͠.

…

………

………….

“How many times did the butterfly flutter?"

"It fluttered once, above an ocean of lilies."

"It fluttered twice, within a blackthorn storm."

"It fluttered thrice, beyond the field of daffodils."

"In the end, it fluttered until calamity fell into the garden, paving forth the path of genesis.”

…………

………

……

…

Calming water…

…the journey is almost over.

A book in hand beating to the heart.

A gentle nudge of a hard, sharp object.

It nestles under her. Ferries her to the unknown. A shell of what was and a blueprint for what will be.

A final form.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△

Alone, the young girl opens up her eyes.

For the first time in her life… she sees.

She watches the world from a lonely coast, overlooking an ocean at the pale of a stranded land. The winter irises blossom around her. Reflecting the glistering light of the sun, the ocean spreads warmth throughout the land.

Plunging her feet into the sand with the water crawling up to it, she gazes into the ocean beyond, to the fabled land of wonders, the wonderful world.

Still, the young girl hesitates. She wonders whether to take an action or not; to take a step or not.

She thinks to herself: if she crosses it, will there truly be peace if she reaches that land? Will anything exist in that world?

It’s still a lonely world; a world without her sister. The sister who ever-so desires to always grant her desires.

But now, that sister is gone.

So what then, will this “wonderful” world offer in her instead? Nothing replaces her sister.

‘It’s time,’ nothing says.

It’s indeed time. It’s time to explore the beyond. The beyond that’s only told in the fairy tales she always reads.

After all, there’s nothing else the young girl can do but move forward.

If she turns back the tide, if she diverts to another path behind (another path below), if she runs away without looking like she always does, there will be nothing but scolding from her mother and sister at the end of that path.

She did not come this way, overcoming everything that hinders her weakness, walking endlessly in the lifeless wasteland, only to stop now at the gates of wonderland.

She needed to make all those who once believed in her proud. She needed to make their sacrifice not in vain.

That’s simply the price she has to pay for this spiritless, wonderful world.