《Finding Stardust》Chapter 14 - Sleepwalking
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Her heart was filled with guilt, knowing that she's responsible for the blackout, even though she wasn't sure how she did it.
Emma moved her body naturally and drifted back to the top of the Eiffel Tower and stayed there.
The beautiful city of Paris couldn't be seen as if it was swallowed by darkness. But Emma could hear the voices of so many people.
When her gaze had swept the night sky, she was charmed by its lovely view. Now, without lights coming from the city, the billions of stars from the bright milky way covered the city.
She stood still and a feeling of solemnity came on to her while gazing at the beautiful sky. Sadly, the silent and deep ambiance didn't last long as the buildings in Paris lit up one by one.
Most of the buildings had their own power generators for emergency situations like this.
Following that, her emotions began to calm down. Emma took out her cellphone and tried to contact Haoran. She must meet the young man to find out what had happened.
Fortunately, the telecommunications towers were also equipped with generators that turned on automatically several minutes after a blackout. The connection bars on her phone started to appear.
The time on the cellphone showed 1 AM. The calendar on the top left side of the screen said June 21, 2056. The exam result was posted on June 19, so that meant she had lost memories of the past two days.
"Happy birthday, Emma," the girl whispered to herself. She remembered her birthday because her mother always said Emma was the gift of summer for Arreya and Kaoshin.
[Haoran, are you still awake? I unknowingly sleepwalked, and now I don't remember the way home. What's the name of the hotel we're staying in? Can you tell me?]
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If Haoran had fallen asleep and couldn't reply to her text, Emma would wait here until morning arrived. Fortunately, she didn't have to do that. Emma was so relieved when a reply came from him a minute later.
[Send your location now, I'll pick you up.]
The girl looked at her cellphone in surprise. Apparently, Haoran's still awake and even offered to pick her up!
[It's okay. I'll take a taxi. I just need the name of our hotel.]
As soon as she pressed the SEND button, Haoran called her.
"Stardust, it's already past midnight. It's not safe for a girl to roam alone. Hurry up and send me your location, I'm in the lobby and will be taking a taxi!"
When Emma heard Haoran's voice on the phone, all of a sudden, the noise around her disappeared. It was as if no other sound in the world meant anything to her except for his voice.
"I-I'm in the Eiffel Tower," Emma stammered.
"Monsieur, we're going to the Eiffel Tower. Please hurry, my friend is in danger." She could hear Haoran speak to the taxi driver. "Stardust, hang in there. I'll be there soon."
Hearing Haoran's words, Emma soon realized that she couldn't let Haoran be suspicious by making him see her 320 meters above the ground. The girl flung herself down in a beautiful movement and landed in her two feet gracefully, like a fairy.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, a flash of memory played before her eyes.
Arreya Stardust jumped down lightly from the top of the apple tree in their garden after picking an apple for Emma. She landed gracefully on her two feet, almost like a butterfly. Kaoshin, who's carrying little Emma, looked to the left and right to make sure their neighbors didn't see Arreya's actions.
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"Your worried face looks adorable, General Kaoshin Stardust," Arreya teased her husband.
'What if somebody saw you?' Kaoshin's lips weren't moving, but Emma could hear her father's voice.
"If anyone saw me, I'll erase their memories," answered the beautiful woman nonchalantly.
'You shouldn't use your magic unnecessarily, especially mind control. You're still weak from that time.'
Little Emma just looked at her father and mother alternately. They both looked very intimate. Kaoshin's gaze at his wife was always filled with profound love.
RING
RING
Emma's flash of memory ended when her cellphone rang.
"I'm already in Trocadero. Where are you?" Haoran asked.
"I'm at one of the feet of the tower."
"Fine. Stay there, I am heading that way."
Emma held her cellphone to her chest, filled with warm feelings. Her tears dripped down because, just now, she finally managed to remember her parents' faces.
"Stardust! You're here."
As Haoran came from a distance, Emma woke up from her reverie. The young man's voice was filled with concern while panting because he had rushed from Trocadero to the tower. Not long after, the owner of the voice arrived and quickly hugged Emma by the shoulders.
"Gosh, I didn't know you sleepwalk. I was worried sick," he grumbled in a tone filled with relief. Emma's very happy to hear his voice, so the girl spontaneously hugged him back.
"Haoran, today's my birthday," the girl whispered. "Don't you want to wish me a happy birthday?"
"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry, I didn't know." Haoran let go of Emma and looked at her attentively. "Happy birthday."
Emma nodded. "Thank you."
"You made me worried because I couldn't find you. After the lights went out, there's a sudden commotion from the street. Rumors spread saying this blackout was a terrorist attack. Everyone was told to immediately gather in the lobby, but you're the only one who didn't show up"—Haoran touched her hair—"that's why I became distraught."
"Is there really a terrorist attack?" Emma asked, pretending to be scared. "I don't know what happened to me. I think I was sleepwalking. I don't know why I'm in the Eiffel Tower."
"It's a baseless rumor. If it's really a terrorist attack, we would have known it by now. It might just be an ordinary blackout; it just happened to be a bad one." Haoran shrugged. "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe. We better go back now. Madame Delaval and Monsieur Thomas must be looking for us."
Emma nodded. "Come on."
Haoran grabbed her hand and led her across the park next to the Eiffel Tower to the street and hailed a taxi. Ten minutes later, the two of them walked into the lobby of the Nobel Hotel.
"What's my room number?" Emma asked as they stepped into the elevator. She saw Haoran pressing the button to the 10th floor. Did this mean that their rooms were on the same floor?
"Tonight, you'll sleep in my room, so I can watch over you. I can't risk you sleepwalking again and wandering around alone," the young man answered firmly.
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