“…Come back for me,” the snail girl wept. “Don’t leave me like this…why won’t you come get me…?”

Dreadlilocks spotted her from afar. Her body was crushed between two boulders, covered in the phantasms’ black ink. Slowly, she writhed, as if still trying to free herself despite utter exhaustion.

Propelled by a mixture of horror and pity, Dreadli got up and went to her.

She stopped a few feet away. “…Your name is…Kyloe,” she said, for no reason in particular.

“Go away! Get away from me, or I’ll kill you!!” she threatened in reply. “I have…strict orders…”

“Please let me help. I know I probably shouldn’t, but…I want to—”

“I don’t need your help; I need her help! She’s supposed to come get me…she promised…they promised I wouldn’t be left for dead ever again…”

Dreadli gulped. “I…I’m not sure what you’re saying, but…if you’re talking about Mère L’Oye…I don’t think she’s going to help you.”

“Why not…??” Kyloe asked, her voice breaking.

“Well…because she’s going to die. And she wants everyone else to die, too, so…I don’t think she’s going to help.”

“YOU’RE LYING! You’re lying…!! She can’t die…besides, she promised…”

“…You didn’t even know anything was wrong, did you? There probably hasn’t been any unwriting on the moon yet…all you knew was that no visitors were allowed…” Dreadli sighed. “Just like me and my friends…you had no idea what you were fighting for.”

At that, Kyloe began sobbing uncontrollably.

Dreadli did her utmost to push off the two boulders, but they were stuck so rigidly in the earth that they didn’t move an inch. Eventually, she crumpled to the ground, not knowing whether to apologize or start crying herself.

Kyloe sniffed. “…I hope you’re right,” she said darkly. “I hope she dies, and takes this whole rotten world along with her. I don’t care, as long as I don’t have to hurt anymore…I don’t mind being stuck here if it’ll all be over soon…”

She looked up at Dreadlilocks. “…Promise me?” she said.

Dreadli gripped her dress again, twisting the cloth as if she were about to tear it apart. “I…I promise,” she said. “It’ll all be over…soon.”

~~

As Dreadli walked back through the rubble, she realized she felt incredibly drained.

She felt like her heart had been tugged around entirely too much and now hung limp in her chest, weak enough to rip in half if it were made to feel just one thing more. She held the basket close, and took small, slow steps.

Listlessly, she settled into her next task: searching for Gin’s Odsplut. She had no idea what it was or how or where to find it, but it was what she had been told to do, so she decided she might as well try.

She turned over one rock, then another. She dug in the loose sand. She picked up a tattered licorice ribbon, which she placed carefully into the infinite basket.

Then out of nowhere, a gentle breeze blew. And as it passed, Dreadlilocks saw a few bits of powdered sugar floating through the air.

The sugar passed through the lonely flame, still burning on the ground, and melted into an amber-colored liquid that trickled onto the earth. Slowly, it gathered itself into one droplet, about as big around as a small coin.

Dreadli crawled over to it to get a better look. She poked at it with her little finger.

The droplet let out a little chirp, then raised itself up and poked her nose in return.