Chapter 320 Haze (1/2)
Endless darkness.
Thick fog had shrouded the entire space, and the black clouds hovered in the sky. A thundering sound echoed back and forth, disappearing afterward. Everything was dead silent. There was no trace of life, death, hope, or despair.
There was only an absolute emptiness.
The thick fog gradually dispersed and the thundering sound rang louder. The lightning pierced the clouds and hit the ground.
The white light reflected on the ground was so dazzling, making people unable to open their eyes. As the fog dispersed, the white, carpet-like thing spread and extended to the bottom of a high platform in the distance. However, upon a closer look, it could be seen that it was not a carpet, but a mountain of bones.
”!!”
Christie suddenly opened her eyes and jumped up like a scared little rabbit.
It was currently afternoon, and warm, sunshine rays shone through the window and brought about a lazy and warm feeling. The clean and comfortable room was very quiet. She opened the window, and the sound of the noise and music that was sealed before secretly snuck in and brought her peace of mind.
”Sigh…”
The girl stood before the window as she held her chest and sighed.
It was this dream again.
Ever since she was born, she had been having this dream, anytime and anywhere, as if reminding her of her own existence. She couldn't remember the scene of the dream clearly, but the feeling still remained. It was the feeling of melancholy that made her feel suffocated and a feeling of sadness accompanied with unparalleled despair. She couldn't understand what the dream meant, and she was eager to find out the answer. However, every time she tried to dig deeper into her dream,a powerful force that forced her out and made her felt miserable.
Even Rhode could not explain the meaning of her dream, Sister Marlene who was wise and knowledgeable also had no clue, but Sister Gillian would occasionally look at her strangely as if she were a rare animal. Unexpectedly, she did not feel disgusted by it. Instead, she felt a feeling of familiarity and intimacy towards Gillian, but Christie also did not know why.
Knock knock knock
Just then, the door sounded and made her startled. She turned around and took small steps to open the room door. After that, Marlene's soft and gentle expression appeared before her.
”Good afternoon, Christie. Am I bothering you?”
”… No… Marlene… I've just woke up …”
Christie shook her head, curiously looking at the young girl in front of her. From what she remembered, Marlene was not the kind of person who liked to do things aimlessly. Unlike Sister Anne—the latter always came into her room whether she had something to do or not. Sometimes she wanted to chat with her, sometimes she just wanted to share some delicious and peculiar food with her. She even once wanted to give her a foamy drink. Of course, Sister Lize, who was always following her, firmly stopped it.
Now, Christie was not as shy and evasive as before towards the three of them. The fear of loss seemed to have diminished under their meticulous care. Now, she had begun to try to open her heart and accept others' kindness. However, the result was not necessarily as good as she would like it to be. Just like yesterday, when she saw that Anne's palm was stabbed in the arena, Christie felt that her heart almost stopped beating. She never thought that the feeling of worry would be so difficult and painful for a person, and even she doubted whether her choice was correct. Did it mean the more she opened her heart and accepted others' existence, the more she would feel such worried and restless feeling in the future?
She also didn't know the answer.
”… Can I help you…?
”Mr. Rhode is not with you?”
”… No … ”
Didn't know why, Christie saw a trace of relieved expression when Marlene heard her answer. She puzzledly tilted her head but Marlene didn't wait until she figured out what exactly happened and spoke. Her face was slightly flushed red, and she was a little embarrassed.
”It's like this; there's something I want to ask you… I hope you can give me a picture.”
”… A picture?
Hearing until here, Christie's soon eyes lit up and she smiled.
”… If Marlene wants it, then there's no problem. Which one do you want, let me take it for you…”
Facing Christie's question, Marlene showed an awkward expression. She looked to the left and right then whispered something to Christie. After hearing Marlene's words, Christie nodded in surprise. She ran towards her desk to take the picture and gave it to Marlene afterward. Seeing the picture, Marlene smiled. She carefully took the picture and folded it into her bosom.
”Thank you… Christie.”
”… You're welcome… Marlene.”
Christie nodded her head lightly in the response of Marlene's thanks.
”… This is the only thing I can do … I am very happy that you like it… ”
”Of course I like it, so…”
Marlene's words hadn't yet finished, because, at this time, a voice suddenly sounded.
”Ah, Marlene, here you are.”
Hearing Lize's voice, Marlene quickly closed her mouth. She turned around and looked at Lize in surprise, her hands unnaturally placed behind.
”What happened, Lize?”
”It's like this.”
Lize did not notice Marlene's slightly strange movements. She trotted up and took a deep breath before continuing.
”A visitor came looking for you and said there is something that needs to be discussed with you.”
”Visitor? Looking for me?”
When she heard her answer, Marlene slightly frowned.
”Who is it?”
”She claimed to be the eldest daughter of Nancy family, Ellenson, your best friend…”
Having said that, Lize showed an awkward expression. It's no wonder; even though they were intimate childhood friends, it's been a long time since Marlene had seen her. It was understandable that Marlene had found a new friend. However, she still felt that it was kind of weird because Marlene never mentioned such a person in front of her and if she really was a good friend of Marlene's, Marlene's reaction wouldn't be like this.
Moreover, the attitude of that Miss Ellenson…
”I understand; I'll go and see her.”
Marlene was actually aware of Lize's weird expression, so she did not say much. Soon, she turned around and walked into the living room. Lize and Christie stood still, looking at her back for a while, then hurriedly following her from behind.
As they walked into the living room, Marlene saw a girl who was slightly younger than her dressed in a noble maiden's dress with her hands clenched on her knees, anxiously waiting. Seeing Marlene's arrival, the girl who was originally somewhat panicked immediately showed a reassuring expression. She warmly smiled and stood up and ran to Marlene's side.
”Elder Sister, I finally meet you!”
”Ellenson?”
Looking at the girl standing before her, Marlene slightly frowned. An unhappy expression flashed across her face.
”What are you doing here? I remember that I told you that I am very busy now; if there's anything, can't you just wait until the end of the Midsummer Festival?”
”But… I miss Sister so much…”
The girl called Ellenson bit her lower lip and showed a puppy-eyes expression.
”Sister has been away from the Golden City for a long time; I have always missed you, and now I heard that sister has finally come back. I certainly hope to be able to meet with you as soon as possible… By the way, sister, you should have nothing to do this afternoon, so why don't we go for a cup of tea together? Because of the Midsummer Festival, there are a lot of precious commodities recently, ah, there's also sister's favorite black tea…”