prologue
The world is a dangerous place.
Everyone who exists knows that.
It’s a dangerous place that can get you killed in less than a second.
She moved through the forest steadily. Her bare feet hit the ground beneath her gently, no noise emitting from her as she walked. She stepped over all the twins she could, clutching the brown satchel she wore closer to her body. The sun rising reflected against her blond hair, her blue eyes seeming to shine brighter now than before.
Pandora moved through the ever so slowly dying forest. Her eyes scanned the scenes before her, a frown settling on her face. She could see the dying leaves falling from the tall oak trees, followed by the branches slowly breaking off of trees. She noticed how animals had become scarce, rabbits and deer running in other directions.
A sigh fell from her lips, the breath in front of her being visible to the eye. She continued on further, every so often brushing her hand against the trunk of a tree or against the dead of a berry bush. Everything was dying.
That meant danger.
She knew it all too well.
A small house came into her view, a fond smile forming on her lips at the sight. Her eyes dragged up to the chimney almost immediately, a thankful breath leaving her as she saw the smoke rising from it. Maybe everything would truly be okay. She continued on forward, eventually letting her feet hit the stone path up to the small cottage.
They’d have to move soon if they were to survive.
Quietly, she approached the house. Moving up the steps and towards the red door, she brought her hand up to it. A knocking sound fell through the deathly quiet forest as she rapped her hand gently against it.
She could hear the low creak of a chair from the inside, followed by feet hitting the ground gently. A few seconds later, the door in front of her was pulled open. A smile formed on her face as soon as she saw the familiar face in front of her.
She was granted entry into the house almost immediately.
“Thank you.” She whispered, stepping foot into the house. As soon as she did so, the door was shut lightly behind her. She moved over to the table, noting the slight mess in the room. A few books were sprawled out on the floor, little pieces of paper sticking out of each of them. A journal was on the middle table, written with words that she would never be able to read.
“How are you?” She questioned, dragging her satchel off from her side to place it next to the dark brown journal. Her eyes caught onto a few words, but she immediately dragged them back to look toward the other presence in the room.
“Okay.”
That was the response she got. The girl hummed softly at that, moving towards the small kitchen as she motioned for him to follow. The boy immediately did so, grabbing the journal before had followed her.
He took a seat, watching as the girl moved freely through the kitchen as if she knew where everything was. In a way, she did. She had been the one to always organize the little cottage. Which he was quite thankful for. Organizing things were not his strong suit.
“Have you been reading all day?” She questioned lightly, concerned for the other. She was always concerned for his well-being.
The boy just nodded, fiddling with the ripped pages in the journal. She could see the way he blankly stared at the words he had not written. A small sigh fell from her at that.
“Did you know him?” The boy questioned, “Like personally…did you know him personally?”
The girl turned her gaze away from him almost immediately. She dragged her eyes back down to the cabinets, not responding. She grabbed two clear mugs. She could hear the chair scraping against the ground signaling he was getting up, and so she was quick to speak.
“I know all of them,” She responded lightly, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “I knew most of them. Once. A long time ago, remember?” Her hands were shaking, yet she had kept her voice calm.
She placed the two clear glasses on to the counter. She let out a small sigh. She had been waiting for this question to be asked, but now that it had - it had hit her more than she had expected.
It had been a while ago.
She should be used to it.
“What were they like?” He questioned.
She turned her gaze back to the boy. She watched as he didn’t even look up to meet her gaze. She saw the way his eyes scanned the scribbled-out words on the paper. She watched as he flipped the pages, trying to put two and two together.
A small smile formed on her face. One of pain, and one of hope.
“They were going to change reality.”
She found the words escaping her before she could think too much of it. She froze a bit hearing them fall from herself.
‘This is it. We’re changing reality, Rosier.’
The memory flooded back into the girl's mind and she immediately had to force it down. She had to force down the tears that threatened to form in the corners of her eyes.
Before he could ask any more, she had cleared her throat.
“Enough of that.” She got out firmly, “Come with me to get water from the well?”
Without saying another word, the girl moved to leave the house with the two clear glasses in her hands. Following her was a man with a journal in his hand, and the ghost of happiness.