[Ongoing]
"Why is being myself harder than anything?"
Qing Lin closed her eyes. A girl whose smile gave off the effulgence which seemed to light the diminished world around her. A girl who held such purity in a world surrounded by happiness. A girl...
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Chapter 40
Qing Lin flinched at the sudden sound of footsteps closing in. She gripped her white dress tightly. Then her grip loosened when she realized, that if any person passed by, they wouldn't even notice her. She mockingly laughed at herself. Turning her into a spirit gave her a clear picture of her place- that she was bound to be secluded and alone. She was meant to be discreet, to be never noticed by anyone---
A figure knelt on one knee right beside her. It was a boy probably of her age, but his picturesque beauty left her dazed for a second. He had pale skin, clear black eyes, and black hair. It was almost as if god himself carefully carved him to precision. He was probably one of the most beautiful people she ever saw.
/Did he drop some of his belongings here?/
But her assumption soon turned out to be false, when he committed an unexpected and startling act; his hand reached out of her face, in an attempt to wipe her tears, but passed through her. He frowned, and was silent was a few seconds.
"Why are you crying?" He asked. His voice was deep and dark, nevertheless, it was enchanting as well. Qing Lin was startled yet again- how could he see her? She didn't respond.
"Why are you crying?" He repeated at her silence. Why was she crying? Because she felt the bitter taste of betrayal, the bitter taste of her reality. It made her wonder, for what was she alive so far yet? She had heard back at the Duchy, that her past self had lifeless eyes. Now she understood why. But if she didn't have the will to live, then why didn't she give up? Just what had compelled her to keep living in a solitary mansion? But she couldn't let such feelings spill out. Especially not in front of a stranger.
"Because..." She managed to swallow her feelings and said in a choked voice. "Pain... compels a person to cry."
"Does it hurt a lot?" He asked. As the luminous moonlight cast down on his face, giving a clear reflection of him that yet remained indifferent, his voice turned soothing with each passing minute. She nodded her head as further tears spilled forth.
/It hurts a lot./
/It hurts so much. I don't know how to describe it. But it hurts... It hurts so much./
He silently watched her as tears spilled forth with her choked-back sobs. The silence within the deep, isolated forest was eerie yet somehow reassuring.
The Next Day.
A pair of black eyes fluttered open. Qing Lin came to face a black ceiling, similar to the one back at her home, but unfamiliar. She lay on the bed for minutes, staring blankly at the ceiling. She couldn't feel the bed before her. The bleak reality was true. Her mind wandered off to various things at the same moment; The time she woke up, the saintess, the first moment she saw her friends, and the first time she met Estrella... Ah, no, she was wrong. It was now Esperanza.
