Ever since that day, it was as if the countless coquelicot sunsets and sunrises had blurred into each other, forming the endless journey that was those times. If the number of tiny little possessions from each day of travel that I kept inside a wooden box compartment has anything to say, it was that the world is far from the simple white landscapes that Sappora is familiar with. Any chance presented to me, whether it be a drop in work or a string of free days, I went straight to Velma’s den without a second thought. She was my escape from the world, or rather, into the world.

A world that had no shortage of experiences to offer. Inside that box underneath the very mattress frame I sleep over, little hard candies that may have already gone bad, broken off gears of a seemingly obsolete crankshaft, a pocket watch with batteries that long needed to be replaced, rings housing gemstones whose names I don’t know—If I were to share this box with the others, I’d surely be in deep trouble. Knowing that I’ve been sneaking off into that unpredictable world, I wouldn’t be eating anymore dinners from there on out. Relying on the wilderness at the only source of food available. And speaking of which...

“Miss, you said you would cut those prickly bushes…”

“What, I said I’d do it this week, remember?”

“...The last time you said that was last week.”

After another trek in the Eastern Forest, my body was once again aching all over thanks to those shrubs, stepping into the mountain’s small cavity. And there was Velma sitting near the fire, polishing her blade with a sharpening stone—a sharp contrast to Sappora’s pacifistic environment. Surrounded by the familiar rocky walls of the mini cave she made herself home in, it was the only other place I could call it as much.

“And I’ll say it again this week. Today we’re going to go across the shorelines of Scandia. Heard they got some advanced tech where they can detect metals underground. Getting my hands on that can return some unimaginable profits.”

“Is that why there are sliced and diced bananas everywhere? To not worry about food while we go endurance searching?”

How did she even get her hands on so many bananas? They don’t even grow here natively. Though, at this point, I’ll just leave it to Velma and her methods that are far too complex for me to fully grasp.

“This time, we’re heading out ASAP. You best be packing up your bags now, Junior.”

An ignore of the question. As expected of her.

“Ok, I’m ready. Let’s head out.”

An adventure, one of many.

・・・・・

“Hmmm, Hm, Hmmm ～♪”

“You look a lot more cheerful these days, Nagi.” Chloe said as we worked on yet another humongous batch of clothing one night. It was night, most of the other kids had finished their work and returned to the dorms to indulge in some new game they came up with. If I recall correctly, it involves having everyone line up and having the first person come up with a message and whisper it to the next. The next one does the same and is repeated so on and so forth until the end where the last person announces the final message. From what I’ve heard, the message can get pretty jumbled up at the end and can create some memorable quotes.

Wonder if their game already exists out there in the world?

All of the background noises of others have dissipated leaving nothing but the sounds of the machines’ operations and the occasional creaks of the wooden floorboards. Now, it was just me and Chloe finishing up our tasks of the night, in other words, ironing. All of the background noises of others have dissipated leaving nothing but the sounds of the machines’ operations and the occasional creaks of the wooden floorboards.

“You think so?” I said, a little surprised after her sudden comment that broke the silence. When I turned, she had a soft smile while keeping her gaze fixed on the still-wrinkled shirt in front of her.

“I’m glad. You always seem a little down whenever we work our shifts. I… never knew how to approach you about it and I always felt awful not saying anything. So it’s great that it looks to be a thing of a past.”

The sound of steam from the holystones continued on after Chloe had trailed off. I didn’t know how to respond to that. To think that she looked out for things like that…

“Did something happen to the Chloe I knew?”

Her eyes finally met mine, which didn’t seem so satisfied. There was something oddly nostalgic about the aroma of the steam hanging around, which only occurred as a result of poor handling in the irons—something neither of us hadn’t mistakenly done since years ago. But I guessed that only meant now wasn’t the time to be uttering jokes.

“Hey I’m offering a compliment here... You know how much it pains me to try and be nice to people.”

“Exactly why I think she got abducted somewhere.”

Her pout following that comment only proved my point. In addition to that…

“Wha—”

The shirt in front of her was quickly swiped away from her station and into mine. “The Chloe I knew wouldn’t be so careless as to let the holystone sit idle in one spot.” Had it not been for a few more seconds and we’d be seeing a new brown arrowhead design for this patron’s white shirt.

“Look at you being diligent.” She chuckled and stole the shirt back, “I’ll be more mindful then, ma’am.”

・・・・・

The bluest skies, the brightest stars, they were all there. Those same watchers that reside over Sappora exist everywhere else throughout the world. For some sort of reason, that thought had kept me grounded in these ventures with Velma.

I saw people. Those that share my age sprinting across pavement, old couples sitting on porches with cups of tea, those wearing fancy suits, those playing musical instruments, the kalimba, the xiao, the pipa, and especially the piano, whose skills admittedly make better work of the instrument than Velma’s at that time. All walks of life.

I saw architecture. Roofs tiled in terracotta, chimneys spouting black smoke

In between the gaps of densely populated communities are buildings collapsed and defeated—ones that couldn’t stand against the test of time. If I were to say it to the architects who built them though, they’d scold me.

I saw parades. Celebrations by many with massive balloons and brilliantly-colored confetti coursing through the air while onlookers watched. The reasons? Not a clue, but the mere energy the folks had was more than enough to justify enjoying them.

I tasted foods. Cuisines that would’ve otherwise been luxuries at home and only eaten on occasions of celebration. At any point I thought I could come down with an intense stomach ache due to such foreign exotic material constantly bombarding me, but luckily fortune always seemed to be on my side.

Despite all of the experiences we went through, the one question had always popped up in the back of my mind. With so many different and foreign places we have no business visiting but doing so otherwise, we were bouncing between landmarks rather efficiently. I always questioned how Velma managed to not get lost, at least in the times where we’re not, and yet, she’d always say the opportunity is not there yet. Every single time, until one day, she pointed up into the night sky.

“There, see it?”

As we arrived on the terrace of a library we had finished scavenging through, I slumped onto the railing after another day’s worth of trekking. It was then that she said those words after not even a second of rest. I wanted to protest but instead, giving in and mustered up all my strength to get back up with the help of the rail. Indeed, Velma had her arm raised up, and so I followed where her finger led to. Beyond the buildings that towered over one of Chordia’s capital wards, a shimmering star illuminated just a tad bit brighter than its neighboring stars in the twilight sky. That was what Velma had singled out.

“The North Star, they call it ‘Polaris’.”

I've seen this star, of course. Many times. I already knew of it, and I already knew the outside already knew of it. But the name that they gave it was something I didn’t know. Polaris.

“It’s the only star that stays put throughout the year. And because of that, it’s extremely useful for navigators to know which direction they are facing. All you have to do is just search for it, and hey, you’re facing north. No other work needed.”

Every night before the Snow Festivals, I’d always see this star in its exact spot every year, but that also applies to all the others in the sky, at least from what I can remember.

“It’s always snowing in Sappora, so the sky is always blocked with clouds. Except for one day a year where the sky clears for a single night.”

“And that’s when you see the North Star in the same place.”

I shook my head. “That and every other star.”

“...Well, ‘course. It’s a yearly cycle, but that’s besides the point.” a chop on the head. “These are these things called constellations, basically a shape or figure of whatever you can imagine using the stars. Polaris is part of one called Ursa Minor which supposedly resembles a bear but, eh, I don’t see it. Let me know if you see a bear, Junior.”

I only kept silent. I did in fact, but every other person, animal, plant imaginable. What else could I have done but let my mind wander trying to take advantage of the one and only time in the year to see the night sky? As I gripped that railing, I did what I always had done and imagined.

・・・・・

“Cloaks?” Chloe repeated after Rosalind who was currently having trouble quelling the noise in the room. Our Mom stood in the center of the mill, clapping her hands to call everyone’s attention.

“...Please everyone! Can I have just a moment of your attention?”

But even that fell on deaf ears. Even if it was late evening where most would often wind down after a busy day, the state of the mill told otherwise. Machines rattling, the others hollering and trampling, paper airplanes missing their mark, it was anything but a relaxing evening. These hours are the prime time for the mill due to how patrons like to pick up their finished garments the morning after dropping them off the day before. And our Mom was no stranger to that habit so commonly shared by the adults, yet this time, she chose to interrupt this controlled chaos regardless.

It was not until the sudden drop in temperature caused a few yelps across the room—everyone stopping immediately in their tracks. We all knew she was serious.

“Now then, it has come to my attention that a little troublemaker has been enjoying their freedom lately. A little too much I suppose.”

All the others exchanged looks. None being the wiser. Of course, I wouldn’t blame them, having little knowledge of what she was talking about. That was their case, but for mine—my hands couldn’t have been shaking anymore than how they were now.

“A little someone that’s been going out… let’s say every few days or so? And this little someone knows full well the code of the town, being an example to everyone here to follow. And yet… It seems they betrayed themselves.”

Did Mom… Does Mom… know?

“I wonder if this person could do the explaining themselves?”

And then she turned her head right towards me. And before I knew it, everyone was staring in my direction. Everyone trained on me.

Me.

In that moment, my whole body stiffened. Managing to avoid all other stares, I looked to her who only had a smile stretched across her face. A sinister one at that.

“If not, then perhaps I could explain myself.”

And she finally once again spoke.

“—Would that be acceptable, Maddie?”

Hm?

"Thanks to a little report from our town chief, I now know that our little bakery’s reputation has been increasing quite a bit among the neighborhood lately.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I turned around, a girl rubbing the back of her head failing to stifle her shaky voice. “...Ahaha…! Didn’t think anyone would notice…” But from her beet red face, it was anything but obvious.

“Not only baking cookies for the entire mill, but also for as many community members as possible?” Mom covered her mouth with a palm, closing her eyes in the process. “One of the kindest acts of humanity I’ve seen from quite some time. Thank you, Maddie, for being such a great example to everyone here in the mill. No, to everyone here in this community.”

It was then that Maddie visibly relaxed her shoulders and exhaled the deep breath that she had held ever since our attentions were called. Likewise...

“...And so how about we do something in return?” Mom brought out her hand from her back, a wave of silver washed over our eyes. “Would it be nice to give a little something to the community? That’s why I thought it would be great if we all band together and make cloaks for each one of us to give to anyone of your choosing!”

Settling and eventually resting over hand was a cloak. Our Mom had already made one herself, presenting it out and letting everyone judge it for themselves. The garment laced with patterns of flowers near its edges reflected a silver so boldly, one would be hard-pressed not to get caught eyeing it.

Chatters filled the mill.

“~Eh, how cute!”

“ So pretty!”

“It’s really warm…”

“I could see myself wearing this!”

The round of comments continued on, drowning each other until it all became white noise to me. All except for one.

“What’s with that look?”

Before I knew it, Chloe was peering right at me, her bang hovering by the side of her face as she tilted her head. It was enough for me to avert my eyes.

“It’s nothing…”

“What? Relieved that you didn’t get caught for tearing a hole in that shirt when you swiped it out of my hands?”

“I said it’s nothing.” I winced. “And I got over that already.”

Before long, the entire mill was once again in a state of controlled chaos as everyone scrambled to snatch their materials. It’s surprising we didn’t do something like this too often. All of the tools were right there in the mill in the form of sewing machines perfectly capable of the job—but instead of mending holes in clothes that the townsfolk brought in, we’d just use more fabric than usual.

“Chloe! Nagi! It’s not often that I see you two late for the occasion, you two don’t want everyone taking the embroidery material, do you?” Our Mom’s call snapped us out of our conversation. We both stiffened up and shouted out an “okay”.

Turning back to me, Chloe sighed. “Let’s hurry, else we’ll get stuck with some ugly color.”

・

Seeing the finished product in my hands, it was quite nice. The material felt soft and warm to the touch, yet sturdy enough as to not stretch. The cyan blue color was something I chose randomly out of a bin of spool and might’ve regretted, but now that it was used in a real garment, it felt just right to the eye. In the end, most of the material was indeed taken by the others which resulted in the bold fabric that was my cloak. Not as flashy as our Mom’s, but a wearable piece of clothing nonetheless.

“Like I know of anyone who I’d give this to.” Chloe said, “Personally I dislike just about everyone here. Maybe except for Maddie who always bakes us cookies, but even then that might be pushing it.”

“Should you really be saying that when everyone can hear us?”

Fumbling with her red cloak that also lacked any sort of embroidery, she chuckled. “It’s not like I harbor any ill-will towards everyone. Plus, I’m sure that defeats the purpose of this event if we were to give this to anyone from the mill anyways.”

“Ah. There goes my plan to give this to you.”

With her red cloak folded up neatly in a perfect square, Chloe tucked it between a random batch of finished clothing awaiting pickup.

“Now we’re in the same boat.”

As much as I wanted to share her pain of disliking everyone, I only gave off a smile. Unfortunately for Chloe, I did have someone in mind. I knew exactly who I wanted to give this to.

・・・・・

“Hm? What’s this?”

Velma looked up from the book in her hand to eye the cloak in mine. Tonight again, huh? Lately she seemed to take an interest in reading after discovering that massive library located in Chordia’s capital ward. On that day, she basically ran through the entirety of the non-fiction section, pouring over every single bookshelf she could find, genre regardless. Every night from there on, I’ve seen her with a book in hand ranging from military history, to philosophy. But this time, she stopped her culinary reading to see what I presented to her.

“A gift.”

Velma eyed me.

“What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion, just a gift.”

Even I could tell just how blunt that was, and how unlikely it was for her to accept that explanation. Already, that stare from her told me so.

“...A gift from us, and me.”

“That wasn’t any better.”

Velma rested the book onto the floor next to the fire, making sure to not let the flames reach its pages, and got up to accept the cloak. After a bit of inspection, she brought her thumb and index to her chin.

“Hmm…? So they can make stuff like this…”

I kept watching as she inspected the material, first pinching and twisting as to figure its material, then squeezing and pulling to test its strength. Although… I really didn’t want it to get damaged within the same night of creating the cloak.

“I made it.” With much more conviction. That must’ve flipped a switch inside her, possibly sensing that I really wasn’t lying.

“...A well made piece of craftsmanship it is.” She took one more look at it, “Well if you went through the trouble of painstakingly crafting this thing for me, it can’t be helped then.”

She donned the cloak without wasting another second and letting it catch the air. And with it draping over her shoulders, she turned, facing me.

“How do I look?”

Truth be told, seeing Velma wear something she normally wouldn’t was a feast in of itself. So much so that it took me a second to recover from being taken back by the spectacle. But once that died down and seeing her getup for what it really was, I immediately knew why my eyes couldn’t take it for a second. While the loose fabric did complement her build, that cyan blue clashed with her faded auburn hair, enough that I had to speak my mind.

“Cyan and orange don’t mix well together.”

It took a couple of seconds for her to understand what I meant after reaching for a strand of bang, pinching it just as she did with the cloak.

“Way to be honest.”

Of course, that was my one and only criticism. “...But it does look cool on you.”

Rosalind always wanted everyone to appreciate and care for the world around us, including the people that we live alongside with. This little event our Mom had in mind was definitely her way of giving us an incentive to do just that, because that smile Velma had after I said that couldn’t have been any more of a gift in return.

“Thank you, Junior.”

・・・・・

And speaking of which...

“A captain’s hat…” Chloe uttered as she trembly held the black and white hat I gave her. We stood by the shore underneath the leaves of the tree she’d always retreat to—for reasons she’d always give to escape from the noise. Outside, I knew this would be the only chance I could get to give this to her without the knowledge and suspicion of others.

“H-How did you get your hands on this?”

I twirled a hair strand. “...It took a while, but I secretly have been working on it ever since we made those cloaks. Those machines really came in handy.”

“Came in handy they did…”

Well, Velma and I had found this during that trek on Scandia’s shores. Lying helplessly within the sands and tangled with seaweed, I had to give it a new home. She didn’t even bat an eye, being that I picked up far “worse” stuff. Of course, it was frayed to no end, and the repairing tools that we had were handy in the sense that mending the hat back together was true.

“Giving me such a thing, you don’t pull your punches, Nagi.” she stifled a laugh, “Don’t tell me, is it because we’re reaching that point soon?”

“Point?”

“Oh c’mon. You know.”

I actually had no idea what she was talking about, and the look of my face must’ve said so as well. She cleared her throat.

“We’re reaching that point where we’re finally gonna be able to leave the town on our own accord. Don’t tell me you forgot that already?”

...Oh. That completely didn’t cross my mind. Chloe was right. Soon enough, we wouldn’t be considered “children” anymore and be regarded as “young adults”. But that anticipation of leaving the town was something I hadn’t felt in a long time—due to the fact that I’ve been living that dream.

“Look, see that island over there?” Chloe pointed outwards into the sea. A white line within the horizon’s edge. A land of mass just like the one we were standing on top of right now.

“Watch me sail there wearing this.” The earnestness in her voice meant that was her dream for a long time now. To sail out and explore the world, wondering what lies beyond the horizon. Just like I was.

“I promise, I would. I will.”

“You better hold up that, Nagi. That will be the moment where I’ll thank you fully.” Chloe placed the captain’s hat on her chest, “And when I’ll finally wear your gift.”

・・・・・

Sifting through the Atlas, it had occurred to me that there were now more places we had gone to than yet-visited places within the pages of the book. Just a moment ago, the Atlas acted as a gateway to another world but soon enough, it became more like a documentation of our adventures, almost like a photo album of some sort. As I sat by the fire in the den, Velma went out gathering ingredients for the hotpot we were about to make.

To think that the first time I met her, we were eating the same exact supper without knowing each other’s names... And... of course, she accidentally caught this same exact atlas on fire the same night. “Where did you get this, Miss?” I asked Velma as soon as she appeared by the entrance hauling the filled-up basket on her back, the cyan cloak I gave her remaining unscathed and sullied. She heaved the basket to the ground with a thump.

“Can’t say I remember the details… I’ve had that thing for years. Pretty sure the transaction was a trade with a street vendor selling old miscellaneous goodies. If I recall correctly, a bowie knife sitting to the right of him had piqued my interest, but I went with something that’ll help with navigation instead, seeing that I had thousands of blades already. So I offered one of my own in exchange for that Atlas.”

“I heard trading was something done only in history because currency wasn’t invented.”

“Calling me an old hag, will you?”

To think that this Atlas used to be in the hands of someone else and potentially used in the same way as us… I stared at the page where the book was opened to. On it, a picture of a silver tube ornamented with gold wings embedded over its surface, a tube wider on one end than the other. Text was displayed on that page, just one word.

Gjallarhorn.

And on the other page, two words.

Kosmos… Valley.

“Miss, what’s ‘Kosmos Valley’?”

If anything, Velma would know considering she kept this book with her for years—

“Sounds like a candy flavor.”

Ah.

“There any text blurbs on it?” she asked immediately after, unpacking the human-sized basket. But no matter where I looked, there was just a simple picture of the silver tube without any other semblance of information… except for a map.

Velma paused to look where my hand pointed to on the page. “It’s past that tomb we had dug through all that time ago… huh.” She pondered for a bit. “Now I see. No one in their right mind would venture out beyond the place where community efforts are already having a hard time recovering lost land.”

“You mean Sozuraka?”

She nodded. I shivered. Remembering the exchange with that man sent goosebumps up my arms. I never want to experience having to run for my life while separated by everyone ever again. And yet, a moment of remembering got me thinking.

“What exactly was that tomb?”

For something that was supposed to be built long ago, those walls looked anything but. Those blacks were too deep, those blues were too bright. And the pattern of diagonal slits looked to be impossible for an old civilization to make.

“...I don’t know.” Velma admitted. For the first time in a while, she looked defeated. “All the books we’ve scavenged around doesn’t even come close to mentioning what the hell all of that was.”

So that was why she was so keen on reading up on those books? ...Maybe not, I doubt learning a recipe from a culinary book will help with archaeology.

“So you don’t know what this ‘Kosmos Valley’ is?” I asked.

“The thing is, this valley is located beyond the land that was incinerated, and as far as I know, that place has been left untouched ever since the mountain erupted.”

“Why?”

“Bad omen, perhaps? The thought of retaking the land lost by the forces of nature sounds like a bad idea to a lot of people. Plus the recurring earthquakes and the potentiality of the mountain blowing its top off the second time must scare a lot of folks into abandoning the idea altogether… if it even is nature in the first place.”

I tilted my head.

“Don’t fret about it too much. Just know that because this valley hasn’t been touched because no one wants to cross something they don’t want to enter in the first place.” Velma picked up a red pepper from the basket and swished it around in the bucket of water. With a knife, she began slicing and dicing it at a speed I could only hope to match… until she slowed down, craning her neck as if she already knew what I was going to say.

“...I see that look on your face, Junior.”

“Let’s go there. Kosmos Valley.” I spoke not even a second later. “I want to go where people haven’t.”

“Such a terrible reason to plan a trip.”

It seemed Velma didn’t share the same sentiment. I dropped my gaze to the floor in defeat, but the sound of a knife resting onto a wooden surface made me bring it back up. She had turned to face me.

“I studied history. I know the consequences of discovery. To discover new realms of knowledge. That is what the human race strives for, but we didn’t always have this opportunity. For much of history, we were hunter gatherers. Hunting, foraging, and killing were all that we know. That is, until we discovered agriculture. Fighting for survival became a lot less stressful, now that communities don’t have to be so mobile and can focus on the protection of themselves. Societies built, crumbled, revitalized. That is how the world became into what you see today.

History is the story of humanity we record. And yet, a piece of that story was lost the time before the great eruption happened. All records incinerated in a blink of the eye. Just think, if we were to uncover that lost piece of history, we could finally connect the modern age to the time before us. The implications of that would be exciting to say the least.”

Velma picked up another pepper from the basket and tossed it to me, fumbly catching it in the process.

“There. A better reason for the trip, wouldn’t you say Junior?” She smiled. “Kosmos Valley, our next destination.”