Painful flakes gathered on Caelyn’s thin blanket, which offered little protection from the cold wind that threatened to tear it from her grasp. But regardless, she held on to it with all her dwindling strength as she sat cross-legged on the hard stone streets. Peeking through a small hole in the cloth, she could not see the streets or the houses, only the blizzard’s white cloak. If there were others who still remained outside, any sign of their existence was concealed.

It was a year ago when she had last seen such a storm. But that day, she had been behind the safety of windows, protected by the warmth of a crackling fireplace and a thick blanket. Beside her sat the father that gave her this home. He was the only family she had ever known. Shivering, she touched a ribbon tied around her wrist. Even without looking, she knew that it was held a purer white than all this snow. It was her treasure, the only gift she still had from him.

The warmth from that night still burned within her. She had to survive this storm, or else all those years of her father’s care would be wasted on her dead body. Even if it meant going against a force of nature, she refused to give away. As every moment passed her body became weaker, and soon she lost feeling in her arms and legs.

A shadow came into view against the pale background. Caelyn opened her eyes wider, and her heart beat with renewed vigor. With the last of her energy, she cried out for help. The shadow stopped and spoke in a faint voice that she could not hear over the sound of the wind. She called out again, this time louder. But the next time she blinked, the shadow was gone. Staring in the blank space where the shadow stood, she swayed in the wind, giving it no resistance. With one last breath, she fell onto the thick layer of snow.

Everything faded to black.

***

Sunlight shone through Caelyn’s eyelids. A bed of something warm surrounded her, thawing the ice that chilled through to her bones. She took a few breaths of the cool air, which held the familiar smell of the sea. Her father had always enjoyed visiting the shore, and so did she. They would arrive before sunrise and leave only when the moon had reached its peak. During their visits, they swam out so far into the distance that the land disappeared behind them.

But why did the air smell of the sea?

She stirred, rolling onto her back. The sun pierced at her face with its thousand tiny spears, soon drawing sweat that rolled down her forehead. Blocking the sun’s rays with one hand and pushing herself upright with the other, she opened her eyes. Before her, the ocean stretched towards the pale blue sky.

Where was she? She turned around, taking her time to comprehend the plain of sparkling sands that laid beneath her feet. A forest stood a short distance away, the swaying trees beckoned her into land under those emerald leaves. Was this a dream? A final dream before her death? She pinched herself. But, besides the pain, nothing happened. Maybe she was already dead, and this was her final paradise.

She shook her head. It was pointless to stand here and waste time thinking. With the mysterious forests on one side and the crystal waves on the other, wherever this was, it couldn’t be a bad place. Choosing a direction, she began walking, allowing the ocean breeze to calm her down. Perhaps life would be better here, simple and pristine. If she was hungry, she could go into that forest and collect some fruits. If she was tired, she could curl up under the starry sky and sleep on the soft sands. The ocean looked rather good for swimming, and maybe she might try at catching a few fish. She could do whatever she wanted. She was free.

Something stirred a few paces from her. Soon, a girl with flaming red hair jumped to her feet. Wildly twisting her head left and right, the mysterious girl settled a glare on Caelyn, eyes narrowing.

“Where am I?” she shouted, taking a couple steps back and raising her fists. “Get away from me.”

Caelyn raised her hands in fear. “Please don’t hurt me. I’m not going to harm you. I don’t know anything. I-I just woke up here, like you.” Wincing, she averted her gaze away from the scary look in the girl’s eyes. She tried to take a step back but slipped on the sand and fell.

While Caelyn struggled to get to her feet, the other girl walked over and reached out a hand. “Get up. Don’t be so pathetic, alright? If you keep falling, you’ll soon be eaten by beasts. Come take my hand.”

For a moment, she stared at the hand stretched out to her. Then, she looked up to see the face of the one who held out that hand. The girl was beautiful, but the gesture even more so. Despite the threatening expression on her face, the girl didn’t seem to hold harmful intent. Caelyn accepted the hand and felt herself ascend back to her feet. It was then did the remaining slivers of ice buried within her bones thawed.

“I’m Theresa, what about you?” asked the girl, looking down at Caelyn with her pale blue eyes.

Caelyn looked down and shuffled her feet. “Caelyn.”

“Okay, Caelyn. Come with me if you want to live. We need to find wood to build a fire. And water too. We can worry about everything else once we are sure we can survive the night. Come on.”

As Theresa started towards the forest, Caelyn stood there and soon a smile formed on her face. Theresa seemed reliable. Perhaps they could become friends someday. Even a paradise such as this would eventually become cold if there wasn’t anyone to enjoy it with. She just had to thank whoever had brought her here, where this new life awaited. Sighing from a content heart, Caelyn followed the girl, quickening her pace to catch up.

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But the moment they stepped into the forest, a voice, which sounded like that of a girl’s, came from behind. The two of them turned around to see a well-dressed girl running towards them.

She stopped a short distance away from them and put her hands on her hips. “It’s good to see someone else here. I thought I was stranded on here alone. You know where everyone else is?”

“Everyone else?” asked Theresa.

“Yeah, on our ship. I hope we’re not the only survivors.”

“What ship?”

Jaw dropping a little, the girl’s hands dropped from her hips. “You two aren’t from the ship? Then, who are you?” With a panicked expression on her face, she stood so still it appeared as though she was frozen.

“Relax,” said Caelyn, taking a step forward, “did you wake up on the shore just now? We also woke up here. None of us have any idea where we are or why we are here. I promise, we are just as confused as you are.” She tried to take another step forward, but Theresa grabbed her arm and pulled her into the forest.

“Come on,” said Theresa, “wasting your words to calming her down is a waste of time. You’ll just make yourself more thirsty. If you want to talk, wait until we find water.”

“Wait,” the girl shouted from behind. “Don’t go, please. I want to come with you. I can’t live on my own. Let me join the two of you, please.”

With a deep sigh, Theresa said, “Hurry up, then. Catch up or we’ll have to leave you behind.” Noticing that she was still grabbing onto Caelyn’s arm, she released her grip.

The girl didn’t take long to reach them, but she was slightly breathless. “Why are you going so fast?”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She glanced at the forest around them. “You said we are going to find water? I’m thirsty.”

“Then stop talking so much, whoever you are.”

“I’m Charlotte, nice to meet you.”

Caelyn smiled. “I’m Caelyn.” She paused, waiting for Theresa so say her name. But the girl stayed silent. “The quiet one is Theresa.”

“Do you two know each other?”

“No, we just met.”

“Oh, I wonder how you two met. Did you also chase her until she decided to let you follow her around?”

Remembering the hand Theresa reached out for her, Caelyn shook her head. “Not quite. Anyways, didn’t you say that you were on a ship before you woke up here? What happened? Did it sink or something?”

Charlotte shivered; her eyes flitted from around like a threatened deer. “I can’t remember clearly. It was storm. It was dark. So much rain fell from the sky. A couple of thunderbolts too. It was windy, it pushed me about. I should’ve listened and went inside, but I stayed on deck. A wind pushed me, and the ground was slippery. I think I fell. It was cold, the water was colder than ice. And it was dark, so dark. It was overwhelming. I-I don’t want to remember.”

Wrapping an arm around the poor girl, Caelyn said in a voice as soothing and gentle as she could make it, “You don’t have to remember it anymore. You’re back on land now. We’re in a forest. Look at those leaves, have you seen anything more green? Look at those birds, those scarlet feathers make them look like phoenixes. Aren’t they as regal?”

“Yes,” she replied with a small voice.

“Look at that butterfly. It looks like a crystal, and it glows with moonlight. And look at the snow-white flower the butterfly is resting on. It’s bigger than the palms of both my hands combined. I haven’t seen anything like that before, have you?”

“No.”

“Come, Theresa is so far ahead, we have to catch up or we will be left behind.”

Up ahead, the girl slowed to a stop. She raised a hand and said, “Stop, listen. Tell me if you hear something.”

Caelyn did as she was told and heard the faint sound of a waterfall. A grin stretched on her face. “Water.”

“Come on,” said Theresa, before running towards the source of the sound. In only a few moments, she disappeared into the forest.

“Well, you heard her. Come on,” Caelyn said and followed Theresa into the forest. She heard footsteps behind, and when she glanced back, saw that Charlotte was keeping up rather well to her pace.

The further they ran, the clearer and louder the sound became. When they had reached the waterfall, what was a first a dribble became a roar. Theresa was already kneeling beside the stream, bringing water to her mouth with cupped hands. Upon seeing this, the two newcomers joined her.

Bringing water to her lips, Caelyn gulped it down. The cool water tasted sweet as it flowed through her mouth and down her throat. After she drank her fill, she laid down on the soft vegetation and looked up at the sunlight streaming through holes between the leaves. The murmur of the waterfall was accented by the chirps of songbirds, a music that lulled her to sleep.

But before she could fully relax, Theresa said, “Now that we know that there is a stream here, let’s return to the shore. We’ll build our fire there. Hopefully, a ship will notice it and come to our rescue.”

With a groan, Caelyn pushed herself upright and gazed at the trees standing together in the forest. She didn’t want to be rescued. After all, only dirty streets and leftover scraps awaited upon her return. But she had a feeling no one was coming to take them away from this paradise.

She stumbled to her feet and nodded at Theresa. “Well, let’s hurry up then.”

The three of them walked along the stream for a while. Oftentimes the ground would consist of large stones, slippery from the water. Theresa did not have difficult time stepping from one stone to the next while Caelyn and Charlotte had to hold each other’s hand to prevent themselves from falling. Eventually, they reached a pond where the stream met its end. There, they took a break to drink some water before continuing. It didn’t take long for the trees to open up and revealing the sparkling white sands, beyond which laid the crystalline ocean.

“Look! Someone’s there! On the ground!” Charlotte pointed to a dark shape that disturbed the otherwise plain shore.

Caelyn and Charlotte rushed towards the body and knelt down beside it. It was lying face down, so only its black hair, messy to an artistic degree, was visible. The two of them exchanged glances, before each grabbing a shoulder and rolling it on its back.

“Oh, a boy,” said Theresa, who stood with a scowl on her face behind Caelyn. “Leave him be. We’ll be better off without him.”

“No, we shouldn’t.” Caelyn touched two fingers on the boy’s forehead. A shiver went through her body. He was ice cold. Hesitating for a moment, she moved her hand to the boy’s neck and felt for a pulse, but she could feel none.

Charlotte glanced at Caelyn with worried eyes and reached to touch the boy but, before she made contact with the boy’s pale skin, pulled back her hand. “Is he… is he dead?”

Not knowing how to respond, Caelyn stared at the boy in search of an answer on his tranquil face. He was also here on the place that she had considered a paradise. But she had woken up, but he hadn’t. “Perhaps he just hadn’t woken up yet,” she finally said, “maybe we all appeared dead before we awoke. Who knows? I think we should consider him alive for now.”

“Hey, there,” someone shouted from the distance.