The morning sun painted the sea a glowing orange. As the fog lifted, the clock tower of the town hall emerged, and the quaint yet bustling market streets came to life. My town, Ravensbrook, was waking up.

As I ran along the cobblestone streets, my well-worn boots tapped out a steady rhythm. The soft clip-clop of horses' hooves, the distant cries of seagulls from the harbour, the cheerful chatter of the townspeople—this was the familiar melody I heard every day.

I turned the corner onto Market Street. The scent of freshly baked bread wafted toward me. It had to be from Ms Thornberry's bakery. She must be baking the town's famous salt-cured bread. Crisp like a thin biscuit on the outside, soft and warm on the inside.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t had breakfast yet. But there was no time to stop. Valentine was waiting for me.

"Good morning, Sith," called an old man with deep laugh lines, waving as he passed. His wrinkles deepened as he smiled, his whole face lighting up.

"Good morning, Mr. Flannery," I waved back, making sure to lower my hand just above my wrist to keep my sleeve from rolling up.

Rosemary, thyme, and lavender were blooming cheerfully under the eaves.

The moment I caught the fresh scent of the herbs, I felt a strange tingling deep in my skin. My body froze for just an instant.

Trying not to make Mr. Flannery suspicious, I put on my brightest voice.

"Your flowers look lovely!"

"I’ve gone and bought more again. I'm really not sure which is my real job anymore," Mr. Flannery chuckled as he carefully watered the flowers. The sign for his shop, which is right next door, says “Flanary Fruit Store”. Despite his words, he didn’t seem the least bit regretful. He really must love flowers.

Seeing the expression on his face, the tingling sensation in my body faded away.

To me, the warmth of the townspeople was like sunlight nurturing flowers. Thanks to them, I could lift my face and look up to the sky with hope.

Parting from Mr. Flannery, I hurried on like an ordinary girl rushing to work.

Valentine's shop came into view. Its windows were filled with all sorts of curiosities gathered from distant lands. As I approached, I saw Valentine struggling to hang a new sign above the door. His favourite new hat matched his well-groomed beard. He’d been fretting lately about the white hairs creeping into his hair and seemed preoccupied with how his hat sat, even while working.

"I’ll help!" I picked up my pace.

"Ah, Sith! Just in time. Careful, it’s heavier than it looks!" Valentine glanced down at me, his stern expression softening into a warm smile.

I took the sign and tried to attach it to its spot. Again, a familiar tingling sensation ran through my arm, like a small static shock. It disappeared quickly, leaving only a faint ripple in the air.

In my haste to finish, I stepped forward with all my might to lift the sign.

That’s when my foot landed in a puddle, sending water splashing up onto my skirt.

"Oh no!"

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. As I tried to step out of the puddle, I knocked over a nearby bucket of water. A stream of water spread across the front of the shop.

"I’m so sorry!"

Panicking, I stretched up on my tiptoes, trying to keep the sign from getting wet. But my balance shifted, and I toppled backward, the sign still in hand.

The sign traced an arc through the air, landing squarely on Valentine’s head. His hat pierced right through it.

I turned pale with fear, but at least Valentine’s white hair was hidden by the broken sign and hat. A small mercy...

After cleaning up the bucket and brushing the mud from my skirt, I apologised to Valentine over and over again.

Valentine's eyes twinkled as he laughed.

"It’s alright, it’s alright. A sign’s job is to stand out, after all! And this one’s perfect!"

Another board was nailed over the hole in the sign, and it was hung up as is. It read "Cortes’ Curios and Collectibles." The difference in the colour of the boards made it easy to spot the large hole where the "o" in Collectibles should have been.

It certainly stood out.

I kept apologising, but Valentine assured me that if I worked hard, it would make up for it.

"Are you changing the shop’s name?" I asked.

Valentine nodded, stroking his beard.

"Could bring in more customers from the bigger towns."

As I stepped inside the shop, the familiar scent of spices and old parchment greeted me. Cinnamon, nutmeg, beautiful specimens of shells and coral, maps from distant lands, and difficult philosophy books. The shelves were packed with items whose use I couldn’t quite figure out.

This shop might be a sanctuary for me. Here, at least for a while, I could forget my worries.

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"A new shipment’s arrived from the Eastlands," Valentine said, pointing to wooden crates stacked in the corner. "I’ll handle the ledger, could you sort through those?"

"Leave it to me!" I nodded eagerly.

This was my chance to redeem myself after the earlier mishap. And besides, shipments from other lands always held fascinating items. Delicate porcelain dishes and figurines, intricately woven tapestries. Handling these items made me dream of worlds far beyond Ravensbrook’s borders.

I reached for a small box tucked between silk scarves.

That’s when it happened. A strange sensation washed over me. It felt like cool wind rushing through my veins, and suddenly, a flood of images filled my mind.

Wheat fields. Vineyards. Rugged mountains stretched in all directions. Deep valleys. Below, farmland looked withered, as though it were dying. Cloudy skies. Even the cattle in the distance were thin. The scene shifted. In a forest, patterns were drawn on the ground with a sword. A golden basin lay in the centre. A voice called out. "Francesca... Francesca..." No, was that... my voice? "Francesca... Frances... th... Sith!"

I snapped back to reality. A small box, surrounded by scarves. The scent of parchment. This was Ravensbrook. Valentine was staring at me, concerned.

My heart was pounding. Cold sweat trickled down my back. I had been seeing visions of a place I didn’t recognise.

"Are you alright, Sith? You look a bit worn out. Sorry for making you handle that sign." Valentine’s eyes were filled with worry and concern.

"No, it’s not that. I’m sorry, Valentine. I just..." I struggled to cover up my strange experience. "I must have dozed off. I think I was dreaming!"

Valentine adjusted his hat, looking surprised.

"Dozed off? Right after you said 'Leave it to me!'? That was fast!"

"Yes! I’ve gotten really good at falling asleep lately! But don’t worry, I’m fine!"

I tried to sound cheerful, desperate to change the subject.

"Don’t push yourself. Why don’t you rest a bit in the back room?" Valentine fiddled with his beard, looking troubled.

"Thanks, but really, I’m fine! It’s still morning, and I’m not sleepy at all!"

"Wait—didn’t you just say you were asleep? Are you sure you’re alright? Please don’t go breaking anything..."

Just then, the bell above the door rang. A new customer had arrived. Grateful for the distraction, I quickly hurried toward the door.

The moment I saw the girl standing there, I couldn’t help but gasp.

Her red hair, cascading down her back, was as vibrant as flames. Its gentle waves moved like the ebb and flow of the sea.

A small nose, full lips, slender fingers that sparkled subtly with each movement. From her delicate features to the tips of her fingers, she was refined and elegant.

Though she appeared delicate and graceful, there was an undeniable strength beneath it all, like a hidden flame. She was so beautiful and captivating, I found myself completely enthralled in an instant.

"Good day," she said, her lips moving with the grace of a porcelain doll. Her pronunciation was flawless.

"G-good morning," I stammered.

"Perhaps it’s a bit early for the afternoon. ‘Good morning’ is more fitting, isn’t it?" she said with an elegant laugh, her dress swaying slightly. Her clothes looked expensive, though I couldn’t begin to guess how much they cost or what they were made of.

"I heard this was the biggest shop in town, with the most unusual items," the red-haired girl continued as she glanced around the shop. "It’s smaller than I expected."

It took me a good thirty seconds to process her words. Judging from her manner of speaking, she must have come from outside Ravensbrook. Did she think this was just a small, countryside curio shop? Was she mocking it?

The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I became.

To me, this shop isn’t small at all. It’s the widest place in the world, taking me beyond this town! I wanted to tell her that.

But being timid, all I could do was start cleaning the shelves, muttering, "Please be careful not to break anything."

As I dusted off the wooden carvings and tapestries from the East, I found myself stealing glances at her. Even though I was annoyed, I couldn’t take my eyes off her every move.

"'The human mind is not a tabula rasa. Instead of an ideal plane for receiving an image of the world in toto, it is a crooked mirror, on account of implicit distortions'".

"Huh?" I gaped at her words. She closed the book she had been browsing and smiled at me.

"I’m Alicia Hunte. Do you work here?"

My heart pounded at her sudden question, and my mother’s warning echoed in my mind.

"Y-yes. I’m Sith Cumaill."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Same as me."

Where had my earlier anger gone? Finding something in common with her, I felt a small flicker of joy.

Alicia stared at me closely.

"Your eyes, they’re as deep green as a forest. They’re so beautiful."

I felt my whole body flush, as if I were blushing to the tips of my ears. No one had ever called me beautiful before.

"My family just moved to Ravensbrook," Alicia said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I’d like to know more about the town. Could you show me around? Of course, after your work is done," she added with a playful wink.

It felt like magic. There was something about Alicia that was bright, welcoming, and almost too perfect. I felt a strange resonance, as if she could illuminate and erase every dark thing within her.

Without even thinking, I found myself nodding. For the rest of the day, my head was in a fog, and I barely managed to get half of my usual work done (even so, Valentine praised me, saying, "Thanks as always").

When my break finally came, I got permission from Valentine and stepped outside to meet her.

The familiar streets of Ravensbrook, the sunlight, everything felt like a different world I had never known before.

Even the sound of my boots on the cobblestones seemed better than usual, as if they were brand new. But when I looked down, they were still the same old boots I always wore.

Valentine’s shop had always been my sanctuary. So what was this meeting with her? It was another world, similar but different.

She was a gateway. A gateway to a world I thought I knew but didn’t.

I had a premonition that this encounter would be the beginning of something special, something that would change my life forever.

Yet as I caught a glimpse of her from the corner of my eye, a strange thought crossed my mind. The words my mother always said to me: "Be careful, Sith." Dangerous? Am I the dangerous one? Or is it...

Beautiful Alicia and small, unremarkable me. This was the beginning of our encounter.