"Calm down, Lyon, calm down." Mira's begged, but I couldn't hear her.

"Meteor fall! Meteor fall! Today is the meteor fall!" I chanted, bouncing on my feet, filled with excitement. Today was the day!

"Come on, let's go!" I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door, jumping with anticipation.

She hesitated but let me tug her along.

"Go where?" she asked, sounding a little confused.

"To the meteor fall, where else?"

But then she stopped, pulling back gently. Her voice was warm but it gave me a feeling of unease. "Lyon, dear, that won't happen till the night fall."

I froze in place, the words hitting me like a splash of cold water. She continued, this time with a soft smile. "Honey, why do you think it's called a meteor fall?"

Still buzzing from the excitement, I blinked, trying to make sense of it. "Because... the stars fall?" I mumbled, more confused than ever.

Mira chuckled softly. "And now, tell me, do you see any stars in the sky in middle of the day?"

The realization sunk in, and I felt my excitement deflate as I finally put two and two together.

Honestly, if I had taken a moment to think what a meteor fall was, I would have figured it out in an instant, but I was so excited it escaped me completely.

"No!" I screamed out, suddenly all my plans turning to ruins.

"B-But the surprise! The hill! What am I going to do now?" I rumbled on in my panic, forgetting Mira was still right next to me.

"What surprise? Hill?" She said, leaning down a little and tilting her head to the side. "Would you mind tell me?"

'Crap! It can't remain a surprise for much longer so I guess its fine.'

I turned to face her but was too embarrassed to look at her directly, so I looked down for my fidgeting fingers.

"Well... I found this hill in the forest, with no trees around. I thought we could watch the meteor fall from there."

There was an awkward pause.

'Oh, where can I find a hole to hide?'

Not only had I just exposed all of my plans, but I did it in such an embarrassing way too!

Clap!

Mira’s hands came together, and I jumped in surprise.

"That's lovely, Lyon." She said. "We'll do that then."

"No, we can't." I said, shaking my head.

"Why not?" She asked, her voice in a sweet encouraging way to make me continue.

"Because I don't know the way in the night. Everything will be dark, and scary, and we'll get lost." I said, letting the remaining air in my lungs out in a big sigh.

Mira bent down to my level, her hand gently ruffling my hair. "Then why don’t we go now? If you show me the place, I’ll remember it and we'll be safe even at night, I promise."

I gasped in shock. "We can do that?"

"Of course," she said with a chuckle. "We'll skip today's lesson, however. I hope you’re okay with that.”

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“Yes no problem at all!” I said jumping up and down.

She smiled and stood back up. "Come on, lead the way."

I didn’t say anything back. Instead, made a run for the door, my previous excitement returning

Okay, maybe things didn't go as planned but that was for the better.

I wanted to surprise and show her that I could do things for her too, and not only the other way around, but maybe that was for another time when I have made better preparations.

Regardless, not everything went bad. I mean, we were still going after all, and with Mira knowing the way back, there was nothing to worry about. It was perfect!

***

Late spring and early autumn were always the better parts of the year. Not too hot, not too cold—just perfect. The kind of weather that wraps around you like a soft blanket cozy but not tight, and the air is so crispy and fresh, and today, the forest seemed to reflect exactly that.

The sun was high but its warmth was here, tingling at me as patches of light flickered though the leaves. They lit the ground, creating patterns of gold and shadow, as if the forest wanted to create a much bigger, much more complex game of Checkpoints. If I were alone, I'd probably stop here and play, but there was always tomorrow.

Today, there was something more important.

The leaves were still green and beautiful but had this very faint tinge of gold sneaking in at their edges, signaling the slow change in the season, and the air had this earthly smell, saying that it was slowly preparing for the change, but what made my heart beat faster, and the butterfly go crazy in my tummy was Mira.

The funny part was that I couldn't even explain it.

It wasn't like she was doing anything in particular. She was just following me around, but that alone was enough to make me feel funny.

We had gone on walks in the forest plenty of times before, but this felt different. It was always her leading the way, and now that our roles had switched, the experience was entirely new.

I was guiding her this time, and with each question she asked, I'd glance back to her, the warm smile of hers made me feel warm inside. We were walking at a relaxed pace, yet somehow, we were approaching the hill quickly. Much too quickly.

I didn’t want this feeling to end.

"A-and here... I took a turn," I said, my voice coming out awkwardly as I turned away from the hill, leading us deeper into the forest.

It wouldn’t hurt to take a small detour, right? After all, I knew exactly where we were heading.

After finding the hill, I’d spent days exploring the surrounding area, just to be sure we wouldn’t get lost. In the process, I stumbled upon something I was dying to show Mira.

Wasn't that a win-win situation? Spending more time with her while also learning something knew?

'Of course it was!'

Somewhere nearby, there was a small cave I had discovered by accident. Horny had been up to his usual trouble, and I’d chased after him only to find him frozen in front of this strange den. It wasn’t much of a cave, more like a hidden nook in the forest. Inside, the walls were lined with glowing symbols, faintly pulsing with a blue light, like fireflies scattered in the dark. Other than those markings, the cave was empty.

What were those symbols for? Why did they glow? Who had left them behind, and what was this place meant to be? Was it even a cave at all, or something else entirely? Dangerous, maybe?

One thing was certain. It was definitely exciting!

I wanted to learn more about this strange cave, and who better to ask than Mira?

It was crazy how much she knew!

I wanted to know all sorts of things like her!

But, as it always seemed to happen today, we arrived much sooner than I'd hoped for.

Before Mira could ask, I quickly took control of the conversation.

"After this cave, we turn right, and then it’s just a straight path,” I said, trying to sound casual.

"I see..." Mira rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I think I know where we are, but Lyon,” she paused, giving me a sly, almost teasing look, “are you sure you meant to go to the hill and not somewhere else?”

'Crap! She caught me! What do I say? What do I say?'

Panic rushed through me like a storm, and before I could think, I blurted out, “Yes! Yes, I did!” But as the seconds ticked by, and I failed to come up with a better excuse, my shoulders slumped in defeat. “At first…”

There was no way I could tell her the real reason. I was way too embarrassed to admit I just wanted to spend more time with her.

“It’s just… I found these cool symbols in the cave, and I wanted to learn more about them. Sorry for lying,” I muttered, turning away.

I didn’t notice her soft footsteps approaching, so I was startled when I felt her hand ruffle my hair.

“It’s okay, Lyon. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, her voice warm and reassuring. “Come on, let’s go see what these symbols are.”

I glanced up, surprised to see her smiling down at me, her hand extended. The sunbeam beside her face didn’t shine nearly as brightly as her smile.

I took her hand and we entered the cave together.

She let out a low hum, once inside, and walked closer to the walls, trailing the markings with her free hand.

Her chuckle echoed in the small cave. "I never expected to find something like this in the middle of nowhere." She said, as if that would suddenly make everything make sense for some reason.

"What is it? What is it?" I asked, seeing as she never explained what this cave was.

She looked at me curiously, then said. "Say, Lyon, you wouldn't know what a transportation gate is, would you?"

"Transp-wha- oh you mean like those things where people go inside them and appear on another place? Papa had told me plenty of stories where people used them. why?

"Because this, my dear, was once such gate."