Chapter Seven: The Sky

“Happy birthday, Lily.” Ander’s voice echoed through the attic on the fifth floor. Clear and a little lonely, yet it filled Lily with joy.

She took the little object he handed her and glanced at her younger brother, whose hairline was already receding earlier than most. “Thank you, Ander, thank you. I never expected you to make me a birthday gift yourself… Is this a turtle?”

Lily studied the object closely. Some gears were exposed, the shape was round, with four protruding limbs and a chubby little head.

“…It’s a doll,” Ander corrected her after a brief silence.

Lily’s smile froze for a moment, but she quickly laughed. “So it’s a doll. Must be the materials, I suppose. But watching simple mechanical movements is quite relaxing. Thank you again for the gift, Mr. Ander.”

As she spoke, Lily stood up, lightly lifted the hem of her dress, took a step back with her right foot, and performed a simple curtsey.

The etiquette of gentlemen and ladies was all the rage in the British Empire. Even children liked to imitate the adults around them, practicing various manners and rituals.

Ander had no choice but to rise as well, pressing a hand to his chest and bowing slightly in return—a proper gentleman’s salute. Then he waved his hand, signaling to Lily not to trouble herself further.

Knowing Ander disliked unnecessary fuss, Lily didn’t insist. She sat back down, one hand cradling the doll Ander had assembled for her, the other fiddling with its little parts.

“You already know?” Lily suddenly asked, out of nowhere.

“Yes. Sandra and Ariel mentioned it, and then Ariel talked to me about it. That’s how I found out.” Ander easily kept up with his sister’s train of thought.

Lily meant her departure the next day to search for John.

“So that’s how it is. I’d planned to tell you all tomorrow, but seeing you come to give me a birthday present tonight, I guessed you knew.” Lily explained with a wry smile.

“It’s alright, Sis. I’m worried about John too, and I think you made the right decision,” Ander encouraged her.

“But I have one request.” He took the hand Lily was using to toy with the doll’s parts.

“What is it?” Lily looked into Ander’s dark brown eyes, smiling in return.

“My birthday is a week from now. I’d like to eat your homemade croquettes.” Ander’s smile was radiant.

Lily fell silent for a moment, then her smile blossomed as she gently withdrew her hand from Ander’s grip and extended her pinky.

“I promise you, pinky swear!”

“Pinky swear,” Ander echoed, hooking his little finger around hers and giving it a shake.

“Well then, I suppose Miss Lily would like to enjoy some more quiet time alone, so I won’t disturb you any longer.” Having achieved his purpose, Ander didn’t linger; he knew his sister cherished her solitude here.

“Our Ander has already grown into a proper gentleman,” Lily teased with a laugh.

Watching Ander go, Lily turned herself around on the floor, gazing once more out the orphanage window at the ever-churning, unceasing 2.4 Mist. But now, she didn’t feel quite so afraid or helpless.

“Thank you, Ander,” she whispered softly, so only she could hear.

After a pause, she added, “Thank you too, Hugh.”

———

Late at night, in Lily’s room, Hugh and Aiden sat side by side across from her, while Lily herself sat at her desk, amusement in her eyes as she looked at the two of them—it really did look like a teacher about to start a lesson.

“Lily, dangerous… be careful,” Aiden said, his voice flat but his concern evident.

Hugh was equally worried, glancing left and right. She couldn’t help herself—suddenly she rose, walked over to Lily, and gripped her hand.

The moment she did, Hugh was startled. Lily’s hand was icy cold, not at all the temperature of a living person.

“Lily…” Hugh’s face was full of distress.

“It would be a lie to say I’m not nervous. After all, I have no idea what’s going to happen… Let’s pray to God—if God really exists,” Lily forced a smile and made a joke.

“It’s almost time, Hugh, go back to your seat. If you keep holding onto me like this, you might be ‘erased’ along with me. Who knows what would happen then?”

“The orphanage can’t lose all three of us at once.” Lily stressed the word “at once.”

Hugh was on the verge of tears, but she nodded and returned to her seat across from Lily.

As the clock in the room ticked to 12:24, Lily began to count down:

“Twenty-three… twenty-two… twenty-one…”

Three… two… one… In the next instant, Hugh and Aiden instinctively clasped each other’s hands, because in their eyes, Lily was erased in just the same way as John had been before.

———

“Three… two… one…” As her heartbeat echoed the final countdown, Lily squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. But after a long moment, she felt nothing at all, which made her laugh bitterly to herself.

Could it be John’s erasure was just a matter of chance? Or was there some other condition besides being fifteen that she hadn’t met…

Shaking her head, Lily called out Hugh’s name as she opened her eyes. She was about to say it must be a random event, but in the next second, she was so startled by what she saw that she toppled backwards off her chair.

Her hands flailed wildly, desperate to grab onto something. In the next instant, she felt her back strike something with a kind of elastic resistance, and she abruptly stopped shouting.

Her heart pounding, she tried to turn her head to look behind her. But at the first glance, Lily quickly turned away and squeezed her eyes shut.

She realized she was at a dizzying height.

But soon she noticed that she seemed to be sitting on something invisible yet solid and elastic. After all, she didn’t feel the weightlessness one gets in an elevator.

She gave herself a mental pep talk twice, then took a deep breath and opened her eyes slowly.

What came into view was her own knees, and beyond them, an endless expanse of blue-gray sky.

“The sky?” Lily murmured in confusion.

Ever since the 2.4 Mist had enveloped the world, ever since the “Wall” had suddenly appeared, Lily hadn’t seen the sky—not just her, but no one had.

She stared at the sky for several seconds, then tried to stretch her leg out to reach for her chair—the very chair she’d tumbled from should be just in front of her.

But when she extended her leg, she touched nothing. Perplexed, she looked beside her calf.

Nothing at all.

Lily felt her head spin. What was going on? Where had she suddenly arrived?

Was this the “other world” John’s diary had mentioned?