Luna stared at the sheet of paper—clearly ripped from the diary she had found—with curiosity in her voice as she read aloud. "Day 28, twenty-eight? There's at least twenty-eight to find?" A grin spread from ear to ear on Luna's face as the realization settled in.
How many did I miss already, of the pages? Well, there is a lot to be found too. Hehe.
"Mhm, Day 28. Dad told me that he will bring my older sister and two older brothers with him to me! I cannot wait to see them again. It's been so long since he created us. I heard that he had given them a purpose! I cannot wait for mine to come!"
The person who wrote this diary is really passionate about their dad, huh.
"Oh, he's so holy! I cannot praise him more! I don't even know how! It's such a blessing to have him so near! He's so wonderful, he's so smart! He's the smartest after all! He's so kind! Kind! Kind! I cannot wait to see him again!"
That borders on obsession. I mean, not that it's wrong. I wonder what Aisha is doing…
Shaking her head, Luna glanced at the back of the page but found nothing. So, she opened the diary book in her left hand and placed the page inside. As she did, the page glowed with a golden light and fused with the diary.
Now only two pages out of many! I really want to get to know her or him; it doesn't matter!
With a pleased smile, she moved back to the door she had come from, the one that had violently transported her here to the second floor.
Closing her eyes, she jumped down, her heartbeat skyrocketing with excitement. Accelerating beyond human speed, she arrived back down in the living room by the fireplace without even realising when.
The only thing, or rather person, that met her in that room was the painting girl, waving with a warm and gentle smile.
Luna chuckled at the painting girl's wave, but the girl simply pointed towards the final door. Taking the hint, Luna walked over slowly. Her hand was on the handle when she paused, turning back with a growing smile, said "Thank you! I hope to get to know you better! Of course, if you want!"
The painting girl placed both pointing fingers at the corners of her mouth and widened her smile, showing her teeth. That genuine smile was the only one Luna had seen that struck her as unforced and beautiful.
But as she did that, it revealed the bags under her eyes, a clear sign of exhaustion. Tired? Why?
No… better not to ask. But I want to! Agh, if I do she might get mad, so… let's not, for now.
Luna repaid her with the same loving smile and said, "Thank you again! I'll be back soon!"
With those words, she stepped through the frame and ran down the dark corridor, disappearing into the darkness.
As seconds passed after Luna ran through the doors, the girl in the painting's smile turned passive. But as it did, she placed her hands on each corner of her mouth and widened it into a smile. She tried to retain it but couldn't. Her full, loving, beautifully shining eyes turned dead, as if the person had lived with far too many problems in her life.
She glanced over at the doors where Luna had run through, placed a hand on her chest, and a small smile grew on her face. Her eyes glimmered with happiness.
…
The corridor was filled with weird stuff to Luna: two full metal armors with swords that looked like they were made to be statue guardians or something, and there were plenty of vases as well as dressers.
It's weird that I've now seen at least hundreds of dressers, she thought.
Luna walked down the corridor on the erected red carpet and stopped at the first and closest door to her. With a pleased look, she reached for the handle, opened the door, and pushing it forward, she rushed inside.
An impossible scene stretched out before her. The small room grew into the size of a garden that Luna had in her home; it might be even bigger. Inside was something out of a forest habitat. Red parrots flew by, dogs and cats lay around with each other, and besides the parrots, there were countless different bird species. There were also many water creatures, like flamingos or turtles, living near the enormous body of water.
This was impossible. There was no way a space like this could exist within the confines of the palace. Luna looked back at the door she came from; it was still there. She looked through the frame, and the corridor was still there. Looking to her right for the next closest door, it was only a few steps from where she stood.
What in the world is happening here? Luna thought as sweat poured down her face.
She looked back inside, and the place was still there. So, she swallowed her saliva and looked ahead with a glimmer in her eyes and a creeping smile.
There's no way I'm backing out now! This is... so beautiful and mysterious! I love it!
She walked through the frame again, and the scorching sun hit her. She looked up and saw the sun.
A sun? What? She inwardly questioned the reality of where she was.
Luna wiped the sweat off her forehead; her arms were shaking. The wind was quite strong, the leaves waved with a monotonous sound, birds flew in and out of the trees, and a deer darted past the trunks and disappeared into the thick forest.
A giddy laugh escaped her lips, and before she could think, she was darting forward, weaving between the trees toward the lake where she saw the animals that she had found in a zoological book.
A flamingo? A turtle? It's the first time I've seen one! It's so exciting!
She walked up to them, but they looked at Luna unfazed, as if they were used to her presence. The pink flamingo was annoyed, however, and looked away, ignoring her as it kept looking at its kin. But the green turtle was still standing and looking at her with a smile.
It was rather creepy seeing a turtle smile, but it was endearing in a way.
He came closer to Luna and rubbed his head. Luna's heart was about to explode; it was beating awfully hard from the affection the turtle gave her. So she crouched and repaid his kindness by rubbing his shell up and down.
The turtle was pleased with the rubs, and he turned back and walked into the water, swimming away.
Luna was a bit disappointed that he left so soon. She sighed, but not with disappointment—with fulfillment. Even though it wasn't much, it was enough for her.
She stood up and looked over the lake. The lake was enormous, its water was crystal clear, the bottom was easily see-through, and every fish and turtle was seen easily.
The pink flamingos took advantage of it. They swooped into the air from the shores, flew high up, and dived suddenly into the sparklingly shining water, fishing out plenty of fish in their mouths. They came back to their offspring and gave them the food that they couldn't hunt yet.
Feeding them, they ate with joy as their wings flapped up and down.
Luna was mesmerized by the sight. It really was rare to see such a sight; the balance of nature was really beautiful here.
I've never seen it in the palace, nor has any book recorded such events. Huh. I need to describe this to Dad, what I've seen; he'll be amazed, Luna said with a grin on her face.
Luna turned away with a butterfly feeling in her stomach from the views and saw a dark tower erected far into the distance.
She couldn't refuse to not go there, so swiftly she picked up the pace and ran towards it.