Shinara stood silently in front of her mother's grave, holding Kagiri in her arms. After a few moments, a faint light appeared before them, transforming into a delicate fairy who spoke with a calm smile, explaining that they were here to solve a puzzle that could take them to another world.
The fairy's eyes widened with seriousness as she said in a stern tone, "What you are attempting is forbidden. It breaks the rules."
Kagiri trembled and pleaded, "Please… this is a special case."
The fairy softened slightly. "Very well. This time only. Focus on the task."
Then the fairy presented a mysterious riddle
"I live without a voice, yet I fill hearts with words. I bow before the wind, and I carry memories in my scent. Who am I?"
Kagiri stared in disbelief, unable to believe how a ten-year-old girl could solve such a puzzle. Shinara lifted the flower that had been on her mother's grave to show it to the fairy. The fairy smiled faintly. "The riddle is solved," she said, handing them the first paper for the next location, then vanished suddenly, leaving Kagiri in shock but alert.
Shinara's hands shook as she took the paper and pen. She tried to look at the sheet, but she did not know how to write. Gently, Kagiri took the pen and guided her hand, allowing Shinara to finally indicate the place she wanted to go. She pointed to the distant school building, and Kagiri wrote the word "School." The paper then disappeared.
Shinara carried Kagiri in her arms and ran toward the school. Kagiri noticed the sadness on Shinara's face every time a student exited the building. She whispered, "Let's sit in the nearby garden until the school closes, then we can enter quietly."
Shinara agreed and sat silently while the sun gradually began to set.
The garden was now empty, but Kagiri asked Shinara not to advance, while Shinara insisted on entering the school despite the warnings. Kagiri noticed a group of children around Shinara's age and suggested that she get to know them. Shinara agreed, though the sadness on her face remained.
Kagiri walked along the garden, invisible to people, visible only to spirits and Shinara. At the school gate, Shinara felt something strange, but she stepped inside to find an elderly man with a stern voice ordering her to follow him.
Kagiri followed nervously, aware of the man's importance. They entered the principal's office; he sat on his chair while Kagiri took the seat opposite him. He said, "Things have gone too far since Velina created you. You have been acting against the rules."
Kagiri swallowed and explained, "I helped Velina because she was trapped in a vortex, and I saved her. The same happened with Shinara. Breaking the curse is impossible."
The man paused for a moment, then said, "You must hurry. Keep things as they are. Solving the first puzzle is enough for Shinara to see her mother."
Kagiri nodded sadly. "But this method is cruel. It causes suffering, especially for Shinara."
The principal replied, "Better than being trapped in a vortex with no end."
Kagiri lowered her head and left, sad, heading toward the garden where she found Shinara sitting on a bench, covering her face with her hands. She approached and asked, "What happened?"
Shinara lifted her tear-streaked face, her nose bleeding. She rose slowly, her eyes full of sorrow, and walked away from the garden toward the house, followed cautiously by Kagiri, aware that everything around them was beginning to change.
Upon reaching the house, Shinara entered her room without noticing anything around her. Kagiri went to the kitchen and frozeher grandmother lay on the floor, the room covered in blood. Horrified, she ran to Shinara's room but found her collapsed, struggling for life.
Kagiri remained standing until Shinara stopped moving. Suddenly, she too fell, and darkness consumed everything around them.