Jay Tuesday, August 30 “I think this is for you,” Uncle Dune says gruffly, all but throwing the envelope at my face. He doesn’t realize how important it is. It’s my chance to finally leave this village, finally get a good education. If people bully me, I don’t really care. I’m used to it by now. It’ll be fun to laugh in their faces and see how they react. I open the envelope and scan the page. I got in! I got in, I got in, I got in! I’m going to the Isle of Jade Academy, far away from this place I’ve been trapped in my whole life. I let out a squeal of excitement and run up to my room to start packing. ~ Friday, September 2 It’s the night before I leave for IJA. Before I go to bed, I stroll out of the house to get a last look at the one place I like in this village: the lagoon. Not many people know about it, so it’s perfect for me. I walk the path I’ve walked so many times before, and I sit down cross-legged at the water’s edge. Some people think this place is haunted, but I’ve been here dozens of times and I’ve never seen anything weird. Wait, scratch that– are those footsteps? I hide behind a bush as a cloaked figure appears. I can’t tell who it is, even as they approach the water. “Are we still on track for the mission?” the cloaked figure asks. Their voice sounds feminine, but I of all people should know that doesn’t mean a thing. They could be non-binary, like me. I nearly stop breathing as the face of a person slowly materializes in the clear water. They are androgynous, with short hair the color of the night sky. They have piercing blue eyes and pale skin. A watery crown sits upon their head. “Yes,” the face in the water says. “Continue with the current plan, and everything will go perfectly.” They speak slowly but confidently, pronouncing each word with conviction. “I’ll meet you at the lake in Black Firefly Forest three days from now,” they continue. “Then I will give you further instruction.” The cloaked figure turns around and begins walking back to our village. The face in the water slowly dissipates. Only then do I realize that I’ve hardly been breathing. I think about what just happened as I walk back to my house. I don’t know what to think of it, but I know I definitely wasn’t supposed to see it. Whatever it is, I don’t want to get involved. But the mention of Black Firefly Forest haunts me as I lay in bed. It’s miles from here, and all but forbidden. What’s going on?
- again this isn’t what the character looks like in this chapter, it’s what they’ll look like in the next chapter, it’ll make sense next chapter lol
