The Girl
“Ugh.”
Emily blinked amid the pain that crushed down on her entire body, squeezing her tight. Was something wrong with her eyes? But the blurry figure in front of her gradually took on clear contours. She blinked again, and the silhouettes protruding into the air had transformed into human shapes.
At the same moment, the oppressive pressure of the atmosphere eased.
“Hah!”
Emily gulped in deep breaths. The agony that had pinned her body in an instant had stopped. Her clear vision now revealed three people. The spot where they stood had been an empty expanse swept only by dry winds just moments before.
Emily looked up at them. Standing at the forefront was a man clad head to toe in pure white, an elderly man with thinning silver hair, and a small boy who appeared to be around Emily’s age with blond hair.
Good heavens.
Emily stared in astonishment at the man in all white. The figure who had suddenly materialized on the barren plain was truly, utterly white. His hair was white, the long coat-like garment he wore was white, and even his shoes were pristine white.
How could such a person exist? Emily gazed at him intently. Her own platinum blond hair was what people called rare and wondrous, but this man’s was true white. Not the dull silver of the old man’s thinning hair, but flawless, perfect white. His skin, too, was so unblemished and pale that Emily wondered if he was truly alive.
Suddenly, as if sensing her probing gaze, the white man turned his head and looked straight at Emily. His cobalt-blue eyes—vivid against the stark white of his face—fixed on her.
The instant their eyes met, Emily quickly averted hers to the side.
At that moment, the small boy—who barely reached the adults’ waists—staggered, his face twisting in discomfort.
Emily frowned at the sight. She could guess what was coming next. That expression was just like the one drunken men wore outside the inn, clutching a pillar as they bent over.
Sure enough, the boy couldn’t hold back the nausea rising within him and began vomiting onto the ground.
Emily grimaced as she watched. The silver-haired elder gently patted the slumped child’s back.
“Meyer, your body can’t handle it after all. Even though I tried so hard to dissuade you.”
The boy lifted his head with effort toward the elder, who was clicking his tongue sympathetically.
“……It’s my first time with such a long-distance trip. I’ll get used to it. Master.”
Emily tilted her head. They were speaking in a language she’d never heard before. But she could roughly guess the meaning. The silver-haired elder was worried about the boy. Maybe his grandson?
As she speculated and watched them, an unfamiliar shadow suddenly fell over her.
“……A girl, then.”
The white man had approached right in front of her without a sound, speaking in a deep, resonant baritone.
Emily looked up at him, staring at the man gazing down at her perched on the rock pile. Her eyes were drawn irresistibly into the depths of those profoundly cool blue irises.
The man’s blue eyes didn’t waver, but Emily felt some inexplicable sorrow transmitted from within them.
After studying her quietly, the man’s gaze drifted downward. It stopped at her left hand.
His look suggested he wanted her to extend it. Without thinking, Emily held out her left hand, palm up toward him.
The white man hovered a finger glowing with white light over her palm and moved it swiftly, as if writing letters in the air. A trail of white light lingered in the wake of his finger.
When he stopped, silvery transparent characters formed right above her palm, floating there. At first glance, they resembled intricate line drawings. Slowly descending from the air, they seeped smoothly into her palm and vanished.
Emily watched the mystical sight with awe, but a strange sensation in her palm snapped her back to reality.
“Just now……”
As she looked up at him in shock, the white man spoke with an expressionless face.
“A mark. When your resolve hardens one day, come find me.”
Before Emily could respond, he brushed past her and vanished swiftly into the mine.
Emily stared piercingly at the mine entrance where he’d disappeared. What just happened? And who the hell was that man?
Following the white man as if in pursuit, the silver-haired elder—who had been patting the boy’s back—also hurried into the depths of the mine.
Now, only the boy remained in front of the mine, quietly catching his breath.
Meeting Emily’s eyes, the boy scowled immediately. Emily shot back a frown of her own.
“Hey, what’re you staring at? Girly boy.”
The boy spoke in that unfamiliar tongue. Not understanding, Emily just furrowed her brow, and the boy tilted his head in confusion, as if wondering if she really didn’t know.
“Who are you? Are you even human? Why’d you appear out of nowhere?”
Emily demanded, scowling at him. The boy looked baffled for a moment, then nodded as if suddenly understanding.
“Mage.”
The word from the boy’s mouth matched the language Emily used every day.
“What?”
“You asked who I am. So, mage.”
“What?”
At Emily’s stunned repetition, the boy shook his head as if talking to someone who didn’t get it. Then, with a resolute expression that said he was done wasting time on her, he turned and headed toward the mine entrance where the adults had gone.
Emily rose as if drawn by the boy’s retreating figure and followed him into the mine.
She’d been inside the Scren Mine a few times, holding her father’s hand. But the deeper tunnels were pitch-black, the air chilly, damp, and foreboding.
From the depths came the busy sounds of the miners at work. Clanging metal, splashing water, quick exchanges of words, and creaking wheels suggested they were hauling something out in large carts.
She recalled her father saying that morning that work might run late today.
Following the boy deeper into the tunnel, Emily suddenly stopped. Darkness enveloped everything. True, inky blackness had descended.
Looking back, she saw the entrance as a crimson dot. Should I head out now?
As she hesitated, the boy’s clear voice rang out from deeper in.
“Levis.”
The moment he spoke, brilliant light spread outward. A round orb of light floated in the air, flickering gently.
Through the glow, she saw the boy’s stern face. He gestured firmly toward the entrance, urging her to go back.
Even as his gestures continued, Emily didn’t budge, so the boy turned and dashed deeper into the tunnel.
While she watched his quickly receding back in hesitation, the light following him grew distant. As he rounded the bend at the end, the light vanished too, plunging the surroundings into perfect darkness.
With not even an inch of visibility, Emily had no choice but to turn back toward the entrance.
Her footsteps echoed as she emerged from the cave. The fiery red sunset was fading.
Emily lingered in front of the mine for a long while. The interior remained dark, and none of the people she’d seen enter came out.
After some more time, a clamor approached from the deep darkness. A group of drenched miners poured out, heavy sacks slung over their shoulders and backs. Then came others pushing carts with effort.
Exhausted and weary from the grueling labor, they trudged on. Among them, a tuft of blond hair stuck out prominently.
Spotting her beloved father, Emily waved her hand high.
Chris smiled tiredly at her.
“Waited long?”
At his low, weary question—his face on the verge of collapse—Emily shook her head quickly.
“We dug a new tunnel today, but it was full of water, so we had to bail it out before working. That’s why it ran late. Work’s done for today—let’s head home.”
Holding her father’s rough, large hand, Emily walked toward the village but glanced back at the silent mine entrance.
No miners mentioned seeing the three who’d entered. And as Emily had watched vigilantly from outside the whole time, they hadn’t emerged.
Was what I saw real?Or did I doze off on the rocks waiting for Dad, dreaming it all, or imagine it in the sunset haze?
People popping out of thin air, a boy calling himself a mage. Then he conjured a glowing orb like a lie in the dark mine.
It was such an otherworldly experience that it felt unreal.
But……
Emily opened her left palm and examined it closely. It looked unmarked, but she distinctly felt something foreign lingering inside, like a snag.
Staring at her palm, she clenched her fist tight.
Yes, the white man. He was vividly, startlingly real.
Chris gently tugged at Emily’s shoulder as she stood rooted, fist balled.
“……Something happen?”
At his worried, fatigued voice, Emily flashed a bright smile.
“I’m hungry. Guess I waited too long, Dad. Let’s hurry home and eat a yummy dinner.”
Chris sensed something off in his daughter’s expression and behavior compared to usual, but he lacked the energy to fuss. He nodded lowly and stepped forward.
Today’s work had stretched longer than planned. She must be tired from waiting till late. Exhausted from the day’s toil, he just wanted to get home, wash his sodden body, fill his belly, and rest.
Beside him, Emily gripped his dirt-streaked hand and soon began chattering animatedly about her day at home.
Hearing her cheerful prattle lifted Chris’s spirits, drawing a faint smile. The sun, which had stretched their shadows long, had already slipped beyond the horizon.