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—Nowhere, Alfheim.
In a faraway land and under a longing sky, a gentle voice awoke from her slumber and slowly her eyes opened, which were verdant like the richest fields of grass upon a summer evening.
“Did I fall asleep just now?” the gentle voice asked aloud, but there was no one who answered her question.
Of course.
It was only natural that she would not get a response, as she was by herself right now. Yeah… that was right, she was by herself right now. It had been a long time since that had been the case. She was starting to crave some social interactions now. As the grogginess of sleep gradually melted away from her eyes, her mind regained its former clarity.
“It’s been a while since I last fell asleep,” she sighed helplessly as she brought her arm up to shield her face from the rays of the sweltering sun that had penetrated through the leafy canopy of the oak she rested under. It felt like she just roused from a nostalgic dream— about something nostalgic, yet it was not something she would ever wish to relive in this life.
“Yes…” she thought to herself. It could only be a dream about that. She did not need to try to dig up details about the dream to know. That was because no matter how many millennia passed there was still only one part of her life which could bring about these sorts of feelings from within her. It was like a stigma that had left its mark.
“Mmm…”
—A gentle hum from a gentle voice.
Her expression was calm. Her heart was calm. It was only just a dream after all, nothing more. To the “her” that she was now, it would take more than a mere dream to disturb the waters of the still lake that was her heart now. This was the absolute power of time and that of her maturity.
“Let’s go. It’s time to find a place with some people.”
So the gentle voice said to herself before departing from her resting spot.
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Fairy Song 