Elira's POV:
Elira wandered alone down a forest path, cloaked in the serene brilliance of nature, near her grandmother's village. The air hummed with the symphony of rustling leaves and distant birdsong, but my mind drifted elsewhere—deep within a haze of half-formed thoughts and elusive memories. Then, quite suddenly, she stopped.
A chill ran down her spine. A strange sense of déjà vu gripped her—intense, unshakable. It wasn't just a feeling… it was certainty. She knew this place. She felt like she had seen this scene before—but where? When?
Before her stood two ethereal creatures, radiant and still. They were unlike anything she had ever encountered—magnificent beings of pure white, their wings glimmering in shades of transparent blue and liquid silver, like moonlight woven through crystal. Pegasi. Two of them. Real. Tangible. Breath-taking.
She stared, spellbound, and shocked as her eyes drifted to a silver chariot nestled between them—gleaming like starlight on a winter lake. And there he was.
A man.
He sat with quiet command, his blue eyes reflecting an endless sky, silver hair tousled as though kissed by wind. He spoke softly to the winged beasts, coaxing them with warmth and promises. "Soon," he whispered with a smile, "we'll run across the clouds… and I'll find you the divine grasses of the old world."
Time faltered. She couldn't move. She didn't want to. She stood frozen as if shocked.
Then—he looked at me.
She kept watching the scene in front of her for a few minutes until the man's gaze shifted towards her.
His gaze locked with her, and the air around them thickened. His eyes narrowed, a flicker of confusion—or recognition?—crossing his face. As though he hadn't expected her to see him there or questioning himself how she could see him.
And then—Elira blinked and he was gone.
The chariot, the pegasi, the silver-haired man… all vanished in a single breath, like a reflection shattered by ripples on water. The road was once again empty—just trees whispering in the breeze and birds singing their oblivious songs.
She start moving towards the place where she had seen the chariot and the beautiful creatures but alas, there was nothing on this lonely road apart from the trees and the birds chirping in the distance.
She stepped forward, reaching out with trembling hands, hoping to feel… something. But there was only air. Cool, scented with something ancient—floral and wild, like a dream fading too fast to hold.
Elira stood still. Confused. Breathless.
"What in the world…" she murmured. "That… felt real."
"Huh!! I am going crazy this time for real!"
A laugh escaped her—half disbelief, half fear. "Maybe I am losing my mind. Winged horses? My science teacher would have a fit. Probably report me for hallucinations."
As if on cue, her stomach growled—loud and absurd against the stillness.
"Ah," Elira sighed. "Maybe I'm just really hungry."
With that, Elira turned, brushing off the chill in my bones and the lingering echo of silver hooves. "Time for Aayima's roasted sweet potato and puffed rice," she whispered with a grin, heading down the path once more—toward warmth, familiarity… and perhaps, away from a mystery that wasn't yet ready to be solved.
Or maybe... it was just the beginning.