In the midst of the night's darkness, the gatekeeper sat in his usual spot, leaning back in his chair, reading a book under the calm glow of the moonlight. The sound of the wind whispered through the bare trees, as he turned the pages, his mind immersed in the words.
Without warning, his focus was shattered by a distant noise, like the footsteps of a group of people, stirring both worry and curiosity in the gatekeeper. He placed his book on the table and approached the gate's peephole to see who was causing the commotion outside.
Peering through, he saw Nicholas, Jenny, Alexander, and Marcus heading toward the village.
Once they reached the gate, Marcus handed his card to the gatekeeper, who took it calmly and, after a brief moment, opened the gate.
They all entered, and the gate closed behind them. Marcus approached the gatekeeper to retrieve his card. As he handed it back, the gatekeeper attempted to make small talk:
"Did the mission go well?"
Marcus replied quietly while taking his card:
"Yes." Then he turned toward Alexander. The gatekeeper scratched his head in confusion before returning to his usual spot.
Marcus glanced at Alexander, whose face was etched with worry and tension, and said in a calm tone:
"Come on, follow me." He then turned to Nicholas and the others, saying dismissively:
"Put the cart over there and head back to your cabin immediately." With that, he walked off to some unknown destination.
Jenny looked nervously at Ethan, who could barely keep his eyes open from exhaustion. They all began walking until they reached the men's cabin.
Jenny glanced at Ethan with a hint of nervousness and said in a soft tone:
"I think everything's okay now. It's late, so… goodnight, I guess."
Out of nowhere, Jessie jumped at Ethan, trying to scare him, but Ethan, too tired to react, only gave a faint smile at the sight of Jessie, who was a bit disappointed by his lack of surprise.
Jessie turned to Jenny with a reassuring expression and said cheerfully:
"Thank God you're safe."
Jenny responded with a shy smile:
"Oh, thank you…"
Jessie glanced at Ethan, who was heading to his bed to sleep, and asked:
"So, did everything go alright?"
Jenny replied:
"Yeah… we faced some issues, but everything's fine, yeah."
Jessie yawned, clearly tired, and said:
"Good, that's good. It's late now, so goodnight."
Jenny responded:
"Goodnight…"
Jenny continued walking through the quiet alleys, the cold breeze gently moving her hair. She felt a strange heaviness in her head, placed her hand on her forehead, and took a deep breath, whispering:
"My head hurts so much… I need some rest."
Upon reaching her cabin, she found all the women she lived with already asleep. She quietly removed her shoes and went straight to her bed to rest.
The next morning, Jenny woke to the noise of her roommates. She got out of bed, slowly opened her eyes, and was startled to find all the women in the room staring at her with looks of surprise and curiosity. One of them stepped forward and said in an astonished tone:
"You're the girl who went with Marcus?"
Jenny, feeling nervous, replied:
"Yes, what's wrong?"
The girls exchanged shocked and surprised glances.
Then they all started talking at once, their words jumbling together, making it hard for Jenny to understand. One of them approached her closely and said excitedly:
"That's amazing! Sister, tell us what happened! How did the mission go? Tell us everything you saw, please!"
Another girl chimed in with enthusiasm:
"Yeah, yeah, tell us what happened! You know, this village is so boring, and there's not much to talk about, so it's dull here most of the time."
The girls' exaggerated reactions and eager, sparkling eyes, hungry for something new in their monotonous routine, made Jenny feel flustered and nervous. She looked for an escape but found only a crowd of women staring at her with curiosity and excitement.
Jenny cleared her throat lightly and said in a calm but uneasy tone, rubbing her neck nervously:
"Well… it wasn't that exciting… it was kind of a scary mission… I don't know where to start."
Another girl interrupted with an enthusiastic shout:
"Start from the beginning! What was the place like? What did you see? Just tell us everything that happened!"
Jenny lowered her gaze slightly and said, still overwhelmed by nerves:
"Okay…"
She then began recounting the mission from start to finish, talking for a full hour.
After she finished, silence fell over the room for a moment, as if the girls needed a few seconds to process everything they'd heard. Some held their breath, their eyes wide with amazement, as if they'd lived the experience with her moment by moment.
Then one girl burst out, saying with excited astonishment:
"That's incredible! A murder operation! An investigation! Monsters! It's all unbelievably amazing!"
Another girl said in a tone of shock:
"But it's awful too! How could someone do that to people? And on top of that, Marcus let him come here! What guarantees he won't do something to us? Why didn't any of you object to this?!"
Jenny responded, her face slightly grim:
"Well, we did object at first and told him we shouldn't bring him, but he insisted and brought him anyway, ignoring everything we said. And, well… when Marcus tried to confront him physically, he ended up getting badly beaten."
The first girl interrupted, her face serious:
"So Marcus really is the filthy scoundrel they say he is! I didn't expect him to be that vile, smuggling a murderer from execution and bringing him to our village! Is he trying to get us killed?!"
Another girl replied:
"He's a killer himself, what do you expect?"
Jenny looked at the girl with surprise and said:
"A killer?"
The same girl responded:
"What? You weren't there when—oh, right, you're still new here… Hmm, well, about two and a half years ago—"
Her friend interrupted:
"No, three, you idiot."
The first girl continued:
"Shut up and let me tell her what happened. Ahem, anyway, back then, things were chaotic because resources were scarce. The village was still in its early days, and food and water were limited, which led people to steal from each other. That caused total chaos to take over the place. Suddenly, Marcus walked toward an angry mob in the middle of the village and, from what I heard, killed the main instigator of the mob. That sparked fear and anger among the villagers, who tried to capture him afterward. But the terrifying part is that he took them down one by one, even though there were thirty of them—can you believe it?! After defeating them all, he told them to stay calm or they'd end up like the instigator. After that incident, no one dared repeat the same chaos, even though the village's condition worsened for a whole month!"
Jenny, her face filled with shock and nervousness, said:
"That's horrifying… I didn't expect him to be like that."
Another girl replied:
"Yeah… but the weirdest part is that you went on a whole mission with him. That alone is crazy, haha! Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Madeline, and I heard your name's Jenny. Nice to meet you."
The other girls in the room began introducing themselves one by one:
"I'm Maryam, pleasure to meet you."
"Clara."
"I'm called Bert, or you can call me whatever you like."
"Agalia, from the Russo family."
"Fatima, daughter of Layla, honored to meet you."
Jenny replied, a mix of nervousness and reassurance in her voice:
"Honored to meet you all."
Madeline responded:
"No need for formalities, you're our friend now."
She then hugged Jenny, which left her confused and surprised but also filled with a sense of happiness.
The girls, along with Jenny, left for the village's wide streets. As they wandered through the alleys, they exchanged laughter and comments about the previous night's events. Jenny, who initially felt uneasy around them, began to blend in, a smile gradually forming on her face throughout their outing.
Maryam stopped in front of a small cart where a vendor was selling hot meat sandwiches and said with a smile:
"I don't think we've tried this before, right?"
Bert replied in surprise:
"Hmm, you're right, I haven't seen this stall before."
Maryam said enthusiastically:
"Then let's try it!"
Maryam approached the vendor, bought six sandwiches, and handed one to each girl, saying:
"These sandwiches are on me, just to welcome Jenny as our friend. Next time, you're paying for yourselves."
Jenny took the sandwich shyly and said with a gentle smile:
"Thank you for your kindness."
Maryam replied with a light smile:
"No need to thank me."
Clara called out to the girls:
"Come here quick!"
They approached her curiously and found her standing in front of a clothing shop, staring at a particular dress.
It was a golden jalabiya adorned with beautiful, intricate patterns, catching the attention of all the girls except Jenny.
Clara approached the shop owner and said in an admiring tone:
"This dress is stunning! How much is it?"
The shop owner replied:
"It's 100."
Clara's face showed shock at the expensive price, and disappointment washed over her as she walked away from the shop while the other girls laughed at her from a distance.
Madeline then noticed Jenny's clothes were dirty and in bad condition and said with a mix of mockery and playfulness:
"What's this, girl? Your clothes are disgustingly dirty! How didn't we notice this earlier? Or rather, how could you even sleep in something like that?!"
Maryam added:
"You're right, I didn't notice until now. Her clothes are really worn out."
Fatima intervened:
"Don't say that. She was on a dangerous mission last night; of course they'd be like that. But a girl shouldn't wear clothes like these." She turned to Jenny. "Come on, let's go buy you some new clothes."
The girls immediately agreed with the idea, while Jenny stood frozen, her face showing confusion and surprise as she looked at her clothes.
"Oh… I didn't notice either. Even though I cleaned them before coming here, they're really dirty now… ugh, damn it."
Madeline grabbed Jenny's arm, pulling her toward the shop. Jenny entered, feeling embarrassed but unable to stop herself from staring at the beautiful clothes filling the shelves.
Agalia calmly picked up a brown jacket, a dark green shirt, and wide brown pants, saying:
"What do you think about trying this? I think it'll suit you."
Jenny looked at the outfit hesitantly, then took it, saying shyly:
"Okay… I'll try it."
She went into the changing room, and after a few minutes, she came out wearing the new outfit. The girls' faces lit up with amazement.
Madeline clapped enthusiastically:
"Wow, it looks amazing on you!"
Agalia added in a quietly impressed tone:
"Really, it suits you perfectly, beyond imagination."
Jenny felt shy but couldn't suppress a faint smile forming on her face.
The clothes were purchased, and the girls left the shop, continuing to praise Jenny's new look.
Minutes and hours passed as the girls had fun and enjoyed themselves as much as they could. Even Jenny, who initially felt uncomfortable with them, ended up sharing their joy, a smile staying on her face throughout the outing.
The sun began to set, and the markets gradually emptied. The girls, visibly tired, started heading back to their cabin.
Madeline looked at Jenny with exhaustion and said in a tired tone:
"How was the day, girl?"
Jenny replied with a small smile:
"The best day of my life."
Madeline returned the smile:
"Haha, as I expected."
During their conversation, a voice interrupted from behind:
"Excuse me, ladies."
The girls turned to the source of the voice and saw a young man with thick black hair, brown eyes, wearing a formal suit with a black tie and a brown bag on his back.
The girls exchanged glances of exhaustion and curiosity with him.
He continued, pulling a small pouch from his bag:
"The night is approaching, and I don't want to waste your time, so I'll keep it short. I'm a simple vendor selling a special type of mushroom called Psilocybin. It's a new kind we're trying to sell, and to ensure its quality…"
Agalia interrupted, trying to brush him off:
"No thanks, we don't have money to buy."
The man replied, attempting to persuade her:
"Who said you have to buy it? It's completely free, or rather, free only right now, because later I'll sell it for no less than 50 coins."
Agalia, along with the others, showed shock at the price:
"50?! What kind of mushroom is this? That's outrageously expensive!"
The man responded with a barely noticeable smile:
"Because it's one of the rarest mushrooms in the world. Even before the disaster, it was only grown in specific regions of the Northern and Southern continents, making it nearly impossible to obtain. So, I'm saying, this is a rare chance to try it for free."
The girls exchanged glances again, a mix of suspicion and curiosity evident on their faces. Jenny stepped forward and said calmly but curiously:
"So, what's special about this mushroom?"
The man nodded and said, pulling out a glowing blue mushroom that looked like a tiny night lamp:
"It's an incredibly beneficial mushroom. It can enhance relaxation and relieve stress, no matter how sad or angry you are. It leaves you in a rare state of inner peace. You can even control your dreams as you wish, along with many other benefits."
Madeline and Jenny showed interest, while the others seemed uninterested, only wanting to return home to rest.
Madeline stepped forward to take the mushroom, but Clara stopped her, whispering in her ear:
"Are you crazy? Who in their right mind would give something like this for free? It's probably a drug or something worse."
Clara turned to the man with a small smile:
"Sorry, but we'll pass on your offer."
The man sighed with disappointment, putting the mushroom pouch back in his bag, and said:
"Alright, if that's what you want, I won't bother you further. Goodnight, ladies." He turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Madeline's face showed regret as she said in a slightly sad tone:
"Ugh… that mushroom looked amazing. I wanted to try it."
Jenny replied calmly, with a hint of regret:
"Yeah, me too…"
Clara snapped at them:
"You idiots, what if it was a drug? Or something worse? What do you think would've happened to you?"
Maryam interrupted:
"Oh, come on, I want to sleep. Let's not waste time on something silly like this."
Silence fell among them, and they began walking quietly toward their cabin.
The girls reached the cabin, and each went to her bed, sinking into their dreams, awaiting what tomorrow would bring.
In the middle of the night, Jenny woke up. She quietly got out of bed and left the cabin, as usual, to meet her old friend, the moon.
She began walking through the moonlit alleys, speaking softly to the moon:
"My friend, today was the best day of my life. My father always told me stories about his time with his friends, but after experiencing it myself… it's even better than I imagined. I've never felt this kind of happiness and joy before. It was an amazing feeling, better than joy, better than happiness—it was fun. I've felt this so rarely that I'd completely forgotten it, haha. You know, most of what I did was simple and repetitive—playing in the dirt, cleaning the house, cooking, talking to you. And when my father was around, we'd occasionally play cards, but it was boring. But this was different—it was fun, haha…"
A hint of shyness appeared on Jenny's face as she sat on a curb. "Ahem… sorry, I talked too much. I couldn't stop myself…" She looked up at the moon. "I just wish you could've come with me then; you'd understand what I mean… but sadly, you can't come down… or maybe you don't want to."
Silence lingered for a few seconds before she continued: "But I'm grateful for you… because you always listened to me when I was alone, even if you couldn't reply."
She let out a soft sigh and began looking around. Darkness surrounded her, contrasted by the moon's gentle light, with silence dominating all sounds. Amidst it all, Jenny noticed something strange—a faint blue glow coming from a dark corner, sparking her curiosity.
She stood and slowly walked toward the source of the light, getting closer until she reached a narrow alley. There, amidst a small pile of wild weeds, something glowed faintly like a tiny fallen star on the dead ground.
With childlike curiosity, Jenny reached for the glowing object, picking it up, and was surprised to find it was the same mushroom the man had offered earlier.
"It's that same mushroom. What's it doing here? Did he drop one by mistake? Yeah, probably."
She held the mushroom close to her eyes, turning it left and right, admiring its captivating and alluring appearance. Its scent was fragrant and appetizing, stirring a desire to eat it.
"It doesn't look that bad. It smells nice, and since mushrooms are served as food here, it must be edible, right, Moon?"
Then, almost unconsciously, she ate the mushroom and swallowed it.
She looked around, then at her hands, turning them up and down for a few seconds.
"It tastes good, but I don't feel any of those positive effects he was talking about, or anything bad either… It seems like just a regular mushroom."
She let out a disappointed sigh and returned to the curb.
"Hmm, Moon, do you remember that poetry book I found by chance buried in front of our house's door? Haha, it was really good, you know. I read its poems to you every night, and I even tried writing some poetry myself, but it was awful, of course, haha…"
"If your poetry was bad, then poetry is just words for amateurs." A deep, noble voice echoed from the sky, resonating as if in a stone hall from thousands of years ago.
Jenny felt a mix of shock and fear upon hearing it. She looked around but found no one nearby, intensifying her fear.
The voice spoke again: "Oh, star of the sky upon the earth, are you frightened by a friend you've known before all others?"
Jenny froze, trying to process what was happening, struggling to identify the source.
Then, suddenly, she slowly raised her head and whispered in a trembling, disbelieving voice: "A friend…?"
She looked directly at the moon and was stunned by what she saw.
The moon was no longer as she knew it—distant, solitary, deaf, and mute. It was closer, clearer, completely transformed.
It retained its usual shape but now had a single enormous eye glowing at its center, with short black arms and legs protruding from its sides, surrounded by a layer of light.
Jenny stood frozen in awe as the moon approached her calmly until it was close.
Once she processed what was happening, she didn't panic or fear. Instead, she smiled a childlike smile and said in a voice full of joy: "So you really are a poet, like my father told me, haha! You don't know how long I've waited for this day."
The moon responded, raising its hand toward her: "And I broke free from the chains of the sky to fulfill that wait."
Jenny placed her hand on the moon's extended one, her face brimming with happiness, and said joyfully: "It feels like a dream, but it's real. I'm touching your hand—everything is real!"
The moon let go of her hand and began circling her slowly, saying: "Everything is real, my only star."
Jenny paused, the moon's words filling her with reassurance and joy. She asked with a light laugh: "Haha, stop talking like that, you're making me nervous."
The moon tried to speak more naturally: "As you wish."
Jenny scratched her head shyly and said softly: "I was always talking to you, sharing my secrets and dreams… but honestly, I never expected you to reply."
The moon replied calmly: "I wanted to reply, but the sky doesn't allow speech, only listening."
Jenny, her face showing surprise, said: "The sky? So something was stopping you from coming?"
The moon suddenly stopped circling and stood directly in front of her: "It doesn't matter now. What matters is that we're finally together."
Jenny smiled reassuringly and replied: "You're right… You know, even though I've wanted to meet you for so long, now I don't know what to say…"
The moon clasped its hands together, letting out a strange laugh, as if echoing in a hollow cave, and said in a gentle tone: "No problem. Though we're old friends, this is our first meeting, after all… How about a little story?"
Jenny said with excited astonishment: "A story? Of course!"
The moon nodded slowly and pointed to the sky.
Jenny looked where it pointed and saw a group of bright stars moving to form the moon's story in the sky.
The moon spoke in a poetic tone:
"Before the depths of time, the stars lived in peace amidst the void of the sky, adorning it with their light and dispelling the gloom of darkness. A radiant sky, happy stars, all at ease. But one day, unaccounted for, the darkness expanded and began extinguishing the stars. They fought and resisted, but the darkness was like a plague to them. Time passed, and darkness overcame light. Yet two stars carried a small star, too weak for its light to be seen in the sky. The two stars tried to protect their little star, but the darkness swallowed the mother star. With her, the little star was born in the sky. The two stars hid among the clouds, fleeing the wrath of darkness. Years passed, and the little star's light grew, but no one saw it except her father, whose light dimmed from the mother's death. The father star went to search for food, fighting the darkness for her sake, while the little star remained alone in the clouds. The father knew he alone wouldn't be enough. He remained helpless as he watched his and his little star's light fade day by day. But one night, he saw my light—a rocky orb suspended in the sky, reflecting light unaffected by darkness or stars, always present in good times and bad. So the father decided to borrow the moon's light for his little star. Though the moon's light was not its own, there was no choice but to continue the lie to keep the little star's light alive. The plan worked, and the little star's light grew with borrowed light, brighter than the truth's light. Years passed, and the father's light faded as he watched his star's light grow until it matched the other stars. The father embraced his star, giving her what remained of his light, then vanished among the clouds, his light barely visible in the sky. The little star remained alone with the moon, relying on its light to keep her glow in the sky, abandoning the stars' light. Even though the moon never replied, it was the best listener. But time moved forward, and the little star met new stars. Though their light was faint amidst the darkness, it was enough to restore some of the stars' light to her. She finally felt the stars' light, slowly becoming an ordinary star, gradually letting go of the moon's light. Yet she clung to the moon's light, refusing to abandon the light she'd lived with forever. It never replied, but it listened best. And now, one night, it decided to reply to the star—not as a false moon, no, but as a star like the others."
The stars returned to their usual pattern in the sky as the moon turned its gaze to Jenny, who was sitting on the curb, her hand on her cheek, her face showing exhaustion and relaxation.
"A simple but beautiful story… it reminds me of the stories my father told me before bed."
The moon replied as it descended to the ground: "And you'd wake up at night to tell them to me."
Jenny covered her face, stifling a laugh: "Haha, exactly…"
Suddenly, Jenny felt dizzy and lost her balance slightly, but the moon caught her, preventing her fall. A small tear of sadness fell from its eye, rising to the sky as if gravity were reversed, and it said in a soft, sorrowful tone: "How it pains me to part after such a short meeting, but this is the end of our encounter, Jenny."
Jenny slowly raised her head toward it, trying to speak despite barely feeling the world around her: "Don't tell me you're leaving… we just met."
The moon remained silent as it guided her toward her cabin.
They reached the cabin, and the moon gently placed Jenny on her bed as she struggled to speak, but something prevented her.
The moon looked at her one last time and said in a deep, noble, sorrowful voice, echoing as if in a stone hall from thousands of years ago: "I wanted to stay with you longer, my little star, but I have no choice. My presence would only harm you. But remember, I'm always by your side as usual, watching from the sky, ensuring your safety day and night. Farewell, Jenny, my favorite star."
It then returned to the sky, reverting to its natural moon form, as Jenny drifted into the world of dreams, sleeping peacefully.