Elara had a strange feeling.
She'd had it for a very long time. Years, even.
There were days when everything had seemed ordinary. There was nothing of note in her everyday life, as she continued her days under her father's care, in their beloved little village of Silvershade.
She would miss her darling mother, the beautiful and kind lady Elina, of course. There was not a single day that she didn't. But even so, the love of all the people she was blessed to have been surrounded by, had supported her through her grief.
Elara knew that her pain was also their pain, and that everyone who had known her mother missed her too. Her beloved father, especially so. The two of them had been childhood sweethearts, after all. She knew that the man was only managing to stay strong for her sake, and wanted to offer him the same support; to be there for him the same way he'd been there for her.
So, these past few years, she had worked to regain her smile; to sing and frolic, to befriend and help, and to do everything she'd always loved doing ever since she could remember. On those days, her life remained ordinary as ever.
However, there were other days too.
Days when she awoke with a buzzing in her mind and an inexplicable sense of unease in her heart. Days when she felt as though nothing made sense, and her memories didn't quite add up. Days when even the people around her seemed… strange. Fake. Like puppets, repeating the same phrases, behaving in unnaturally predictable ways, and following patterns that seemed almost set in stone.
It was as though everything she knew of these people was all they would ever be.
There were no changes. No growth. Nothing ever unexpected, nothing ever surprising, and nothing ever exciting. On those days, Elara would often feel lost and frustrated. The more she dwelled on it, the more she felt as though she'd almost realized something – almost! – but not quite.
It was like she was digging and digging in the fields, going deeper and deeper, until even the sunlight had disappeared, but to no avail. She didn't even know what she was looking for, and would never be able to reach it regardless.
No matter how deep she dug into her mind, there were no answers.
And then, when she awoke the following day, things would go back to normal. The days would be ordinary as ever.
It had perhaps been a year-or-so ago, when the day came; something finally changed.
Her childhood companion and maid, Lana, changed.
These past few years, the girl had been the same as everyone else. Kind and loving, fun and bright, and her constant companion in everything. And yet, there were moments when she seemed… bland. Her secret, witty quips were often predictable, she'd be going over the same anecdotes from years ago, and even her likes and dislikes never seemed to evolve with time.
That day, when Elara had greeted Lana in the morning, the girl's eyes had widened. With a loud cry, she'd run forward to wrap her in a tight hug.
'Elara! Lady! You are awake! You… It's been so long! I've been so afraid! It's been so – so –' the girl had broken down into tears by the time she pulled herself out of the embrace. 'I've – I've missed you so much, Elara!'
Elara had just stood there, staring at the girl in bewilderment.
Had her dear friend… hit her head on something? Had they not just parted ways the previous night – a mere few hours prior?
'You – you!' Lana was patting her shoulder, then her cheeks, tears still streaming down her face. 'You are… fine? You are fine! I don't care how, but I'm ever so glad you've come back to us!'
Elara had stood in silence for a few more seconds. Then, bemused, she'd shaken her head.
'Lana. My dearest Lana. Stop your crying at once.' She'd reached out to wipe the girl's cheeks, feeling the hot tears spill over her fingers. 'What are you speaking of? Why do you say you've… missed me?'
Lana had been staring into her eyes. Elara found that she couldn't break the gaze. The girl's eyes were so, so bright. From the tears, of course, but also in emotion. Brighter than Elara had remembered. Brighter than she'd seen them appear in such a very long time.
Then, Lana had blinked.
'Why…? Oh, of course you wouldn't know – you weren't awake, but…' The young maid had paused, wrinkling her brows somewhat.
'I…'
'Speak to me, Lana.'
'I…you hadn't been well these past few days, had you?' said Lana, frowning a little harder.
Elara had been even more baffled by this. 'Lana, I have been perfectly fine! When we spoke last night, were we not making plans to visit the hill by the school building today? To collect some more of those lilies my mother loved?'
'Your… mother? Yes, of course. We… we had, hadn't we?'
Lana had still been looking into her eyes, but suddenly, her gaze wasn't as bright anymore.
And once again, Elara had felt that strange, awful feeling of discord in her heart. It was as though she had just been on the verge of realizing something crucial, before it all slipped away.
'Lady, I…' then, Lana had broken off her gaze to look to one side. 'I suppose I was just anxious because you hadn't been keeping well lately. I know it's because of the changing weather, but I cannot help but worry. I care for you, after all.'
Then, the girl had backed away from her, where she still stood rooted in place.
'Come, now. We should get started with our day, lady,' said Lana with her familiar smile.
But Elara hadn't moved.
'Lana… Lana, please. Tell me, what's the matter?' she'd asked quietly.
The young maid had just smiled up at her, quirking a delicate brow.
'The matter is that we shall be terribly late for breakfast if we tarry any longer, lady Elara. Come now. Let's be on our way.'
And before she'd turned to leave, Elara had noticed that there were no tears in her eyes, or upon her cheeks, anymore. It was as though everything that had just happened… hadn't.
But her own fingers still felt warm from the teardrops they'd caught.
Over the next few months, Elara had been unable to drive the events of that morning out of her mind. But every time she mentioned it to Lana, the young maid had just expressed confusion at her words.
To her, no such thing had ever occurred.
And just like that, things had returned to the way they'd always been. The days were ordinary again.
Then, two months ago, something changed again. The old caretaker, who looked after her aged grandmother, had always doted on her. He and his wife had treated her like family. And even though they only interacted a few times each day, the fondness and familiarity had always remained.
That day, the old man upon seeing her walking down the hallway, had staggered to a stop. There'd been a loud – Crash! – and Elara realized he'd dropped the jar he had been carrying.
'Young lady…' was all he'd mumbled, before a single tear fell from his eye and trickled into his long beard.
'Oh dear! Are you alright!?' Elara had gone running to support the man. 'What happened?'
But all he'd said was, 'I see.' Shaking his head as he looked at her, he'd laughed lightly. Then, he repeated, 'I see.'
The old man had greeted her politely, and, asking her to be careful of the broken shards, left to call for help in cleaning it up.
And, heart still thudding in her chest, Elara could only watch him leave.