Ashrik's voice broke the soft rhythm of the afternoon breeze as he mentioned one of Lucille's written inquiries. The birds chirped beyond the trees, and sunlight filtered between the branches in dappled gold.
Lucille swallowed, saying softly, "Yes, I wanted to know. I know the resonance helps you to find it, but... what about before you've located one? How did you do it? Can you tell me the first time you found it?"
The seven fragments had vanished into thin air all of a sudden, certainly leaving no clues behind. Even after resonating with the first ever fragment he had found, how did the rest follow?
"Brother Ash," she hesitated briefly, "Did the fragments call you from afar? Even from across the country? Or was there something else?"
Ashrik didn't answer immediately. He let his gaze drift toward the stream, where sunlight left sprinkles on its clear, rippling surface. A quiet nostalgia knocked on the door of his memory.
