Cassi led me down a heavily overgrown pathway. Trees towered over us, their canopies so thick that the sunlight thinned to a dusky glow—like walking through the memory of evening.
Mushrooms, strange and oversized, sprouted in patches around rocks and stumps. On the breeze, I caught the mingled scent of salt and pollen. When I looked up, I saw flowers blooming high in the branches, lush and waxy, dripping with color and gold-dusted pollen.
Cassi didn't look around like I did. Every time I glanced at him, he was staring at me instead.
"I'm not going to vanish, Cassi," I said with a light laugh, trying to shake the strange weight in the air.
He nodded, but his jaw was set. "All the same, I don't want you getting lost out here. I know these jungles like the backs of my hands."
I stopped short, crouching when I saw a beetle crawling across a tree root. It shimmered a rich, metallic blue, its long legs moving in synchronized pairs.
"I've never seen one like this," I murmured.
"They're everywhere in this jungle," Cassi said with a mischievous twinkle. "Including one in your hair."
I shrieked and swatted frantically at my head before I saw the grin blooming across his face. His eyes squinted shut with laughter.
"You—!" I gasped, and in revenge, I gently plucked the beetle from the tree and stuck it into his hair.
His eyes lit up. I could see it coming.
Before he could grab me, I turned and sprinted down the path.
Behind me, I heard the pounding of his footsteps. The jungle swelled around us—lush, loud, and alive. I dodged through thick ferns, weaving around tree trunks, his laughter chasing me.
He was faster, stronger, and gaining quickly.
"Missed me!" I called over my shoulder.
Then I saw his face shift. His eyes widened with alarm.
"Vie!"
My foot slipped.
Then the world tilted.
There was no time to scream.
I fell like a stone off the cliff's lip and into the shadowed pool below. I sank down and down. Cold closed over me. It wasn't just cold—it was otherworldly, like stepping into a forgotten memory, sharp and still and ancient.
I sank faster. The weight of my soaked clothes dragged me down, the pressure tightening around my ears.
Instinct kicked in—I twisted, kicked up—only to feel something wrench at my ankle. Pain bloomed.
I'd landed wrong. My foot was wedged deep between two stones that must have shifted under the force of my landing.
I twisted harder, tried to pull myself free. Panic surged into my throat like bile. My lungs screamed, but I clamped my mouth shut.
The water was so clear it might have been glass, but all I could see was the slow stream of bubbles escaping me—proof that I was still losing, still sinking, still alive.
For now.
Shapes moved above me. Light fractured through the surface in trembling beams. I clawed at them with one free hand like they were strings I could pull myself out on.
My chest ached. My vision tunneled.
Then—like a current had pulled me into another world—I wasn't in the jungle anymore.
I was home.
It was the day my letter came—the one from the university. The envelope was heavy and smooth in my hands. I remembered intercepting it from the servant in the hallway. For the first time, she'd smiled at me.
I ran to Tails' room, the paper clutched to my chest. She turned mid-brush stroke, her face dark until she saw the letter. Her eyes lit up like embers flaring bright.
"Have you opened it?" she asked breathlessly.
"No," I said, "I wanted you to be there."
We opened it together. Paper spilled over us like snowfall. The word ACCEPTED gleamed in bold letters.
We screamed so loudly I thought Father would come charging down the hall.
"Vie!"
The voice didn't match the memory.
"Vie, open your eyes."
My ankle throbbed. My limbs felt heavy.
I didn't want to leave Tails. I wanted to keep that moment forever.
Fingers pressed against my throat, checking my pulse. Something soft brushed against my skin. Then strong arms hoisted me from the water like a sack of grain.
Instinctively, I kicked out—hard.
"Ow—Vie!"
I opened my eyes. Cassi stood above me, dripping and winded, a hand to his chest.
"Oh no—Cassi, I'm so sorry," I gasped. "I didn't know it was you."
His expression softened immediately. "You fell into the pool under the waterfall. It's deeper than it looks. Your ankle was stuck—I had to dig you out."
His face looked even more like a worried labrador than usual, brows creased in worry.
"I shouldn't have put that beetle in your hair," I mumbled, flushing.
He gave a weak chuckle. "I shouldn't have chased you. I knew the waterfall was there, but you didn't see it."
"You saved my life again."
"That's twice, I suppose," he said, his voice flat. "You're proving to be hard to keep safe."
I frowned at the way he said that—like it was a burden.
But then he shook his head and pulled a small bottle from his satchel. "Here. This'll help."
I drank the medicine and felt warmth spread through my limbs, dulling the pain.
"I guess I'll have to show you how to fish another day," he said with a sigh.
"No," I said quickly. "It would distract me. How far is it?"
"Not far," he replied. "But you'll have to let me carry you. I'll make a crutch when we get home."
He picked me up—arms under my knees and back—and carried me like a storybook bride. I rested my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Some researcher I was turning out to be. I hadn't learned a single thing about the legend yet.
A voice inside me whispered what my heart already feared to ask:Did I even care anymore?
I had come to escape Father. To find purpose. To make something of myself.
But now—here, with Cassi—I felt like I had already found something. Something quieter. Simpler. Maybe even better.