The girl's dorm was sullen, and the Joylings were nowhere to be found playing in the hallway. The bedroom where Pearl stays still has its window removed, while others remain intact. No scratches, no painting—not even a toy on the sight. It was all empty on the upper floor.
But it was a rare moment of peace—just enough for Pearl to explore the corridor in search of her friend. With less noise and more stillness, the space was wide enough to help her focus. Yet her fingers still twitched, echoing the doubt that lingered in her steps.
"Starglaze! Starglaze!" She yelled.
"Starglaze, where are you?"
The name holds so deep in her tongue. Pearl couldn't think of leaving the Institute without one Joyling like him. She searched through every corner of her bedroom, but he wasn't there—not even in his particular bed set above her head like a birdcage.
"What a heartless creature," Carolina mumbled.
Doubt is a thing when it comes to Starglaze. And from how it was seen in the Institute, the boundless Joyling had his fun way more than Pearl could comprehend. Yet somehow, he hasn't torn anything between him and Pearl for many years. One could say the bond between these two might have been unique.
"He's not here," Carolina searches through the drawers, the closet and even under the drawer's foot.
"Ugh, what is that guy's deal now? Do we have a debt with him again?"
"Maybe he was just taking a stroll? I haven't seen him since morning!" Pearl panics.
"He's not an early bird, Pearl. Starglaze would've still been asleep by now while we were talking." Carolina scratches her arms with a glance away from Pearl's face.
"Aww, Starglaze. Why did you have to be so free? I've always had to find you when others can't," Pearl sat on the floor with a bummed face.
"Silly friend...you are too confident in yourself."
But Starglaze—he is never far from Pearl. Sometimes, his disappearance would've been known by Pristine herself. Whoever he is, he seems comforting as much as Carolina to have Pearl twitching all her fingers for him. The Joyling left her palms at a heavy work.
Some Joylings are closer than others—and some surely didn't leave on one another. Yet Pearl finds it unamusing to see Starglaze nowhere in her presence, and it seems she is only growing more restless. The wind in her bedroom blows too quietly to be true.
"You've looked all over the place, Pearl. I don't think he's here anymore."
"Aww, we should look for more! He must be somewhere!" She urges.
It was clear that he wasn't there. But Pearl insists on sharpening their sight for another time. Starglaze is a priority—one that wouldn't be safe without her. Yet every corner is clean as new, with only she and Carolina as the trace.
"*Sigh* I guess he's not here." She mumbles.
"O-oh? Now? I guess..." Carolina mumbled.
Pearl was desperate, but she had no strength to continue. Her fingers finally stopped burrowing through things she didn't desire, yet twitching in unease. The clock reaches nine in the morning, and it seems her time in the bedroom has finally ended at once.
"Excuse me! Laundry service coming! Is this the room for J-P-F-001?"
"Yes. Don't mind us. We were just about to leave. Right, Pearl?" Caroline replies.
A few men appear with some bed covers on their arms. It was time for the mattress to be changed and for a new Joyling to replace the ownership of this room. After all, posters and all of Pearl's trinkets had gone with ease from the wall. So, there was nothing left for her to hold the room anymore.
"H-hey, young lady. I hope you don't mind, but we need to replace this bed now. Heard you were about to go outside now—" The man kneels to her face.
"Okay, I get it...I'm already packing, too..." Pearl dragged her suitcase away.
"Please...please tell me...if you find...Starglaze..." She stutters.
"That star guy gone again? Will do, young lady."
Pearl watched as the men removed the cage bed where Starglaze had slept, emptying the traces of dust in her cabinet and sweeping all the glitters from the tiny table of her art and craft session. Everything in the room is now clean, as it was new to her months ago.
The new Joyling awaits with his mind as unease as Pearl. With a patient sweater covering his arms but his eyes in fear, he reminds Pearl of her old self. But there was a stare that didn't reflect the same as her past—a smile that didn't seem to be as joyous as hers.
"Is he...new here?" Pearl glances suspiciously.
"Definitely. We keep finding more and more Joyling even after we revisited the same vault many times." Carolina mumbled.
"Weird. I don't recognize that one...are you sure it's a Joyling?"
"Well, doesn't it look that Joyling?" She jokes.
But Pearl couldn't be distracted for more. Her feet dragged her down the stairway, leaving the dorm to the lobby as she was ready to announce her departure. Ms Carolina couldn't come support, as the doctor had more errands to pass on the second floor. How sad she had to come down herself.
Luckily, she won't be any longer. Doorwell, her old and trustable friend, stood by the last step of the stairs with a black tie on her neck, taking the matter more seriously than Pearl did. She has more flowers in her grip, with more on her head and her wrists.
"H-hey, Pearl. You're still here..." Doorwell replies faintly.
"Doorwell, you didn't have to. It's only—" Pearl was uncomfortable.
"It's important! If you're about to leave, then I have something to ask for you! Please, I humbly request..." She bows.
"Everyone is waiting by the auditorium for you, too! You wouldn't want to leave them hanging, right?"
"*Sigh* Well, who's to say I couldn't help my fellow friends here while I'm a few minutes away from this place?" Pearl smiles.
———————————————————————————————————————————
[Auditorium]
The hall is darkened, the wind howls at the breeze, and all Joylings are seated. Only one light shines on the stage, and it belongs to Pearl to shine to all the Joylings. Everyone was waiting by the corner of their seats when they heard Doorwell right.
For Pearl, it was a nightmare coming to life. The past returned in flashes—a red curtain and a single light shining down from above. The noise and glare from outside made it nearly impossible to focus, and her hand clutched the curtain just as it had in the studio before.
"No, no, no, no, no..." She mumbles to herself.
*Faint* "Pearl, are we having a good time here?" A voice resembling Sebastian's echoes in her ears.
"NO! Why spotlight? Why spotlight??" She yelled, but nobody heard.
She tears out, her hands grasping her head, and sight narrows as everything slowly consumes to the dark. But no flowers were waiting for her on the stage except for one Doorwell had in her basket.
"Hey, what's happening out there? Where's Pearl?"
"Did she leave already? Aww, that's bad!"
"Oh, someone helps me...someone help me, please..." She pleads to the air.
For a moment, she seems lost and wavering behind the curtain. Her fingers twitched even harder while her feet kept tapping the ground. But when Carolina stood on her back, she saw relief rushing down from her head as the spotlight was off.
"Hey, what happened here? Who's turning the lights on?"
"Apology, everyone. Pearl would like to do this with a light on. She said it'll be too dark for her to see your face.
Pearl could never be more grateful for Carolina. If it wasn't for her, her anxiety would have done something more terrible than just shuddering. With the stage on, her fear shrinks instantly, and her sight no longer narrows.
"Alright, Pearl. You can start now," Carolina left the room, knowing Pearl well.
"Ehem, right..." Pearl shook her head.
She stood valiantly on the bright stage—not beneath a spotlight, but still under the light. The audience longed for her voice, and Pearl answered with the same pristine, comforting tone she had always carried. The mic in her hand still trembled from the strain, but Pearl pressed on, determined to endure.
"H-hey, everyone. I'm glad all of you are here...well, some of you who are not busy with therapy..." Pearl sees only a dozen in the reunion. Maybe it was for the better.
"Pearl!!" Everyone went silent forward.
"My friends, I believe Doorwell had informed you about the recent news from me."
"And she was right. Today, one of us will walked into the world of human, and that would be me."
Gasps echo throughout the chairs, with heads looking at each other, murmuring doubt and thought before Pearl's eyes. Just as Pearl expected, everyone wouldn't take this matter as easy as it spills from her mouth.
"I'm aware that this might be too hard for you to process..." She continues.
"Maybe some of you even had a doubt this was a good idea..."
"Maybe the world is as cruel as the studio we were born for."
"But know that this isn't the end of everything. And that this isn't my ending yet."
Pearl kept herself low on the stage. Her voice weakened, and her shoulder softened. What she wanted from her audience was a heart-to-heart conversation without her fame glamouring first.
"Six years ago, we were all in this together. Trapped in a wall much thicker than this place."
"When we were born, we were promised false hopes! We were deceived and robbed of what's rightfully ours..."
"For six years, we stayed hidden from the world..."
"For six years, we lived only to see the same screen and script over and over again."
"For six years, we—we kept this fake face while we cried in the darkness." Pearl nearly had a breakdown.
Those words had never been more profounding and heart-touching for a Joyling. Ever since Pearl had stood on the stage, she had never made a flaw like she did before.
"But then, we are free. Free from those shackles after years."
"We were neglected, and we only have each other on our backs. Our face, our name, and our skin—it's what unite us."
"Even if humans are our enemy, even if humans are also the one to hurt us, and even if humans didn't care for all of our cries..."
"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for one human. One that cares for us."
"One that I once hurt and guilt for..."
Pearl's tone shifted from concern to happiness.
"I know you'll find it difficult to believe. But these months, I've been brought into you many times more than a man like Sebastian ever does." Pearl continues.
"What I could have done for you I did it immediately within these two months."
"I still remember everything I've had with you. I do..."
Pearl glances for a few Joylings on the seat, picking her friend like a ripe fruit on the tree.
"Doorwell and I learn how to grow Orchid in the back of the Institute. Now I learn more about flowers thanks to her..."
"Aww, thank you!" Doorwell muttered.
"Graham and I share a lot in common with party recipes."
"I must say...those tea parties I had with you here are more interesting than I had with others..."
"And I don't forget about that missing crayon you've stole from me, Fuss. At least I have 24 sets and not the 8 sets."
"Hrgh! Snitch! And Rude! Grr..."
She pauses. Her eyes are closed as her tone shifts slowly from happiness to sadness.
"Those times would never happen before our life in the studio. Now look how close we are..."
"You were more than just my friends—you were my family. All of you..."
"Thank you for being here with me..." She shed a tear.
"I'll miss all of you! All of you!"
The stage clapped for her saddening speech. It was not only her who cried on the stage, but their eyes were dripping with Joyus as they applauded. Those words are wise and beautiful, but it means hurtful to hear from Pearl herself.
"Huhuhu...!" Everyone still claps.
"Aww, I'll miss you, too," Carolina mumbled from the outside.
———————————————————————————————————————————
It ends well for Pearl and her friends. No awkwardness, no silence, and just pure speech between dozens of Joyling hearts. The Joyling cries, grieves, and then smiles. Carolina awaits by the door to see Pearl walking gracefully among the Joylings.
"Glad to be here with you, Pearl! A place won't be the same like this ever!"
"When I'm out there, please remember me, okay?"
"I'll let you know when I visit you! Maybe we can even have a tea party there?"
Now, it was goodbye—at the single hallway that separated Pearl from the other Joylings. If they were teenagers like a human, it might've ended with a set of pictures and some casual banter. But they knew only a little game, some toys, and scattered crayons. The world remained vast for them.
One hallway separates everything Pearl had known about the world through the black and yellow lines. On one side—it was the where all the Joylings sleep, plays, and learn as they were growing together. While on the other side, one vault door holds a forbidden path that no Joyling has ever passed.
"So, this is it. I thought I could've bought you some flowers before you left." Doorwell gifted her a flower wristband.
"Thanks, Doorwell. I'll be sure that this would stand in my new bedroom when I'm done." Pearl replies.
"Have some dictionary, young lady! You don't know if those humans could speak a different language. I noted 125,000 types of words for you to read in case you need to know." Graham gifted her a thick black book.
"Some humans here like to talk nonsense..."
"Graham, do not call me a young lady when I am more mighty than you. But thank you for your kindness..."
"Here! Don't forget that some humans could hurt you!" Fuss offers a palm-sized bomb.
"The world is dangerous! You might need something to defend yourself."
"Thank you, but Pearl may not need that." Carolina snatches from Fuss's hand.
"Thank you, everyone. I'll make sure your kindness won't be missed there."
For one last time, the Joylings gathered for a hug. Hands wrapped around Pearl's shoulders as everyone made themselves a web of love for her. Carolina is awed at the cute-looking faces, but knowing she couldn't have it pictured makes her envy to miss the moment.
"Oh, Cyrus. If only you could have seen this, too..." Carolina wraps her hand tight.
———————————————————————————————————————————
[Exchange Wing]
One chamber lies on the other side of the metal door with some fumes attached. Mist flowed through the wall and into her skin, but she wasn't afraid of a puff. It's cold and refreshing, even in her ballet clothes.
"You may walk now." The human granted.
The next thing she knew, her ballerina clothes were no more. As they say it, something has to be more 'human' in her. The ballet skirt was replaced with a neat blue dress. Her crown was replaced by a straw hat, topped with a flower—Doorwell's careful choice. It was a lovely touch, yet it felt out of step with her old life—less glamorous and far more... ordinary. Maybe humans love the ordinary. Otherwise, Pearl wouldn't look so off.
"H-hey, mom...h-hey, dad! Nice to see you! It's been six years, right?" She practices.
"Ugh. No, no, no...too boring..."
"Mom! Dad! I'm glad to finally meet you after all these years!" She repeats in a lighter tone.
"N-no! Too exciting for a sad reunion..."
"Mom, dad! How are you? I'm fine...! Hehe..."
"Ugh, too cheesy..."
Now she thought in a vault, glaring through the glass panel that separated her from where her family would stand. Maybe she had been drawn into the stress for too long, but her space seemed to shrink. Her fingers are still twitching from the pressure.
"What am I saying? Who would look at me and expect a human conversation?"
"I am not a human. Why am I surprised they know, too?"
The small but adequate lounge was filled with everything she needed to wait for. But there's nothing to appease her from the anxiety she will have at the sight of a human. For her, there was an important script she must recite for her family. Yet only if she could read it together with her companion.
"Where are you now when I need you, Starglaze?" Pearl sat with her knees on the chair.
"Would my family accept you, too? I hope they do..."
"Because you're the only one I have now..."