“Hey, Lianka!” The voice rang out again. Liana tried to find the source of the voice that kept bothering her in every dream.
“I’m back here again. What kind of place is this, anyway? This is my first time seeing a place like this, but why doesn’t it feel unfamiliar? And who is that man, and who is Lianka?” Question after question kept spinning through her mind.
With a feeling she couldn’t explain, Liana walked along the path. The mysterious man’s greeting rang out again.
“Lianka, you’re back again?” the mysterious man said.
Liana stopped for a moment, trying to find the source of the voice. “Hey.” A handsome man suddenly appeared right in front of Liana.
“Oh my God!” Liana clutched her chest, which was pounding wildly.
“Who are you?” Liana demanded irritably.
“Lianka, I missed you!”
“I’m not Lianka! I’m Liana! You’ve got the wrong person,” Liana snapped.
The mysterious man didn’t answer. He only smiled, then disappeared.
When the man vanished, Liana tried to find him again. She was still curious about what was really happening to her.
“Aaargh! What kind of place is this, anyway?” Liana shouted to vent her frustration.
“This place is Ether Valley!” a voice suddenly answered her question.
Liana was startled that someone had answered her. Angrily, she shouted at the owner of the voice. “Come out! Don’t just hide like a coward!” Liana yelled.
After that, a tiny fairy emerged from behind a tree.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” the tiny fairy said.
“Who are you?” Liana asked.
“I’m a sacred fairy. My name is Punta. I live in Ether Valley,” Punta answered gently.
“So this place is Ether Valley?”
“That’s right!”
“Do you know why I keep dreaming and coming back here?”
“I don’t know! You can figure it out yourself,” Punta replied.
“Ugh, whatever. Just leave me alone!” Liana said angrily.
After chasing Punta away, Liana continued walking through Ether Valley. However, because she wasn’t careful enough, she tripped and fell.
As she fell, Liana woke from her sleep. “Ow…” Liana groaned in pain. She checked the part of her body that hurt.
Liana was shocked to find a wound on her leg. It was in the exact same place as the wound she had gotten when she fell in Ether Valley.
‘How is that possible?’ Liana muttered to herself.
Before she had a chance to process what had happened, Rinjani came and knocked on her bedroom door. “Liana, are you awake?” Rinjani called from outside Liana’s bedroom.
“Yes, Mom!” Liana called back from inside.
“Good. Come out right away! Everyone’s waiting for breakfast.”
“Okay, Mom!”
Liana got up unsteadily and quickly went to clean herself up.
“What happened to your leg, Li?” Denis asked.
“Um… this, Dad? I fell out of bed earlier!” Liana lied.
“You’re all grown up, and you still manage to fall out of bed?”
“Hehehe… The bed was too small, Dad!” Liana answered randomly.
Denis could only shake his head at the antics of his only daughter.
After breakfast, Liana returned to her room. She had to prepare the documents to apply to college.
Before she began filling out the application form, Liana first opened her bedroom window wide. The cool morning breeze immediately swept into her room.
“Ah… that’s much better!” Liana muttered as she stretched out her arms.
Liana began filling out the application forms, page by page. She was so focused because she didn’t want any information to be wrong later.
Suddenly—“Lianka…”—and Liana jumped when she heard the voice she had only heard in her dreams. Now it was ringing out in the real world too.
Liana looked around, but she couldn’t find anyone. “Did I hear that wrong?” Liana said in confusion.
“No… no, I didn’t hear it wrong! That voice was really there!”
Liana rose from her chair and slowly walked around, checking every corner of her room. She opened the closet doors one by one, as well as the bathroom door. But the result was the same: there was no one in her room.
Fear began spreading through her entire body. Liana opened her bedroom door, then immediately ran out, leaving the room and the sheets of application forms behind.