Several days passed. The buds in the garden were slowly swelling. Spring was deepening.
The spirits came to see Ariella every night. Actually, not every night—they were with her all day long. Whenever she opened her eyes, Sol was sparkling beside her pillow. When she washed her face, Rin spun around above the stream of water. When she walked through the garden, Lu burrowed into her silver hair and played. Ar had a short fuse, so it clung right beside her cheek even when she hadn't called for it.
At first, they could communicate only through flashes of light. Once meant yes, twice meant no. Three times meant they liked it. That was about it.
But on the third night, things changed.
Ariella was sitting by the window, looking at the moon. Lu was perched on her palm, Sol was dozing on her shoulder, and Rin was floating quietly by her feet. Ar was playing, rummaging through her hair.
Ariella smiled and said,
"Ar, stop burning my hair."
Ar froze. Then it slipped out of her hair and came right in front of Ariella's nose. Its red light flashed rapidly. It seemed offended.
"I know. You're not burning it. You're just playing around."
Ar flashed three times. That meant she was right. Then it burrowed back into Ariella's hair.
Ariella sighed. It was an oddly adorable sigh.
Just then, Sol rose from her shoulder. Its golden light slowly grew brighter. And then Ariella heard something by her ear.
A tiny sound. Smaller than the sound of the wind, lighter than a breath.
…Like.
Ariella went rigid.
What did it just say?
She looked at Sol. Its golden light shone softly. It had no eyes or mouth, but somehow it looked like it was smiling.
"Sol? Was that you just now?"
Sol flashed once. Yes.
Her heart began to race. It wasn't a flash of light. It was a voice—a tiny, warm voice that reached directly into her mind.
"Can you say it one more time?"
Sol floated right in front of her. Its golden light flared brightly once.
I like it here. I like it.
Two words. But to Ariella, they weren't just two words. Feelings flowed in with them. Warmth. Relief. The feeling that it liked being here. The feeling that it liked being by Ariella's side.
Her eyes grew hot.
Lu spun around on her palm. Then she heard Lu's voice too.
Wind. Want me to blow some?
Its voice was cool and light. If the wind could speak, Ariella thought it would sound like that.
Rin slowly rose from her feet and settled onto her lap. A cool, quiet sensation.
Don't cry.
Rin's voice was deep and quiet. It sounded as though it were rising from deep beneath the water.
Ariella smiled. She wasn't crying. Her eyes were just hot.
Ar slipped out of her hair and slapped itself against her cheek. It was hot and ticklish.
Ar too! Ar can talk too!
Ar's voice was loud and impatient. Ariella could feel all of Ar's excitement pouring straight into her mind.
Ariella burst out laughing.
"You could talk all along?"
All four lights flashed at once. Then Sol's voice came to her.
Got our names. Once we got names, we could talk.
Ariella stopped.
They got names?
They'd been able to talk ever since she'd given them names?
She looked at Lu, sitting on her finger. Lu spun around and said,
I like my name. I like Lu. Ariella gave it to me.
Rin spoke quietly from her lap.
A name is a connection. If we have names, we can talk.
Ar dropped away from her cheek and shouted,
Ar! Ar is Ar! Ariella called me Ar!
Surrounded by four lights, Ariella laughed. The spirits liked their names. They could speak because of the names Ariella had given them. Her heart felt as though it might burst.
"Good. Then let's talk a lot from now on."
The spirits all lit up at once. The room filled with light.
From that day on, the nights grew noisy.
Once the spirits learned to speak, they didn't know how to stop. Especially Ar.
Ariella! Ariella! I saw a cat in the garden today! A yellow cat! Its color is kind of like Sol's!
"Yeah, I saw it."
But the cat ignored Ar. Ar was shining right in front of it, but it didn't look at me.
"I guess cats can't see spirits."
Why?! Ar shines this brightly!
Ariella laughed. Ar seemed proud of how brightly she shone.
Sol didn't talk much. But whenever Ariella looked sad, Sol would come to her shoulder and glow quietly. Then it would say only one thing.
It's okay.
Those three words were warmer than ten.
Lu was a prankster. Whenever Ariella read, Lu stirred up the wind and flipped the pages. Whenever she called, "Lu!" it would spin away in circles. But if it realized she'd gotten genuinely angry, it would settle gently onto her palm and sit still.
Sorry.
"You're not sorry."
…A little sorry.
Rin was quiet. But whenever Ariella fell asleep, Rin would come to her pillow and release a cool, tranquil energy so she could sleep comfortably. By the time Ariella opened her eyes in the morning, Rin had already retreated to her feet. It had guarded Ariella all night.
The spirits liked Ariella. It wasn't just a matter of liking her. Whenever she left the room, they followed her through the cracks in the windows. Whenever she went to the dining room, they sat on her plate. Whenever she spoke with Ririela, they watched Ririela from Ariella's shoulder.
Lights no one else could see circled around Ariella. Like babies who never left their mother's side.
She liked it. Neither in her past life nor in this one had anyone ever liked her so much. At the orphanage, only her younger sister had loved Seoha. But what the spirits felt was different. They liked Ariella without conditions, without a reason—simply because she was Ariella. The way a baby loved its mother.
It was the seventh night.
As she was talking with the spirits, Ariella suddenly asked,
"Are there other spirits besides you?"
All four lights stopped at once. The air changed. Even Ar, who had been playing, Sol, who had been dozing, and Lu, who had been stirring up the wind, fell still.
Sol spoke first.
There are. Lots.
"Lots? Spirits like you?"
Sol slowly began to glow as it answered.
We're… on the smaller side.
"The smaller side?"
Rin spoke quietly from Ariella's lap.
There are greater ones above us. Much greater than us.
A chill ran down Ariella's back. Awe colored Rin's voice.
"Greater ones? What kind?"
Ar dropped away from Ariella's cheek and floated right in front of her nose. It was the first time the normally impatient Ar had gone quiet.
There are intermediate spirits. They're bigger than us, and they have forms. They look like animals.
Lu curled up on Ariella's palm as she spoke.
Intermediate spirits can speak better, and they're freer than we are. We're small and light, so we float around, but intermediate spirits are big and strong, so they can go anywhere. They're smaller than the Chosen Ones, but much bigger than us.
"Are there ones above them too?"
All four lights shrank at once, as if they were drawing in on themselves.
Sol spoke very carefully.
The Chosen Ones.
"The Chosen Ones?"
The Chosen One of each element. They're high spirits. The first ones the Spirit Queen ever held close.
Rin continued.
The Chosen One of Darkness, the Chosen One of Light, the Chosen One of Wind, the Chosen One of Fire, the Chosen One of Water, and the Chosen One of Earth. Six of them.
Ariella's heart began to race. High spirits—beings who hadn't appeared even in the original novel.
"What about the Spirit Queen?"
Sol's light flared brightly once. Awe and longing mingled in the glow.
Mother.
"Mother?"
The mother of all spirits. Seraphina. The one who created us. The name Mother belongs only to the Spirit Queen.
Ar spoke softly.
Ar only saw a Chosen One once. They're so big. So deep.
Lu spoke in a trembling voice.
She's not scary. But… she's very great.
Ariella looked out the window. Moonlight illuminated the garden. Particles of light drifted between the buds. It was beautiful.
"Do you think I'll ever be able to meet one? A Chosen One?"
Sol glowed quietly on her shoulder.
I don't know. Chosen Ones don't show themselves to just anyone.
Ariella smiled. The world of spirits was wider and deeper than she'd imagined. There was still so much she didn't know. But that was okay. She could learn about it little by little.
Rin settled onto her lap. A cool, tranquil sensation.
Sleep well.
Ariella lightly touched Rin with one finger. It was cool.
"You sleep well too."
All four lights flashed together. The room brightened once, then quietly darkened.
Ariella lay down in bed and closed her eyes. The spirits' warmth surrounded her. Sol on her shoulder, Lu beside her pillow, Rin at her feet, and Ar above her forehead.
There were beings in this world who liked her. Beings who liked her without conditions, without a reason, simply because she was Ariella.
Her eyes grew hot. But she didn't cry. She smiled.
"Thank you."
Ar glowed hotly above her forehead.
Ar is even more thankful!
Ariella burst out laughing. She wiped away her tears and kept smiling.
Outside the window, the moon was sinking. Dawn was coming.
She loved the nights she spent with the spirits.