Chapter 1 — The Wrong Morning
Aren, as always, went to sleep worrying about Mira. But this time, it didn’t feel the same as before. His heart was pounding a little faster than usual, but he brushed it off, thinking it was nothing and that he would be fine by tomorrow.
Still, deep inside, something kept bothering him. He couldn’t fall asleep until he checked on Mira one last time. When he found her safe and sound, his heart calmed down a little. Yes, only a little. And before he knew it, he was fast asleep, snoring away.
Aren was woken up by a strange aroma and a pinching, cold breeze. With his blurry vision, he looked around the room and noticed something strange. The room was different. In fact, even the world outside looked different through his window.
But the only thing he cared about was Mira.
He rushed out of the room. The house felt unfamiliar, but he still didn’t care. The only thing worrying him was Mira. He looked through every room, but there wasn’t a single sign of her.
His heart sank.
He crouched on the floor, his head buried in his chest, sobbing as he struggled to make sense of what was happening. Once more, he searched every corner of the house, but there was still no clue of Mira.
He finally decided to go outside to look for her, only to discover that the entire landscape had changed.
The town he lived in was situated near the equator, where it never snowed. At that moment, a memory flashed before his eyes—a dream he had once shared with Mira. He had always wanted to spend time with her in a snowy place like this because Mira had been born in a town near the Himalayas, and she loved the snow. However, after a flood struck the region, her family had moved to his town.
The memory made his heart pound even harder. Now, there was only one thought in his mind: he had to find a way to reach Mira.
The entire day, he wandered around the house and its surroundings but couldn’t find a trace of Mira or even another human being. The only living creatures he encountered were a few small animals, all of which looked completely different from anything he had ever seen.
Finding nothing near the house, he decided to take another step forward and venture even farther.
The farther he went, the colder and more unimaginable the landscape became. Along the way, he encountered different forms of life he had never seen before.
After several more hours of searching, he somehow found himself back at the same old house where he had started.
This broke his morale. He was losing his mind, and panic began to take over. He wasn’t even worried about himself anymore. The only person on his mind was his wife, Mira.
Would Mira be okay? Had she taken her medicine? Who would take care of her?
The questions overwhelmed him. He broke down crying, and soon his chest began to feel heavy. He struggled to breathe.
Then, he collapsed into the freezing snow.
The cold surrounded him as he slowly lost consciousness.
When he regained consciousness, he opened his eyes. His vision was still hazy, and he found himself lying on the porch of the old house. He was confused about how he had gotten there.
But then, he noticed something.
A little figure stood across the hall. A small silhouette of someone he didn’t know—or perhaps someone his blurry vision prevented him from recognising.
As his senses slowly returned, he focused on the little, dark figure.
What he saw left him completely shocked.
It was…
