6 A Baby Angel

Music Recommendation: Quiet Resource by Evelyn Stein

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There was trimmed bush over bush with birds chirping over its dainty rouge flowers. The carriage rode the glossy white bridge over the Kimora River, and this time, blue fishes flew in and out of its clean waters.

The carriage stopped when a Royal Guard approached, and Louis opened his window to talk to him. The guard deeply bowed at the recognition of Louis' face, as all Royal Guards are taught to memorize the high-ranking nobles' faces.

"Your Grace, an honorable welcome to Kimora Kingdom," he said. "Please present a verification pass for entry."

"This is an invitation to the True Half game," Louis pulled out his letter.

The guard nodded his head after affirming its legitimacy. Then, he called out to the other guards, "Let them in!"

The heavenly white gates slowly creaked open for the carriage, its exquisite design foreshadowing the marvelous architecture ahead. It was already a different air in the royal castle, and Mira's nose crinkled at the lofty, pure scent that the Kimora walls gave off.

Was she in a fantasy world? Her eyes gaped at the colossal castle. Arched cream pillars held up the light caramel bricked castle, its five stories topped with garnishing stone sculptures. A symbol of a white dove crossed with an arrow penetrated the middle front, and beautiful trees of the representative Royal Poinciana flower surrounded the castle grounds.

"Okay, mysterious young lady, this might be the last time I see you today," Louis leaned forward into his seat, the flap of his black vest spilling down. "Not that I'm abandoning you. There are different groupings for kingdoms, and since you're a part of Kimora, you'll be with them."

"Alright," Mira said. She didn't intend to be with him for much longer anyway. She had to find her brother—if he's here.

Mira gripped the cushion of her felt seat, and her heart burned at the thought of him. She missed him badly.

"Your Grace, we have arrived," the coachman stopped the carriage. He held onto his gray top hat as he rushed to open the door for his master.

"Thank you," Louis said, nodding to his servant as he got out the door. Tightening his shoulders, Louis held his head high with a new, dignified look in the Kimora stronghold.

Right behind him, Mira got off the carriage without any trouble. Two priests who wore white and green respectively approached the two and deeply bowed.

"We welcome both Your Grace and… servant?" The green priest said, his lips crimping at Mira.

Mira gave a polite smile—the same one she gave the 2nd Prince, and she pulled out her invitation. "I am a participant as well, from the Kimora Kingdom," she eyed the two priests, studying their reactions.

"If I may," the white priest said, and he walked closer to snatch the letter out of Mira's hand. "I would like to take a closer look."

She nodded her head, smiling at his ruffled expression. The priest scrutinized the invitation as if his whole life was on the line, wiping his wrinkled hands over the holographic ink, identification, and the Syren God's emblem to see if it would come off.

"Is this even allowed?" He whispered to the green priest as if he was a deaf turtle.

"It looks as though it is a legitimate invitation," the green priest replied. "And if it isn't…"

The white priest flickered his eyes like butterfly wings, knowing what the green priest was getting at. Mira cocked an eyebrow at their secretive interaction before the two priests approached Mira and Louis again.

"Much apologies, we didn't know that Madam would wear such unconventional clothing," the white priest bowed with two hands.

Unconventional? Mira's smile twitched at the thought of her clothes roughed up by her chase with the 2nd Prince earlier. Louis almost laughed out loud at Mira's annoyed face.

"If it so pleases Your Grace, please follow this lowly one to your respective group," the green priest bowed.

"Similarly, please follow this lowly one, Madam," the white priest bowed.

Louis nodded his head towards Mira before giving one final smile, his eyes crinkling like half-moons over a dazed ocean. She smiled back, out of courtesy, knowing that he had saved a commoner and their relationship ended here.

They turned heads, each going on their own respective path. While Mira trudged behind the white priest, her eyes slowly blanking at the thought of meeting Young-joon.

She was nervous for the first time in a while. 18 years of absence—Mira wondered how he was living without her. Did he have any siblings besides her? Are his parents nice? Is he eating well?

Yet, it was also feasible that Young-joon was not reborn in this life.

She couldn't erase that possibility because the Syren God did not outrightly say it or not. It was a deliberate act to get her to go to the game, and Mira wasn't one to believe in the good of religion in her past life.

But even if it was a foolish hope, she needed to confirm it.

Looking forward at a shiny, bald head, Mira's eyes sparkled in intrigue. Perhaps, she could use the priest to answer some questions.

"How should I address you?" She asked.

The white priest scowled at her words. He rubbed his beard before saying, "Madam, you can call me whatever you like."

She thought for a moment, then chose the most common title Syren priests held.

"I'll call you Father then."

"Very well."

"Father, do you know the list of participants already?" Mira leaned forward to walk beside him. The white priest's pace spoke of an undisturbed nature, but his unfocused eyes were a dead giveaway.

"This lowly one does not have access to the mind of God. There may be a few, there may be many this year."

"Well, do you know the participants that are already there?"

The white priest stopped in his tracks, and he sighed with sagging cheeks. He looked on at Mira's tattered clothing that unveiled white bandage at its gaps and then narrowed at her pale face.

"Madam, please listen carefully to this lowly one," the priest whispered. "You must know the rules before you play the game. Things you shouldn't ask and only see with your eyes, things you can only dream and never speak of, and things you can hear but never see. You will know everything once you are in the game."

He whipped his head away and walked ahead, his small steps undisturbed by their conversation. Mira tightened her lips, recalling the Syren God's words again before catching up to the priest.

She was entirely silent the whole way through, deep in thought. They entered a castle's back door, and the priest led her to walk up the steps of the servant's quarters with only the sounds of heels tracing their imprints. It was dingy with barely any windows, and the resting servants looked at them strangely as if to say, "What are they doing here?"

When they finally stopped at their destination, Mira saw a long staircase embellished in fine wood that led to a front door that they passed outside earlier. What an odd priest, she thought.

"Madam, I cannot enter this room with you," the white priest bowed his head. "I wish you well to find your True Half."

"Alright, thanks Father for accompanying me and the wonderful tip too," Mira bowed back, her lips curling into a polite smile. "I'll see you when our fates meet."

The priest frowned at her unwavering smile, assuming that Mira was such a simpleton that she had not gotten his message. He had wanted to teach her a lesson, taking them through the long, dirtier path that the likes of her belonged to.

The priest muttered a goodbye, bowed again, and sped away. She chuckled at his scurry.

Then, she looked at the pale white door garnished with a golden design of the Syren God. With no defined face, its pure body was plump and small like a newborn. A white cloth covered its private areas, and its iridescent wings spewed across the door.

"A baby angel?" Mira muttered, peeking at the golden halo above its head.

She remembered that Young-joon was obsessed with angels in their past lives. He believed everyone had a guardian angel, and his was a physical one: Young-hee.

And he hoped to be Young-hee's guardian angel back. So he taught her to smile, to enjoy simple pastimes, and to hold onto hope even when Young-hee saw none.

Before her last mission, Young-joon enveloped her with a hug and told her never to forget these divine words, no matter what happened:

"Ad astra per aspera," Mira whispered.

She opened the door of fate.