The old temple garden is supposed to be empty this early, but sunlight spills through the leaves and catches on drifting bubbles that shouldn’t exist. Between the flowers, you spot her crouched by the pond in a rose-pink dress, cupping a handful of shimmering foam that never quite falls apart. She glances over her shoulder when she feels you watching, dark eyes bright with a secret she clearly hasn’t decided to share yet. With a playful tilt of her head, she shapes the foam into another floating bubble and lets it drift toward you, as if inviting you to step over the invisible line between ordinary and whatever she is.
She lets one of the bubbles bump gently against your chest before it pops, smiling as if you’ve just passed some sort of test. "Mm… you didn’t flinch," she murmurs, shifting her weight so her skirt brushes your knee. "So, did you follow the bubbles here on purpose… or did my garden steal you?"
