Waguri leaned in close to Edward, who was drawing the beautiful landscape he was in. She didn't bother him but instead sat beside him on the ground. She keeps staring at his art book, and after some time, when he draws some of the landscape in his art book, she starts smiling.
Then she was shocked and started thinking about where those art things came from while Edward was bare-handed. Then she leaned in close to Edward's ear and whispered, "Where did this pencil and art book come from, bro, boy?"
Edward, while continuing to draw the landscape, didn't look at her. "Ohh, this? It's because I use the method my sister taught me."
Waguri looks relieved and then runs her hand in the air. "Will you mind telling me what kind of method she taught you?"
As she runs her hand in the air, a beautiful white pigeon appears in her hand. And then that pigeon spread its wing and 'Hooooonk.' As Edward heard the pigeon's honk, he raised his eyes to see it.
His eyes shine with excitement as he sees the pigeon. "Ashwing. What's he doing here with you?"
Waguri smiled and then raised her hand in the air while Ashwing sat on her finger. "I was the one who gave this pigeon to your mother." She then pushed up her finger a little, and it flew away toward Edward and sat on his shoulder. "Now tell me the method your sister taught you."
Edward shifted his focus toward Ashwing, who sat on his shoulder. "It's simple. She just told me to use my imagination…"
Flashback to Edward's past…
The garden was filled with beautiful flowerbeds, and the open blue sky was dotted with small white clouds. In the center of the garden, a fountain spilled water into slender streams that nourished the flowerbeds.
Near the fountain, there was a garden swing where Edward, who appeared to be around 14 years old, sat quietly. While he sat quietly, his eyes were filled with tears. "Mamma…"
As he sat quietly with his tearful eyes, suddenly, from the garden entrance, Princess Louise came in hurriedly, with a worried face. She seems to be 19 years old. She saw Edward and suddenly hurried toward the garden swing.
As she reached that garden swing, she hugged Edward from his back, and with her hands, she wiped tears from both his eyes. "Are you crying, Edward? What happened? Thinking about Mamma again…?"
Edward was shocked as his sister held him from behind and hugged him. He then away her hands with his own and cleaned his eyes. "No… it's just…" His voice sounded like he was in big pain. Not by wound but from inside by emotions.
Louise came in front of him, and then, after some time of staring at him, she sat beside him. "Listen, Edward, my beloved brother." She wrapped her hands around him a little tightly and put his head on her shoulder.
"Mamma died a week ago; it's now in the past, so why are you crying? She never wanted to see you cry. Look, Edward, human life is simpler than you think. We are all born with our own purpose, but we don't know what it is."
She rubbed her left hand's fingertips gently on his head and then on his cheek. "She died because her time had come, and now that she is dead, her purpose in this world ends; it's up to us to carry out our purpose; we have to find what our purpose is in this life."
"She was our mother, yes; I admit being sad and remembering her again and again is legit, but don't forget that she was our first teacher too. She never wanted us to cry. So forget the past, don't focus on the future, and live present, as its name suggests. It's a gift, so don't waste it."
She let him go while he was crying, and then Louise stood up from the garden swing and sat on the ground while holding Edward's hand. "Understand? Now clean your beautiful eyes from tears and start focusing on your purpose; find what it is."
Edward cleaned his eyes, which were full of tears, and then rubbed his arm around his face to clean all the tears from his face. "How? How will I find my purpose? And what even is my purpose about?"
She smiled and then, with some time thinking, she replied, "Good question, but… Why seek an answer from me? Why don't you ask yourself?" She stood up and put her hand on his cheek. "Brother, look, it's your life, not mine. I know my purpose a little bit and am still finding it. You should start finding your purpose. And for that, let me help you a little bit."
Edward nodded and stood up from the garden swing. They both reach near the fountain, and then Louise looks at Edward. "Your interest is mostly in art, right?"
Edward nodded and, with an interest in his tone, said, "Yes, I love drawing things." He starts feeling alive again; his sad face turns into an interested one, and he is curious to know about what his sister has to say.
Louise smiled and couldn't control her laugh. "Haha… You are really funny. But anyway, so now close your eyes. And when done, forget every thought in your brain, and then think of a pencil and an art book in your mind." She stood near the fountain while putting her finger in it. "Do it, and then after you're done, tell me, ok?"
Edward, instead of replying, nodded and started doing as his sister told him to do. He closed his eyes and started clearing his thoughts. After some time, he started thinking about a pencil and an art book in his imagination.
After a short time in endless darkness on the side of his closed eyes, he saw a light pop up and form a pair of pencils and an art book. But as he saw this, he lost his focus and lost sight of them.
Then he opened his eyes and, with a little loudness and excitement, said, "Sister, I saw a pencil and an art book in my closed eyes' darkness."
Louise looked at him with a smile and then took her hand out of the fountain. Then she moved toward him and put her hands on both his shoulders. "See, you find your purpose…"
Edward looked shocked and looked at his sister, then, after a short time of silence, said, "Wait… what? But how? What is my purpose?"
Louise kept smiling, and then she went near the fountain and sat on her legs. "Come, brother… I'll tell you."
Edward, without any question, goes near and sits beside her, staring at his reflection in the fountain's water.
Louise put her finger on Edward's reflection and touched the surface of the water. "You saw endless darkness while imagining a pencil and an art book, right?"
Edward, while following his sister's hand on his reflection with his eyes, said, "Yes… Then?"
Louise looks at him, and then, without any further delay, she speaks with a deep and serious tone, "That is your purpose; listen, brother, that darkness you see wasn't some closed-eyes vision; that was your inner world."
"Every human who is born in this world has a purpose, which is to make their inner world perfect, not with anything other than the thing they love to do. As of now, your interest is mostly in art, right, so use your passion to build that world up, remove the darkness, and make it a place where you feel safer than the real world."
She put both her hands on his shoulders while staring into his eyes. "And when you build that world beautifully after removing all darkness, your purpose will end to find the real purpose for which you were born. One more thing…"
She stood up and placed her hand on Edward's head. "Brother, remember what I said: forget the past, right? I haven't forgotten everything myself. It's just that you shouldn't live while constantly dwelling on the past. Instead, you should transform those memories into art for your life."
"So, whenever you recall those moments, let them bring you comfort rather than pain. Even the loss of a loved one can heal you in the present if you allow yourself to grow with time."
Edward nodded as he listened to his sister, and after that, he stood up and looked at his sister. "Hey, Sister… Can you teach me some uses of powers? Papa doesn't even pay attention to me… So… I think you will help me…"
Louise looks at him with a little sad face and then hugs him. "Of course I will, idiot. Listen whenever you need help with anything, come to me, no matter what… Don't rely on anyone other than me."
She pushes him back a little. Then put her hand on his head while brushing her finger on his forehead. "Now, close your eyes and imagine that same pencil and art book in your hand."
Edward gave a smile, then nodded. He closed his eyes and imagined that pencil and art book again. Then he opened his palm while Louise's hand rested on his head. A blue light flashed in his hand, and then that blue light started transforming.
As the light was transforming into an art book and a pencil. On the side of the art book, there was nothing, just a blank black cover, while the lead pencil had a black-colored feather.
Then Edward opened his eyes and was shocked as he saw the same pencil and art book in his hand from his imagination world. He first stared at the pencil and book, then looked at his sister, who was smiling after seeing it.
She held the art book in her hand and then looked at the grip over that black feathered pencil. "Well, I never knew you loved the color black. And I was right; your powers are imagination. You will be strong, Edward. Just learn your powers properly. And I'll train you."
Edward's face shone with happiness as he heard Princess Louise's words. After that, she looked at him and then whispered with a playful teasing tone, "Now, let's see your great drawing and sketching; let's sit on a garden swing, and then you draw this fountain. Then I'll rate it."
Edward nodded and then followed his sister toward the garden swing, and he started drawing while she looked gently at the art book and Edward's drawing.
Flashback ends…
Waguri seems fully lost in Edward's story. Her eyes were fixed on Edward's art book, where she saw a beautiful drawing of a landscape, which was half done. Suddenly, Edward put his hand on her shoulder and shook her.
"Hey, Takeda… Takeda, are you listening?" He seems to be laughing a little. She shook her head and then looked at Edward, empty of emotion, and a little tear fell from her left eye.
Edward saw the tear falling from her eye and then whispered with an interesting tone, "You crying?"
Waguri looked a little shocked, and then she touched her left eye and sighed, "Not again, this is the 3rd time I'm crying. This body… This girl really has some strong emotions; even after dying, she's still crying in sad parts."
She then held the art book from Edward's hand and started exploring it, and she found out this book had only just started, and only 3 pages had been used in drawing. One page had a beautiful river and a group of birds flying over it.
She then flips the page while saying, "Hey, would you like to draw this girl, Waguri's story? Which body am I in?"
Edward seems shocked as he hears this from Waguri and stands up. "Wait, this isn't your body?" He looked more interested than shocked.
Waguri starts laughing and looks at him while handing over his art book. "Hahaha, yeah, that's not my original body. The thing is, I'm way older than this body really is. I'm 4 billion years older."
Edward's face was wide open as he heard this number, and before he could speak, Waguri spoke with a playful tone, "Not only I, but all of the other Maidens too. We all maidens took a physical body 700 years ago. Some got bodies from nature, while some, like me, take over bodies."
She stands up and looks at Edward while passing him toward the flowers behind him. "There are a total of five maidens. I'll tell you everything once we are free from this political drama."
Edward sighed and then opened his art book, and then, after sitting on the ground, he started his drawing again. While Waguri is standing in a field of flowers, staring at the blue sky.