The Borrower Realm was quiet, wrapped in the soft glow of lantern mushrooms that swayed gently in the breeze. Down in the roots of the great oak tree, a small wooden door opened, and Sofia stepped outside.
Her glasses caught the warm light as she adjusted the satchel on her shoulder. Dark brown hair framed her face, a neat bow tied at the back, swaying with every step. Her sweet smile had a way of softening even the coldest morning, and just below her left eye, a tiny mole glimmered like a secret star. A thin scar ran along the back of her right hand — a quiet reminder of a time she didn't like to talk about.
She was used to the stillness of her world — the ticking of tiny wind-up clocks, the scent of wild mint in the air — but tonight felt different.
A heartbeat echoed faintly in her ears. Not her own. Not anyone's nearby. It pulsed like a drum far away, steady, insistent… and calling to her.
Far above, in the Human Town, Orrin Morgan leaned against the balcony rail of his small apartment. The meteor storm had begun, scattering silver streaks across the velvet sky. The cool wind brushed against his dark hair as he watched.
Orrin's face had the kind of softness that made people trust him instantly. A small mole rested on his right ear, another on his left cheek, and one more just above the line of his neck. A faint scar traced across his left hand, the kind that made strangers wonder about his story. Tonight, his eyes reflected the same wonder as the sky — and something more.
His chest tightened. He felt… a second heartbeat, faint but perfectly in sync with his own.
Neither knew the other existed. Not yet.
Sofia tilted her head up, her Borrower-sized world opening into the night as she saw the sky split with light. Among the falling stars, something impossible appeared — a dark silhouette drifting across the heavens, its towers glowing faintly like embers. A moving castle.
At that very moment, Orrin looked up from the Human Town and saw it too. The castle's wheels turned slowly in the sky, and the wind carried a faint chime… like the ticking of a silver gear.
Down in her pocket, Sofia's fingers brushed against the small, silver gear she'd found days ago near the border tunnels. It was warm now, as if waking from a long sleep.
Somewhere in the distance, two heartbeats echoed as one.
And the castle kept moving...