joy.

Dim sunlight chased away the night clouds, turning them from grey to light gold. Despite the warm rays, the fresh snow would not depart from the delicate outdoor scenery.

The gentle beams kissed the soft, porcelain face of Evangelique. They trailed over her long eyelashes, breaking their way into her eyes.

Flickering open, Eva winced and turned from her right side to the other. The snow was so soft to her sleep-fogged eyes.

As she rubbed her eyes, she realized that in her right hand, she held a golden camellia. She stared at it, recalling the beautiful yet painful recession she had witnessed.

The man who was crying--he was the most beautiful thing she remembered.

Trying to set herself straight, Eva slapped her cheeks. A slight blush painted her face as she looked down at her ivory sheets.

“Why was that handsome man so sad?” she whispered.

She looked at the camellia again. It was still glowing, or--

Eva jumped out of panic, dropping the camellia. Strange swirling marks glowed on her hands, shimmering like gold.

“N-No way...”

Trembling, she rushed out of bed towards her mirror. The pattern crawled up her neck and spread across her small and fragile fingers, like ivy to a stone wall.

Eva traced them from her forehead to her neck. She unbuttoned the back of her nightgown, turning around so she could see it in the mirror.

An intricate, filigree pattern of a golden cross had drawn itself on her back, with the same mesmerizing swirls accompanying it.

Evangelique shuddered as she looked at the illuminated design. She once knew these markings on her body as a commonplace.

Being from a mother that was a Hamadryad and a father who was human, she was destined to have a resemblance to her mother. The golden marks were no exception to this. Every Hamadryad had its ways with flowers. When they experienced a strong desire or feeling, they glowed in their own magical ways. Flowers would bloom from their skin, and they would be like a botanical galaxy--a shimmering magic from a flowery soul.

However, after losing her legs to her childhood injury, all signs of Hamadryad blood in her was gone.

She was only a human then, and she was only meant to be human now.

Eva took a deep breath, holding onto the fabric of her nightgown that was closest to her chest.

In a desire for answers, she set her determination upon finding out what was happening to her body.

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“Today I will be showing you your classroom,” stated Augustine. “The school year doesn’t begin for another month, which gives you enough time to become used to your new life here.”

Augustine wore a long, black, velvet robe over a white blouse. It reminded Eva of the robes of a judge, only much more lively, as they had a beautiful golden pattern embroidered upon its surface.

His polished shoes tapped gracefully on the marble floors of the school’s corridor as the two walked together.

“Due to your resume and background, Headmaster Rowan and Brother Kaldreas, the head of AMO, have decided that you will be teaching a science class,” said Augustine.

“What science may that be?” asked Eva, who fiddled around with her skirt as she walked.

“Botanical science,” replied Augustine. “Since you are from Aleiliyo, I assume you are quite familiar with it?”

“Yes...however, I’ve never been very talented with it,” replied Eva.

“Talented?” questioned Augustine. He looked at Evangelique, somewhat confused by her choice of words.

“Ah, I mean that I’ve never been able to grasp it well like others,” replied Eva, bashfully.

“Hmm...” mused Augustine, thoughtfully. “Do you really mean that? Or is it you are of Hamadryad lineage, but own no gifts of the blossoming beings?”

Eva looked down at her dark crimson boots. She continued to walk but felt shaky as she did so.

“Sort of...” answered Eva. “You see, my mother was a Hamadryad, but my father was human. I did inherit some of her inhuman appearance and abilities-”

She stopped herself. The surprise of that morning was still hard to take in.

“Yes?” asked Augustine, curious, and concerned.

“W-Well, basically I used to be half-Hamadryad, but now I’m just a normal human girl...” chuckled Eva, her face hot. She needed to stay focused on the present and not the mysterious.

Augustine laughed lightly.

“I see,” he responded with a soft smile. “However, Miss Evangelique, you must know.”

He turned to look at her. His gentle, azure eyes gleamed in the light of the winter sun that entered through the large glass windows.

“No mortal is normal, as it has been created in our DNA to be unique.”

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Inside the classroom, desks made of wrought iron and wood stood orderly in four lines of five. The wallpaper of the room was colored a dark brown with light, cream-colored stripes. The right wall of the room held chestnut shelves of antique books and dusty glass jars of dirt.

Wrought iron planters hung from the ceiling, waiting to welcome new plants. In front of the classroom was a polished wooden desk for the teacher. It was neatly organized, with unfilled glass vases reflecting the daylight that poured through the long windows on the left side of the room.

Behind the desk, a long blackboard with traces of chalk dust upon it hung blankly, awaiting the moment it would be used once again to teach.

The marble floor was a dark yet sparkling grey. Specks of dust met the sunlight that painted the room, becoming illumed like the golden fairies of spring.

Marveled by the room, Eva started to tremble with excitement.

“It’s a rather lovely room, wouldn’t you agree?”

Eva turned around to see a very charming young woman. She held her light ginger hair in a bun, with only a few curls let loose by her pale ears. A white, lace-hemmed blouse and a sky blue skirt with a flowery crimson pattern was her attire.

From her rose-colored lips to her elegant demeanor, Eva could feel that the woman standing before her was a very kind person with a hospitable heart.

“Y-Yes!” replied Eva.

“Miss Evangelique, this is Matron Cordelia,” said Augustine warmly.

“It’s very nice to meet you!” replied Eva, bowing awkwardly.

“Now, now. There’s no need to so formal!” added Matron Cordelia. Her rosy lips formed the most graceful of smiles.

“A-Ah, okay...” fumbled Eva.

She nervously played with bits of her skirt. Growing up in a small village meant little social interaction, especially with men and women around her age. She wished her silly thoughts about approval and presentation would disappear.

“When the first week of school comes, I will be teaching with you,” said Cordelia. “The students are well behaved, for the most part, but having assistance as you learn what your teaching style is can be helpful.”

“Yes...that is true,” replied Evangelique. “Thank you so much.”

Cordelia smiled and walked towards the teacher’s desk.

“As you can tell, there are no flowers in the pots and vases,” stated Cordelia. “That is because we require the teacher to grow a garden in the classroom.”

“For educational purposes?” asked Eva.

“Well, yes, you could say that’s one of the reasons,” began Cordelia. “However, our main reasoning behind it is so our teachers here can leave a special mark of sorts. Once our short-term teachers leave, we transport the flowers and plants into our memorial garden. Since you are a long-term teacher, your garden is expected to grow for a longer time period and to be much larger.”

“I see...” breathed Eva.

She always loved botany, ever since she was a little girl. Being the only one her age in her village, it was all she did in her past times.

After her mother passed away, she became even fonder of growing flowers and plants, so she would never forget the vibrant and gentle love of her mother.

Evangelique looked outside of one of the classroom’s windows. Crocuses danced in the winter breeze. A young man with flame-colored locks ran by.

He wore a clear blue soldier’s uniform, a white knitted scarf--and a golden camellia in his hair.

A sense of adrenaline filled Evangelique’s hands. It was an anxious sort of feeling, yet she felt no fear.

Only curiosity.

“E-Excuse me...” started Eva, preparing to run. “Please pardon me; I need to use the facilities.” “Oh, I see” replied Cordelia gently. “It’s down the corridor, on the left side.” “Thank you,” responded Eva, bowing quickly.

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Evangelique rushed down the hall, her heeled books clacking with every step she took. She ran down the long staircase that led to the school’s front lobby, rushing past the coat rack where her jacket hung.

Opening the dark wooden doors as fast as she could, she rushed outside, into the chilling afternoon.

Turning a right, she made her way down a nearby alleyway that was laden with snow.

In her mind, questions swarmed.

What was that man?

What was he singing to her?

Why did he give her a flower?

Did he have anything to do with the glowing marks on Eva’s skin?

Eva looked straight ahead. The young man trudged slowly through the snow.

“Wait, please stay here for a moment!” she called out to him.

She stopped running, occupied with catching her breath. The man turned slowly, his feet making a crunching sound in the compacted snow.

Emerald eyes shifted to pierce Eva’s eyes.

A tender yet slightly listless face stared back at her. It was the face of a young man who looked as if he had lived through much sorrow. He was gentle in appearance, thin and much taller than Eva.

In his eyes, a frail and crippled emotion danced. It was an emotion Evangelique knew all too well, and it made her wince ever so slightly at the sight of it.

In his own heart-wrenching, intriguing way, he was truly beautiful.

“What...do you need?” asked the man. To Eva’s surprise, his voice was surprisingly soft and patient.

“I don’t think it was a dream...” began Eva, clenching onto the hem of her skirt.

“So tell me--what did I see last night?”