Catching the falling snow before her, Dorothy Louisa looked around. The dense darkness and that door had vanished. The air was fresh and cold, and the scent of civilization's daily life made her whole body tremble.
She stood with the Detective on a snowy winter street at night. The snow beneath their feet nearly covered their shoes, and winter's distinctive scent rushed into her nostrils. A small figure stood before Shade.
Barefoot in a pair of slippers, her feet were mottled blue and purple from the cold, and the patches on her clothes were too numerous to count. Her golden hair was wrapped in a tattered headscarf, and she hunched over with a small basket slung at her side. She smiled at Shade.
She lit the first match. When it went out, five mermaids appeared before them. Snowflakes surrounded them, and even their roars could not free them from the shackles of Ice and Snow;
She lit the second match. When it went out, the five mermaids were surrounded by firelight. It was the light of a match, faint but filled with hope;
She lit the third match. When it went out, five streams of black smoke burst from the Fishmen's bodies. A blurry black-robed figure appeared beside the girl, swinging a scythe in hand as the black smoke dispersed amid the falling snow.
She lit the fourth match. When it went out, the flames on the Fishmen also went out. This was the final match, a match that contained both the story's ending and Shade's hope.
After the flames faded, the unharmed Dais family lay on the snowy ground.
Shade walked over to the girl carrying the basket and looked up toward the end of the snowy street. A colossal black shadow occupied the sky and earth, signifying that