The red butterflies dancing amid dappled tree shadows reflected in their eyes. No one wanted to break the peace of this moment.
After a long while, Helen shifted slightly, settling her head more comfortably before speaking softly:
"Do you know, sir? During those cycles that came once every twenty-two years, whenever my elder sister and I could reunite and travel the world together, we would choose a dense forest at the height of summer, when the sunlight was at its finest. Then we would lie on the grass with our heads touching, spreading out our black and white skirts, and silently watch the dappled shadows of the trees together, just like this."
"Helen and I could watch all day, then rise together at twilight, walk out of the woods, and head toward the city beneath the setting sun."
Grace spoke softly as well. Shade pursed his lips and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. The sisters noticed his gesture, and faint smiles appeared on their faces.
"Thousands of years, and yet it all passed in the blink of an eye."
Helen continued softly.
"We kept chasing one twenty-one-year span after another. Most of the time, we never even stopped to look at the scenery around us."
"We were like butterflies trapped in time. Though time in reality kept moving forward, we continued to cycle through those twenty-two-year intervals—chasing, waiting, reuniting, and then facing similar stories all over again."
"Year after year, time after time... it has been so long."
"Yes, it has been so long. From that wine party, to the day Helen finally heard in Saint Derain Square in Tobesk that a detective named Sparrow Hamilton had opened a Detective Agency—it truly has been far, far too long."
For Shade, it had been less than a year. For them,