The Fragments' earlier sleep had been nothing like an ordinary nap. It had been a slumber so deep that no amount of calling or shaking could wake them, its stillness unsettling.
Only on the second day after Hand Princess Big woke did Hand Princess Small slowly open its eye.
Sunlight fell right on it. The pale purple eye in its palm blinked twice, and the first word it uttered was soft and sweet: "Candy..."
Shuo sat beside it, keeping watch. He had already unwrapped a candy and held it out.
Hand Princess Small swallowed it in one gulp and murmured contentedly, "Sweet..."
It turned and looked around. Hand Princess Three still lay stiffly with its toes pointing skyward; Hand Princess Four floated in midair, its eye narrowed to a slit.
The torso that was Hand Princess Five had the eyes on its belly mostly closed, while the smaller pieces remained huddled together without moving.
"They..." Hand Princess Small asked quietly.
"Still asleep." Shuo's tone was even as he lightly touched it with his fingertips.
Hand Princess Small slowly crawled over and settled beside Hand Princess Big. The two little white hands huddled together, staring fixedly at their companions who had yet to wake. "They'll wake up," it said with certainty.
Looking at the two little creatures, Shuo couldn't help asking, "Why do you all say that?"
Hand Princess Big turned back, a glimmer brightening the eye in its palm. "Because your light is inside them."
Shuo lowered his gaze to his palm. That faint light had grown a little stronger since yesterday, like a seed just beginning to sprout, soft yet resilient. "What exactly is my light?"
Hand Princess Big tilted to one side and thought seriously for a long time before answering bluntly, "Don't know. But it's sweet."
Shuo