The Diary of the Younger Morningstar

I open my eyes to the quiet ringing of the alarm clock. I’ve always been a light sleeper… I didn’t get enough sleep at all. I slept for three hours or less. I want to die, or at least drink coffee. I sit up on the creaking bed and try to shake off sleep. I need to go for a run. I close my eyes and sigh. Here we go… I get up and walk across the cold floor to the chair. Everything is hanging there, no one has put away clothes in the closet for ages. I put on black shorts and a huge sweater that I no longer mind damage. I put my smartwatch on my wrist so that it counts my steps. I put my hair in a bun, so it doesn’t get in front of my face. I take a liter of water and my keys with me and wrap a towel around my neck. I quietly left the house not to wake up Ms. Angeline. Let’s go… I run along the street, not too fast, so as not to die right away. Inhale and exhale, control my breathing so as not to suffocate. It’s still dark, it’s early morning, four in the morning to be exact, there are no people on the streets. Only those as insane as me. Towards the end of the street, I stop, drink some water and look at my watch. It’s one and a half thousand, great. Then turn right, I’ll run and wake up Paula, like we agreed. And now, five minutes later, I regret my decision. More specifically, my decision to leave my home at all. Rain. Damn rain. The clock shows four twenty and two with half thousand steps, and I’m flying back home like a bullet. Home is still closer to me than to my friend’s. Twenty minutes later, I’m already home. I go into the bathroom and wipe the watch with a towel. It’s working, already great. Four forty, five thousand steps. Super. I leave the watch near the sink and take off my wet clothes. I wring it out in the bath and throw it in the laundry basket, then take a towel and dry myself off from the moisture. The day has already gone wrong. I go into the room and put on dry clothes, more precisely, a red T-shirt and gray pants. Now to wash myself. I go back into the bathroom, take off my clothes and go into the shower, and wash myself quickly. Now I’m going to the kitchen. I threw a capsule into the coffee machine. The smell is divine, I feel better. While the coffee is brewing, I cut myself a salad of cucumber, tomato, avocado and lettuce. I also take myself a cheese in paraffin from the refrigerator. I unseal it, remove the paraffin and eat the salad, snacking on the cheese. Great, such a breakfast definitely adds energy. Maybe this day is not so bad after all. The coffee machine beeps, notifying that the coffee is ready. First, I wash the dishes, and then have a cup of coffee. I add three spoons of sugar, ice cream and ice. I stir with my favorite metal straw and finally the treasured coffee is in my mouth. The day immediately became much more beautiful. Bliss, true bliss. Then I wash the dishes again and hear the doorbell. Paula has come. In such rain. I don’t know if it’s cute or slightly scary… I go to the front door and open it. — Hi, come in. Paula comes in and rolls up her bright blue umbrella, the same color as her hair. And she, as always, put on a light short skirt and a sleeveless top in the rain. Of course, why not? And she came on foot. Genius. — Selena Kurzan, you promised me that you would come to wake me up! Why didn’t you come? — Sorry, Lin, it didn’t work out… I was really running, but the rain started, and I was without an umbrella. One look from my guilty eyes and Paula gives in, looking away. Always works. I smiled and hugged her. - Do you want some coffee? - I am, if there are candies. - I always have your favorite candies, Lin. I smiled again and led her to the kitchen. Ms. Angeline was already sitting in the kitchen. - Yo, mornin’, Selene! Got another guest crashin’ here? I swear, it feels like she’s practically moved in with us or somethin’. - Ms. Angelina, I’m not a little girl anymore. I can already bring friends home without asking. - Does it look like I’m trippin’ over it? Nah, I’m totally down! Just make sure you ladies don’t bail on the IHME, or that naughty teacher’s gonna go off on you. What’s his deal again? The one with the lisp! Vasilich or somethin’? Whatever, you know—the dude who teaches Latin, ya feel me? - Damn, do I have Latin today? - Ugh, seriously? You don’t remember? You’re wrapin’ up your third year at IHME, and you still can’t keep anything straight in that head of yours! Here Paula intervenes in the conversation. - Well, don’t slander her! She has a good memory; she just can’t remember the schedule. Besides, what does she need me for? I remember. I’m glad that she’s protecting me, and I smile at her gratefully. - Oh snap, I’m gonna bounce and grab some coffee on the balcony! Ms. Angeline took a mug from the table and left. I’m already used to her doing this every morning. I take a couple of steps towards the coffee machine, then throw in a capsule of Paula’s favorite coffee, latte. - Tell me, Lin, what’s new? - Well, I dumped mine. - Nikita? I told you right away that he was nothing. - No, I dumped Nikita last week, this one was Maxim. - What Maxim? Where did you find him? - Well, we met online yesterday, he gave me flowers, took me to a restaurant, and then presented me with a bill that I should pay. Although on the date he promised that everything was on him, he was acting like a gentleman. Well, I left right away. Of course, she has an “interesting” romantic life, nothing to say… - You did the right thing, it’s immediately clear that you don’t need it. - Well, really, “it”… - Exactly. A couple of seconds later, the coffee machine beeped, notifying me that the coffee was ready. I took a mug, added ice, just like Paula likes, stirred, threw in a straw and put it on the table. - Spill it on yourself. There was a silent question in her emerald eyes, she clearly didn’t understand the whole meaning of the phrase. - You forgot “don’t.” - No, everything is just right. Spill it so you can change into warm clothes. - Come on, don’t be so rude! Gimme some candy instead. - Okay, okay… I put her favorite chocolates on the table, she reached for one and… She spills coffee on herself. - Damn! What an accident… I laugh quietly. - How do you know that I didn’t put a spell on this mug to make it fall? - Go to hell! What if I got hurt? - Already there, darling. And there was ice in it, you silly girl. You know where my room is, the closet is at your disposal. Take a shower. The coffee was sweet, you’ll be sticky. There’s time, don’t rush. She hums something quietly under her breath. I chuckle and look out the window while I wait for her. Of course, I didn’t put any magical effort into this mug, although I could have. I just glanced into the future. When reading tarot, they forbid you to use your innate gift, but in your personal life, you can. And it wouldn’t help me at all when reading tarot, I can look at the short-term future, but I can’t look at the long-term. I sigh. The rain has already passed. Nevertheless, I hear the sound of water from the bathroom, which merges into a beautiful symphony with the ekir outside the open window. Ms. Angeline must have opened it. The sound is amazing. It’s calming. I close my eyes, and the image of Paula appears in my mind. She reaches out to me, almost kisses, but I pull myself back in time. Damn ekir… A few minutes later, I hear the water stop and a few seconds later the creak of my closet. I’ve always been interested in listening to what’s going on in the house. A few minutes later, I hear a hair dryer. I can’t help but imagine her hair flying around comically, I want to go to her and comb it. And then I shudder. I need to close the window, the ekir’s singing is beautiful, but his singing makes me see scary visions. I close the window and sit back down, looking at the ekir. Scoundrel, this is my friend! Thank you for at least not sending me visions of Ms. Angelina, this would be disgusting… A couple of minutes later, Paulina came out of my room. Black pants and a red hoodie. - Are you warm, lady? - Well… Selena! - Okay, okay, let’s go? I glance at the clock on the wall. - It’s already six. - At what class do we need to come? - The first one.* - Well, why should we go then? We can stay home a little longer. By the way, have you done your homework? - I don’t remember, I need to check. What classes do we have today? - Well, pretty well! Of course you can’t remember. Latin, tarot reading, physics and history. — “A gorgeous” set… I go into my room and take the notebooks for these subjects. The homework is written. It’s surprising that I don’t remember how I wrote it. Well, short-term memory problems. I put the watch, that was lying on the table, on my wrist, so it could count my steps again. I bring the homework to Paula. *First class is starting at nine in the morning. —Here, Lin. Don’t forget to copy yesterday’s notes, you lover of skipping university. — Well, thank you, you’re saving me! She took only the notebooks for Latin and tarot reading. And I know she doesn’t understand these subjects at all. I turn on the series on my phone and watch, trying not to interfere with her writing. I’m almost halfway through this three-hundred-episode soap opera, a little more and I’ll finish it. I’ll have time to watch two more episodes while she’s writing. Both episodes passed unnoticed for me, although each was an hour long. To be honest, I listened to the episodes more than I watched them, Paula often asked how to read my handwriting. To be honest, I can hardly read it myself… I sympathize the teachers. - Selena? Let’s go? - Whet else we could do? I pack my bag. Notebooks, pen, pencil, ruler… Done. - We’re leaving, Ms. Angeline! I don’t know if she heard me from the balcony, but my conscience is clear, I said goodbye. Now to teleport… I close my eyes and cast a spell. — 部礼美須天伊留 仁 由仁波安須天伊 多加伊 麻保宇 巨宇伊久● I open my eyes in the university hall. It’s good to be immortal. Paula appears next to me a few seconds later. It seems she spent a long-time remembering sanskrit. — Remind me, which classroom are we in? I go there almost every day, and I don’t remember. - Well, to three hundred and fifty-four. - Thank you, madam. I don’t know what I’d do without you. - Well, pretty well! You’re welcome, Selly. I didn’t say anything really smart. It’s not a big of a deal to remember the classroom! - It’s a big deal for me. So, I say thank you. Lina blushed slightly. She always liked to hear gratitude. And I always liked to make her blush. I decided to finish her off. - You have a very good memory. More than gratitude, she likes only compliments. - Se-e-e-e-elly… - Yap? - Well, stop it… - Nope. - Yeah! - I like to embarrass you. Keep blushing. - Selena! - It’s me, yeah, what? - Enough. - Okay, okay, let’s go already. Three hundred and fifty-four, you say? - Mhm, at least this time you remembered. She is offended, I can hear it in her voice. - I’ll buy you a marshmallow after class, if you want. - I don’t want to… - What do you want then? She is thinking about it. It seems like she’ll ask something that will make me faint. - Two croissants, a box of macaroons, coffee, we go to the cinema and a cafe at your expense, and we’ll be even. Of course, she asked for something at my expense. I knew she’d do this. - No problem, everything will be fine. She smiles, pleased, and immediately becomes kinder. Sly little fox. I just chuckle at this and go with her to the classroom. We sit down, as always, in the last row. I take out everything necessary, and Paula, rather, unnecessary. The Latin teacher enters the classroom and takes attendance, then begins the lecture. I quickly and efficiently write down the most important things, and Paula sits with headphones and not very actively copies from me. Damn, exams are probably coming soon… I’ll die if that’s so. I, during the break, turned to Paula. - What day is it today? - Monday. - No, what date is it? - Well, the twentieth of May. I fall headfirst on the desk. - In the name of your mother… - Don’t mix my mother up with this, you impudent thing. - Go to hell… - Already, if you didn’t notice. Don’t die, everything will be fine. She puts her hand on my shoulder and then buries her head in my hair. I became calmer. Yes, I can handle it together with her. What we don’t know, we’ll quickly learn. We’re not some stupid young ladies. The tarot reading teacher comes in and I raise my head from the desk. - So, students, we have practice today. I hope everyone remembers this. Not everyone, I completely forgot about it… In general, it’s not surprising with my memory. And Lina definitely remembers, but she didn’t tell me. That’s the question… Is she so confident in my abilities or is she so impudent? The teacher puts an unusual bust on her desk. An unusual bust in that the face is almost not expressed, only general features, but the hair and chest are clearly and distinctly visible. I can say with confidence that this is a woman. A mistake is impossible. White fur falls on the bust. Goosebumps run through my body. What luxury. Any demon would look magical in this. - Your task is to read the past of this fur on the cards. I will give this fur to the one who is closest to the answer. Goosebumps run through my body again. I imagined this fur on myself. I have never been a fan of fur, but this… For some reason, I want this fur. Everyone was given a tarot deck, and I began to lay them out in a diagram with special enthusiasm. I lead with my finger, translate, but… Nothing works out. Some kind of nonsense comes out. Immortal and death. Nonsense, this does not happen. I did everything right… I need to try again. I try to decipher it again, but my vision is getting cloudy. What’s happening? Am I losing consciousness? It’s all too slow for it to be a loss of consciousness… I fall into a vision. I look at the black room through the wooden bars. I can’t turn my head to look around. The same woman is standing in front of the mirror, as if her bust had come to life and acquired a whole body. The woman’s face is not visible. She is wearing that same fur, but red. She is spinning, dancing, laughing. She looks in my direction and asks: “How do you like the fur, baby?” I can’t answer her, I physically can’t. Why? What’s wrong with this vision? In the other corner of the room, I see another woman. Her face is also not visible, only the main figure and straight black hair. They look similar. Relatives? Sister? Mother? Accidental resemblance? The woman comes up from behind, takes the fur and strangles the girl. A shrill scream, the picture fades and blurs, as if everything is in red smoke. I see only a body on the floor. I hear a child crying and a woman laughing. The next time I see clearer, vision shows this another woman wearing fur, but… It’s white. It looks like the fur is enchanted. Wait. How did this woman die? Is she mortal? Immortals don’t die. Not by the hands of a normal woman. Or do they? Maybe it’s Earth fur? Then how is it enchanted? Or was the woman the ruler? This is so damn weird… I hear the piano playing, but I can’t see anything. Blackness. Then I’m jerked out of vision. Lina touched my shoulder. I almost jumped back. - Are you okay? Your eyes are watering and you’re… Just… Staring at one spot? Without blinking. I feel sick, my throat hurts, and I feel like my nose is bleeding. Damn it. Paula takes some napkins out of her bag and tries to stop the bleeding. And I’m trying to come to my senses. It’s horrible. - Half the class is over, Selly. - Do you have water? - I’ll find some. She hands me the tea she took with her. I drink it and lean back on the bench. I put away the napkins, there is no more blood. The nausea after the tea has stopped. - I had a vision. About this fur. Strange, very. Delirious, I would say. - Selena, I don’t care about that now. How are you feeling? - Much better, thank you. She hugs me tightly. I smile and hug her back. - I was worried. - I’m glad you were worried, Lin. - You scared me. - Sorry, I didn’t mean to. - Will you tell me during the big break? - Okay, Lin, I will. And now let’s finish writing, okay? - Yes, of course. I reread the cards and tried to write down the most likely theory. The immortal woman was strangled with this enchanted fur by an older immortal, possibly a relative. It’s not clear why the piano was playing. A child’s cry… Perhaps there was a child in the room. I hand over what I’ve written to the teacher along with the deck of cards. I sit back down and realize that my hands are shaking. — Those who have already handed in their work can go to lunch. Just be quiet, don’t make noise in the corridors. I wait for Lina to finish writing. When she hands in her work, we leave the college together. — What time do we need to be back? — By twelve thirty. We can have lunch in a cafe, and you can tell me everything. — Great. We go into a cafe near the university. An ordinary one, with relaxed music and a cozy atmosphere. I start to get better in a familiar, friendly environment. The line is small, we arrived earlier than other and stand in it for two minutes at most. — Hi, girls! You’re early today. — Well, we did all the work quickly and easily. — As usual, ladies? - Well, pretty well! Sure, Jeff. - As you wish, ladies. Jeffrey smiles and hands us two electronic terminals, and we pay with cards. Eh… Goodbye thirty dollars. - I knew you’d come, and the orders were ready, ladies. - Well, thanks, Jeffy! - Will you leave your number for this? He winks at Paula and fixes his hair. Joker itself. - In the next life, maybe, I will. In this one, I can only leave you a tip. Not this time, though. She blows him a kiss, and he immediately pouts. - How rude… - But honest. Paula smiles and we walk away with our orders to our favorite table by the entrance, near the panoramic corner window and the vase of roses on the floor. Paula eats her blueberry cheesecake, and I eat cottage cheese with raspberries. — So? — As stupid and delusional as it sounds… The immortal woman was strangled with this fur. Paula blinks slowly, processing the information, and then squints. — What? Are you drunk? — Come to your senses. I’m serious. — And if you wanna go into more detail, since we’re on it? I tell her everything I can remember, without hiding anything. — Well, maybe this fur belongs to some relative of our teacher’s? Otherwise, how would she get this fur? — Honestly? I have no idea. And I don’t really want to have it. I take the plate from the table and hold it in my hands, eat and look out the window. I can see a beautiful park from the window. It’s cool that we have a park next to the university, and a cafe next to the park. I sigh. My thoughts go in a different direction. Some kind of weird stupid thing has suddenly started happening in my life. And how beautifully the day began… Although, if it can be called “beautifully”… I sigh. I finish the cottage cheese and start eating the fruits and berries from the next plate. Apple, orange, banana, mango, strawberry, blueberry, pear, raspberry and cherry. For fifteen dollars, it’s very tasty. I eat it all slowly, without rushing. Then I drink my raf-coffee. I notice that Paula has already eaten her cheesecake and ice cream, also drank her latte. — We have ten minutes left until the next lecture. Shall we go through the park? — Well, of course! She smiles and we leave the cafe, straight to the park. As we walk, I think about the vision. Why did it appear? Why only to me? Why not to Lina or other students? I am pulled out of my thoughts by the song of the ekir. These birds have become especially annoying closer to summer. I hear, as if in reality, the phrase of the woman from the vision. She asks me again, to find out if I like fur. Then, I hear the laughter of this girl. What the hell? Why is everything like this? I need to… just distract myself. Try to distract myself. This story with fur has nothing to do with me. I walk with Lina to the university, and we go into the classroom, sit down in our seats. Damn. Physics… An uninteresting subject. — Selly, maybe you should skip the last two classes? - No, even if I don’t like physics and history, I won’t skip classes. Lin, I want a red diploma. I got a gold medal in school and I’m not going to give up my position. I want this achievement. If I want it, I’ll get it. - Well, well, well! You’re the same as always. What will happen if you skip a few classes? - First just once, then again, and then you’ll get lazy, again, again, another time, a third, tenth, hundredth… I don’t want that. - Well, don’t be so boring! - And you don’t say “well.” - Don’t ask me for the impossible. - I can say the same. We look at each other and laugh. I don’t know why, we just laugh. That’s what happens sometimes. We are interrupted by a physicist who enters the classroom. Now Lina is not copying, she knows physics herself. A future physics teacher. It’s hard to imagine her in such a job. A girl with short blue hair, piercings in her eyebrows and ears, tattoos and often revealing clothes. I have nothing against it, it’s just unusual to think about it. This prankster is giving a lecture to everyone. It even sounds… exciting. I would love to listen from Paula, even if it’s lecture about physics. Physics is more painful, but also unnoticeable, like Latin. During the break between history and physics, I decided to have a “tea party” with Lina. - Get out the tea. - Why? - Let’s have a tea party. - Do you just want a drink? - That too. - Well, just a second. Lina pulled a bottle of tea out of her bag. - Well, where are you going to get cups? - As if it’s hard to get them. I take the pencils from my bag and turn them into two wooden cups. It’s easier because they’re made from the same material. — 恵ン比津 仁寸留 仁 毛久乃子ッ夫● - A witch. - A demon, to be more precise. I smirk and pour tea into glasses. We clink glasses and drink tea. - Mademoiselle Paulina, the weather is wonderful today, isn’t it? - I completely agree, Madame Selena. We can’t help but laugh. This is all fine and dandy, but Palych comes in. Paula hides the bottle, and I turn the glasses back into pencils and put them aside. - Good evening, gentlemen idlers, loafers, and beautiful ladies who don’t shirk their work. I recognize this tone of an adventurer. Palych has something in mind. That’s right, I swear. - Today, the first part of the class or even less will be a lecture, and the second part… Smirks, intrigues. - Drumroll! The students started banging on their desks, including me, imitating drums. Palych raised his hand, and everyone stopped. - In the second part of the class, we’re going to a museum! For free. Everyone started shouting “Yay!”, happy that they wouldn’t have to sit at the university, and I rolled my eyes, sighed and fell with my forehead on the desk. Super. Just “super”. - Selly, we wanted to go to a cafe and a movie today, remember? - I remember, I’m not that forgetful. I still remember what happened in the morning. We’ll reschedule, after the museum I won’t have the strength… She stroked my hair. It calmed me down a little. - Don’t be sad, everything will be fine. - Thank you. - Well, pretty well! You’re welcome, Selly. I lift the desk off my head… Oh, off desk heads. Stop. I. Lift. My. Head. Off the desk. I didn’t get enough sleep at all. Looks like the coffee stopped working. I wonder if I can buy some on the way to the museum… I raise my hand to find out. - Yes, Yat… Sorry, I got you mixed up with another student. Yes, Kurzan? I wonder who he got me mixed up with? I’ll have to find out later. - Will it be possible to buy coffee on the way to the museum? - Unless you pre-order it and just pick it up. Otherwise, it’ll take too long. Any other questions? - Will I need to take notes? - Yes, but you don’t have to. Maybe, someone else will remember it anyway. Personally, I advise you to take notes. - Okay, thank you. I turn to Lina. - I’m writing down notes, and you pre-order, okay? - Well, of course. Of course. I write notes as quickly as possible, and she pre-orders from our cafe. After the lecture, we pack all our things and follow Palych to the museum. On the way, I stop by Jeff and pick up my raf. I drink coffee and enjoy the birds singing. I can’t quite figure out what kind of birds are singing, but I like it. I deliberately get ahead of everyone to ask Palych a troubling question. - Who have you mixed up me with? - I just had one student who looked just like you. In appearance and in her coffee addiction. - Got it, thank you. A few minutes later we enter the museum. It’s gloomy, but beautiful. We are met, apparently, by a guide. I wonder if the guide is volunteering here. — Good evening, students. Today you will have a fascinating tour about the youngest Morningstar, who reigned for eighty-eight years. Calculating the years of her reign has always confused young historians. This is because she ruled jointly with her brother, ten years on and ten years off. Together they ruled for one hundred and seventy-eight years. The guide smiles politely, suspecting that we already know what he is saying. We do know, the teacher said so during the lecture. — Please come with me to the first hall of our museum. We all obediently follow him. — Please note that the music written by the queen herself is playing in the background of the museum. This composition is called “Lullaby for a Miracle”, which, according to her wife, she played on the piano for their daughter, as an accompaniment to her singing. The composition was written in two thousand two. Entering the hall, I see wax figures on the left, and statues of different people on the right. I only recognize the girl with long black hair and white eyes, it’s Nero Morningstar herself. — Here are collected statues and wax figures of real size. All the closest entourage of the queen and, of course, the queen herself are depicted. You can examine all the figures and statues. The names and short information are written on the left. I approach the statue of the queen. I can’t believe that twenty years ago she was alive. Statues are not as interesting as wax figures, which convey appearance more accurately. Therefore, I decide to look only at wax figures. I take a notebook out of my bag and start sketching, adding a verbal description to color at home. The queen is depicted in a golden crown with red stones and a moon in the middle, in a long red dress with a cutout on the leg. She has two pairs of dark wings, a tail of my type and color, horns too. We must have had similar fates on Earth if we have similar types in Hell. Too bad I’m too young to have two pairs of wings. I can skim through information next to her. Lived from November first, twenty-five our era, to August eighth, twenty-zero-four. She died on my birthday. Well, some are born, and others die. Next to her is a figure of a girl with short soft-green hair. She has bright turquoise eyes, a moon in one pupil and a star in the other. Both pupils are white. She is dressed in a purple floor-length dress with a black corset and a black cape. This girl is clearly shorter than everyone else. I also quickly read the information about her. Birthday: March second, two-thirty-eight our era, died on the same day as the queen. This is her wife. How cute… Her name is Hitory Morningstar, maiden last name Yato. Well, Jeff from the cafe also has a last name of Yato. Well, this last name is not uncommon for me to be surprised. I go further along the statues. Next stands a tall guy, taller than everyone else. Red eyes and short black hair, horns, wings and a tail the same as the younger Morningstar. His appearance isn’t very good, too standard… But I won’t live with him anyways. Nevertheless, I need to sketch him. He is dressed in a decent black suit with a bow tie. Unfortunately, I only like the clothes in him. This is the older brother of the youngest Morningstar, Lucifer Morningstar. His birthday is January seventh, 1twenty-fourour era, and he died the same day. Next is a man with short brown hair and a funny fringe, white eyes, the type of horns, tail and wings are the same, but there are more wings, three pairs. The man is dressed in the same suit as the younget Morningstar’s brother. He is different in that his skin is red. Not bright, but reddish. I take a photo to make it easier to choose the color at home. I like this one much more. This is the father, Satan Morningstar. Of all the others, I like him the most. I would like one like this for myself. Date of birth unknown, date of death is the same as the others. This is even intriguing. Does no one remember anymore? Or do they not know? I need to find out the reason for this. I am writing this down too. I can forget. Maybe I will find out everything tomorrow. Then I approach the penultimate statue, a little lower than the previous one. A guy with long white hair, which is in a wide braid, green eyes, also dressed in a suit, but white. Behind his back are three pairs of white wings, and above his head is a golden halo. Wow, this one is even more beautiful. This is her stepfather, God. Date of birth unknown, date of death is the same. It was from the moment of his death that everything went wrong in the world. Maybe later or earlier. Who knows? The most interesting thing is how he was killed… He was God, but he died so simply. How? That’s still a big question. The last figure is a one-year-old child. Green hair and white eyes, chubby cheeks. Little wings, horns and a tail have just emerged. A very cute child. This is a daughter, name unknown. She was born on August eighth, death unknown. Well, this is already the sixth person who is associated with this date, not counting myself. The date is beautiful and not rare, no wonder. A few minutes later, when everyone finished their notes, we went to the next room. In the next room I immediately see many paintings. — This room contains paintings that the youngest Morningstar herself painted, as well as works by her father and stepfather. The guide falls silent, and the teacher begins to speak. — Take notes as quickly as possible, try to be as brief as possible, fill in the rest at home. I begin to take notes on the paintings one by one. The first one is called “Sky.” It’s a sunset, nothing special. The painting was painted in eighteen-twenty-five. The second painting is called “子宇夫久”. It is surprising that the queen knew man’yogana. The painting depicts a river among fields, steppes and mountains. Picturesque. It was painted in eighteen-twenty-six. The third painting is “Castle”, the title is also very straightforward. The painting depicts a Gothic castle, but definitely not a royal one. Perhaps a secret one? It was painted in eighteen-twenty-seven. The fourth painting is “Calm”. The painting depicts Morningstar with her family. She, in a red dress of that time, is sitting on a sofa, hugging her wife around the waist. Her wife is almost in the same dress, but green. Next to her is her brother in a black suit, and on the other side is her stepfather in white. The painting was painted by her father in the same year. The fifth painting is “Garden”. It depicts Hitory in a home dress riding on a swing, and Morningstar in a purple dress is sitting at a table and drinking coffee, reading a book in the glasses. Dark red roses bloom around them, and petals fall from the tree on which her wife swings, burning in flight. I don’t know if it’s sweet or rather frightening that they live in such peace and happiness in such a gloomy castle. Written in eighteen-twenty-eight by her stepfather. The next painting is “Hello”. It’s much darker. On one side of the painting, all the members of the Morningstar family are painted, killed. On the other side, they are drinking tea and having fun, homey and happy. In the middle of the painting, the current queen. Painted in eighteen-twenty-nine. It’s as if she predicted her death many years ago, but still allowed it to happen. It’s all strange… And how did she know the current queen? The painting next to it is called “Red Cat”, the title speaks for itself. The fluffy cat in the painting is lying on a spacious black bed, stretching out his paws, showing his belly. To paint something like that after this dark painting? Even stranger. Painted in eighteen-thirty. Another painting called “Ekir”. The bird is sitting on Hitory’s finger in a yellow dress, they seem to be singing together. It was painted by the former queen. Painted the same year. At this point the paintings ended and I stood there waiting for the others to finish their notes. A few minutes later, the guide leads us to the next room. I’m not very happy about the tour, and it’s also unbearably long. And boring. I don’t like it. Yes, I was even interested in a couple of minutes, but fatigue quickly changed that. I want to tell everyone and everything to go to hell. - The next room is dedicated to her medals, awards and achievements. Among her main achievements, it was thanks to her that the war between Hell and Heaven ended in one thousand five hundred and twenty-five, four hundred and ninety-nine years ago. Together with her father, stepfather and brother, she first established a passage between Heaven and Hell, and also introduced a passport control system into Hell and reformed the laws of Hell so that drugs, alcohol and cigarettes could not be brought into Heaven, and crosses, holy water and other holy things could not be brought into Hell, in order to preserve Hell and Heaven as they are now. Her reign was markedly cruel to traitors, but merciful to loyal people. You can walk around the room and look at her other achievements, medals and awards. My hands are already tired of writing. Why did she do so much in one thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight years of life? I’ll write it down in more detail at home. Gold medal, honors, medal for outstanding diplomacy… A lot, too much, to hell. I won’t write it down. The information I have is enough. I wait a few minutes until the others finish writing and we move to another room. There’s a diary on the stand in the middle. Tattered, old, shabby — battered by life. I wouldn’t even touch it. I’m disgusted. It’s too old. My hands will be dirty if I touch it. — Here is the original diary of the youngest Morningstar. I readily believe it. It’s thick, she must have kept it for a hundred years. Or more? In any case, the diary is huge. The teacher starts speaking. — You need to write a summary about this diary, the deadline is three weeks. I am so indignant that I can’t breathe, and Paula can’t hold back and screams. — What the hell?! — If you hand it in in less than three weeks, of course I won’t mind, you don’t have to be so indignant. Three weeks is the deadline. You are third-year students, after all, you should be able to handle such work. — Damn well! This is a huge diary of five hundred pages! How are we going to read it in three weeks? And take notes! — Berstein, your friend reads quickly, and you write quickly, right? What’s your problem then? I didn’t forbid you to work in pairs. The main thing is to let me know who with whom will be. I won’t even ask you; you are always together anyway. I speak to Paulina quietly, for the first time during the entire excursion. - Damn. - Well, I can’t help but agree. - At my place? - Well, of course. You know my mother’s love for guests. They start handing out copies of the diary to us, and thank the Devil, they are neat and clean. And… Noticeably smaller. - Is this an abridged version? Palych grins before answering. — Don’t even hope. It’s just that the original diary contains calendars, herbariums, and information you don’t need to know. Not a single word about her life has been cut out. It’s not going to be a party on your street. I nod and look at the diary. On the black cover, in red letters, is written “Diary of the Younger Morningstar.” I open it and goosebumps run through my body. I immediately see that vision before my eyes. Fur, woman, body, laughter, crying… Is it somehow connected to the book? Was it the queen? Where did the teacher get the queen’s fur? There are a million questions in my head, and my hands are burning like fire, there are sparks all around me. Is it just me or everyone seeing them? My nose is bleeding again, I close the diary, and Paula quickly hands me napkins so I can wipe the blood. My head started to hurt, but the nosebleed stopped, and the burning sensation stopped, I can’t see the sparks anymore. - You saw it too? - What? - Sparks. Red ones. - No. What the hell? There was nothing. You just opened your diary, froze, and then your nose started bleeding. - I… I’ll tell you more about it when we get home, okay? - Okay then… I hide the diary in my bag. When the students' discussions were over, Palych started talking again. - Have a productive evening, that’s all. Goodbye, the tour is over. Paulina and I walked to the exit in silence, not knowing how to react to what had happened. We also walked into the cafe in silence. - Ladies, you’ve been coming to see me so often today! Did you like me so much that you can’t live without me? - Jeffrey, I don’t have time for you at all, honestly. My life is so messed up. - Coffee? - Are you really asking me again? In just a couple of minutes, there’s a raf and a latte in front of me and Paulina, and I even leave him a tip. For the speed. We also walk to my house in silence, sipping coffee. And at home, Ms. Angelina is waiting for me right at the threshold. - Yo, Selene! I’m hittin’ up the salon for a fresh ‘do, then off to get my nails did and chill at the spa. I’ve been cooped up at home way too long—I’m craving some fun! In the evening? Okay, maybe these are all-day establishments… - Okay, ma’am, go, of course. I’ll be with Paula; we have a joint project. - Selene, no cap, no questions here. She can totally crash for the night; I’m chill with it. - Have a good rest. - Thanks a bunch. Angelina leaves, I lock the door behind her, and then throw my bag on the couch and take another sip of coffee. - The tarot reading teacher is somehow connected with the queen. - Well, well! That’s information. - Yeah. I had a vision of fur as soon as I opened the diary. And sparks, red ones. And a burning sensation in my hands. - How… strange. - You’re saying it mildly. I drink a little more coffee to calm down. - Well, listen, it’s none of our business, right? Connected and connected. Maybe, they’re distant relatives. And the hands, the sparks, probably… A side effect of so many visions in a day? - Yeah… Yeah, you’re right. Thank you. I smiled and finished my coffee. I’m calmer. I go with her to my room, grabbing my bag from the couch. I sit on the bed, leaning against the wall, and Lina at the table, ready to take notes. I open the diary with a martyred sigh, slowly telling Paula so she can keep up with the writing. 11.01.525 Somewhere on the Earth, cities are burning, states are fighting, territories are disappearing and appearing. And soon people will start fighting over who believes in what. I read this a long time ago in the book “Divine Page”, which was written by God himself. How difficult it is to know what will happen in the world many years ahead and at the same time languish in the painful and gloomy present. The saddest thing is that we only know the general history of the future of the Earth, but we are not given the right to know our own history in advance. It is so unfair… And boring. We just wait and wait for something new to happen. How long have the negotiations been going on? A hundred, two, three, five hundred, a thousand, more? The conditions of Hell are to allow demons into Heaven, even with limited opportunities. But Heaven does not agree. And no one explains the reasons. All the heavenly generals say: “It is God’s will.” Not even God himself, but his generals. Why hasn’t he ever come out to negotiate with my father himself? What’s the problem? I’m confused. In Christian Hell, there’s war, angels and demons fight every day, knowing that they can’t even kill each other, only cripple, and that’s only temporarily. Everything seems hopeless. I’m starting to think that stronger demons need to intervene in the fight, maybe, even me and the rest of the royal family. Maybe, then God will show himself? Also doubtful, but probably… Father doesn’t agree, he says that we can’t risk ourselves like that. If God shows himself, then there won’t be a trace of dust left of us. This is truly some kind of hopeless madness. And, despite this, of course, we will hold an annual festival in honor of spring. It’s so stupid… To have fun while others fight, scream in pain, hate and fear. Everything seems absurd. Yes, Hell lived like this for many years, we need to get used to it, but… It doesn’t seem any less crazy to me. All these preparations, stages, artists, fair, performances… How is this possible? Doesn’t it hurt those who will celebrate, knowing that someone is in great pain now, while they live peacefully, happily…? It will hurt me to smile. But I need to. I am a princess. I need to motivate people, and not terrify them with my thoughts. It does sound awful. It must be scary to be a princess, to know all the horrors, but to go out in front of everyone with a smile. She must have felt like a clown. - What do you think? - Well, I didn’t think it was that bad back then… - I can hardly believe that Hell was in such a trap. However, I still don’t understand why we need this information. A stupid subject. - Well, to be honest, I don’t fully understand myself why we, a physics teacher and a tarot reader, need to know history. - Get ready to write it down again. I continue reading. My head is starting to hurt. Damn it, why did this happen to me? 01.03.525 It’s already evening, the festival is over. I feel tired and at the same time have some hope for that bright future that my father mentions so often. The festival was good. Dancing, music, drinking, food and, of course, the parade, and then my father’s performance while I was smiling on the sidelines, then my brother’s performance and, finally, mine. The people’s applause and flowers really lifted my spirits, despite how much I was suffocating in the corset and how much my shoes were rubbing. And, my hair, which took almost two hours to do… In any case, the main thing is that the result is good. When the official part was over, I asked my father for permission and went to the festival under the guise of a city dweller. That’s when the most interesting part began. As if nothing had happened, I was drinking wine and suddenly saw a girl performing. She danced on stage in a wide, bright dress with flowers to loud, catchy music, with a huge smile on her lips and a headband with imitation leaves. She is short, clearly shorter than me. She has short soft-green hair and bright turquoise eyes with different, but white pupils: one is the moon, and the other is a star. I wonder what ability is hidden behind them. Without deviating from the topic, the dress was floor-length, dark purple, a black leather corset and a black cape at the back. The skirt is all strewn with embroidered various flowers. We looked at each other the entire performance, and after the performance I went up to her on stage and whispered: “The flowers on your dress look lovely, but everyone knows that you are the main flower here.” Then I winked at her, ran a sharp nail along her neck and left, leaving her blushing on stage. It seems that I will remember this spring festival forever. Now I understand how demons can have fun at such a time… - Wow, the queen was a romantic… - Well, pretty well! No wonder. All the big shots in high society are like that. I haven’t seen any others. Well, more precisely, I haven’t seen any, only from afar at parties, but they all look like that. - Honestly? I don’t care, as long as we’re finishing soon. Go on writing. 02.03.525 Thunder and lightning sealed our bond. I swear, it’s the best thing that happened in my life. She didn’t find me yesterday, and today she decided to perform again, hoping to see me. And I came for her. This time, she came to me after the performance herself and said: “Don’t you dare run away, it’s my birthday today, and instead of eating cake, I performed so that we could meet again.” Of course, I laughed. She didn’t even see my face from under the hood, and I said no more than a few words. And yet it was sweet. She took me to an apple orchard, and we ate for a long time, talked, laughed, and then kissed. Of course, I was already without the hood by that time, but she did not recognize me. Of course, it is difficult to recognize me without a ton of makeup on my face, with a simple hairstyle and in ordinary clothes. We separated only in the morning and only because it started raining and thunder storming while we were kissing. We couldn’t see anything, and we even hit our foreheads a little, and I hit a tree. Nevertheless, when we got home, I managed to pester my brother. He listened to me, laughed and said: “My condolences, sister, you’ve fallen in love. I want to be the first to receive an invitation to the wedding, this is not negotiable. If you don’t bring one, I’ll rip your wings off.” And now, at two in the morning, I’m writing all this down in my diary. — You know, it’s getting more and more positive. I wonder what will go wrong and when? — Well, why would anything go wrong? — Listen, if everything in each of our lives was “like this”, then God would simply not be interested in watching us. — Well, he doesn’t watch, he has his own things to do. And he’s dead, in case you forgot. — I remember that. How do you know what he does in his free time? What if he had a hobby like that? Watching us. — Well, unlikely, I think. You’re just rude. — As if you’re any better than me. I chuckle, and she rolls her eyes and sighs. — I’m tired of writing. Let’s finish next time? I’ve already written a lot. There’s still plenty of time. — Lazy, we won’t finish on time. — Well, well, well! As if for the first time pretending to be sick or drunk because we are handing in an exam a week late. She gets up from the table and lazily lies down on my bed. I put the diary aside and stroke her hair. I turn over so that she is lying on top of me. It is more comfortable. - I am heavy… - Shut up, don’t rustle. Lina snorts amusingly but agrees with me. After a while, she falls asleep and peacefully snores on my chest, and I yawn and slowly fall asleep after her. Let the whole world wait, and rest on schedule…