(Illustrated & original text by Diving Cat/Translated by Linda Chen)

The starlight of the far hundreds of millions of years ago is only seen at this moment, eternally gazing the encounter in the twinkling of an eye.

Melancholy Spike

1 

Kochie was a wealthy and wise young man. At his twentieth birthday, he had already a great amount of wealth and wisdom, which all other people dreamed of. However, his wealth and wisdom came too easily to give him no other goals to pursue for the rest of his life. He was heavy-hearted. He was eager to know what was his life for and vowed to search for the answer at the expense of his entire wealth.

Thus, Kochie left his home for lots of places around the world. On one trip, he met heavy fog and was trapped in a deep forest. In the misty air, he saw a beautiful girl whose eyes resembled a shivering starry night, deep yet filled with melancholy. Right after this hasty encounter, the girl soon ran into the forest just like a lost beast.

2

It is said that Samila was the only survivor of a devastating storm, Ever since the disaster, she never aged, liked being stored in a sleeping amber. The time was forever sealed.

The storm brought Samila to the shore, and she settled down by the shore. At the beginning, she got married and gave birth to babies like other ordinary women. Decades had passed, and people gradually sensed Samila’s difference. Her children and family grew old and died. The flowing years restlessly took her descendants away.

"Forever young" is everyone's dream. For a delicate girl like Samila, immortality is imprisonment of her soul. However weary she was, she could never be old.

Kochie was impressed with Samila's story. To rescue her soul, he tried every method and finally found an old island, Sudu, where Samila once lived. Thousands of years ago, Sudu was swallowed by storm. But at the moment, grass once again grew lively on the island, and Suduese people sang "Harvest the sad rice by the moon. There is no shadow at night, and stars hide in the day light."
Kochie is the smartest man in the world. He knows secrets were hidden in this Suduese song.

3

The boundary of Sudu is the border of the fairy’s land. Thousands of years ago, the young Samila fell in love with the immortal Achlo. Achlo’s furious fiancée O’febes destroyed Sudu by a tremendous storm and hid Achlo’s shadow in the night. Samila’s starry eyes were hidden in the day light.
Jealousy took away O’febes’ sensibility. She punished Samila with the most severe penalty, the immortality.

Ever since that day, there was only loneliness left in Samila’s ever-lasting life. She was deprived of all memories about Achlo, and the immortality curse would never leave her. People feared her and therefore did not dare to approach her. 

Achl could never leave the fairy’s land after missing his shadow. Since then, the day chased the night, and the night chased the day. No one would ever know the secrets hidden in the day and night. 

Hopelessly Achlo sang over and over again,
“Harvest the sad rice by the moon.
There is no shadow at night, and stars hide in the day light." 

4
Kochie bumped into the fairy’s land and found Achlo.

Achlo begged Kochie, “Please break O’febes’ jewelry box on the solar eclipses day. Only when the sun and moon meet again can O’febes’ curse be broken. The memory and soul of Samila and I shall be returned to us.”

On the solar eclipses day, Kochie followed Achlo’s instruction and broke O’febes’ jewelry box. At that moment, Samila’s love returned to her memory. With smile, her body instantly decayed and weathered.

When Kochie returned to Sudu and knew about Samila’s death, he already found the answer he was after.

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