Hortus Arcanus planēta

ACT 2

Theory

“It might be more accurate to say that I’ve begun to understand why I appear when the midnight bell rings.

I think I’ve finally caught a glimpse of what connects Ella and me—what connects El and Ella together.

Whenever the switch happened, it was always when Ella was consumed by hatred.

Yes… hatred itself was the key that connected the two of us.

When midnight comes, when the bell of twelve rings, the hateful part inside Ella grows even stronger.

I used to believe that I alone carried those feelings of hatred… but that wasn’t true.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just as evil exists within my heart, there is darkness within Ella’s heart as well.

And I believe that darkness is the core that creates both Ella and me. It is what binds us together.

The other emotions surrounding it are what keep it under control.

If I had to compare it to something… it would be like a double circle.

Split in half, with Ella and me each sharing one side.

At the very core of that double circle lies the emotion of hatred.

And when the protective layers of emotion surrounding it begin to weaken, the hatred at the center overflows and runs wild.

That’s why I believe what happened earlier was proof that the emotional barriers inside Ella had worn thin.”

As El spoke in her calm, detached voice, she returned the fallen bookshelf to its place and carefully began putting the scattered books back onto the shelves.

Meanwhile, I sat on the bed, winding loose strands of thread and tangled sewing string around my fingers as I listened to her.

“I see…

So Ella… and you, El… were probably crying out for help deep down inside.”

“Yes………… perhaps.”

El’s response came slowly.

Wondering what was wrong, I stopped winding the thread around my fingers and turned toward her.

And there El was—

Standing completely motionless, staring blankly at the tiny window of the ruined attic room, tears silently streaming down her expressionless face.

The dust floating through the room shimmered in the moonlight.

El’s shadow stretched long across the floor as she continued gazing out the window as though praying for something beyond it.

Her tears caught against her long eyelashes before gathering into large droplets that glimmered faintly as they rolled down her cheeks and fell softly onto the floor.

Before I realized it, I found myself thinking that they were the most mysterious, beautiful, and fragile tears I had ever seen.

That moment… was the very first time I had ever seen El cry.