Chapter 6: — "The Drawer Kingdom"

It started with a drawer.
My drawer.

At least, I thought it was mine.

I only opened it because I needed a pencil. That’s it. A pencil. But instead of graphite and erasers, what I got was a swirling tunnel of glowing blue mist. It stretched down into what looked like a whole galaxy hidden inside my desk.

I rubbed my eyes, closed the drawer, then yanked it back open again.

Yup. Still there. A tunnel full of sparkling stars and misty light.

“…I’m hallucinating,” I muttered.

“Not hallucinating!” Koko’s squeaky voice piped up. He popped into existence on my shoulder, puffing out his tiny chest. “That, Haruka, is my world.”

“Your what now?”

“My world,” he repeated proudly. “The Drawer Kingdom! Home sweet home!”

I just stared. “You… made a world. In my desk. Without telling me.”

“Yes.” His tails twitched smugly.

“Koko,” I said flatly, “how long has this been here?”

He tilted his head, pretending to think. “Mmm… couple of weeks? Months? Maybe since the day you first picked me up. Time is fake in here anyway.”

My jaw nearly hit the floor. “You’ve been hiding a whole dimension in my drawer and didn’t think to tell me?!”

Koko floated into the glowing tunnel, twirling like he was showing off a red carpet. “I was waiting for the dramatic reveal! And now you’ve ruined my buildup by screaming.”

I gawked at him. “This is literally insane.”

“Correction,” he said, turning and pointing dramatically into the tunnel, “this is literally awesome. Come on already, you’re embarrassing yourself with your skepticism.”

Despite every single logical bone in my body screaming at me, I climbed into the drawer after him. My knees brushed glowing mist, and then—

Thunk.

My feet touched soft moss.

I froze. “Wait. Grass?!”

Not just grass. When I looked up, I saw a whole glowing meadow stretching as far as I could see. The sky above wasn’t really a sky, more like a swirling blanket of indigo mist sprinkled with stars. There were rivers glowing silver-blue, bridges hanging in midair, and floating lanterns drifting lazily with no strings.

And in the distance, towering proudly, was a giant castle.

Shaped like a marshmallow.

“…Are you kidding me?” I muttered.

Koko zipped ahead, smug as always. “Behold! Castle Marshmaria! The beating heart of my glorious kingdom.”

“Castle… Marshmaria,” I repeated slowly.

“Yes,” he said, tails swishing with pride. “Named after my most loyal subject.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You have… subjects?”

Koko beamed. “Of course. In fact, allow me to introduce you to my most trusted advisor.”

He snapped his tiny fingers. A glowing puff of sparkles appeared in his hands—

—revealing a stale marshmallow.

“Ta-da!” Koko said proudly. “Meet Marshy!”

I blinked. “…That’s a marshmallow.”

Koko gasped like I’d just spat on the crown jewels. “How dare you! Marshy is not just a marshmallow. He is wise, noble, loyal, and a dear friend who has been with me through thick and thin.”

I stared harder. The marshmallow had a little dent in the side and was faintly yellowed. It looked like it would crack in half if I breathed on it too hard.

“…Koko. That thing is stale.”

“He,” Koko corrected, hugging the marshmallow dramatically, “is alive in spirit. Apologize.”

“What—” I sputtered. “I’m not apologizing to a sugar cube!”

“Do it, or I’ll make you trip on the moss,” Koko threatened.

I glared, then muttered reluctantly: “Sorry, Marshy.”

“LOUDER.”

I groaned. “I’m sorry, Marshy!”

Koko nodded with satisfaction and raised Marshy up toward the misty sky like Simba in The Lion King. “See? He forgives you.”

My eye twitched. “You need therapy.”

“You won’t be laughing when Marshy and I lead you through the wonders of this land!” Koko zipped forward, tails flicking with excitement. “Come, Haruka! Adventure awaits!”

Against all common sense, I followed him.

The first place he took me was a glowing bridge made entirely of floating glass tiles. Each step I took rippled with light, like walking on water. Below us, rivers of silver flowed slowly, glimmering with little fish made of sparks.

“What… even is this place?” I whispered, my jaw hanging open.

Koko floated beside me, smug as ever. “My world. My rules. I’ve been building it bit by bit whenever you ignore me.”

I looked around. “You built this?!”

“With my bare paws!” he bragged. “Okay, and some leftover drawer magic. But mostly my creativity.”

“And Marshy?” I said dryly.

“And Marshy,” he said firmly. “He’s the ideas guy.”

“…Right.”

As we crossed the bridge, we passed glowing houses shaped like cubes of jelly, a forest where the trees were pencils with leafy tops, and a fountain that sprayed glitter instead of water. Strange little creatures peeked out, tiny beings made of paperclips, gum erasers with legs, and sparkly puffballs that squeaked when they bounced.

Some of them bowed to Koko as we walked by.

“Great Creator!” they squealed.

I raised an eyebrow. “Great Creator?”

Koko smirked, puffing his chest. “That’s me. Don’t be jealous.”

“Jealous? Of this?” I gestured to the eraser-creatures chasing each other in a circle.

“They are loyal citizens!” Koko defended. “Unlike you, who mocks their sovereign at every turn!”

“Oh my god,” I muttered.

We reached Castle Marshmaria. Up close, it was even more ridiculous, three massive marshmallow towers stacked on top of each other, with candy-cane spires and a drawbridge made of licorice rope. A banner hung across the front that read, in glitter glue: WELCOME TO THE DRAWER KINGDOM (NO HUMANS ALLOWED, EXCEPT HARUKA).

I snorted. “Subtle.”

“It sets boundaries,” Koko said firmly.

Inside, the castle was just as absurd. Walls lined with old homework papers like tapestries. A throne made out of stacked comic books. And in the center of the main hall… a pedestal for Marshy.

Koko carefully placed his marshmallow friend there, like crowning a king.

“Marshy presides over all meetings,” he said seriously. “He’s very wise.”

I rubbed my temples. “You’re completely insane.”

But even though I said that, I couldn’t stop the tiny smile tugging at my lips. Because somehow, in the most bizarre way possible, this weird world did feel like Koko. Chaotic. Overdramatic. Annoying. And a little… kind of wonderful.

Koko was practically buzzing with energy as he floated up to Marshy’s pedestal. “Now that you’ve been officially welcomed, it’s time for the royal tour!”

Before I could even respond, he yanked on a rope hanging from the ceiling. Somewhere in the castle, a loud DING-DONG echoed. The candy-cane drawbridge slammed shut, the walls shook, and suddenly a crowd of tiny creatures spilled into the hall.

There were eraser-men wearing leaf capes, pencil knights clanking with paperclip armor, and glitter-puffballs squeaking in unison. All of them surrounded us, cheering like I was some kind of celebrity.

“Great Creator!” one eraser-man squealed, bowing at Koko’s feet. “Who is this tall outsider?”

Koko puffed his chest out. “This is Haruka, my... uh…” He paused, glanced at me, then muttered, “my assistant.”

“Assistant?!” I snapped.

“Would you prefer sidekick?” he teased.

I crossed my arms. “How about best friend, you little brat?”

For a second, Koko actually froze, ears twitching. His tails slowed. But before I could register it, he quickly coughed into his paw. “Ahem. Marshy will decide your official title.”

The stale marshmallow sat silently on his pedestal.

“…He says you can be an ‘Associate Human.’”

I groaned. “Wow. What an honor.”

We left the castle and explored deeper into the Drawer Kingdom. The farther we went, the stranger it became.

A forest where the “trees” were giant upright pencils, their tips glowing like torches. Rivers of ink that flowed lazily past bridges made of stacked rulers. And strange beasts roamed the land: a dragon made entirely of rubber bands, a herd of sticky-note deer, and one terrifying chicken made of staples.

“Don’t look at Staplebeak,” Koko whispered. “He gets nervous.”

Staplebeak clucked metallically. I walked faster.

Eventually, we came to a bustling village built inside old notebooks. Each page had been folded into walls, roofs, and towers. Little creatures zipped around, carrying candy crumbs or sketching on the walls with crayons.

One puffball squeaked and waved at me. Another tugged at my shoelace and offered me a gum-wrapper flower.

“Okay…” I admitted slowly, crouching down to accept the flower. “…This is kind of… cute.”

Koko smirked. “See? My world has charm.”

“You’re still insane,” I muttered.

He just grinned wider.

But of course, it didn’t stay peaceful for long.

BOOOOM.

The ground shook, scattering the puffballs. A river of glitter suddenly burst its banks, flooding into the notebook village. Pencil trees toppled like dominoes.

“Not again,” Koko groaned, slapping his forehead. “I told the Glitter River Committee to reinforce the dam!”

“The WHAT?!” I yelped as water glitter rushed toward us.

Koko grabbed my sleeve. “No time, RUN!”

We bolted through the collapsing village, puffballs squealing around us. At one point, I tripped over a gum eraser, but Koko yanked me back up with surprising strength for something so tiny.

“Haruka, left! No, your OTHER left!”

We stumbled across a licorice bridge just as the glitter flood washed underneath us. When we finally stopped, panting, I glared at him.

“Your world is a disaster zone.”

Koko wiped glitter out of his fur and shrugged. “All kingdoms have problems. Mine just happens to sparkle.”

Despite myself, I laughed. It was ridiculous. All of it. But also… kind of fun.

By the time the chaos settled, the glowing “sky” of the Drawer Kingdom had dimmed into something like twilight. Firefly-like sparkles drifted above the rivers, and the puffballs began bouncing into their little notebook homes.

Koko flopped onto the moss beside me, clearly exhausted. Marshy, of course, remained stoic on his pedestal even though he hadn’t moved once all day.

“Well, Haruka?” Koko said between yawns. “Admit it. This place is amazing.”

I laid back on the moss, staring up at the swirling starry mist. My heart softened, just a little. “Yeah. It’s… amazing.”

Koko beamed proudly, curling up beside Marshy. His tails flicked once, twice, then slowed as his eyes drifted shut.

And for a moment, everything was… peaceful.

Too peaceful.

RIIIIIIING.

My alarm clock shrieked in my ears.

I shot upright in my bed, gasping. My room looked exactly as it always did. Desk. Closet. Crumpled math homework on the floor.

“…Huh?” I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

Had I… dreamt it?

The drawer. That’s where it all started. I scrambled to my desk and yanked it open—

Pens. Pencils. Erasers. My old notebook.

And, sitting right on top, a single stale marshmallow.

Koko floated up from where he’d been napping in my sock drawer, blinking sleepily. “What’s with all the noise, Haruka?”

I stared at him, my pulse racing. “Koko... where’s the Drawer Kingdom? Castle Marshmaria? The puffball people? Marshy?”

He tilted his head. “The what now?”

“The… the Drawer Kingdom!” I insisted. “You showed me a whole world in my desk! With Marshy, your marshmallow friend—”

Koko’s face twisted into the most confused frown I’d ever seen. He floated over and peeked into the drawer himself.

It was just a drawer. Ordinary.

He plucked up the marshmallow and squished it fondly. “I mean, this little guy’s comfy to cuddle with sometimes, but… a whole kingdom?” He gave me a look. “You were dreaming, Haruka.”

I froze. “…A dream.”

“Yup.” He stretched and yawned. “A very weird dream, apparently. Drawer Kingdom? Really?” He snickered.

I slumped into my chair, heat creeping up my cheeks. “Guess… yeah. It was just a dream.”

Koko floated back into the drawer, pulling the marshmallow with him like it was his teddy bear. Just before disappearing, he muttered under his breath:

“…Cause I don’t have something called a Drawer Kingdom.”

But the sly little smile tugging at his lips told me otherwise.