Scene 5 "Artificial Places".

Today is my last training to perfect my flight and be ready for the big d a y , where I will receive my princess crown, it may seem like a small event but it is a tradition that will lift everyone's spirits, since that terrible tragedy we don't have many reasons to celebrate.

It took me most of the day to prepare my words that I will have to say in front of everyone, what nerves, that public speaking can be even more difficult than learning to fly alone.

Here I am again on this old hill that was a mute witness of all the times that my Abu practiced how to fly, the same one that helps me now, this is the last night of the red moon, it looks so big, so round, so red, and so close, I have always believed that if I stretch out my hand I can touch it, I guess that when I grow up every child forgets that I almost made it.

But I am no longer the same girl I was several nights ago, now I know how to fly, or something like that, however I still believe... what if I only fly to her? Vanilla the shooting star of the sunflower kingdom, the first one to reach the moon.

I will, that way I will train my flight, I will practice aiming high, I will earn my name, wings don't fail me now, let's take off.

So begins a flight is like running but dozens of times faster, I love how the moon seems closer and closer, people usually think they know everything, I think the more adult you become, ideas that usually dance all the time in the heads of children stop moving, little by little less ideas and less movement, at this time it is very convenient for me to concentrate on my thoughts, not to remember the terrible pain that causes me to explode my wings and heal them.

To become an adult is also to believe oneself more intelligent, or more cowardly, although I'm not convinced, if only so many possibilities would stop jumping in my mind, to appease myself, to

to stop asking ourselves questions, to rust our thoughts, that's just pretending intelligence, to take something for granted so you don't have to wonder about it anymore, or to believe in something to fit in with others, that's pathetic.

I kept flying guided by the red rays of the moon, guided by its light, closer and closer to her, talking to myself, so deeply, so comfortably, with me for company, after all I am my best friend, well my only friend, how ugly it must be not to be able to talk to you because you can't stand you, I clench my teeth so hard to hold my pain, that I didn't notice when my mana ran out.

I fell, still gliding with my wings forming again, I would surely die, my life passed in front of my eyes in an instant, hugging my parents, eating a delicious honey ice cream, designing clothes for my dolls, fighting with my brother, I felt dizzy, in free fall, I was feeling dizzy, in free fall, hopeless, very afraid, when my hand bumped into something in my pocket, I soon remembered I was carrying some of the best secret of royalty, I took out my crystal container full of royal jelly of the purest, excellent quality, just one gulp and my mana was completely restored.

I managed to heal and continue with my flight, continue with the goal, the moon seemed not so far away, I only had three shots of royal jelly, one for every 100 kilometers of flight, when what seemed impossible for everyone, even for me, became a reality, I had arrived, a part of me believed that if I had died from the fall and this was a kind of dream or what follows after death.

The moon, the one that supposedly revolved around us, was not outside, it was here, behind some clouds and in front of others, and I was touching it.

How was it possible, everyone was wrong, the adults, the teachers, the scholars, the books, the news, how could they all be in the same mistake, I understood that in the world of ideas, no matter how many thousands of people or thousands of years are on the side of a lie, just one person who discovers the truth and in a single instant, everything can change.

This is creepy, it is cold, it is rock, but it emits light, it is not reflecting anything, it is coming out of it, yes it is huge, but very small for the measurements I was taught in school, I always wondered why was the same image I saw as my ancestors saw, they built our kingdom of pyramids and it was already like that in the ancient pictogram codices, it is supposed to rotate, everything is supposed to be always in motion, why has no one ever shown what is behind it, this is the time to find out, I just have to keep flying.

One more hour flying through its lower part and I discover that it is not a sphere, this is more like a plate, a big concave plate of rock, how did it come to stay flying, what is it really made of, every time I execute a micro explosion, it regenerates itself immediately, sand comes out of nowhere to fill its hole and remain exactly as it was before, it is self- repairing, as if it knew how it should be, an intelligent design.

Alfin managed to go around it, now I am on the other side, in this area the light is not there, it is as if the moon only serves to illuminate on one side, although now that I think about it a piece of rock does not reflect the sunlight nor can it store it and then throw it, how does the moonlight really work, fortunately I have my own light magic, and my wings can shine all I want, it is scary to be up here alone, this scenario is like the horror movies that we never see since we are alone.

After walking a little in this sloping rocky and dusty landscape, I see under my foot the footprint I have left but it is not the only one, around my footprint there is another one, almost four times bigger than mine, I wonder who or what could have caused it, it is much deeper, this is not right, I have a very bad feeling, a shiver runs through me completely.

I must turn off my light, something is moving right in the center of that big valley, -Quiet vanilla, whatever it is it hasn't seen you,-I can't fly or it will see my sparks of star flight, I'm fantastically indiscreet for a spy, climbing by hand is my best option, I'll get a little closer just to see what it is, just behind that little mountain, or should I call it a crater although I know I'm not in s p a c e , perhaps the

space does not even exist, or not, there are again those leaps of ideas, concentrate, concentrate.

I have very good eyesight, even at night, but my little eyes can't decide if what I'm seeing is real or my imagination.

Apparently now I know what caused the giant footprint, that huge creature seems very dangerous, my instincts tell me to get out of here as soon as possible, but I must find out where it is going, and from here I can't make out what it is.

It is about 3 times my size, completely black, except for those two big red eyes, with strong and powerful wings, antennae, claws at the end of its big arms, walks on two legs, wears no clothes, has a huge stinger, I think it is a kind of Wasp! natural enemies of bees, no wonder I feel so much repulsion, it is less humanoid and more insectoid, like our most ancient ancestors, if it sees me I am dead, besides if there is one of those monsters it only means that there could be hundreds accompanying it.

What, where did he go, in an instant he disappeared, I'll get a little closer, just to ohh I

see, these are tunnels, dozens of dark entrances with an aura of death, that's the closest entrance, his lair must be subway, or should I say sublunar, I tell the best jokes when I'm nervous.

But what is that glowing on the floor? I must get closer to the entrance, I know it could be the evidence I need for them to believe me, or for me to believe me tomorrow, but this is very dangerous, one step at a time Vanilla, one little step at a time, like playing hide and seek, only if they catch you, you're dead, At last I manage to see what was shining on the ground, it's some kind of silver key, with red crystals, how did this get here near the entrance of the tunnel, it looks very elegant for a nest of giant monsters, I must get close to it, I 'll take it with me as proof that all this is not a dream.

I want to go into that tunnel but my little wings are trembling, indicating that it's a bad idea, I'll just take this thin key, I must go back and warn everyone in the kingdom.

First I will walk away from here, I hear incessant flapping from inside the tunnel, it sounds like a storm, a storm of death, when I am far enough away I can activate the star flight.

This flying thing is very useful, as I speed away from the moon, I think about how to explain all this to them, it's just too much, the moon is not what we have always been told, there is a secret base of giant wasps, that could attack the entire kingdom in just a matter of hours.

Flying down is much faster, in just two hours I will be in my Panalace which means that monster could do the same, and his hundreds or thousands of companions... that's scary, the kingdom is not prepared for something like that.

At last I can see my room from here, I'll go in through the window quietly, it's almost dawn, hopefully I'll be able to sleep a little bit.

The pain is killing me, demanding like this from my body is going to take its toll tomorrow, I'll put the silver key right here under the pillow, but why isn't Vinz in bed, wow he fell asleep in the chair near the door, probably waiting for me, he's still a kid, although I'm still a kid too who am I kidding, I'll carry him and sleep for a few minutes and then tell him about my horrible nightmare.