Part 22: Waiting Zone

On the way there, I decided to do something a bit different. Maybe instead I could arrive early just like Cherry had done before. She would certainly be surprised. Granted, to even begin to wonder what I could tell Cherry about everything was going to be a hassle.

Admittedly, I was a bit worried about how this was going to go. A part of me was really tempted to try a piece of the stella cherry. To know what it would feel like to travel to another place and know it would be real too.

At the same time, I had to make sure nothing would fall out of line. I knew the dream was warning me. Telling me that I shouldn’t get clumsy and make mistakes. In other words, I needed to balance myself.

This was going to be something I would have to remind myself about. There was one simple goal: find the murderer and have them punished for what they did. I may be a 16 year old girl, but that doesn’t mean I can’t save someone’s life. If not multiple lives. I wasn’t going to do this because I wanted people to recognize me. A part of me wanted justice while the other side also anticipated the impossible dream of becoming friends with the people that had died wrongfully.

I just could relate to what they saw. My life may deep down seem meaningless to others now, but I want to show what I’m capable of. My weaknesses, were always going to be the most important part of that struggle.

What mattered at this moment was finding the answers.

By the time I reached Paradise Park and sat on the bench with people walking past on such a busy Wednesday, I had come to appreciate how beautiful everything was. This place was one of my favorite niches and it felt so grand and comforting to be around. Seeing everyone having a good time just made me feel so happy.

I noticed things like the street lights being on 24/7 because of those large trees that covered the sunlight. In a way it felt like it’s own ecosystem. Like I had entered into a completely different world. Even though it was still autumn, the weather couldn’t keep me from experiencing the insides of a park shelter. They looked a little like bus stops except they had doors. That along with a cooling and heating system using an AI that could determine when to toggle between either depending on how it analyzed the temperature of that area. That and of course, you could sit down on these soft seats while viewing electronic advertisements on both sides.

While I was waiting, I decided to play a newly released Candiere’s Cafe game which was accessible on mobile as it was on PC. It was already 1:38 PM. About 3 hours left until then.

The game I played during the wait was in its beta testing phase. It was called Candiere’s Theme Park. Unlike the first game, the player who finished 45 days at Candiere’s Cafe is given a letter with special tickets offering them to visit this giant amusement park in the town of Enen that also belongs to Princess Candiere. However, the moment they visit the place, they are greeted with the task of being promoted to manager of the place and keeping it safe.

At the moment, there aren’t any side missions, achievements, or main goals yet decided by the developers. As a result, I could only walk around the theme park and get familiar with its locations.

I assumed that since this was available on the Internet that there was no way UVOCA could have been focusing on a tested game in comparison to its more popular counterpart. Although the likeliness of them getting involved was just as possible.

After it was 3:57 PM, I walked towards the bench where I found Cherry before and sat there for another five minutes. Eventually I was waving at Cherry when I saw her but something looked too unusual about it all.

There were five other people walking behind her in a group.