“Luca? Is something wrong?”
“What? Oh… No, it’s nothing. I just suddenly got a headache.”
“Is that so? Are you feeling unwell? I heard you were absorbed in studying this morning…”
“Yes… I guess so. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
The nun smiled gently as she closed her Bible.
Thump, thump.
Luca could feel something pounding fiercely within her chest.
A heartbeat…?
“Since it’s the first day of class, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t feel like it. Ah, this is perfect timing. Shall we offer a prayer to God today?”
“Oh, yes…!”
Luca closed her eyes and began to pray.
“To the only and great God of this world, please bestow your mercy upon us once more today…”
The prayer didn’t quite register in her ears.
Even the name of God was unclear.
She could hear the sound, but it was as if she couldn’t fully understand it.
With all these strange occurrences happening one after another, Luca swallowed nervously.
Under normal circumstances, this phenomenon would have seemed strange too… but somehow, the only thing swirling through Luca’s mind was a singular line from the Bible that seemed to glow on its own.
***
When the prayer ended, Luca hesitantly pointed at the Bible in front of the nun and asked, “Um… Sister, would it be alright if I took a look at this…?”
“Ah, you mean the Bible? It seems you’re curious because it looks different from the one I gave you? This one is the official version issued to the nuns.”
Indeed, as the nun said, its appearance was far more ornate than the one Luca had received.
Honestly, that didn’t matter.
She just wanted to check the contents inside.
She wondered if something different was written in it compared to hers.
However…
“You are not mistaken.”
No matter which page she turned to, aside from the first, all the others were blank.
Then, the words the nun recited… what were they?
“What do you think?”
“Oh, uh… it’s… beautiful…!”
Luca couldn’t quite hide her fluster, but the nun simply smiled and took the Bible back.
“One day, Luca, you will understand. The true beauty of the Bible lies not in its appearance, but in the content it holds.”
“I-Is that so…?!”
“Indeed. Every single word in the Bible is—”
God’s
—God’s words.
Watching, Huh?
Over you What?
Just now, it sounded like a strange voice overlapped with the nun’s words…?
“Miss? Is something the matter?”
“What? Oh… No, no, it’s nothing…”
The nun stroked Luca’s forehead with a concerned look.
“It seems like you have a bit of a fever… It might be best to stop here for today. We’ll start with Bible memorization next week, so please prepare accordingly. The proper theology studies will begin after that. Alright?”
“Yes.”
***
For several days, Luca carried the Bible she received from the nun and showed it around.
All the maids recited the verses the nun had mentioned without any trouble.
Her parents even asked if she wanted to become a nun when she grew up, saying they’d support her in whatever she wanted to do.
Naturally, both of them read the verses in the Bible without any issue.
But…
Only she couldn’t read the Bible.
No, she could read it.
But she was the only one reading something different. Only her.
One night, she found herself unable to sleep.
To begin with, Luca wasn’t someone who fell asleep quickly.
Whenever she lay down to rest, she always felt like something was missing.
No matter how much she tried to soothe her mind, even with her parents beside her, that hollow feeling never disappeared.
Yet tonight, meeting the sandman seemed even more difficult.
The dominant emotion Luca felt at that moment was anxiety.
It was a sensation as though she had forgotten something significant.
A feeling like she was desperately hiding something she had done wrong.
It was incomparable to the guilt she felt when she accidentally broke her father’s treasured porcelain and hid it, locking herself in her room, crying with guilt.
Thump, thump.
Her heart was pounding fiercely.
Something was persistently shouting at her.
Though she couldn’t hear it.
Luca sat up in bed, relying on a small lantern’s light as she checked her Bible again.
The content was unchanged. “You are not mistaken.”
“You are not mistaken…”
The words in the Bible came forth through her lips, manifesting in the world.
And, strangely enough—just by uttering them, Luca could feel a peculiar sense of power.
‘The word of God…’
If the words in the Bible were indeed God’s… well.
‘Does this mean “you are not mistaken” is also God’s word?’
Then, what does it mean that I’m not mistaken?
What does it mean that I’m right?
At that moment,
The moonlight shone brightly through the window, one that Luca had always enjoyed gazing through since she was young.
At the end of the light lay a mirror.
The same mirror that had always been there.
As if under some unseen force, Luca slowly walked towards the mirror, unable to control her movements.
And finally, when she arrived in front of it…
“…Huh?”
What greeted her was her own reflection.
Naturally, her image should be there, as expected.
But this was not about something as ordinary as that.
The one standing there wasn’t the Luca in luxurious pajamas, looking well-loved and cared for—
It was Luca in ragged clothes, appearing miserable, as if she hadn’t been eating properly.
At that moment, suddenly, the ground beneath her began to shake.
An earthquake…?
Although earthquakes happened occasionally, it was difficult for Luca, a 13-year-old child, to remain calm.
“W-What’s…!! Mom!!! Dad!!!”
She barely managed to call out to her parents before—
Luca realized something was fundamentally wrong.
“It’s not the ground that’s shaking when I look closely.
It’s the walls.
Everything except for where I’m standing… is melting.
The wallpaper, the dolls, the warm bed, even the diary I’ve written so diligently… all of it.
“What, what is this?! Help me! Help me!”
Terrified, Luca cried out in every direction… but soon, the space grew dark.
The only object remaining before Luca’s eyes was the mirror.
And within it, her own miserable self.
Before she could even process what was happening—
‘That voice’ began to speak.
<Luca.>
From above…
A voice is calling.
Someone is watching… me from above?
“Wh-Who are you?”
<I am an agent of God. Do not be afraid. There is no need for fear.>
Luca could only nod, her body frozen in fear, barely able to move her head.
“Don’t… don’t be afraid…!”
She needed to be brave.
Her father always said that courage was the virtue above all others…
Luca lifted her head, mustering every ounce of strength and said, “If… if you’re an agent of God… are you an agent of… the Almighty?”
<No, that is not God’s name.>
The name of God is not that.
<If you’ve read the Bible, Luca, I thought you would know.>
<Only you can perceive the “Word of God” that no one else can even recognize. You are loved by God.>
I… am loved by God…?
<Hearing my voice now is proof of that as well. God wishes for your happiness.>
“God… wants me to be happy?”
<Yes. That’s why we created this place—a comfortable, peaceful paradise where you can live as Luca de Poitiers, beloved by all, where only happiness occurs.>
For your happiness is God’s will.
Hearing those words, Luca stood there frozen, her eyes wide.
Wait.
‘A comfortable paradise…?’
‘What does that mean…?’
‘Are you saying that the world I’m in… is fake?’
The agent of God continued to speak without answering her question.
<You’re probably wondering why this would bring you happiness. The answer is simple. You are—>
—someone destined never to find happiness, no matter what.
God wants Luca to be happy. That is God’s will.
With the “Almighty Power” granted by God, we have searched again and again for every possible path to Luca’s happiness.
But it was impossible.
It was like trying to resurrect someone who had ascended to the heavens.
However, the “Will of God” must be fulfilled, no matter what.
Thus, the answer for this world:
A promised eternal happiness in a model garden.
A place with no pain, no sorrow.
A place with a loving father, a wise mother, and maidservants like elder sisters.
A place where sadness never comes.
That was the only path for Luca to be “happy.”
“So… what you’re saying is…
“everything… is fake?”
“My mom, my dad… all of them?”
“The family I loved… are all… illusions?””
Luca sank to the ground.
It seemed absurd, yet somehow, she felt sure of it.
She could tell that the being speaking to her, the agent of God, wasn’t lying.
<That is why I’ve come to you.>
<Luca, you are a child loved by God. It is very rare for God to use such immense power. That is how much God values your ‘will.’>
It’s simple.
If you desire it, you can be returned to the “real world.”
A place where you cannot escape your harsh fate.
Of course, if you wish to remain here, at least your soul will find eternal rest, unaware of any truth.
“Do you mean—”
<Yes. It’s your decision. What will you choose?>
Luca bowed her head, contemplating her answer.
Of course, she wanted to go back.
To where her parents were waiting.
If this were a dream, she would cling to them, sobbing, begging to sleep beside them.
But…
But something kept nagging at her.
The words, “You are not mistaken.”
The thought that she had forgotten something.
Slowly, Luca touched her head.
…No, this isn’t right.
I was forgetting something.
‘Would I know it if I returned to the real world?’
‘But… is that what’s important?’
‘Yes.’
Yes, this is—
A terrible nightmare.
When I wake up, I’ll tell my mom about it.
I dreamt of an agent of God, I’ll say.
Mom wasn’t particularly religious, so she’d worry about me even as she wondered what kind of dream I’d had.
I loved that warmth about her.
It was the same for Dad.
He always worried about me.
He’d sacrifice anything for me.
He would always give me his food and, habitually, tell me “God is watching.”
…’Huh?’
Drip, drip.
Suddenly, tears fell to the floor like raindrops.
Someone… someone always told me… that God is watching over me.
That He’s watching everything I choose to do… Dad always said that…
Luca couldn’t begin to articulate the emotions she felt into coherent words.
How could a 13-year-old explain a longing so intense that she didn’t even know who she was longing for?
<Choose freely, Luca. God will not judge you.>
Luca looked at the other self reflected in the mirror, then quietly closed her eyes.
Then, she gently touched her head again.
Miss, you always said so, didn’t you? That every time I touch your hair, you feel like something is missing… like you’ve forgotten something.
So, I found this because I thought you might miss your long, flowing hair… how is it?
Everything in the Bible, every single word, is the word of God.
If the words in the Bible truly are the word of God…
Luca slowly stood up and faced the darkness above her.
“I want to return to the real world.”
—I was not mistaken.