S-2878 • L4 Abeluna • D00 Silensi
"Abeluna opens the portal of newborn light.Silensi anchors the beginning in living stillness.The tide draws a map in gentle silver.The story enters clearly, with a soft step."
After recovering from the flu, I returned to in-person work.
Joy vibrated inside me.
Maia occupied my thoughts.
I smiled remembering our moments together, the ones that pulled me away from cold gray reality and led me down paths my heart had never known before.
It was unimaginable that liking someone could be so… transformative.
It was more than simply liking someone.
It was something that would mark us forever.
That day was hectic, because the patients were processing the memories too quickly.
The side effects worsened.
I immediately transferred them to intensive recovery treatment so they could rest body, mind, and spirit.
In between, I organized the results and the data that had accumulated during my leave.
In the next seluna, I would have to structure CogniSynth's effects.
Just thinking about it… exhausting.
My bioscreen flashed.
I smiled stupidly.
A message from Maia:
📩 Do you want to go out on the first waxing moon?
Meet me at 1 p.m., at the Millennium Spiral.
Curious.
The time. The location.
Well, that hardly mattered.
What really mattered was going out with her.
The rest? Mere detail.
That was the coldest day of that winter, and yet the city still pulsed with life.
Hundreds filled amusement parks.
Visited tourist attractions.
Traveled.
A sting of envy crossed me.
My family limited itself to casual outings, most of them business meetings.
My leisure had always been the pool, after long hours of studying.
Which always continued.
Even during vacations.
I had grown used to that.
Actually changing my reality seemed unthinkable.
Part of me preferred to leave everything as it was.
I found pleasure in books, which had become my escape.
I lived in black and white.
That was, of course, until Maia appeared.
And suddenly, everything gained color.
She changed everything.
More than an escape.
She transformed my reality.
Excited under the Maiden's energy, I put on winter clothes and went to meet her.
The Spiral
The Millennium Spiral, the largest labyrinth in the Americas.
Reinstalled in Centralia in 2795, in the Sideria district.
After the devastating attacks from Kemetia Command, which nearly destroyed São Paulo, the city was reconstructed over the following cycles.
Meticulously.
In the same region, lodging houses were built for tourists.
A strategic choice by the Aether Network, intended to block access to the routes leading to Netheria.
Hundreds of people crossed the airways.
Floating through Sideria.
Overcrowding the tourist sites.
Recording everything.
I smiled to myself.
The excitement was contagious.
How would I find Maia?
I walked toward the Millennium Spiral.
The city shone around us.
An ocean of neon and holograms vibrating to the rhythm of the crowd.
The attraction's spiral structure rose at the center of the park, glimmering like a futuristic mirage.
Reflections of light danced across its glass and metal surfaces.
In the middle of the noise, I spotted her unmistakable presence.
Sharp eyes scanning the surroundings like an eagle.
Always alert.
She wore a cream blouse and jeans.
Simple, but on her… everything looked special.
So beautiful.
She waved at me.
A soft, delicate smile.
My heart skipped a beat.
Honestly, every movement of hers enchanted me.
Feeling like this was a welcome novelty.
Suddenly, Maia took my hand and guided me toward one of the attraction's entrances.
Her touch was firm, warm, safe.
Even used to her presence, my body reacted.
A soft shiver climbed my spine and my heart began to race, as if something new had awakened it.
She showed the tickets to the ET.
We waited in line.
Maia was hiding a smile.
"First time here."
My voice carried a rare brightness of excitement.
"Mine too.
I'm glad I'm doing this with you."
My face heated up and I used my free hand to hide it.
She pulled it away.
"I like seeing you like this."
I frowned.
Was she fully aware of what she was doing?
Shameless.
"The ride lasts thirty minutes," the ET announced on the platform.
The cabin arrived.
Transparent and modern.
A subtle blue glow ran along its edges, like living circuits.
Holograms rippled across the walls, projecting a translucent maze in constant mutation.
We stepped in with fifteen other people.
They talked, took pictures.
We stayed quiet.
We walked through the cabin, watching the distorted reflections in the glass.
The car accelerated, carrying us to the opposite end of the labyrinth.
The beginning of the attraction.
The holograms expanded around us.
At first, everything seemed simple.
Corridors of glowing neon stretched in every direction.
The translucent walls blinked softly in shades of blue.
But as we advanced, the labyrinth transformed.
Walls changed position.
New paths appeared.
Old ones disappeared.
The floor projected optical illusions.
At times it looked like fragile glass over an infinite abyss, at others like an ethereal forest.
Luminescent branches moved around us.
Maia held out her hand.
Her fingertips passed through one of the holograms, making it ripple like water touched by wind.
She smiled.
"Amazing."
Now and then, doors formed out of nowhere.
They only revealed themselves once someone came close enough.
Inside, indistinct shadows moved.
Illusion… or something more?
At one point, golden rain fell from the ceiling of the labyrinth.
Radiant, light, glittering.
When I tried to touch it, it evaporated against my skin.
"It's like a dream," I murmured.
Maia smiled.
"Maybe… it really is."
In one section, we got trapped.
Maia walked straight into a dead end.
She scratched her cheek, embarrassed.
We laughed.
The sound of her laughter was the best of all.
I tried touching the wall.
Nothing.
A new path opened beside it, but only when we stopped looking directly at it.
I frowned.
"Wait… the labyrinth changes when we look at it?"
We turned quickly.
The previous path had vanished.
Shivers rose along my spine.
It felt as if the labyrinth were conscious.
We looked at each other.
And just like the labyrinth, I also changed every time Maia looked at me.
She laughed, shaking her head.
"What won't they invent?"
We kept going.
Near the end of the ride, a voice announced:
"Prepare for the photo in two minutes."
Everyone posed.
Maia and I remained turned away, distracted by the view.
Truth be told, I really wanted to know what she was thinking.
Her thoughtful expression was so beautiful.
We left the cabin.
We passed the holoscreens with the photos.
In ours, I was alone in the background.
I frowned.
Could the camera have captured only part of the cabin?
No… it had to be something else.
Just my imagination.
Maybe the warmth of the moment was making me see things.
I pushed away the paranoia.
Focused on our outing.
"I liked it, but I thought it would never end."
I laughed quietly.
Maia agreed.
The Dungeon
"Now let's go to…"
She looked around.
"There."
We walked toward the Paulista Dungeon and joined the line.
"Wow. You planned out an entire itinerary, huh?"
She looked pleased with herself.
Smiling, amused.
"Oh, this is nothing."
Maia blushed a little.
Her voice, husky and charming, distracted me while she spoke almost in a whisper.
It sent shivers all the way beneath my skin.
Ugh, I really was in love.
Inside the attraction, everything glowed in red and black.
The smell hit memory like a punch.
Mold.
Damp wood.
Rusting iron, like the taste of blood in the mouth.
Moisture mixed with the stench of dirty straw.
Dust-webs covered the corners.
Skeletons hung from the ceiling, lightly rattling in the draft.
Ghostly projections crossed the walls.
A huge board displayed crimes punishable by death.
Maia stopped in front of it, narrowing her eyes.
I read aloud:
"'Crossing the King's path covered in soot'?
'Stealing the King's venison'?"
I laughed at the absurdity.
"Did people really die for that?"
Maia held my shoulders.
"What crime would they accuse you of?" she whispered in my ear.
I didn't even need to look at her.
I already knew how pleased she was with herself.
I rubbed my forehead, disguising the embarrassment.
"Hmm… definitely sheep theft.
Well, being a woman, I'd be hanged for witchcraft."
"Yeah… your crime would be witchcraft."
"And yours?
You can't say murder, robbery, or theft."
I pointed to the death-penalty ones.
"It has to be something senseless."
She studied the board carefully.
"Taking part in a riot."
I arched an eyebrow.
"I thought you were going to say 'pirate on the high seas.'"
"We both know I'd be accused of witchcraft."
We both laughed.
Entry
We entered the attraction with forty-three other people.
The air felt heavy.
A damp cold clung to the skin.
The light flickered, projecting living shadows.
The smell of old wood mixed with the sourness of phantom sweat.
A subtle scent of ashes and burnt grease floated in the air.
The Paulista Dungeon had existed since 2818.
Androids performed there.
Holograms recreated scenes.
Environmental sensors simulated the touch of time, icy chains, invisible breaths brushing the back of the neck, and floors creaking underfoot so realistically that for a moment I felt as if we were truly trapped there.
Many people reported heart attacks and fainting during the performances.
As a skeptic, I tried to work with facts.
Scientific proof.
So I was rarely frightened by supernatural entities.
I watched horror movies with neutral emotions.
I was naïve.
Those reproductions were too faithful.
In the simulation, we were traitors on the way to execution.
"The sheep thief and the mutinous pirate."
Maia took my hand.
"What a pair.
At least we're together."
Darkness took over.
Maia squeezed my hand tighter.
Was she afraid of the dark?
I confess, it had never crossed my mind that the simple act of holding someone's hand could bring such happiness to the heart.
I wanted to hold her hand so many more times…
"I think I like the idea of going to the gallows with you," she whispered out of nowhere.
Her words were strangely adorable.
"Could it be the echo of a memory from the past?"
I laughed softly.
But when our eyes met, something electric passed between us.
I felt her hand tighten more.
A glimpse of a shared memory.
Flames from long ago.
A look and a smile as the last gesture.
Two woven lives consumed by fire.
My heart pounded.
The world kept moving, but between us, a knot tightened itself into the thread of fate.
The Crossing
We entered an old Santa Teresa tram cabin, creaking and swaying, carrying us into Brasil's forgotten corners.
An abandoned favela.
Leaning shacks.
Explosions in the distance.
Then a mine tunnel.
Lanterns trembling.
Muffled groans.
The sound of pickaxes.
After that, a street full of festive remains.
Streamers scattered across the ground.
Confetti stuck to puddles of blood.
Decapitated Carnival dolls.
We passed through a market selling strange products.
Human delicacies in glittering displays.
Voices whispered absurd prices.
In the Hall of Justice of the Old Colonels, a judge.
A sertão colonel shouting orders.
Confused lawyers.
Witnesses trembling in fear.
The makeshift cells exhaled claustrophobia.
Cries of protest and groans echoed through them.
Finally, the Abyssal Drop awaited us.
I grabbed Maia's arm, frightened.
My trembling and muffled cries entertained her.
She remained impassive.
Nothing frightened her.
She seemed more entertained by my reactions than by the ride itself.
It was at the Abyssal Drop that I truly screamed.
The fall was so sudden.
My heart leapt into my throat.
We came out.
Rest
My heart was racing.
I clung to her.
"You seem to be having quite a lot of fun."
Maia laughed, ironic.
My body heated up.
"Not funny.
You didn't get scared at all."
"That's a lie.
I felt a little jolt in my stomach on the drop."
She looked around.
"It's really cold here.
Want churros?"
We walked to a street full of stalls.
The air carried the sweet aroma of coffee.
We stopped at a pastry stand.
We ordered two churros:
chocolate for me, cream for Maia.
We sat on a concrete bench in Plaza Cloud, a floating square.
"Wow, this is so good.
It's been a long time since I had one."
I watched the flow of people passing by.
Finished eating.
I rested my hands on the bench and tilted my head back.
The wind brushed past me.
A cold touch stroked my face.
I opened my eyes.
Maia tucked my hair behind my ear.
Then pulled her hand away.
Her honey-colored eyes shone under the light.
Warmth lit up in my belly.
She leaned in.
"Shall we keep going?"
Marisfera
Maia led me into Marisfera.
The dark-blue environment gleamed beneath the transparent floor.
Fish swam below our feet.
I walked slowly, enchanted by the little creatures.
When we reached the shark area, Maia stopped in front of the great white tank.
She observed the animal with almost reverent attention.
I read the information on the holopanel.
Then joined her.
"They're incredible."
One of them glided close to the glass, and I shivered.
"I hate this."
Maia's voice came out low, almost a whisper.
I frowned.
"You hate this place?"
Understanding came like a snap.
"I know what you mean…
But these places are safer than the ocean itself."
"It should have been different."
For the first time, I noticed restrained anger in her.
What was inside her?
"Imagine if your home and everything you knew were destroyed.
And then they put you in a cage."
Maia touched the glass.
Her fingers traced the surface, as if they could truly feel the shark.
"Look at him, so big and strong.
The most feared predator in the sea.
And even that didn't stop him from ending up here."
There was pain in her voice.
She slipped her hands into her pockets and narrowed her eyes.
The aura around her changed.
Something terrifying lurked within her.
I swallowed hard.
Whatever it is, will you tell me someday?
"Imagine if they rebelled?"
I stared into the animal's eyes.
A sideways smile appeared on Maia's lips.
Melancholy.
"It's more than the cage…"
She stepped closer.
"Your soul can be chained too.
You can set him free, but he'll remain still.
Because this world is all he knows.
How would you free that soul?"
Her honey-colored eyes pierced me.
"I-I'd try to show him that freedom is…"
The sentence died in my mouth.
Freedom?
As if I knew what that was.
Who was I to talk about it if I didn't even know her?
I looked away, face warm.
Maia straightened.
Her gaze still weighed on me.
"You don't know it either."
Her expression carried understanding — and a fleeting sadness.
What was that?
That feeling she passed to me?
Where did it come from?
It seemed to suffocate her, and it suffocated me too.
"Shall we continue?"
She entwined her hand with mine.
We passed jellyfish. Stingrays. Seahorses. Turtles. Big fish and small fish.
Some glowed with color.
Others were furtive shadows.
Each one had its own unique, captivating beauty.
We also saw rocky shores.
Corals inhabited by sessile creatures.
Sponges. Starfish. Sea lilies.
And then we reached the section I most wanted to visit:
The penguins.
My excitement overflowed.
I pulled Maia there.
She laughed at my enthusiasm.
The room simulated an icy landscape.
A realistic cold blew through it.
Some penguins swam.
Others swallowed whole fish.
I pressed my face to the glass.
The penguins there were Gentoo.
The third largest species, behind only Sentinel and Aurora.
The seventeen species of penguins nearly driven to extinction by humans.
Thanks to sanctuaries, they could still survive.
I turned to Maia, smiling with joy radiating from my heart.
Until then, I had only seen them in photos.
"They're so cuuute and beautiful.
They're my favorite animal."
She let out a nasal laugh.
Stepped closer.
"So you like beautiful, cute things?"
My heart warmed.
Heat rose to my cheeks.
How did she destabilize me with so few words?
Maia caressed my hand.
"They are cute, yes, but what I like most is that most species choose one mate for life.
They can separate.
Be hundreds of kilometers apart.
But they always return to one another."
Her tender tone sent a shiver through me.
I swallowed, shy.
"Yes…"
"Do you know what other animal is like that too?"
She breathed the words into my ear.
My heart stumbled.
I shook my head.
"Gray wolves.
They're my favorite animal."
Maia smiled, bold.
My face caught fire.
I looked away.
Animinhoca
We left beneath orange and violet skies.
The sunset dyed the air in warm, ethereal tones.
We headed to an attraction for films and animation: Animinhoca.
"I've watched all their animated films."
Maia's voice came out serious.
I let out a little laugh at the spontaneous declaration.
"Yeah, me too."
She raised an eyebrow, amused.
At the entrance, a holoprincess greeted us.
"Welcome to the queendom of imagination!"
Her cheerful voice rang through the whole space.
We sat on a bus and put on virtual reality glasses.
The holosimulation began.
The bus flew.
We floated through magical kingdoms and futuristic metropolises.
Glided over crystal seas.
Cheered for a giant whale to avoid a collision.
Crossed storms in the sky.
Dodged dragons breathing fire.
It felt so real.
My stomach lurched at every sudden turn.
Colorful birds followed the vehicle.
Giant smiles greeted us from the clouds.
Vibrant worlds wove into one another.
Candy kingdoms and enchanted forests.
Planets inhabited by fantastic beings.
Ninjas leaping across rooftops.
Heroes fighting aerial battles around us.
It felt like we might fall at any moment.
The bus swerved sharply.
The projected sun glittered ahead.
The journey came to an end.
When I took off the glasses, I realized I had been gripping Maia's wrist tightly.
She found everything hilarious.
"You're really enjoying yourself."
Her charming smile warmed my chest.
"Hmm… that princess could use some driving lessons."
I bit back a smile.
We finished the attraction.
Farewell
Night was waiting for us outside.
Sideria was emptier now.
Visitors were ending their day.
Maia and I walked across an airbridge hidden between the buildings.
We headed toward Hanove, the heart of Centralia.
She seemed absorbed in thought.
I smiled stupidly at the flashes of the day.
The memories kept returning. Again and again.
"What is it?"
Her curious gaze on me.
"It's just…"
Joy had taken over my chest.
"I liked today so much.
Knowing I could feel this good.
Thank you so mu—"
Maia grabbed my waist, pulled me close, and kissed me.
For an instant, I lost control.
I kissed her back.
Joy exploded.
The world around us faded.
The cosmos bent itself to the rhythm of our racing hearts and fused breaths.
The universe held its breath.
"Ah… Aki…"
Her fingers slid tenderly across my face.
Her eyes shone with affection.
There was something in them, as if they wanted to tell me every secret hidden beneath her layers.
And yet, nothing left her lips.
Everything she wanted to tell me, she told me with each touch.
Each look.
Each calculated word.
What she truly needed to tell me, I was unprepared to hear.
As much as I wanted it now.
I was still on the way.
Maia closed her eyes and brushed her forehead against mine.
"I have to go.
But I want to stay."
My cheeks burned.
I wanted to ask her to stay.
But I had to let it flow.
My heart was hers, just as hers was mine.
I gave her a soft kiss.
She returned it with the same affection.
On the way home, I covered my face with my hands.
Flooded with a happiness that felt both familiar and ancient.
I could not stop smiling.
If all of that were a dream, I would want to remain asleep forever.