In Lily’s Garden.

The Design Department of the Folded Screen Paper Airplane

The woman turned the pages, captivated by the book’s contents. Meanwhile, another woman, adorned in lavish Egyptian jewelry and vibrant attire, sat before a chessboard. She moved her king piece, casting a captivating smile. In the gold adorned room, a drop of ink from Eve’s pen fell onto the chessboard, soaking into the piece and revealing the officer’s study in its reflection. The ink held an image of the officer’s study.

After finishing the game, the woman left the room and entered a dark cave. In stark contrast to the opulent room, she gestured toward the dim lights along the cave walls, igniting them instantly and illuminating the cavern. She placed her hand on the wall, her other hand resting on her hip as she gazed to her right. At that moment, she transformed into Christine Eve, donned in a red dress. As she raised her hand to brush back her hair, her flowing locks turned back to those of Eve, dressed in a black gown.

As Eve turned around, the cave vanished without a trace, replaced by the scent of wet wood and the cool dawn light spilling into the study. In the study sat Eve’s lover and the translator, Christine, each unaware of the other. They were both gazing at a carousel on their respective desks, each inscribed with their names. The carousel was designed to release a bead from a central column when the handle was turned. The man carefully turned the handle with delicate fingertips, as if handling a long awaited lover. With a soft click, a glowing bead emerged. Christine was also staring at her own carousel, watching in terror as its handle spun on its own, turning to the end and releasing a bead.

When Christine opened her bead, a shimmering, transparent galaxy unfolded, and she vanished from the study. Through the translucent galaxy, she saw a midnight blue cosmic city beneath her, stretching down from the heights of a towering statue. The scene reflected in the translator’s eyes, mirroring Christine’s gaze. At that moment, a radiant triangular shape appeared before the man. He cautiously reached out to touch the triangle of light, but it shattered, dropping like glass fragments onto the study floor.

Eve stood before her lover, who couldn’t see her, at the desk where Christine had disappeared. The man had realized, one evening long ago, that he could not see his lover and yet had resolved to love her. Eve, too, could not help but love this tragic man who had chosen to love an invisible lover. Often, she would sit at the black piano in the study, playing for him. When he heard the melody in his mind, he would go to the piano, transcribing the melody from memory onto sheet music and playing it again and again.

The man’s piano playing held Eve in the room for a long while, but she knew it would soon come to an end. The melody ceased as he often awoke from a nightmare of falling into the sea, breaking into tears. Watching this, Eve sensed it was time to leave.