It had been several days since Mira arrived at the South.

The streets were high fashion runaways – there was not one person who walked down looking like a regular civilian.

At night, the dozens of skyscrapers lit up. Large billboard and ads highlight the streets. One was an ad of the heiress of the Allevttes, Dilvei, her lustrous black hair wrapped in deep red perfume.

Another was the enchanting replay of the general, Lucian, smiling charmingly and bowing, “Here for you, truly.”

 Mira  stared blankly. No matter how many times she saw his pictures and videos, they always stirred something in her emotions.

“Don’t stare at that ad for too long. You’ll lose your mind.”

 Mira  jolted. She quickly turned away and thanked the homeless man.

At dawn, as the night life had finally died down and the neon lights faded away to stars, an unsettlingly beautiful melody would echo through the empty streets.

The constellations on the skies above would light up, as if emerging from the dark voids. Nebulas. Auroras.

 Mira  rested, sitting at the corner of the subway stairs. It was always the same song. Is the singer probably staring at the sky too, right now?

Her eyes fluttered close. And as the first ray of sunlight appeared, she got up, continuing to map the cities. Birds chirped, flying from one tree to another.

Then, as they disappeared, the city came back to life, trains and cars zooming above them, children and families running through the cities.

She walked into the government office.

“Here for breakfast and lunch!”

“Oh my gosh, you’re back!” The lady smiled. “Did you find your parents yet? Maybe remember where they were heading?”

“No,” Mira pretended to frown.

“Aww, are you sure you don’t want me to register you to an orphanage? Orphans do get free food and supplies in every city, but without a roof over your head-“

“No, that’s ok,” she smiled, “I enjoy walking around.”

She sat on the bench, enjoying her meal. She stared at the white building across. Military Base 01.

She will come home for sure – that’s why see said ‘See you later’ on the note. Her dad’s well being would depend on this.

However, she couldn’t come home until her 20’s, and everyone knew that the science camp program excuse just stand for several weeks before Casian will brute force his way to the South once he found out.

Dilvei.

She shivered. Actually, she’d rather not spy that woman at all – perhaps it was since she watched her debut combat match, but her gaze is more than unsettling. How is the camera man still alive?

Also, entities’ abodes are pretty much inaccessible for outsiders, located in other realms. Her social outings are out of question.

Lucian.

 Mira  puffed her cheek, thinking her hard. Can’t she stand his mind reading skills though? UGHHH, WHY DO THE SOUTH HAVE SUCH MENACES??

And it’s not like she could just bust into his office or stalk him – though there… is one way.

 Mira  walked into the white building, smiling sweetly to the security. The security smiled back.

A beautiful, grand piano stood in the middle of the lobby.

“H-hi… can I play the piano? Pleasee??”

“You can play the piano?? Oh of course you can, darling!”

She sat down. Everyone in the room held their breath, looking on expectantly. This girl’s so cute!

 Mira  pressed the piano keys.

Their smiles faltered a bit. Uhm – maybe she got nervous and pressed the wrong keys..? The adults applauded, cheering her on.

They regretted it one second later. Soon everyone was covering their ears, begging for her to stop.

The next day, Mira returned.

“Can I please play the pia-“

“No, you can’t play the piano!”

“Oh, come on! I rehearsed this one, I promise! Please, please, please!”

“Ugh ok-“ And of course, one minute later, the security regretted their decision, chasing Mira out.

So began the cat and mouse game between the poor security officers and the bad piano player. Sometimes Mira wouldn’t get a chance to press any key before they saw her – sometimes she just ran in and played the piano as horrendously as she could (not that she could play the piano, actually) – but she always managed to outran them.

They implemented locks.

 Mira  slipped through guests.

They implemented more guards.

 Mira  set off fire alarms everywhere and slipped right as they panicked. Now, little did she know, Lucian’s office was right above the piano.

***

Delicate melodies. Art. Passion. Flow.

That was what Lucian expected, and have always pleasantly heard, when he placed the piano right below his office. He’d sometimes come down himself to play the piano when the base is closed, but other times, talented officers and guests would play the piano, the melodies flowing into his office.

That is, until a barbarian appeared.

It was a fine morning. He was peacefully sitting at his desk, humming, drafting documents, when the sharp grotesque sounds pierced his ears.

Lucian almost hit his head. Did someone trip and fell on the piano again?

Probably nothing. He continued writing.

Dear Colonel Am-

A much more brutal barrage of melodies blared at his ears. Lucian covered his face, begging that whoever was downstairs suddenly developed proper ears.

When they stopped, he laid limp on his desk, gasping in relief.

“… taking a fire support position 4,000 meters aft, Captain Ramirez authorized a warning shot from the 76mm main gun.”

“Proceed with the matter.”

“Aye, Sir!”

“Corporal, before you go - who was the brute?”

“S-sorry?”

“The piano.”

The corporal’s heart raced. Is he disappointed? Did the melodies disturbed him? The General was already hard to read when you can see him – now it is impossible to see his expression behind the opaque dark curtains.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“It’s a little girl – I’m not even sure what the guards were doing that they let her in. I’ll train them harder. We’ll tighten security so no one would play the piano as such again.”

“I’d like that, Corporal. But leave two vulnerabilities.”

The terror, however, didn’t stop there. Now, every second and hour, Lucian waited for the felonies of the menace. What kind of musical felony is she going to commit today?

Is she trying to offend him? Or is she just that bad – which is an offence in itself, because how could someone be so talentless?

“We implemented more locks, but the girl managed to slip through with guests.”

“Add more guards and match every guest to the guest list, but leave one small opening.”

“We heard fire alarms, and the girl managed to slip through. Our guards are chasing her right now.”

Lucian’s chuckle echoed through the room. A whiff of wind flew through the curtains, sending shivers down their spine.

“A bunch of soldiers, trained for war, chasing an orphan girl? I didn’t know we have descended to such savages.”

“A-apologies, S-sir-!”

“Just chase her out of the premises but no further than that. Let her be.”

Then, for several days, silence.

Lucian tapped his fingers. Might something have happened to her? Did he tighten the security too much? A 14 year old girl, unregistered orphan, roamed the streets since a week ago…

The piano screeched.

His eyes glowed red. There she is!

His walkie talkie buzzed.

“General – I’m very sorry – she got in again!”

“Welcome her and bring her to my office.”