A Tale That Never Known

"Al, I've been wondering about this for a while...." Little Lu turn to him and charge! Al who just floated in front of Little Lu suddenly got pinned on the white ground like a book went 'poof!'. "Whoa, whoa! Easy there! I'm fragile!", says Al as his pages trembling ever so slightly, a sign of his unease. She had placed him firmly on the ground, her hands on her hips, leaning in close. Her squinted eyes bore into him, filled with suspicion.

"Well, Al?" she asked, her voice dripping with mischief, fun and playful accusation but tinged with genuine curiosity. "Why were you buried in the ground, huh? Did you lose a bet? Or... have you been lying there all this time, just waiting for me?"

"I—uh," Al stammered, his voice unusually jittery. "You are waiting for author?" ask Little Lu. Al immediately, "I wasn't waiting for anyone!"

Little Lu narrowed her eyes further. "Then what were you doing?"

"That's… not important," Al replied hastily, his pages flipping to an unrelated chapter as though trying to distract her.

Lu's brow furrowed. "Not important?" she echoed, her tone skeptical. "Al, do you even know what this place is? Why is it so white? Why don't we see anything else? And why—" she pointed at herself dramatically, "—am I growing?! Even though you said this place doesn't have time?"

Al's pages froze mid-turn. For a moment, he didn't answer. Then, in what could only be described as a panicked deflection, he floated upward and declared, "Oh, Lu, have I ever told you the story of The Knight and the Timeless Castle? It's a riveting tale!"

"Al!" Little Lu yelled, stomping her foot on the ground. "Stop avoiding the question!"

"I'm not avoiding it," Al said innocently, his voice taking on an exaggeratedly cheerful tone. "I'm enriching your life with timeless stories. Now, this particular tale is about a brave knight who—"

"Al."

"—journeyed across lands to find a castle that existed outside of—"

"AL!"

Al stopped mid-sentence. Lu was glaring at him, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently against the white ground.

"You are avoiding it," she accused. "Which makes me even more suspicious. You've been here a long time, haven't you? Longer than I have."

Al floated back slightly, his voice quieting. "Maybe," he admitted, his tone unusually somber. Little Lu tilt her head and raise her eyebrow hinted at him to say more. "So?" Al immediately dismiss his idea and, "But what does it matter, Lu? You're here now, and that's what's important. Why dwell on things that don't have answers?"

Little Lu frowned, her curiosity only growing. She knelt down and touched the white ground, running her fingers over its smooth, featureless surface. "This place… it's so empty, so quiet. Except for us. It's like it's waiting for something."

Al hesitated. His pages fluttered nervously. "Perhaps it's waiting for you," he said softly.

Lu looked up at him sharply. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing!" Al said quickly, his cheerful tone returning as he floated higher. "Absolutely nothing! Now, about that knight—"

"AL!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Little Lu grabbed him and plopped him back on the ground, holding him firmly in place. "You're not getting away that easily. If you don't tell me what you know, I'll… I'll…" She paused, trying to think of a suitable threat.

"You'll what?" Al asked, sounding genuinely curious and full of himself.

"I'll start reading boring sections of your pages!" she declared triumphantly.

Al gasped, his pages fluttering dramatically. "You. Wouldn't. Dare!"

"Oh, I would," Lu nods her had and said with a mischievous grin. "I'll start with… the appendix!"

"Not the appendix!" Al cried, his voice filled with mock horror.

They both froze for a moment, staring at each other. Then, Lu burst out laughing, her suspicion temporarily forgotten. Al let out a soft sigh of relief, his pages settling back into place.

As the last chuckle faded between them, Little Lu didn't release Al. She held him in her hands, her laughter giving way to a softer expression—a sad smile that lingered in the quiet white expanse around them.

"Hey," she began, her voice gentle but tinged with something deeper, "why you don't want to tell me? Is this one of those sad endings? Like the stories you don't let me read?"

Al's pages stilled. He didn't flutter or drift like he usually did when dodging a question. For once, he seemed at a loss.

"Lu…" he began, his tone unsteady, unsure.

She shook her head, cutting him off, her gaze dropping to the ground. "You said this world doesn't have time," she murmured, her words slow and deliberate. "But if I'm growing… does that mean time exists? And if it exists…" She hesitated, swallowing hard before finishing, "Does that mean time is only here to end me?"

The question hung in the air like a fragile thread, taut and trembling, threatening to snap. Al wanted to speak—no, he needed to—but no words came. For the first time, the great book of knowledge didn't know the answer. Or perhaps, he feared the one he did know.

Little Lu lifted her gaze to him, her eyes wide and glistening with a mix of determination and vulnerability. "You've taught me so much, Al. Emotions, the world, the planets, what time is, and all those human stories… even the fairy tales." Her voice trembled slightly as she added, "But what about me? What am I?"

Al floated lower, settling on the ground as if the weight of her question was too much for him to bear. He remained silent, his usual lively presence subdued.

"Am I… like those stories?" Lu pressed, her tone a mix of curiosity and fear. "Am I just a story waiting to be written? Or am I something that was forgotten? Or—or maybe…" She trailed off, her hands gripping the edges of Al's cover tightly.

"Lu," Al finally said, his voice quieter than she had ever heard it. "I don't know what you are."

Her breath caught. "You… don't?"

"I don't," Al admitted, his pages fluttering faintly, as though unsure whether to comfort her or shield himself from her questions. "I know so much about everything—about the stars, about time, about human stories and emotions. But you, Lu… You're different. You're not like anything I've ever read or seen before."

Little Lu's grip on him loosened slightly, her expression softening as she listened.

"But," Al continued, his voice gaining a hint of resolve, "different doesn't mean wrong or bad. It just means… unique. You're growing, you're learning, you're changing. That's not something this world was ever meant to hold. You're a paradox, Lu. Something beautiful and strange in a place that was never meant to have either."

Lu blinked, processing his words. She let out a small, humorless laugh. "A paradox, huh? That sounds like something out of your boring appendix."

Al chuckled softly, though his tone remained somber. "Maybe. But it's true. And Lu…" He hesitated before adding, "If time does exist here, and if it's here for you, then maybe it's not to end you. Maybe it's here because of you. For you to create something new."

Her eyes widened at his words, a spark of hope flickering within her. "Something new?"

"Yes," Al said, his voice steady now. "You've already changed so much just by being here. This world was white and empty before you arrived. And now, it's filled with your curiosity, your laughter, your questions… and your growth. Maybe time isn't here to end you, Lu. Maybe it's here to let you become… whatever you're meant to be."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Little Lu looked down at her hands, at the smooth, blank ground beneath them, and then back at Al.

"I don't know what I'm meant to be," she admitted softly.

"Neither do I," Al replied. "But maybe that's the point. Maybe you're not meant to be anything yet. Maybe you get to decide that for yourself."

Her sad smile returned, but this time, it carried a glimmer of hope. She nodded slowly, placing Al gently back on the ground.

"Okay," she said, her voice firm despite the uncertainty in her eyes. "Then I'll keep going. I'll keep growing. And maybe… I'll figure it out."

Al's pages fluttered gently, almost like a reassuring pat on the back. "I think you will, Lu. I think you'll figure out more than either of us can imagine."

And with that, the two of them sat together in the vast white expanse, their questions unanswered but their resolve stronger than ever.

To be continue.......