A Tale That Never Known

If this world has a functional, existence of time, probably it has been about a.... just guessing, maybe about 4 years has passed? Al went through many stage of grief, depression, frustration and all what a teacher went through, a pain in the pages of misery paper for Almanac. Even so, he loves to teach Little Lu, after all.... it's just the two of them. Al hovered silently beside Little Lu as she walked, her bare feet leaving faint impressions in the soft, white ground. The world was still endless-unchanging, untouched by any notion of day or night. Yet, Al couldn't help but notice something extraordinary.

Little Lu had changed.

Her hair now spilled down to half her waist, swaying with every step. She walked with ease, a quiet confidence in her movements that was far different from when they first met. She spoke, too, no longer fumbling with strange, unfamiliar sounds. The lessons had taken root.

And yet... Al pondered as his pages flickered like a quiet sigh. How is this happening?

"Little Lu," Al finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence. His voice carried a mix of curiosity and wonder. "May I ask you something?" Little Lu stopped mid-step, turning her head to look up at him. Her wide, greyish-blue eyes sparkled with curiosity, the same curiosity that had always pushed her forward. "Yes, Al?" she said fluently, her voice soft but clear. Al has been holding back for so long to ask this question. He doesn't have the chance because he and her has a language barrier before. Al floated a little closer, his grand bookish form tilting as if he were leaning in. "How long have you been here?" Has it been a few months? Decades? Well in human years you look just like an 8 years old human with that appearance.... But this White Land-

Little Lu blinked, tilting her head like she always did when a question puzzled her. She thought for a moment, her fingers absentmindedly playing with her long, white hair. "I... don't know," she admitted. "I'm just here..... I know you already teach me the concept of time but.... I don't know."

Al nodded knowingly, but there was still a flicker of confusion. "And yet, you grow or am I just turn crazy from all the lesson I teach you?," he muttered to himself, more of a thought than a statement. "Your hair, your words... even your mind. You're changing."

Little Lu's gaze dropped to her hands as she flexed her fingers. "I'm changing!" she echoed softly, almost in wonder. Then her voice grew firmer, as if recalling something deep inside her. "It's because I keep moving forward."

"Moving forward?" Al repeated, intrigued. "Why do you move, Little Lu? This world is vast and endless... yet you do not stop."

Little Lu lifted her head to the sky-a sky without color or clouds or sun. It was as white as everything else. "Because when I walk, I change," she said simply. "When I move forward, I... become something more."

Al watched her carefully, his pages fluttering with quiet admiration. "And before you changed? Before you began walking? What was there?"

Little Lu thought back to her earliest moments, when she had first become aware. "White," she whispered. "Everything was white. I didn't know how to think or feel. I was just... here." Little Lu look at him with a smile, "It just warm. I don't know why it's white but for some reason, it's comforting to me. This place is like a being as well and it always comfort me."

Al's voice softened. "And yet here you are, learning and growing." Little Lu chuckles and nods, "That's because of you too, Al." Little Lu smiled warmly. "You help me understand things. Your words... they make everything clearer. Thank yoh for teaching me how to speak. Although it's funny to see you in turmoil."

Al paused, his pages stilling for a moment. How strange, he thought. I, who was trapped in silence for so long, now guide someone who cannot stop moving forward. This is so ironic yet here I am.

"And yet," Al said with mock sternness, trying to hide the fondness in his tone, "you still refuse to call me Almanac."

Little Lu giggled softly, a sound that echoed gently in the empty world. "Because you're Al," she replied matter-of-factly, as if it were the simplest truth.

Al let out an exaggerated sigh, his pages fluttering dramatically. "I am Almanac, keeper of knowledge, a guide to the lost, and yet I have been reduced to... Al."

"It suits you," Little Lu said, her grin growing wider. "It's shorter. Like me."

Al couldn't help but chuckle, the sound deep and comforting. "Very well, Little Lu," he conceded. "Al it is."

The two of them continued on, side by side-one being born of nothingness and the other filled with endless knowledge. Their conversation floated into the stillness of the white world, where time did not exist, yet growth seemed inevitable.

As they walked, Al floated just a little closer to Little Lu. For all his questions and confusion, he couldn't deny how fascinated he was by her-a small, curious being who refused to stop searching, even in a world that offered no answers.

And for Little Lu, Al's words were like lanterns, lighting up paths she hadn't yet explored.

Like always, they continue their journey in this vast white canvas, they moved forward, step by step, into the unknown. Little Lu's voice broke the silence again, asking softly, "Do you think there's more to this place, Al? Something beyond the white?"

Al considered her question. He didn't know what will be for their future. But he smiled all the same even though he is a dictionary in a way that Lu can understand his expression.... his voice steady and full of wonder. "Perhaps. And when we find it, you will be the first to see."

Little Lu nodded, a small spark of determination lighting her face. "Then we'll keep going."

And so, they did.

To be Continue....