Chapter 5: Echoes of a Forgotten World

"What was once home may yet become a stranger." — Old Navigator's Saying

"I had been asleep a long time and had just woken up. But the world was different from what I remembered." — Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

She walked in silence beside Tilana, her bare feet sinking lightly into the soil.

It was strange.

Everything around her was strange.

And yet… it wasn't.

She could feel something beneath her feet—something old, something vast. It pulsed, not with the rhythm she remembered, but with something new. The land stretched around them, wild and untamed, filled with vegetation both familiar and foreign. Trees reached toward the sky, their leaves whispering in the wind. The air carried scents that tugged at memories she could not place.

She should have known this place. Should have been able to name every tree, every breath of wind, every whisper of the earth. And yet, when she looked, when she listened, it was all wrong.

Or rather, it was different.

This world—this land—was not the one she remembered. It had changed. Shifted. Grown into something else.

And so had she.

The thought made her pause.

She lowered herself, slowly, reaching out until her fingertips brushed the soil.

The moment her skin met the earth, something stirred inside her.

A weight settled in her chest, deep and indescribable. It coiled and twisted, wrapping around something formless within her, neither entirely pleasant nor painful. It was not joy, not sorrow, not fear. It was something else.

Something deep. Something old.

Something hers.

Yet, she did not have a name for it.

She let the soil slip through her fingers, watching as the tiny grains fell back to the ground, returning to where they belonged.

"What's wrong?"

Tilana's voice broke through her thoughts.

She looked up. The girl had stopped a few steps ahead, watching her with curiosity.

"I feel… something," she murmured.

Tilana frowned. "What kind of something?"

She stared at her hands, searching for an answer. "It's…" She hesitated, trying to grasp the feeling, to put it into words. "It's like… I know this place. I know it in a way I cannot explain, as if it is a part of me. But at the same time, it is unfamiliar. It has changed, and so have I. I do not know if it is truly mine anymore. And that makes me feel…" She trailed off, unsure how to finish.

Tilana's expression softened. "I think what you're feeling is... hiraeth."

"Hiraeth?"

Tilana nodded. "It's an old word, but we still use it sometimes. It means a longing for a home that no longer exists. Not just a place, but a time, a feeling… something that once was, but can never be again. It's like missing something, even when you're standing right in the middle of it."

She turned her gaze back to the soil, turning the word over in her mind.

Hiraeth.

Yes. That was it.

A home lost to time. A connection that remained, even when everything had changed beyond recognition. A longing for something that could never truly return.

It was the first emotion she had named.

And yet, naming it did not lessen its weight.

Tilana gave a small smile. "It's not a bad feeling, you know. Just because something isn't the same doesn't mean it's gone completely. Sometimes, it just means you have to get to know it all over again."

She considered that.

Get to know it all over again.

Perhaps.

She let the thought settle as she rose to her feet once more.

"Come on," Tilana said. "We should hurry before my dad realizes I've wandered off again."

She followed.

Even as they walked, the feeling remained.

Hiraeth.

It was unfamiliar.

But so was she.

—

They arrived at the makeshift camp not long after.

The place was alive with movement. Machinery hummed in the background, equipment scattered across the ground. People moved in and out of large modular tents—some carrying tools, others deep in conversation. Armed guards stood at various points, their sharp eyes scanning the perimeter.

She felt their attention the moment they arrived.

Two guards stepped forward, blocking their path.

"Tilana," one of them said, his tone exasperated. "You know you're not supposed to wander off alone. And who is this?"

Tilana barely hesitated.

"She's a student," she said smoothly. "Got lost while wandering the Echoli zone. I found her by the creek."

The guard frowned, glancing at her. His gaze was suspicious, assessing. "A student? From where?"

"From one of the research outposts near the border," Tilana said. "You know how some of them like sneaking off to see the restricted zones. I figured it was better to bring her here than let her wander around."

The guards exchanged glances, then one sighed.

"Fine. But your father isn't going to be happy."

Tilana grinned. "He's never happy when I bring back strays, but he'll live."

The guard stepped aside.

"Go on. And don't cause trouble."

Tilana gave a mock salute before pulling her along.

"That was a lie," she observed as they walked deeper into the camp.

Tilana shrugged. "A small one.

For a good reason."

She said nothing.

She did not know how she felt about lies.

Perhaps she would figure that out, too.