Her face was rubbed blank by an eraser. Then a mysterious pencil tapped against the page and drew a new one—a smiling little girl.
The young girl's glasses curled into perfect circles like lollipops. Adeline drifted deeper into her memories of home, while six taller figures were sketched around her.
'Father, Mother, Grandmother, Uncle, Aunt, and Big Sister.'
Little girl was drawn running through the alleys of the steam city. Her smile shone brightly like the sun across the sky. She dashed past countless faceless people crudely sketched without detail, and a speech bubble appeared beside her lips.
'Today I'm going to school.'
Little Adeline leapt onto a bright red double-decker bus colored in with red pencils. She sat neatly in her seat while peeking out the window. A robot with a lightbulb for a head danced on the roadside asking for donations, while faceless people wandered through convenience stores buying things.
Tall apartment-like buildings towered over the streets. The red bus eventually arrived at a small school in the city. Background characters with blank faces waved at her in greeting. A group of faceless girls dressed far more fashionably than Adeline crumpled paper and tossed it at her without care.
'Why do my classmates always call me weird?'
The words appeared inside another speech bubble, yet the little girl's smile still did not fade. The page flipped again, revealing the child assembling a robot at her classroom desk.
'I love inventing things. I want to be like Father someday. One day I'll build my own airship.'
The speech bubble caused the paper to turn to the next page once more.
The little girl rode home in her aunt's car with a face full of joy.
'Aunt Beatrix loves me very much. Whenever I want something, she's always the first to give it to me. I love Aunt Beatrix so much.'
Drops of red ink splashed onto the car, giving it color before the paper flipped once again.
A drawing appeared of an old man whose beard stretched all the way to the floor. He carried a wrench behind his back while lifting his niece onto his shoulders.
'Uncle Silver is an amazing craftsman. He works for my parents' airship company too. I always loved tugging on his beard so much it became a habit. Love you, Uncle.'
The pages flipped rapidly, creating moving images of the family. Everyone sat together around the dining table. Red ink dripped onto the birthday cake sitting in the center.
'My 8th birthday. Yay~~'
Adeline blew out the candles on the cake. An eraser reached in and scrubbed away the pencil marks of the candle flames, leaving only gray smudges behind like fading smoke.
The paper flipped near the final pages.
'I hate my grandmother so much. The way she's always frowning makes her look like an evil witch, and her voice is as loud as an angry dragon. It makes me not want to dance ballet at all anymore. I don't want Grandma anymore!!'
The drawing revealed an old woman with red eyes controlling Adeline on a ballet stage like a puppet with strings. Meanwhile, her older sister tried pulling the younger girl free from the threads.
'Big Sister Annie, I don't really have much to say. You've always stayed by my side. You encouraged me more than anyone else. I'll always be your good little sister.'
After that, the paper opened to the final page. The little girl stood beside her uncle aboard an airship.
They sailed toward a crimson sun. Cracks were drawn across her glasses, and at last the little girl's smile was turned upside down.
'Goodbye, everyone. Goodbye, London.'
The final speech bubble was written there.
Brian noticed Adeline staring blankly while sitting on the sofa, so he snapped his fingers in front of her face to pull her back from her thoughts.
Snap snap.
"Um... Delly?"
Suddenly, the young woman jolted awake. "Oh!" She gave the young man a smile. "It's a long story. Better not tell it."
Brian leaned forward from the backrest and rested an elbow on his knee, sitting quietly beside her for a moment.
"Do you think I'm... strange?" Adeline asked uncertainly.
"I don't think you're strange at all. Your personality's unique, and honestly it shows who you are. More importantly, you're easy to get along with. If people call you weird, you don't have to care. Most of them are either unpleasant people or just closed-minded." He let out a soft chuckle.
"When I was little, I kept to myself a lot. I never really socialized much with people at home." She lifted her teacup and took a small sip.
"I'm the complete opposite. But circumstances kind of forced me to be alone. Though... not completely alone." Brian glanced upward while thinking of what to say next.
"Then maybe we can exchange knowledge with each other," Adeline said. She rubbed the teacup in her hands as though it were a magical lamp.
Brian nodded in agreement before standing and wandering around the living room. "Maybe... if you could show me around this mansion too, that'd be nice." He smiled.
"If you ask, then gladly! Hah-hah!" Adeline laughed in her own cheerful, distinctive way. "Let me put my cup away first." She stood, picked up the teacup, and walked out of the living room.
Brian noticed a piece of artwork hanging on the wall. It was a family portrait drawn by the hand of a ten-year-old child.
"Brian, come look at this! I've got guinea pigs in the garden too!" Adeline called out from the kitchen.
"Guinea pigs?! Seriously?" He turned and headed toward her voice.
At the same time, an eight-legged spider crawled down the living room wall from the ceiling. Its legs were made from connected sewing pins, while its body was formed from a gleaming golden pocket watch. The spider crept toward the family portrait before folding itself inward, transforming into a watch that hung quietly against the picture frame.