Falia's gaze slowly swept across the dazzling array of shelves. Her fingertips unconsciously brushed over the spines of a row of videotapes, finally stopping on a box with the back of a mother illustrated on the cover.
"One Hundred Thousand Heartbeats."
The name touched her inexplicably. A heartbeat is the rhythm of life; what did one hundred thousand times signify? Without much hesitation, she took the videotape from the shelf.
"En-na! (Have you finished choosing? It's this one!)"
Seeing her choice, Little Eighteen's round body swayed. It quickly stood straight on the high stool, took the videotape Falia handed over, and added the title of the videotape after Falia's name in the register.
"En-na, en-na! (Please follow me to the second floor!)"
Little Eighteen hopped down from the high stool and led Falia toward the curved staircase. The wooden stairs made a slight sound underfoot. Little Eighteen pushed open one of the doors, revealing a small and cozy room inside. A soft sofa faced a flat screen on the wall. Beside it sat a somewhat bulky-looking machine; that must be the magitech device Little Eighteen mentioned.
"En-na! (Please give me the videotape!)" Little Eighteen reached out a small hand.
Falia handed the videotape over. She watched Little Eighteen stand on tiptoe, skillfully stuffing the box into a slot in the machine, and then pressing a large button next to it. The machine emitted a low hum, and immediately after, the square area on the wall lit up, displaying a clear image.
The story began.
In the image was a mother with a haggard face but determined eyes. Her child, a young boy who also had soft black hair, had unfortunately fallen into the dangerous area known as "Hollow." Void Investigators tried to dissuade her, telling her how dangerous and unknown it was, and that forcing her way in was no different from suicide.
However, the mother's gaze did not waver in the slightest. All she could rely on was a mobile phone program that simulated the sound of her child's pacemaker.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
That sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet screening room, each beat striking the viewer's heartstrings. Falia unconsciously straightened her back, placing her hands on her knees. Her knightly posture allowed her to maintain a certain level of uprightness even in this private viewing moment. Her gaze closely followed the mother's figure on the screen.
The mother resolutely stepped into Hollow. It was a bizarre area with distorted buildings, fractured spaces, and lurking, indescribable dangers. She struggled forward, avoiding invisible traps and eerie creatures. Her face was pale, sweat soaked her bangs, and her physical strength was rapidly depleting. Supporting her was only the constantly flashing light on the phone screen and the continuous "tick-tock" sound in her ears.
The sound was sometimes hurried, sometimes weak, tugging at her every nerve and also at Falia's breathing. The film's narrative was calm and restrained, without excessive sentimentality, simply following the mother's footsteps faithfully. She sought hope in despair and pursued the rhythmic sound representing her child's life signs amidst the chaos.
Every fluctuation in the heartbeat sound made Falia's hands on her knees tighten slightly. This mother, relying on the purest maternal love, and her figure trudging through desperate straits, possessed a soul-shaking power.
Time passed in silence and heartbeats. The mother crossed collapsed bridges, avoided spatial rifts, and was even nearly swallowed by the bizarre entities born within Hollow. She was exhausted, falling countless times and getting up countless times, her gaze always fixed on the phone screen, listening to that weak sound that represented life.
Finally, after experiencing unimaginable hardships, she followed the heartbeat sound and found the curled-up, unconscious child in a relatively stable corner of a spatial fragment. The mother rushed over, holding the child tightly in her arms. Tears finally burst forth, mixing with dirt and sweat, dripping onto the child's cold cheek.
She had succeeded. After one hundred thousand, or even more, agonizing heartbeats, she had found her treasure.
The image froze at the moment the mother and child embraced, then gradually dimmed. Silence returned to the screening room, with only the low hum of the machine still running.
Falia sat quietly on the sofa, not moving for a long time. The light from the screen was reflected in her azure eyes, which were churning with complex emotions. She watched as the mother finally found her child, watched that reunion embrace.
She lowered her head slightly, her golden ponytail sliding off her shoulder. Her hands, wearing white gloves, were tightly clasped, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. She sighed softly, a sigh carrying a faint trace of envy. She subconsciously bit her lower lip, forcefully restraining the emotions surging in her chest.
As a knight, she was long accustomed to restraint and forbearance, accustomed to placing personal feelings after duty and mission. But this film was like a precise key, inadvertently prying open a corner of her heart that had been firmly locked. That courage to disregard everything for a loved one, to cross through dangers, that warm ending of finally being able to embrace... these things were too far from her world.
Little Eighteen seemed to notice the guest's unusual silence. It tilted its head, its round eyes looking at Falia in confusion, and let out a small "En-na?", seemingly asking how she felt.
Falia took a deep breath, slowly releasing her bitten lower lip, leaving a shallow tooth mark on it. She stood up, her movements still carrying the characteristic briskness of a knight, but her gaze was much softer and more complex than when she first entered.
"I've finished watching," she said to Little Eighteen, her voice lower and raspier than usual. "It was a... very moving story."
She walked to the bulky machine and watched Little Eighteen skillfully remove the videotape and put it back in its original box.
"How much is it?" Falia asked, reaching for the coin pouch at her waist.
But Little Eighteen shook its head, pointing at the register and then toward the door, gesturing. "En-na, en-na, en-na! (Master said that for first-time guests, if they like it, they can experience it once for free!)"
Falia was stunned for a moment. Free? This was indeed unexpected. She looked at Little Eighteen's sincere appearance and finally nodded.
"Then, thank your master for me." She placed the videotape gently on the counter. "The story... was good."
Turning around, she pushed open the shop door. The wind chimes jingled again, seeing her off as she departed. As if possessed, she circled to the side of the shop. It was relatively quiet and deserted here. She leaned against the cold, rough brick wall and slowly slid down to sit on the grass, burying her face deep between her bent knees...