Once upon a time, there lived a poor young woman named Hokusai Kasumi.

She lived with her mother, father and little sister.

“Why don’t you go out and find work to help your family?” her lazy father would say when Kasumi would choose to go to school activities. It made her feel bad that she was enjoying her life.

“Do you really need that? You know we have to worry about your sister,” her stressed mother would ask, whenever Kasumi would ask for supplies for school or clothes that weren’t already old and used. It made her feel bad to ask for anything, because what if it affected the family?

“I want that! I want it, I want it, I want it! Give! Meanie big sister!” her sister would say, whenever Kasumi would get anything that was new and good. She didn’t want to be seen as mean or bad, so she always gave up on liking anything or having favourites to appease her family.

She was a good daughter and sister and took pride in that. She worked hard and always gave up everything when asked.

Like being an artist. There was no way they afford for her to take classes, or get her supplies. But for a while, she had her little ways of getting by.

Secretly, she would collect scraps of papers thrown out into recycling, stating that the other unused side was still good. Whenever another student would toss out a pencil that was considered too small to keep using, Kasumi happily took it instead. This way she amassed her own supplies, meagre as they were.

Art was the only thing that made her happy.

Even when she had to leave high school to find a job to help support her family.

Even when people laughed about her old and tattered clothes that she wore into intense raggedy messes.

Even when her sister got everything she ever wanted just by asking for it.

As long as Kasumi had art, she was still able to be happy. Drawing doodles and full pieces she kept in careful collections stashed safely away in her room. Whenever she had time (which was rarer the older she got), there was a tiny pencil in her hand no longer than two and half inches with an old test paper whose back she was using to draw something.

Kasumi loved her family, that was what she thought, so of course she worked hard for them, so they could all live peacefully. Her family did not come from money nor did they amass much money, so when her little sister came along when she was 13, things got rougher for the family. Kasumi worked day and night, diligently, hoping that once her sister reached adulthood, things would get better. At first it was juggling school and a part time job and then it became rushing between two shifts at two different jobs. But even when the day came when her sister became a fully grown adult with the support of the family, nothing changed.

Yet still, as long as she had art, it would be all right. As long as she had access to a single pencil and a scrap of paper, it would be okay. No matter how much her family disapproved of this hobby of hers. Even if online strangers who saw her work bashed it and told her to quit posting, she never stopped loving art. She worked hard and then had her little moments of joy on old scrap paper. Kasumi always made it work.

But soon, her skin became grey. Her eyes sunk and her hair began falling out. Her lack of nutrition began to show. She forgot what it was like to see the sun, because she worked around the clock and rarely left her jobs to see the light of day. When she traveled to and from places, it was always dark. But she didn’t mind. Kasumi knew it was all for a purpose. As long as she had a place to call home, where she could take time to draw, it would be just fine. No matter how much was asked of her, she would always complete the job, just so she could indulge for a few minutes on a drawing.

But then one day, she died.

One would think working herself to death with little food and sleep was the cause of her untimely demise and, surely, it was a large contribution to the weakening of her body. However, what truly dealt the final blow was the callous treatment of her one and only love: art.

Exhausted, emotionally and physically, Kasumi came home to find her room entirely emptied of her precious treasures. Scrap papers she collected over the years, the tiny pencils she kept in old, hole filled pencil cases rescued from trash bins, and pens that leaked, but still worked…drawings she had lovingly kept in stapled bundles as books she could look back on to see her progression over the years…!

All gone. Every wall deprived of art pieces. Her drawers emptied. Her room looked all new and clean, with not a speck of anything Kasumi owned.

“We arranged a marriage for you and we can’t have your future husband see how much of a loser you are. We must present a proper and clean front so that the marriage goes through. He’s rich and will be able to care for this family. He’s older than you, but at least someone is interested in you. Besides Kasumi, you’re an adult now. There’s no need to have such dirty and childish things laying around. It’s time to grow up.”

Those were the words spoken to her by her parents, but Kasumi barely registered them, such was the shock she experienced. She simply nodded, thinking this another sacrifice to this family, all the while trying to process what was going on. Everything was for them. Never her. Why did they have her if they couldn’t afford her? Why did they have a second child if things required their firstborn to work so hard? Just why, why, why, why?!

But there was no fighting back. This was how it always was. And she was so tired. Kasumi just kept nodding quietly, unable to summon enough energy to be angry.

Just why was I born…? She thought to herself before getting ready for the next job.

In such an exhausted, heartbroken state, she barely noticed when she tripped down the stairs on the way to her second job shift. She didn’t try to grab anything when her thin, weak body tumbled over the railing of the apartment stairs. Kasumi just thought about how there was no point anymore as she fell, fell, fell…

---

Really Kasumi should be sad right now, floating in the endless white void. But it was only to be expected.

Kasumi knew she died.

And most likely would not be mourned. Her family actually might be rejoicing. Would her body even be having a funeral for it? Probably not. The cheapskates would just pretend they didn’t have an older daughter and let the city handle the disposal and burial of her body. Did her city handle that kind of thing? She vaguely remembered maybe that they did, if relatives didn’t show up to claim the body. She didn’t know…Maybe they would to try and get insurance money possibly? Sue the apartment for allowing railings that allowed their ‘precious daughter’ to fall down so easily and die? Kasumi could see her family doing such a thing. Even in death, she would have no dignity.

Well, it didn’t matter anymore.

“Your life story is really so pathetic, what the hell?!”

This voice belonged to the only other being here with her soft mote of a soul. Kasumi had become nothing, but a ball of light currently. A representation of her soul. Or maybe it was because she had no real attachment to her old body. It had…become something no one should really need to look at. Frail and rail thin and just…not a pretty sight. Being formless seemed to be the better option right now. Effortless.

The other being was a gorgeous looking woman with golden hair and the palest blue eyes she’d ever seen. The kind she’d only seen by chance in a dubbed foreign movie her family was watching. She wore a white dress that had golden embellishments and a wreath of gold atop her lovely head.

And she looked decidedly mad.

“What the hell?! What the hell, what the hell, what the he—”

Truly, she was a beautiful and graceful looking being, so it kind of gave Kasumi whiplash seeing such an entity look so clearly disturbed on her behalf.

“Um, miss, if you could calm down, it’s not that big a deal…” Kasumi began, trying to calm the goddess-like being down.

The goddess-like being whipped around on Kasumi and poked at her mote of a sole with a finely manicured finger, shaking her head.

“Now you listen here, missy! I hate life stories like these the most. I. Absolutely. Hate. Them!” Every last word was punctuated with a jab of a finger right into Kasumi’s soul. It didn’t hurt, but it felt odd having her soul prodded. “You are allowed to be mad, you know?! If I lived a life like that I would be so pissed, people would be having their heads roll left and right.”

As nice a thought that was (Kasumi imagined her parents and their heads rolling and had a small, evil little chuckle), in modern Japan such actions would label her a violent serial killer and she’d be behind bars and where would such a life lead her?

“I get that,” Kasumi said, “but it’s already done and over with, right?”

“Oof, you’re much more forgiving than me, kid.”

“I’m 38….”

“Like I said, ‘kid’.”

The goddess-like being sighed and waved her hand dismissively, shaking her head, too, for good measure.

“Seriously,” the goddess-like being said, “whenever I hear such stories I get so mad. Like, what are the goddesses of fate doing?! How awful. Sadistic witches. Do they ever come up with something nice for once? What’s with these tragic circumstances? Makes my job super hard to deal with you know?”

Kasumi watched the entity pace now on an unseen floor, golden hair whipping behind her as she made sharp about faces as she walked back and forth rather irritably. Honestly, it made Kasumi feel a little sick watching her move so sharply and quickly as she rambled on and on about her oppressively depressing job. Kasumi could relate though; this job sounded as soul sucking as the ones she worked when she was alive.

Suddenly, the goddess-like being stopped, coming to a sudden realization. Her back straightened and she fixed her hair with a single run of her elegant fingers, flipping it back expertly before settling what resembled a benevolent expression towards Kasumi.

“Oh, forgive me, my child,” she began, changing her tone completely. From the ranting voice of someone who sounded like they worked a desk job at a black company, to the charming, otherworldly voice of a higher being, the change was quite jarring. “My name is Tulilith. I am the goddess of reincarnation, sister of the goddesses of fate.”

“I’m Hokusai Kasumi,” Kasumi responded automatically, giving a semblance of a bow a ball of soul could manage.

Tulilith laughed softly. “Oh, I know. Thanks to my sisters I am very much aware of who you are and your circumstances. You met with a very tragic fate, haven’t you?”

The goddess reached out, gently cupping Kasumi’s soul in her hands and looking down at her gently. “It must have been very rough and I’m so sorry your life ended so poorly. But we goddesses have judged you worthy of restarting anew.”

Kasumi was speechless. She’d heard of this sort of thing before in passing from coworkers who liked light novels and anime; the whole trope of being reborn into a new world. Although having to live through life again didn’t sound at all appealing to Kasumi – couldn’t she just die and pass on into the afterlife and rest?

“Do I really have to?” Kasumi asked. “Living seems like a lot of work.”

Tulilith chuckled. “Oh, I know, my dear child, but I promise things will be different this time. At the very least I can guarantee you that you won’t be offed the moment you appear in your new home!”

The words were spoken so cheerfully that Kasumi couldn’t help questioning the validity of that statement. For one, why was such a statement even needed in the first place?!

Sensing Kasumi’s unease, Tulilith waved her hand, summoning what seemed to be some kind of image, though everything moved and shifted into different scenes.

An endless plain, a bustling town, a vast ocean and imposing mountain…

“Your new home will be much different from your old one, but very similar in many ways. And I promise that yes, it will be hard at first, but your life will be much different from the one you had before,” Tulilith explained, holding Kasumi’s soul to the portal-like imagery playing before her of the new world ahead. “We goddesses of life, death and fate watch the people of Earth very diligently before passing them on to the next world and from there to the next and so forth, until they find the right world and living the life meant for them. We absolutely do not admit anyone to the afterlife unless they lived a wonderful life filled with experiences and a sense of contentment. Consider it something of a service guarantee from a business.”

That sort of makes some weird sense, Kasumi thought. If she thought of it from a business standpoint, it was like selecting a company to fix a broken pipe and their work was faulty. Most honest organizations would do their best to compensate for the shoddy work. And if her life came with a happiness guarantee, then she did have the right to earn herself compensation.

Yes, if she truly put her mind into such a mindset, with the life she led she deserved proper and due compensation!

If there was one thing her mother taught her that truly helped her in life and stuck with her, it was that if someone wronged you, you must follow through and grab what’s yours.

And that meant haggling negotiating.

“Sounds fair, so…does that mean I can make a request or two?” Kasumi inquired, sounding hopeful. “After all, thanks to you goddesses, it seems I lived a life much more miserable than should have been intended, right?”

“Oh, well…yes?” Tulilith looked a bit confused about the sudden outspokenness of Kasumi, but continued to listen.

“Then I can have some perks when going into the new world, right?”

“Oh, I don’t see why not…” The goddess-like being seemed more indulgent and amused rather than offended Kasumi would be making demands. Perhaps, even a little relieved? “It’s fine to ask for things once in a while, isn’t it?”

That struck a nerve in Kasumi for a second, silencing her. Though Tulilith’s words were benign and most likely meant to be kind, it brought up a sharp moment in Kasumi’s life back on Earth before she died.

“It’s fine to ask for things once in a while, isn’t it?” Kasumi heard her sister’s voice echo in her mind. The little girl that had once been a precious being sounded so bratty and entitled to her as an adult, who never had to lift a finger for anything. Once again, demanding something her older sister got for herself after scrimping and saving what meagre leftovers she got from her own paycheck after handing it over to their parents.

Four years of saving for a brand new dress that she could wear to work in order to look fresher. A beautiful light blue number that Kasumi had wanted for years. Nothing overtly fancy or frilly, but it was meant for her.

“Just give it to me Kasumi, I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss. A pretty dress like that would be wasted on you. I’ve got a date tonight and nothing to wear.”

A lie, she had a closet full of dresses and other outfits. Some of them even stored in Kasumi’s room since her sister barely had enough room to keep all of her own things. She remembered the resentment she had as she handed it over, knowing it wasn’t worth fighting over it. Her father would just yell at her for treating the family baby so badly and her mother would look at her coldly.

Kasumi had looked forward to it so much…

She shook herself out of the memory. Well, that was in the past now. It was a weirdly freeing thought, knowing she didn’t have to deal with them anymore.

“I’d like…” It was almost hard to push the words out. Despite having no physical form at the moment, Kasumi felt her throat close up. Damn, old habits died hard. She had forced herself for so long to go without, to never dare ask for anything, because there was no one to rely upon.

A hand patted the top of her ‘head’.

“There, there Kasumi. It’s all right. Go ahead and say what you want to say,” Tulilith crooned gently. If Kasumi could cry, she would have. “What do you want?”

What did she want? Now that she was here, with a new lease at life it was startlingly hard to choose. What did she really want out of life, now that she can negotiate the life she could have?

If there was one thing she really wanted…

“I want to do art,” Kasumi said, feeling stupid the moment she mentioned it. Tulilith didn’t laugh or scorn her choice, though, merely smiled.

“Is that really what you want?” the goddess asked, to be sure.

Kasumi made an affirmative noise.

“That’s not a problem,” Tulilith replied, “we can certainly make it a guarantee that you will be able to do all the art you like.”

Hearing this Kasumi’s soul perked up.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“All the art I want?”

“Until you grow sick of it, my child. Now…”

Tulilith held Kasumi’s soul above her head, gathering light and pushing it into the mote, slowly giving it a physical form once more.

“If there is anything else you’d like to say or do before I send you off, now would be the time to say or do it.”

In the end, there really wasn’t. Kasumi was too excited at the thought of immersing herself in doing art soon that she really did not ask about too many details. And there was nothing from her old home that would be holding her back, truly, that would make her have any last requests before she was sent off.

“I’m ready to go,” Kasumi confirmed.

Tulilith nodded and released her soul as her body formed, sending her to the next world in sparkling golden light.

“Then from now on, you are no longer Hokusai Kasumi. From this day forth…your new life and name….is Penelope Snowflower!”

---

This was the world of Iraloné and the land in which Penelope would now reside was known as Birain, a country that encompassed most of the eastern continent’s east coast. Based on the knowledge she was blessed with by the goddess of rebirth, Tulilith, the land was a temperate land, which meant it was subject to the changing of the seasons and was home to all kinds of flora and fauna found more or less similarly to European countries. In other words, Penelope should be expecting to have to deal with winter eventually. Luckily for her, Tulilith dropped her off in Birain during the spring season, so there was time to prepare herself for her new life.

In terms of technology Birain had magic that replaced every day conveniences she was used to in her old life, for the most part. Some things were beyond this world currently, like television, radio and long-distance communications and the like, though some people were lucky enough to be capable of magic that allowed that, but it certainly wasn’t an every day occurrence like cellphones on Earth.

So said the knowledge the goddess blessed her with anyways. There were a great many things Penelope didn’t know, like current events, cultures and names of towns and such, but she figured she could figure it out one bit at a time. She was pretty resourceful before, after all. So long as she had a working knowledge of the world, it should be all right.

When she was dropped off Tulilith kissed her forehead, a strange mark appearing for a moment before disappearing. In that moment Penelope suffered a large headache as she was aggressively shoved as much information on Iraloné as possible, in order to aid on her survival.

In this world, everyone was gifted by the goddesses who ruled over every aspect of life, from the moment they were born. A gift could range from having incredible cleaning skills to being able to master swordplay; each one was ranked by levels. It was meant to be a leg up on one skill to help determine a person’s future, though it didn’t mean you couldn’t build up other skills. Penelope was also blessed by one such gift, a skill higher above the rest. She was also taught how to check that as well.

Standing next to a tree overlooking a small pond, Penelope decided it was time to give her status a check. She didn’t expect much, already grateful she can start life again. Tulilith even said she would have brought Penelope directly in front of a town if she wanted, but Penelope said that she would rather be a distance away. At the very least she was left on a road that headed to a nearby town. Right now, Penelope just needed a moment to come to terms with what happened.

After all, it was very, very sudden change.

Penelope didn’t have to work double shifts, had no large amount of work to stress about. At this time and moment she was free and it was such a weird feeling, knowing that nobody would be harassing her any time soon.

Is this decision paralysis? Penelope thought to herself. Knowing that the sky’s the limit now made her feel a little uneasy. She cupped her face, trying to wrestle with this feeling of not knowing what her next step was when she realized how full her cheeks felt.

Oh, right. This is a new body given to me by Tulilith.

Perhaps the best course of action was to take stock of her immediate assets; in this case, she should take a look at herself. Her former self had become something of a husk of a woman in her late thirties, so she had to wonder what she looked like now. Casting her gaze around, she figured the pond would serve well enough as a mirror.

Crouching by the water’s side, Penelope took a look at her new self.

…Wow, is that really me?

The girl inside the reflected water touched her face at the same time that Penelope did, moved to run through silky light blue hair just in the same way. She stared into the blue eyes of the stranger in the water, a hue similar to that of the goddess she recently met upon her death as Hokusai Kasumi. As far as Penelope could assess, the new form she possessed was that of a cute ten-year-old girl.

I was wondering why everything seemed so high and low all at once. So that’s why…

She came fully clothed, too, and the dress she wore. Penelope smiled bittersweetly. Though this was a version meant for a child, it reminded her of the dress she had to give up so long ago. The same light blue that she liked so much.

“How silly…everything about me is blue…are you trying to say something, you fretful goddess?” Penelope spoke aloud, finally hearing her own voice in this new form. God, how could she sound so young. Did she ever sound like that before?

Everything was so new, it truly sunk in that she was now a new person, that her old self had died and so pathetically, too, that it would garner the sympathy of a goddess…

A ripple appeared in the pond’s water. And then another, and then another…

Tears fell from Penelope’s eyes, mourning the loss of her old life. It had not been the best and every day was harder than the last, but it had been her life, after all. One that she worked hard to build. She had been a proud worker, someone who did best to support her family, just to get a scrap of happiness –

Penelope wailed and cried, because she knew nobody would care if she had died. That she did die. The only person who would care about the loss of Hokusai Kasumi would be the person she was now and she let it all out. The unfairness of treatment between herself and her younger sister. About how no matter how much she did, there was no praise, no love. Simply harsh words of “You should be doing this in the first place.” She had no friends, no support. It was such a wretched life, so she cried and cried and cried as she processed the shock of it all. Freedom was hers now, and yet, she couldn’t help, but to feel a little miserable.

A new place, a new life. She has to start over again.

The person in her reflection was someone she didn’t know yet. Surely, she would come to build and know the person that was Penelope Snowflower, but for now, she wailed for a wasted life, filled with sadness and regret.

Penelope didn’t know how long she wept by the pond, but her tears eventually stopped and the pain felt dull in her chest. She couldn’t summon the tears back in that endless void where she met the goddess of rebirth, but as things settled, it took the young girl a bit of time to cope with the change. She had never cried so much before. Maybe she’d been holding it in since the beginning.

It felt good, in a way. Letting it all out.

Ah, I never knew I was such a crybaby, Penelope thought. I never would have dreamed of crying before. I was never allowed…

Looking back at her reflection she saw how red her eyes were, and how puffy her face became. Goodness. Maybe it was a good thing she never cried if this was going to be the result.

In the water Penelope saw a tinge of orange. Oh, had that much time passed since she arrived? She must have needed more time to come to terms with everything than she thought. Raising her eyes to peer up at the orange sky, she could only guess how fast time had slipped by and was a little annoyed with herself for wasting so much time.

Even if she took off now, she wasn’t sure how long it would be before she got to town. Also, even when she did, she didn’t have money.

Or did she?

Penelope had been given a small satchel to carry things, but she hadn’t taken the time to check its contents. Would there be money in there? Opening it up she was both delighted and disappointed.

Not a single coin in there. However, there was plenty of parchment paper and a few sticks of charcoal to draw with. Not the fanciest things to start off with, but for an artist like Penelope anything was good enough. On further inspection, there was nothing below the pile of paper. So, no food, no money, no other prospects. Penelope did say she wanted to do art, but how could she survive on just art alone?! Unlike most artists, she was realistic! You couldn’t survive on nothing, but art! At least pack her a piece of bread or something!

Well, based on her past life, she knew she could live for a long time without food, so long as she had water, so there wasn’t a big emergency, yet. The pond next to her could service her for a bit, at least until tomorrow so she could figure something out. No, the real problems were making money to eventually take care of two large problems:

Feeding herself and shelter.

Looking at her little hands, she had to wonder the wisdom of sending her in a child’s body to Iraloné. Would this place allow a child like her to work to earn her coin? No immediate information on the topic popped up, so it would have to be something she’d learn on the morrow when she eventually traveled during the day to make it to town. And if people did hire kids, just what would they hire them for? What skills did she have? Penelope wasn’t foolish enough to think she could rake it in with such a tiny body.

“Oh, right! My stats. I got so distracted I didn’t think to check. Now let’s see, how did Tulilith say it works…? Oh, right...Status Open!”

Right before her eyes, a holographic-like screen appeared before her, like a menu on a computer program, detailing her specs.

[PENELOPE SNOWFLOWER LEVEL 1]

[HP: 100

MP: 100

STR: 5

DEF: 5

MAG: 10

SPD: 5

ACQUIRED SKILLS

COOKING: LEVEL 5

CLEANING: LEVEL 5

IMAGINATION: LEVEL 10

ARTISTRY: LEVEL 10]

 

Well, that seemed about right. She hadn’t been an expert in videogames, but what few she snuck to play as Kasumi led her to believe she had newbie skills that correlated to her actual level. Seeing her artistry and imagination skills at level 10 made her smile, as it was the highest skill she possessed currently. She guessed things were most likely ranked from 1 to 100 and having something that high at such a low level was a decent start, as promised by how this world works. Most kids her age would probably have something like this similar to her with one skill in particular being higher than others in order to nurture an interest in a trade or job.

Well, if nothing else, the goddess did make good on the promise she could draw. It still miffed Penelope there wasn’t much else to work with. Hopefully people of this day and age liked buying artwork. Or maybe she could work in a kitchen to earn her keep. Yes, as long as she had arms and legs, it should be okay. Tomorrow she would find work.

Thus her main problem was going to be shelter.

“I could sleep at the base of the tree…? No, even though it’s spring it might be too cold. Maybe in the branches if I climbed up?” The safest option seemed to be the tree branches and Penelope decided to climb upwards.

Well, a climbing skill was definitely something she didn’t have as getting above a few feet was a chore. Though Penelope was quite stubborn and even though her hands and arms were weaker than that of her 39-year-old self, she made it up to the first branch at least. While it seemed strong from where she had been standing below, now that she perched herself on the branch it felt very unstable, plying almost with her small weight.

There was going to be no easy sleep that night.

Penelope’s heart race as she tried different positions, but every time she moved on the branch it would dip suddenly or bend, which caused her to yelp or almost fall off. Eventually she managed to settle, pressed up against the trunk and where the branch was thickest. How did other kids in her past make this look so effortless and easy?! Penelope was sure to fall just from breathing wrong.

Knowing she would not fall asleep easily nor actually rest, but would be safe enough hidden among the leaves, Penelope set to occupying herself for the next several hours.

As the sun slowly fell, Penelope observed the tree she was in. The trunk was strong, the bark not especially rough, but definitely with a texture she did not recognize at all. The leaves were also not large or thick, like a maple leaf, but they were numerous enough to hide her small form. There were little dark orbs as well, she noticed. A kind of fruit? She reached up and plucked one, turning it around in her finger. She squished it gently, feeling the texture of the fruit and finding its nature nagging at the back of her mind.

She sniffed it and though she rarely ate them before, Penelope recognized that this was an olive! Or something similar to an olive. Her hopes soared at the thought – food! Granted, it wasn’t her favourite thing to eat, it was better than starving until she got to town. But wait, wait, wait. She had to slow down. Foolish people would immediately eat a foreign thing and get sick. She had to be practical about this. She shouldn’t stuff her face with these in case they were poisoned. Best thing she could do was maybe lick one? If they were poisonous, she would have a tingle in her tongue, like that of an allergic reaction, right?

God, she wished she’d been given more practical knowledge of this world before Tulilith left.

Well, only one way to find out. Maybe she would be lucky and she’d be saved by the goddesses; they did say she’d have a guarantee of not dying right away. If not, she would heartily demand compensation for her next life!

Breaking the fruit in half, she found a small pit inside, which she tossed onto the ground. Taking a breath, she brought one half of the tiny fruit and have it a quick lick.

There were immediate regrets.

It wasn’t as if a fast-acting poison had taken hold of her and she was foaming at the mouth, body with paralysis and she tumbled to her doom once more. Oh, no. What assailed her tongue wasn’t a poison, but simply the most bitter taste she ever had!

“Oh, grosssss!!!” she shouted. She hated bitter foods as Kasumi. Seemed in her new life this was also a truth. She licked it again to hope maybe her tongue would get used to it, but it somehow got worse. Ugh.

After waiting a few minutes to gather herself and do a mental check if her body was having a reaction, she eventually deemed this olive-like fruit safe, if disgusting, to eat.

“Maybe that’s why they’re always brined like pickles? Maybe it hid this disgustingly bitter taste,” she mused aloud, dutifully picking more from the nearby area.

Well, she couldn’t complain, there was something to eat. She packed some into her satchel while a handful was kept to eat now. Penelope looked at the food sadly, but made herself eat them one by one, citing to herself she had to deal with worse before. Much, much worse. At least she was fed.

“I want rice,” she mumbled despondently. To think that in the morning she would be subjecting herself to eating more of these…

After the olive escapade she was still left alone in the tree, though now darkness was truly settling in. Some light of a rising moon filtered through the canopy of leaves around her, but she could barely make out her own hand.

Yet still, she eventually came to an old comfort: drawing.

If she couldn’t sleep, then she could get started on making some art.

Bringing a piece of charcoal to a piece of parchment, she began her first little sketch. Nothing fancy, just to see what she could make. Visualize, perhaps, something she wanted since she was here in this new world.

“I want a home. I want a place to be safe. Where I can sleep…” These were the words she said to herself with conviction. A house came to being on the page. Due to the lack of light there was no extreme detail, but generally had the essence of a house. Since she was currently a child, she forgive her own whimsy at drawing herself as a childish stick figure next to her house. Comically as big as the house she had drawn, as normal for children who tended to make these kinds of drawings. Not the work of a classical artist, but just being able to put an image to paper gave her soul ease.

Yeah, she thought. Things will be okay. I’ll figure it out! I’ll make it work in this new world. I’ll get a home and I’ll be able to do whatever I want and be happy!

A little smile was drawn onto her drawing self on the paper too accent this thought. And as she drew her charcoal away from the paper, it suddenly began to glow, shocking Penelope greatly.

The lines took on a golden hue and came off the page, flying towards the area next to the pond. Penelope watched as they built a foundation similar to what she had drawn before sticking together and solidifying. Filling in parts that was missing, like in a colouring page, tough instead of colour was the materials needed to make her picture a reality. Walls came up, a door and single lamp overlooking the entrance. In one last burst of golden light, the structure settled, as if it had always been there.

Penelope was gobsmacked.

“Wh…what just happened?!”