By: Victoria You

Jing was still awake, and she had lost track of the time a long time ago. Sighing, she got up to quench her thirst, which she hoped would help her sleep. As she made her way downstairs, she stayed as quiet as possible, for she didn’t want to wake up her parents, who were still asleep. Then, she heard a small voice somewhere near her. She couldn’t quite make out any words, but still, she heard it there; unmistakably, it was telling her something.

Trying to shrug off her curiosity, she continued down the stairs, but then she saw her phone on the counter. I must have forgotten it here before going to bed, she thought. Taking the chance, Jing checked the time. It was past midnight. She groaned loudly. But then she heard it again, a small wisp of a voice desperately trying to tell her something.

As if drawn by the voice, she followed it, and slowly, ever so slowly, she slid the door to the backyard open. Strangely, the sound seemed to get louder, more like a laser than smoke. The voice guided Jing to the pond in the backyard, and when she leaned over to see what was in it, expecting to see her own reflection. The reflection that she had hated all her life, the girl with white hair and blue eyes despite being Asian. Neither her dad nor her mom had that hair or those eyes. But when she looked, she was shocked to see different stars and different plants in its reflection.

She leaned over, attempting to get a better look, and stumbled into the pond! She seemed to teleport, rolling onto grass. She got up. Weaving her hands through her hair, she remarked that it was dry. She furrowed her eyebrows and pinched her arm, blazing pain spread through it—this is not a dream.

“Hi, you must be Jing, right? I’m Yue,” said a sudden voice behind her, making her spin! Another girl was there, with silver hair and golden eyes! “Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you! I’m a fox spirit of the moon,” Yue continued. Yue said it so casually, and that confused Jing, who was silent. “Did you not know? YOU’RE a dragon spirit of the water.” Jing felt like there was a big adventure ahead of her.