Arcadia of Woven Dreams

In the beginning, the Membrance Maze was still a wasteland. The boy and the girl of Aedes Elysiae brought seeds from outside and taught the elves how to sow them. After the young shoots opened into flowers, the elves followed their example, tracing the golden-furred bees beside the grape trellis to harvest the nectar. Later the flowers faded and the fruit grew large, and the harvest season came. The elves gathered together to hum songs of celebration, and a lively feast lasted deep into the night. And after that night, what then? Then they took this year's jars of nectar and buried them deep in the ground, waiting for it to ferment into a medicine that could heal both the cold of winter and the pains of growing up.

The sweet wine festival every year is always like this.

At this year's festival, “Has anyone seen where Relimem went?” the village chief asked, shaking his snow-white beard.

The elves searched and searched, and at last found Relimem in front of the door of the treehouse, sleeping deeply, snore bubbles blowing from the corner of its mouth, as if it were dreaming a very sweet dream. Milimem drew closer out of curiosity and heard it talking in its sleep... “Snowy, Reney, you promised you would come back, so we could drink the thornfruit wine we buried last year together!”

“Relimem” in the dream dreamed that it had turned into a giant “Relimem”... Big enough to plug up the tree hollow that leads to the Membrance Maze. It was still the same two tiny children who could never find the way in. Snowy and Reney tickled “Relimem's” ear with a reed, then climbed onto “Relimem's” belly and jumped about, calling its name loudly. But “Relimem” was sleeping too deeply and heard nothing at all.

“Oh no, could it be that the reason Snowy and Reney cannot reach the Membrance Maze is that I have blocked up the entrance?”

“Relimem” in the dream gave a start of fright.

“Ah... Achoo!”

“Relimem” sneezed once and finally woke up. What luck, what luck! It had not turned into a giant “Relimem” blocking the way, but then why were there elves crowded all around it?

“Where are Snowy and Reney? Have they come yet?”

The elves shook their heads, unable to remember how many sweet wine festivals it had now been that Snowy and Reney had not come back.

“Relimem” was disappointed once more. Had it known it would be so, it would have let the dream go on a little longer.

Little “Relimem” still does not know how to describe this feeling. If it absolutely had to be said, then perhaps it is like the feeling on the last day of summer each year, when you let the fireflies fluttering inside the glass jar fly away.

“You must remember our promise! Whenever you blow the Wishing Whistle in your hand, no matter how far away we are, we will hear it.”

That was the first time the boy and the girl of Aedes Elysiae came to the Membrance Maze and met the elves. They were playing hide and seek with friends in the yard, and by accident slipped and fell into a tree hollow deep in the weeds. The tree hollow was deep and dark, like a bottomless slide, and after sliding all the way to the very end they did not crash down dizzy as they had expected, but shot straight into a pile of elves...

“One two three four five six seven, so many puppies, um... bunnies?”

“Wrong, wrong. It is do re mi fa sol la ti. Our names in order are Dorimem, Solimem, Relimem...!”

The friendship of the children and the elves came as fast and as brilliant as a thousand shooting stars. They had a happy day together, but very soon the moment of parting arrived, for if they did not go home their parents would worry.

“After we part, can we ever meet again?” the boy asked with a sad face.

Parting... Meeting again... The elves did not quite understand. The Membrance Maze had never had parting, and had never had reunion either. But looking at the faces of the children, it must certainly be something sad. The purple “Relimem” thought for a moment. “Snowy, Reney, wait for me, I have something to give you!”

The boy and the girl cradled Relimem's gift in their hands. It was a whistle shaped like an elf's ear, made by Relimem's own hands, with seven holes upon it. Blow it and it gives out a melodious sound, standing in turn for do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti. Relimem said solemnly, “If next time you want to come and play in the Membrance Maze again, you need only blow this whistle. Whether we are sleeping, singing, or building leaf houses, we will certainly hear it, and then we will open the tree hollow that leads to the Membrance Maze for you.”

“It is the mysterious whistle that wakes the elves!” the girl said with a mischievous smile. “Pinky promise, we will come back.”

From then on, the moment Relimem was happiest was when the whistle sounded, and it would always shout at the top of its voice... I heard it, both ears heard it!

Until much later, Snowy and Reney, who left Aedes Elysiae, remembered everything from their childhood. The rusted tin toys, the toy soldiers with broken arms and legs in the granary, the flowers crocheted from felt, all the rain that could not fall, the blood long since dried and the rice fields burned to nothing.

But they forgot the whistle buried beneath the ground, and a promise that would never be kept.