Chapter 25

We were ready to leave. We walked back across the hall and down the stairs. We left the house and went down to the pink house. The key fit, and we went inside. There was a staircase and we went down.

There was a dramatic change in scenery. It became very dark. "Whoa... It's dark," said Garry. He warned me, "Watch your step, Ib." We carefully walked down the stairs. At the end of it, we followed the path through.

When we entered the next area, Garry said, "...This place looks familiar..." It did. It looked like the entrance to the museum! It was an exact replica.

I looked to Garry and he looked to me. For once, we would take our time and enjoy the art gallery. I took him to all the paintings and notices I didn't understand before. He read to me the notice near the big fish. "'Welcome to the World of Guertena' We truly thank you for attending today. We're currently holding an exhibition for the great artist Weiss Guertena. We hope you deeply enjoy the art of the late Guertena, whose creations carry such mystery and beauty both."

He read the title of the painting next to it. "A Well-Meaning Hell." I still didn't understand it. He read the title of the big fish. "'Abyss of the Deep' A world where man will never stand... To realize that world, I decided that I would engrave it within the canvas." Thank you for that, Guertena.

We went down to the rose sculpture. Garry read the title, "'Embodiment of Spirit' Beautiful at a glance, but if you get too close, it will induce pain. It can only bloom in wholesome bodies." Now I understood. We moved on to the next paintings.

Down the hall was a row of exhibits which I didn't understand before. Garry courteously read them aloud to me. "Twinkling of Crystals and Stars." We moved on up through the hallway.

He read all the paintings on the wall aloud. "Serpent Spirit. Glass of Antipodes. Horizon View. Beach Isolation." I still didn't understand them, but I was impressed with Garry's vocabulary. Having seen all the paintings here, we returned to the entrance and went up the stairs.

One of the paintings I didn't understand had "Towers" as the second word. Garry read it and told me the first word was "Couplet." I thought for a minute. Like couple? I shrugged and pulled him to the next one I didn't understand. "Still Life on Table," he read. He told me this was a kind of style of art where painters paint something like a bowl of fruit on a table. I thought that was boring. We moved on.

The next one he read was "Misshapen Diamond." Now that I look at it, it does look like a weird shape. The next painting was a hard one. "Spectacle of Century's End," he read. This was the painting that the old couple was looking at. I giggled. Maybe it was their hundredth anniversary.

The big pink ball with swords sticking in it was "Wariness" according to Garry. It was too abstract for my taste. The sculpture of the blue woman was called "Fusion." Garry said that it meant to combine things. But that's weird. I didn't see anything being combined... The kitty painting read "Your Dark Figure." It was still cute though. We went through the hall.

It was the painting that started it all. All the weird things that began happening started when I looked at it. Yet, it looked different. It was different than when I last saw it. I read the title. "'? World' Once you go in, there's no going back. All your time here will be lost. Will you still jump in?" I still didn't understand the first word. I asked Garry what it was.

"What's this big mural..." he muttered. "'Fabricated World'? Hey, isn't that... The former gallery?" I looked at it and I couldn't really remember where we were before. He began to get excited. "Does that mean... If we jump into this, we'll go back there?!"

Then he stopped and thought. "But how are we meant to jump into a painting...?" he contemplated. Suddenly, lights began flashing. Garry gasped. "Wh-What?!" The lights flashed once more and there was a sound.

"Ib, look!" Garry said, pointing. "The frame...!" It was gone! Vanished. He looked at me and said, "Now might be our chance...!" He took a step back, and made a dash at the painting. He jumped in.

"Yes! I'm really in!" he exclaimed. "Hurry up, Ib!" I reached out and began to pull myself up. Then I heard a voice.

"Ib..." it called out. I heard a footstep. I stopped. Garry was incredulous. "Ib! What's wrong? Come on!" He didn't hear the voice?

Oh... "Ib! I finally found you!" It was... my mother. It was really her. "Sheesh... I was looking everywhere! Don't just go running off places on your own!" she scolded me. Then she smiled. "Your father's waiting for you too, see? Let's go, Ib!" She beckoned me to come.

Garry's voice reverberated in the air. "Ib! Hey, what are you doing?! Hurry up and come over!" He sounded worried. I turned back to my mother. "Ib! How many times have I told you? Don't go following strangers!" she yelled. But he was my friend.

Garry said to me, "Hey, it's not scary, okay? You'll be fine!" I turned and looked at him. He was beyond the painting. My mother yelled at me again. "Ib! Listen to your mother! Don't go with some stranger! Do you want to never see your mother and father again?" No... No I didn't want that.

I heard a noise and saw that Garry was kneeling. He offered his hand. "Ib! I'll pull you over!" My mother walked a few steps closer with an outstretched hand.

Simultaneously, they said, "Come with me... Grab my hand... IB!" I was torn. What do I do? My family? Garry? A thousand swirling thoughts inside my mind. I took a deep breath, and thought. I calmed myself. Wait, could this even be my real mother? What if she was fake? But she certainly seemed real... Acted real too... But if there was one thing I was sure of, it was that Garry was real. So I chose him.

I took his hand. "Alright!" he exclaimed and pulled me in. There was sudden bright light and we fell in.

...? What happened? My head hurt. I looked behind me. It was a mural. "? World." Darn, I didn't know the first word. I shrugged. Someday, when I'm big, I'll learn more words. I walked out to see more paintings.

I remember looking at the pamphlet my dad showed me from the gallery. One of the main exhibits was a giant fish! I ran to it and saw that it was crowded. It looked really cool, like it was actually real. I thought it would eat me. I ran, giggling from the drawing.

The next sculpture I saw was really pretty. It was a red rose. There was someone there, staring at it. He looked kind of funny. He had purplish hair and a really ragged coat. When I was looking at him, he turned around.

"...Hm? What is it, little lady?" I asked what he was looking at. "Hm? Well, let's see... It's a rose sculpture, I guess..." he said quietly. He turned back to it. "...When I look at this sculpture..." he began. "I feel somehow sorrowful... ...I wonder why?" I wondered why too.

He turned around again and his eyes met mine. "...Ah, I'm sorry if I said anything to trouble you, Ib..." he said. What?! How did he know my name? He had a confused look on his face. "...Wait, what? Who's Ib?" I'm Ib! I told him.

"What? That's your name? Your name's really Ib?" he asked, scratching his head. "That's the strangest thing... I mean, I don't know you at all... It just kind of came out... How odd..." he whispered to himself.

"But... actually..." he began. "Have we, perhaps, met somewhere before...?" I thought for a minute and didn't recall anything. "...My, look at me, asking you such strange things..." he said. Shaking his head, he finally said, "Never mind what I said. ...Well, bye." He smiled, and began to leave.

Suddenly, he stopped. "Hm?" he gasped. He was feeling his pocket. He pulled out... a handkerchief? Wait, that looks like my handkerchief! I reached in my pocket, but it wasn't there. "What's this... a handkerchief? When did I get this..."

I went up to him to reclaim it. "Ah... This is yours?" he asked. I showed him my proof. "...My word, it's true. 'Ib'... Your name's right on it. But why is it in my pocket?" he wondered aloud. Then he looked a little grossed out. "Plus, there's blood on it..."

Suddenly, there was a rapid flash of memory in my mind. I gasped. I remembered. I remembered everything. Garry gasped as well. Garry... his name was Garry!

He said, "I was... I was... wounded. On the hand... and..." Then his face turned white. "A girl... A girl gave me her handkerchief..." He must have remembered now, too!

"Yes... This handkerchief was given to me as a gift... It was a gift..." he said. Then he looked into my eyes. "From Ib!" He stepped forward to hug me. Tears were streaming down our eyes, remembering all that had happened, all that we had gone through.

"Ib...! I remember now... We were together back there... How could I have forgotten?" He brought his palm to his face. "It was so important...! We stuck together through that bizarre gallery... Chased by strange statues... And Mary too, right?" I nodded. Mary... Poor Mary.

Garry then asked me, "Ib... Do you remember?" I remembered everything. "Oh thank goodness!" he exclaimed. "...There's so much more I want to talk about, but I've got to get going." He looked at his watch and prepared to leave. "Ah, uh, Ib..." he stuttered. "Is it all right if I keep this handkerchief a while longer? It wouldn't do to return it as it is..." He felt the bloodstained lace cloth with his thumbs.

"I'll have to... make it clean, and then give it back." Then he turned to leave. "Because... we will see each other again!" He hurried out of the museum. I knew his words were true. I knew we would see him again. Fate brought us together in the Fabricated World, and it can surely bring us together in the real world.

I found my parents and told them I was ready to leave. I told them I was hungry, and wanted to try something called macarons...