The Dawn Unaware Of The Dusk

One day, Gelda took Liebe and Elizabeth to the playground, as usual. While playing in the sand with baby one-year-old Elizabeth, Liebe saw a beautiful girl playing by herself. Liebe walked up to her and said, "Hello, I'm Liebe. Who are you? Want to be friends? Let's play together."

The girl turned around and just walked away. Liebe was a bit surprised, and then Gelda came over, patted him on the head, and said, "Well, that was weird… Good job, Liebe. You're truly kind."

That night during dinner, Lilith asked, "Liebe, did anything interesting happen today?"

Tenebris added, "Did you make any new friends today?"

Liebe replied, "No, Daddy. Nothing like that happened."

Lilith asked, "So what's got you down today?"

Liebe said, "While I was playing with Elizabeth in the sand, I saw a girl playing alone. I wanted to be friends with her, so I said hi and some stuff... but she just stood up and left."

Lilith smiled and said, "That's quite a tale. Don't worry—not everyone wants to be your friend."

Liebe looked surprised. "What?"

Tenebris said, "Lilith, maybe you hit the little guy in the ego a bit too hard."

Lilith chuckled and said, "Don't worry. Who knows—maybe your paths will cross again."

Liebe murmured, "I don't know, Mommy."

"There, there," Lilith said, patting his head.

The next day, at the playground, Liebe saw the same girl again. He tried to say hi, but again, she walked away. This continued every day for the next 93 days. Each day, a little piece of Liebe's ego died. It was a miracle he still had any pride left after the ordeal.

But on day 94, when he greeted her, she actually said "Hi" back. Liebe lit up and said, "I'm Liebe. I'm from the House of Faust. Want to play together? Want to be my friend?"

She stood up and left again.

Liebe was disappointed once more. But from that day on, she began to open up little by little. From a "hi" to a "hello," then to full conversations. The girl's name was Alysa Bouduin, the lone daughter of an Eldorian delegate currently posted in the Grand Empire.

Eventually, they became true friends.

It turned out Alysa had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), and what was once the hardest part of her day—walking away from the only person who wanted to be her friend—slowly became the best part of her day: having someone she could talk to about anything. Even with SAD, she could speak to Liebe from dawn to dusk.

Eventually, Licht also joined their little group, and the four of them were always together, playing every day without fail. From pretending to find lost treasure to slaying imaginary monsters, those childhood days of imagination and laughter were the greatest treasure Lucifer could ever ask for.

Who knew such days, full of smiles, would soon come to an end… the way they did?