0part1.txt
From Anon Vn
Latest version uploaded around 4am EST on December 25, 2009. Merry Christmas.
;Dandy Girl ; *define kidokuskip mode_wave_demo caption "Dandy Girl beta2.110" ;Rough Final Draft versionstr "Dandygirl" , "beta2.110" savename `Save`,`Load`,`File ` savenumber 20 effectblank 0 mp3fadeout 4000 ;Supposedly affects mp3 fadeout time, seemingly unspported in current ONScripter build ;we're using. transmode alpha selectcolor #ffffff,#cccccc menuselectcolor #ffffff,#aaaaaa,#999999 menuselectvoice "","","","","","","" humanz 10 rmenu `Save game`,save,`Load game`,load,`Hide window`,windowerase,`Reset`,reset,`Quit`,end ;rclick menu menusetwindow 20,20,0,2,0,1,#333333 defaultfont "Sazanami Gothic" ; killmenu 1 ;This command works only in NScripter. ; killmenu 1 ; killmenu 4 ; killmenu 4 ; killmenu 3 defaultspeed 10,5,0 underline 599 ; underline 479 effect 2,10,1500 ;Pixelwise crossfade effect 3,11,200 ;Left-sided scroll effect 4,10,3000 ;Pixelwise crossfade, long effect 5,10,50 ;Pixelwise crossfade, fast effect 6,10,400 ;Pixelwise crossfade effect 7,10,6000 ;Pixelwise crossfade effect 8,10,4000 ;Pixelwise crossfade, VERY slow effect 9,10,500 ;Pixelwise crossfade effect 10,10,250 ;Pixelwise crossfade for 500 milliseconds, by far the most-used effect in this novel effect 11,10,800 ;Pixelwise crossfade, medium effect 12,8,1000 ;Upwards curtain effect 13,9,1000 ;Downwards curtain effect 15,18,100 ;Crossfade via pattern mask, no filename set, so there could be a problem effect 16,15 ;Mosiac out, no time length specified, may cause a problem later ;sprite strings stralias jula1 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-1.png" stralias jula2 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-2.png" stralias jula3 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-3.png" stralias jula4 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-4.png" stralias jula5 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-5.png" stralias jula6 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-6.png" stralias jula7 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-7.png" stralias jula8 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-8.png" stralias jula9 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-9.png" stralias jula10 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-10.png" stralias julb1 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-1.png" stralias julb2 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-2.png" stralias julb3 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-3.png" stralias julb4 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-4.png" stralias julb5 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-5.png" stralias julb6 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-6.png" stralias julb7 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-7.png" stralias julb8 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-8.png" stralias julb9 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-9.png" stralias julb10 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_2-10.png" stralias jule1 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-1.png" stralias jule2 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-2.png" stralias jule3 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-3.png" stralias jule4 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-4.png" stralias jule5 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-5.png" stralias jule6 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-6.png" stralias jule7 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-7.png" stralias jule8 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-8.png" stralias jule9 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-9.png" stralias jule10 "char/julie/sprite_blue_talk_2-10.png" stralias julc1 "char/julie/sprite_dance_3.png" stralias julc2 "char/julie/sprite_white_zoom_1-2.png" stralias juld1 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_1.png" stralias juld2 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_2.png" stralias juld3 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_3.png" stralias juld4 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_4.png" stralias juld5 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_5.png" stralias juld6 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_6.png" stralias juld7 "char/julie/sprite_white_stand_7.png" stralias julcur1 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-3.png" stralias julskept1 "char/julie/sprite_white_talk_1-8.png" ;bg strings stralias fie01 "bg/bg01.jpg" stralias fie02 "bg/CG_white_0.jpg" stralias overl "bg/CG_white_4.jpg" stralias wood1 "bg/sprite_black_bg_1.jpg" stralias rnsky "bg/bg10.png" stralias clrsky "bg/CG_sky_2.png" stralias dskfield "bg/bg09.jpg" stralias sunset "bg/bg06.jpg" stralias black "bg/black.png" stralias hom1 "bg/bg02.jpg" stralias hom2 "bg/bg04.jpg" stralias hom3 "bg/bg05.jpg" ;cg strings stralias julstd1 "cg/frame01.png" stralias julstd2 "cg/frame02.png" stralias hug1 "cg/blackhugz.png" stralias hug2 "cg/sprite_black_hugz_2.png" stralias ohlook "cg/sprite_point_2.png" stralias spinanr "cg/frame04.png" stralias spinanl "cg/CG_white_8.png" stralias solmnexpl "cg/CG_white_9.png" stralias inbetween "cg/inbetween.png" stralias walkaway "cg/stepstep.png" stralias gore "cg/gore1.png" stralias darkexp "cg/sprite_black_stand_1.png" stralias julieexplains "cg/srsexpln.png" windoweffect 10,200 ;Adjusts stuff like how quickly the text window ;disappears between effects defmp3vol 80 ;Afaik, these settings have no effect defsevol 80 defvoicevol 80 globalon ;allow use of global variables automode ;enables automode, press 'a' to activate automode_time 2000 ;adjust this variable to affect automode speed ;definition block end----------------------------------- game *start setwindow 15,17,23,23,25,25,0,2,18,1,1,#ffffff,0,0,800,700 !sd bg "cg/jpproject.png",10 ;/jp/ project splash screen wait 3000 ;remove the beta version lines in the final build ;-------------------------- bg black,10 br br `This is a beta version. The script, art and music aren't finished yet.\ !d 2000 ;--------------------------- ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/petals in the wind.ogg" mp3loop "bgm/petals in the wind.mp3" *title1 bg "sys/title_test2.jpg",10 lsp 1,":c/2,160,3;sys/btn_start.jpg",30,130 lsp 2,":c/2,160,3;sys/btn_load.jpg",33,180 ;lsp 3,":c/2,160,3;sys/btn_extra.jpg",30,230 lsp 4,":c/2,160,3;sys/btn_exit.jpg",33,280 print 1 spbtn 1,1 spbtn 2,2 spbtn 3,3 spbtn 4,4 *btn btnwait2 %0 if %0<=0 goto *btn if %0=1 goto *beginning if %0=2 goto *menu_load if %0=4 stop:csp -1:bg white,10,1000:end *menu_load csp -1 bg white,1 systemcall load goto *title1 *beginning csp -1 bg black,10 ;dwavestop 0 stop !d 2000 setwindow 15,17,23,23,25,25,0,2,18,1,1,#999999,0,0,800,700 !sd ;br ;br ;br ;` The Curtain Falls\ ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/curtain fall alt.ogg" mp3loop, "bgm/curtain fall alt.mp3 !d 500 `This girl standing in the golden field reminded Mark of Edna St. Vincent Millay, which hadn't crossed his mind in years.@ He wondered why that might be, as he watched her spin around in circles with the breeze whipping through her hair.@ br `Perhaps it was the way the sun angled off of her golden-colored hair, and the childish display of energy? Or was it the way her white dress swirled around her slender legs...?\ `"Where's she from...?"@ br `She was truly breath-taking.@ br `Mark smiled, admiring her, and thought that her energetic dance looked like something plucked out from his past.\ `........... No.@ That wasn't quite right, either.@ br !d 2000 `That's right.@ She wasn't from the past at all, was she...?\ !d 3000 bg fie01,8 !d 1000 `"Ha...@ augh...@ haaa..."\ !d 3000 bg julstd1,10 `Mark hadn't noticed her right away.@ The climb up the rocky slope had left him sweaty and out of breath, and the only thought crossing his mind was how quickly he could empty his canteen into his stomach.@ br `When it was empty, he finally noticed her, and his mouth somehow felt dry once again.\ `She hadn't seen him yet.@ Mark wondered how he could make her notice him without scaring her off.@ Would she stay and continue her wild dance,@ or take to the sky and fly away,@ like a frail, beautiful bird just out of his reach?\ `"..........."@ br `He hung his head and took a deep breath.\ bg julstd2,10 `And then, when he looked at her again,@ she had turned around and begun looking right back,@ like some kind of curious animal.\ bg black,18,1700,"sys/m2.jpg" ;dwavestop 0 stop !d 3000 ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/moody princess.ogg" mp3loop "bgm/moody princess.mp3" bg hom2,18,700,"sys/msk11.JPG" !d 1000 `The two weeks I'd saved in my work schedule for Summer vacation went to waste.... maybe.@ When my wife had been unexpectedly summoned for jury duty, I'd been forced to spend them alone.@ br `I spent days sitting inside, or climbing the rocky walls, or just lounging about waiting for time to pass.\ bg black,10 `I was pretty lonely.@ br `Up till now I'd been leading a lonely existence,@ fishing off the pier in the day and reading the cool evenings away.@ It was peaceful, but very dismal at the same time.\ `.... After two days the routine had caught up with me, and I'd taken off into the woods without purpose or direction and eventually climbed up to the place where I met this strange girl.\ bg black,1 !d 1000 bg fie01,1 quakey 5,800 `"Haaa.... haaaa."@ br `I was wheezing really badly, and I could hear my own ragged breath.@ My lungs were on fire, and my legs felt like they'd been turned to stone.@ br `But the girl in front of me put me at ease.@ Her smile, her giggling and her silly dance seemed to make the pain in my joints ease.\ ;dwavestop 0 stop `".........?"@ br `She finally noticed me?\ dwave 1,"sfx/footsteps.ogg" ld c julcur1,10 dwavestop 1 `"........."@ br `"........."@ br `She stared at me with big, bright blue eyes.@ About as blue as the sky surrounding her.@ They were covered just a little by her hair, which had a shade like the sun or the brilliant dandelions here.\ ld c julskept1,10 `It brought on a bad case of deja vu so strong I almost reached out to touch her.\ `Eesh.@ ...... Better keep my hands to myself.\ ld c jula9,10 `Ah, what am I thinking like that for, anyway?@ I'm forty-four, and this girl can't be much older than twenty....@ Creepy, Mark.@ Creepy.@ br ld c jula2, 10 `Anyway,@ talk, talk, talk, you idiot.\ `"Aha...@ ha...@ hi, there...@ nice view here, isn't it...?"@ br `The girl blinked, then her face broke out into a grin.\ ld c julb4, 10 br `"Ah! So, I'm not the only one who thinks so, am I!"\ ;dwaveloop 0,"bgm/coldfunk.ogg" mp3loop "bgm/little phantasie.mp3" br bg spinanr,3 quakex 3,500 `The strange girl spun around and swept her arm in an enthusiastic semicircle, as if motioning upward.\ quakex 2,1000 `"Aha....@ no, it really is..."\ `I nodded dumbly.@ br `Well.... she was right, I guess.@ The meadows underneath us were pretty, colored like autumn leaves,@ and there were some nice "suburban structures" that I could see from up here.@ br `Of course, those were in Cove City,@ which was a pretty nice sight from up here, too.@ It looked like a sort of medieval castle place, if you looked at it at the right angle.@ br `I could see why a young girl would like this view.\ `"Huh...so.... I take it you're from the city too, huh?"\ bg "bg/bg01.jpg",6 `"Fufufu.... I guess you could say that."@ br ;cl a,10 `She smiled really coyly, like she knew some kind of important secret that I didn't.@ br `.... What did she mean 'I guess you could say that'?\ ld c julb4, 10 `"I'm from the Cove City of two hundred and forty years from now, you see."\ ;dwavestop 0 !d 1200 `Oh, so that's all is it?@ !w 2000 stop quakex 6,800 ;wave "sfx/Wham.wav" dwave 1,"sfx/wham.ogg" br `......... Wait, WHAAAAT?!\ ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/coldfunk.ogg" mp3loop "bgm/little phantasie.mp3" ld c julb6,10 dwavestop 1 `"........"@ br `The dandelion girl sighed and slumped her shoulders.\ `"Fuu....@ It's all right,@ it's not like I expect you to believe something so strange so easily.@/ ld c julb8,10 ` Still, it'd be nice if you could pretend...."\ `Her "hinting" expression told me it would be a bad idea NOT to play along.\ cl a,10 `Maybe she was delusional.@ br `.... Or maybe she was just playing a child's game.@ But either way, I did play along for my own ambiguous reasons.@ br `"..... Th,@ that would be the year twenty-two hundred and fourty-four, right?@ I guess, uh...@ it must've, you know... changed quite a bit."@ br `"Oh, it has!"\ ld r julb4,10 `She'd perked right up.@ She said that, sounding like she was excited and frustrated at the same time.@ br `"It's part of a megalopolis now and extends all the way to there, don't you know!"@ br bg ohlook, 10 quakey 4, 800 !d 400 `She pointed to the fringe of the forest near us.\ `"Two Thousand and Fortieth Street runs straight through that grove of sugar maples,@ and do you see that stand of locusts over there?!"@ br `I was....@ starting to get a little creeped out by this girl's game, now.@ br `"Y@....yeah, I see them...."\ `"Well, that's where the new plaza is!@ quakex 4, 800 `Its supermarket is so big that it takes a whole half day to go through it.@ Although, you can buy almost anything in it, from aspirins to aerocars.@ You know?"@ br `She stopped just for a second, to take a deep breath.@ br !d 1500 `.... And went right along, after that.\ `"Oh! And right next to the supermarket, where that grove of beeches is,@ is a big dress shop just BURSTING with the latest creations of the leading couturiers.@ I bought this dress I'm wearing there this morning! Isn't it just beautiful~?"\ bg fie01 ld c julc1,10 `Uh....@ Uh....@ Umm....@ br `..... How was I supposed to answer this one?@ br `"Ah... yes, it's nice."\ cl a, 10 `"Fufufu...@ Won't you feel how soft it is~?"@ br `.... Well, it WAS a pretty dress,@ and for this girl to be asking me to feel it...@ br `I'll just give it a quick inspection.\ ld c julc2,10 !w 2000 `Huh.... ?@ What's this supposed to be?@ br `It was cut out of a material I didn't recognize at all, something like cotton candy, sea foam, and snow fused into one.@ br `This was the first time I'd seen anything like it.\ `Uh... Well, there's no limit any more to the syntheses that could be created by the miracle-fiber manufacturers, I guess...@ br `.... And there's no limit to the tall tales girls like this can weave, either, I guess.@ br bg fie01,10 `".... So, did you travel here by time machine, or something, young lady?"@ br `She opened her mouth in shock and covered it with her hand.\ ld c julb3,10 `"Oh!@ How did you guess... ?@/ ld c jula5,10 ` I did, I did travel here with a time machine.@ My father made it, in fact."\ `"..........."@ br `What the... ?@ br `I looked at her closely.\ ld c julb9,10 `"....... W, What is it.... ?"\ ld c jula2,10 `I'd never seen such a guileless look.@/ ;ld c julb6,10 ` What's up with this girl... ? Is she a very good liar or just genuinely crazy?@ Or maybe she's one of those people that could train their brains to believe real nonsense........\ `"Umm ......@ You come here often, then?"\ ld c julb3,10 `"Wow, are you a mind-reader...? @ This is actually my favorite favorite space-time coordinate!@/ ld c julb4,10 ` I stand here for hours, sometimes, and look and look and look.@ You know, the day before yesterday I saw a rabbit,@/ ld c julb2,10 ` and yesterday a deer, and today, you."\ `"... Okay, that's all fine and well....@ but how can there be a yesterday if you always return to the same point in time?"@ br `The girl took a minute to consider this.\ textoff setwindow 15,17,23,23,25,25,0,2,18,1,1,#ffffff,0,0,800,700 !sd ld c julb6,10 !d 700 ld c julb8,10 !d 700 ld c julb6,10 !d 700 ld c jula8,10 !d 700 setwindow 15,17,23,23,25,25,0,2,18,1,1,#999999,0,0,800,700 !sd texton `"Ah.... I see what you mean.@ Well, the reason is because the machine is affected by the passage of time the same as anything else, you know?@ And you have to set it back every twenty-four hours if you want to maintain exactly the same co-ordinate.@ I never do that, because I much prefer a different day each time I come back. You know what I mean?"@ br `I didn't, exactly.@ br `"Okay.... So, does your father ever come with you?"\ cl a,10 ;dwavestop 0 stop !d 1800 `".........."@ br !d 1000 `The girl looked up into the sky,@ where a flock of geese was flying in a V shape, and scrunched her face up into a difficult expression.@ br `And she kept staring at them, blankly.\ `Where had that warm, affectionate atmosphere that I'd been enjoying suddenly gone?@ The sparkle in her eyes faded,@ and she suddenly looked much older to me.....@ br `Was she struggling for words...?@ br ld c jula6,10 !d 3000 `"..................."\ ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/on the passing of time.ogg" mp3loop "bgm/moody princess mid.mp3" !d 3000 `".... My father is an invalid."@ br `"Eh?"\ bg julieexplains,18,400,"sys/msk11.jpg" br `"He'd love to come, if he really could....@ But, I do tell him all about what I see, really I do.....@/ ;ld c jula9,10 `And, um, it's almost the same as if he really came. Wouldn't you say it was... ?"\ br `"Sure thing."\ !d 500 ;cl a,10 ;bg julieexplains,18,400,"sys/msk11.jpg" `There was a weird eagerness and genuine tenderness in what she said.@ I couldn't help but be just a little charmed by it, really. @ br !d 1000 `.... You idiot.@ br `"I'm sure it is......@ It must be nice, you know, owning a time machine."\ ;dwavestop 0 stop !d 1000 bg fie01,10 !d 300 ld c julb6 `The girl nodded seriously, then frowned.@ ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/maltshopbop.ogg" ;mp3loop "bgm/strange dance.mp3" mp3loop "bgm/maltshopbop.mp3" ld c julb8,10 br `"Well, they're a boon to people who like to stand on pleasant meadows.@ In the twenty-third century there aren't very many left, you know...."\ ld c julb6,10 `.......... That was a quick recovery.\ `"Heh. There aren't very many of them left in the twentieth, either.@ I guess you could say that this one is sort of a collector's item.@ I'll have to visit it more often."@ ld c julb2,10 br `"Oh... ? Do you live near here or something, mister?"\ `"Oh, sort of. I'm staying in a cabin a little ways back.@ I'm supposed to be on vacation, but it's not much of one.@ My wife was called to jury duty and couldn't come with me.@ Since I couldn't postpone it,@ I've ended up as a sort of.... reluctant Thoreau, I guess."@ br ld c julb1,10 `The girl nodded, leaning forward.\ !d 1000 `".... Oh, and also, I'm Mark Randolph. Mark is fine."\ `"Mark? Is it?@/ ld c julb9,10 ` Fufufu... Julie Danvers is mine.@ It's almost as pretty as the dandelions here, don't you think so?@ Since I can call you Mark, you're free to call me Julie if you want."@ br `.... Eh? Where did that sudden queen-like aura come from?\ `"Okay, then."@ br ld c julb7,10 `Even if she wasn't a queen, I did think the name was beautiful.@ I'd give her that much.\ `Heh.@ Do you really think you're fooling me, though... ?@ br `She probably lives in that little cottage somewhere in the woods.@ This was just a farce she was putting up for giggles.@ .... Unless there was something mentally at odds with her.\ `Well, I'm not even sure how old she is, so I can't rule out the delusions of a hyperactive teenager.@ br `But, in any case, that was still all right.@ I'd humor her, kind of like the way parents witness and chide on their children's belief in Santa Clause, or the Easter Bunny, or the tooth fairy or something like that.\ `Since it wasn't causing any harm.@ br `I just did my best to keep that smile on her face.\ `"So, Julie, what kind of work do you do? Or are you still a student?"@ br ld c julb7,10 `"Hmmm.... ?@ I look young enough to be a student, do I? That's so flattering, Mark."@ br `......... What a difficult person.\ !d 1500 ld c julb9,10 `"To be serious, I'm in training--@to be a secretary, you know."@ !d 700 cl a,10 br `Julie got on her tip-toe, spun around and did a full pirouette, stopping in her original position and clapping her hands together.@ br cl a,10 bg "cg/CG_white_8.png",12,200 ;bg "cg/CG_white_8.png",1 quakey 5, 700 `"It'll be a lot of fun, don't you think so, Mark?~@ Being big and important and taking down what people are saying in a real serious kind of way.@ Right?"\ `"Oh...@ Um, I guess so."@ br `And then, Julie's face lit up like a candle.@ br `"Oh, Mark! Say, what's say you make me your secretary!@ Wouldn't that be great~? That's a great idea, isn't it~?"\ bg fie01,10 `"Oh.... Sure. That'd be nice, I guess. My wife was a secretary, once.@ You know, before the war.@ That's how we met and all that, and....."@ br `........... Ah.@ That's....@ strange....\ ld c julb3,10 `"Was she a good secretary?"@ br `"That's.... oh, yes. She was a good secretary.@ I mean, in the end I lost her, but just as a secretary.@ Although, I mean I gained her in another way.@ So, that is to say, I never really LOST her, I guess.@ Uh..."@ ld c julb6,10 br `Julie didn't quite seem to get it.@ br `"Well, anyway...."\ ld c julb2,10 `The girl who looked and smelled like dandelions, Julie, nodded her head enthusiastically....@ But then looked as if she'd remembered something greatly important.\ br ld c julb5,10 `"Ah....@ I almost forgot, I have to get home right away.@/ ld c julb9,10 ` I'm sure Father's home, and I have to tell him about everything that I saw today.@ Plus, I have to make his supper for him."\ `That left me feeling a little disappointed.@ br `"I see.... Well, Julie, will you be here tomorrow?"@ br ld c julb8,10 `"Tomorrow... ?"@ br `"Twenty-four hours from now, that is."\ cl a,10 ld r julb7,10 `"..... Sure. I've been coming here every day, so coming again tomorrow is no big deal."@ br `Julie nodded slowly, then her face twisted with a big smile.@ br cl a,10 `"Ah... Good, then. Guess I'll see you around, then."\ bg walkaway,18,1800,"sys/up.jpg" `As if seriously hurrying to her own little time machine, Julie went down the hill,@ off into the grove of sugar maple trees where would supposedly be Two-thousand-fourtieth street two-hundred years from now.@ Her beautiful white dress fluttered along with her.@ br `"............"\ bg black,18,3500,"sys/m2.jpg" ;dwavestop 0 stop wait 1000 ;dwaveloop 0, "bgm/on the passing of time.ogg" mp3loop "bgm/on the passing of time.mp3" !d 5000 `What a charming girl.@ It must be nice to have such a young, child-like innocence,@ in which simple lies are nothing more than playful delusions.@ br `She had such an enthusiasm for life.......@ and a fascinating sense of wonder.\ br `These were two things that I lacked, and which I appreciated greatly for that reason.\ br `That being,@ because I'd been a serious guy for most of my life.@ I spent enough time in law school studying my way to the top,@ and when I finally formed my own practice I spent even more time working on sustaining it.@ br `.... I never really got a break from it all, I guess.\ `Anyway, I married Anne shortly after I began that practice, when she was my secretary. @ br `Not only was the dedication I had to my work a factor in keeping me a serious man,@ there was a bout of difficulty surrounding the war.@ Times when I struggled, and even harder, later, when I had a wife to support on top of that.\ `.... Come to think of it, I was still struggling.@ Even now, I was struggling against my conscience after having watched that girl.@ And there was my practice, my job, my wife...@ br `Never a break for me.\ `It was ironic, that these few weeks of vacation I was having were quite forced,@ and my wife wasn't even around to help me enjoy them.@ The "vacation" had turned into more of an imprisonment.\ br `"...... ?"@ bg "bg/bg06.jpg",18,1300,"sys/down.jpg" br `Before I'd even realized it, it had apparently begun to change to night.@ The breeze of the evening,@ rolling off of the waves of the ocean, was beginning to blow and make me shiver.\ !d 2000 `"..... I guess I should head home, now."@ br `The dandelion girl (Julie?) was gone now,@ and the chirping of birds and sounds of the day that had surrounded her disappeared promptly, too.\ `I hung my head, sighed, and headed down the gravel path toward my cozy but lonely little cabin by the lake.\ !d 1000 ;bg "bg/bg02.jpg",18,2000,"sys/left.jpg" bg "bg/bg02-dark.jpg",18,2000,"sys/left.jpg" `I'd spent the last two weeks alone, now that I thought of it.@ They were a combination of sulking and sight-seeing,@ and something I couldn't genuinely enjoy.@ br `....... Well, maybe I wasn't entirely alone.\ `I returned to the cabin,@ and got cozy the way I usually did at this time.@ bg hom2,4 br `I had a pretty simple supper.@ I went and read.@ I watched the lightningbugs which flew around and flickered like tiny lightbulbs, outside of the window.\ !d 1800 `"..... Ah, right. I should remember to lock up before I go to bed."@ br `Mental note: taken.\ `Well, it wasn't that I'd forget anyway.@ I just had to hear myself talk out loud.......@ br `I wondered...@ had I really gotten that lonely, sitting inside or walking out in the fields alone....?\ br `"............ Stupid."@ br `I picked up the novel I'd begun reading the day I started coming here, and thumbed through it.\ br `So... @ Where had I left off, again.... ?@ br `It was about a chance meeting between a young boy and a young girl,@ two people who fell in love in a Romeo-and-Juliet-esque manner,@ but with (thankfully) different results.@ br `That was....\ !d 1500 `"........."@ br dwave 0,"sfx/book_flip_1.ogg" `Rustle.@/ dwavestop 0 dwaveloop 0,"sfx/book_flip_2.ogg" ` Rustle.@ Rustle.@ br `The sound of the pages moving, alone,@ was distracting enough for me.@/ dwavestop 0 ` I couldn't focus on this, anyway.\ br bg "bg/bg05.jpg",4 `Ah...@ why was I thinking of that person?@ br `I mean, it wasn't like I was having some kind of twisted fantasy or anything, but still.\ bg black,18,800,"sys/down.jpg" `..... Was I being unfaithful?@ No, they were just thoughts.... @ As I said, I'd been in this cabin all by myself, for a while now.@ br `And all of a sudden, a cute girl comes out of nowhere and she...\ !d 2000 `"....... That's right.@ Anybody would feel happy to see her, and think about her for a while."@ br `So there was nothing lowly about my thoughts.@ And, even then, I'd never thought anything intimate about her, had I?@ Of course not.@ Aha... ha...@ br `Just a little,@ I felt the tenseness in my shoulders ease.\ bg "bg/bg05.jpg",18,1000,"sys/up.jpg" `"....... I wonder what you're doing right now, Anne?@ Tell me....@ What would you think of that young girl, who looks like the color of dandelions and wears dresses made of things I've never seen in my life.... ?"\ !d 4000 br `I reached and took a cigarette from my pocket.@ br `.... When was the last time I smoked?\ `".... Hmph."@ br `I should probably quit, huh?@ I know it's a disgusting habit.@ It's not like I'm proud to be forced to do something like this to relax, you know.\ `I lit it, and smoked it slowly.@ It was weird...@ a guilty sort of feeling like you'd reached your hand into the cookie jar without having done so in such a long time.\ `What was it that she said?\ bg black,1 br br br br br `"The day before yesterday I saw a rabbit,@ and yesterday a deer,@ and today, you."\ bg "bg/bg05.jpg",18,1400,"sys/up.jpg" `It seemed comfortable, and sort of.... familiar, I guess.@ br `That night I thought of the strange girl,@ Julie Danvers, and fell asleep with a lot of questions about her that would be never or easily answered.....\
