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nThe shoes that Emilin wore were exactly the ones that she had previously mentioned while texting her big brother Theo, the ones that he had gifted her before he went off to college and she to her travels.

nThe thin needle that she held had a special magnetism.

nIn order to activate the special mechanisms in the shoes, the needle had to be both close enough to the corresponding hole in her shoes as well as long enough to reach the bottom of the high heel soles. A click sound could be heard when the mechanism was successfully activated.

nIt was able to change the signal that was being sent to her big brother Theo's computer, which her big brother Nathan would also be able to access in the case of an emergency.

nThe shoes were built-in with a GPS that worked even with poor signal or no signal at all.

nThis is why Emilin was able to safely reassure her parents that she was fine, telling them that if something happened, they should first look for her big brother Theo who was most familiar with this technology, as he had made it himself with minimal help from Emilin, after all, it was supposed to be a parting gift of sorts.

nOf course, Emilin didn't know that she had contributed to the making of the shoes, she was just happy to have received the gift.

nBy poking into the holes of her shoes, Emilin effectively informed her Big Brothers that though there were currently no troubles, they might need to pay some more attention to the signals they were receiving.

nEach one of the four holes represented a different level of danger, the first two being possible dangers with the second one being higher than the first, while the third and fourth in that alignment were for the cases where imminent danger was already apparent.

nThere was no need to wait to start taking immediate precautions.

nIf the third hole was used, then it was best for them to wait and see, as for the fourth, there was no more time for waiting.

nThey had to start taking action immediately. If it had to be defined, then it was a hidden SOS signal.

nWhen making the shoes, Theo also took into consideration that there was a high chance Emilin wouldn't have a chance to activate the mechanisms in those last two pin-sized holes if her life were truly in danger.

nOther precautions were already taken.

nThat being said, if it was just a false alarm, the opposing end of the same long, thin, needle could be used to remove the signal, telling her brothers that the prospects of danger were no more.

nAll in all, it could be said that Emilin was extremely prepared when she decided to set off to travel the world, after all, if she were not, chances were, she wouldn't even be able to take a step out of the country, much less alone like this.

nThere was probably just no sane parent that would let their only 15-year-old daughter do such a thing, no matter how mature she was.

nOf course, Emilin didn't want her brothers to worry, but there was a difference between not wanting them to worry and putting herself in danger and Emilin knew clearly when to draw the line between the two.

nThey would be more worried if something actually did happen, so she didn't want to bank everything on hopes that nothing would occur, that would just be naïve.

nAfter finishing her business with her shoes, she continued along the mountain trail at a slower pace, so that she could sightsee while walking.

nOn multiple occasions, she took out her newly bought camera to take a shot, but just like in the morning walk, she basked in the glory of her terrible photo-taking skills.

nIt was just really bad.

n'I'm clearly doing something wrong. But what is it?'

nThe photos she took became increasingly unsightly with each passing second. The more she looked at them, the more… well you get the point.

nThe scenes looked so stunning in real life, but how come when it was captured, it looked so terribly, terrible?

nShe was at a loss for words to describe how bad it was. Even though her hands weren't shaky or anything, the photos were always blurry, and they seemed to be angled wrong after she looked at them for a while.

n'I guess that will be the next thing on my checklist.'

nEmilin was planning to contact Mason, the man who had helped out when she first bought this camera, after getting out of here.

nOtherwise known as Nosa, well at least from his name card.

nHe seemed like someone who would be able to help her in her predicament and Emilin usually had a good sense for people, especially after seeing how familiar he was with the cameras in that shop. He also sounded quite professional and passionate about the arts.

nTo be fair, just about anyone who had even minimally dabbled on camera-work would probably be of help to Emilin, but that was beside the point.

nWhile walking another path uphill, Emilin stops to squat down in the middle of the trail, pointing her camera at the small, dainty, yellow flower that was growing between the pebbles on the ground.

nThough she didn't really know what she was doing, when it looked right, she just pushed the magical button.

n*Click*

nEven so, when she used the camera function to look at the photo she had just taken, the flower was all blurry.

n'Maybe I should have asked for professional help before coming out here, or even done a quick internet search. In hindsight, any of those things would have been a great help.'

nShe couldn't help but sigh a little, but it was a barely noticeable sigh. Not one of frustration or annoyance, but rather endearing helplessness.

nDespite her terrible skills, Emilin only became more determined to learn how to use the camera with every blurry shot.

nWhen she looked at the world through these thin lenses, something just, clicked.

nYou know?

nIt just felt right.

nEmilin wanted to see this world through all the lenses she could get her hands on. To get that perfect angle, and to know how to make everything less blurry again.

nTo know how to capture an image that was meant to be remembered for a long, long time. Something she could look back on, to prove that she had been here on this planet and lived a life, and met these people, and seen these places.

nTo remember how she felt when she was there through these photos. Be it mirth, thrill, novelty, sorrow, or even anger, she didn't want to forget any of it.

nShe wanted something she could cling to.

nJust in case.

nAlong the way, Emilin continuously took photos of everything that had interested her, but none of them looked quite right.

nShe tried multiple angles, sides, and heights, just about anything she could think of, but the product still looked bad, to put it mildly.

n'Well, I guess you really can't just be good at everything. Why didn't I learn camera work in my past life?' Emilin chuckled at her own thought.

n'Or maybe I like using the camera so much precisely because I hadn't worked with it in the past.'

nNow that was an interesting thought.

nEven with no experience whatsoever, Emilin could tell that she was really bad at this.

nIt was around 5 PM when Emilin decided to settle down for a rest. She was truly quite tired after hiking all day.

nOf course, she had taken multiple breaks along the way to take some photos, but she had still been on the move since 5 in the morning, having woken up even earlier.

nThe trail had faded off a while back.

nThe path she was taking now was no longer set for her. There wasn't any paved way and so Emilin just chose a direction according to her whims.

nShe had set up a tent but had yet to start a fire, seeing as the sun had yet to set.

nEmilin closed her eyes to bask in what little warmth there was coming from the sun, and after doing some breathing exercises, she just stared off to what was beyond the cliff that she sat on.

nDown below, she could see a forest of birch trees, clustered together as if fearing the cold despite the fine weather.

nEmilin stared into the distance, observing the view diligently.

n'Have I ever seen anything like this in my past life?'

nThe answer was a clear-cut no.

nNever had she even seen something even remotely similar to this scenery. The trees and the lake seemed both close yet oh so very far away. Everything beyond when she stood and towards where she looked was part of nature.

nNone of it had been tainted by humans, it was as if it wanted to draw a clear line between the polluted society and its natural beauty.

nAs Emilin lost herself in her own thoughts, an aged voice came from behind her.

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"We meet again, young lady.

"

n***

n10 hours ago

nEmilin: What's wrong with the camera?

nEmilin: Did I get cheated?

nEmilin: Why isn't this working right?

nEmilin: *Curses those who cheated her money from her to the 7 hells silently*

nEmilin: *turns the camera around ready to smack it a bit to make it start working*

nEmilin: Oh. I guess you would have to take the lens cap off...

nEmilin: Yup, I can see perfect now. Great.

nMason and Logan who had been unfairly cursed to the 7 hells: ｡ﾟ･（>﹏<）･ﾟ｡

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