Forgotten Island - World Fantasy Literature Masterpiece (Nautilus Operation Volume 1)

Author: Hohlbaun
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The snow fell very early this year. Ten days ago, white feather-like snowflakes drifted from the sky silently. With two days to go before Christmas and the break approaching, the ancient and solemn boarding school, with its row upon row of buildings, lawns, and nearby forests, looked like a cake sprinkled with powdered sugar, forming a beautiful landscape. The small lake where the children often swam in the summer, originally belonging to the Andala family, was now covered with ice. Soon the ice would harden enough to skate on. At night, the wind shook the window frames, howling on the terrace and outside, rattling the shutters. Even during the day, the sky remained mostly overcast, as if it would never brighten again.
Mac stood by the window, gazing outside. The gloomy sky outside mirrored his current mood. He felt dejected, lonely, and angry. Just like the cold wind outside, though it had paused for a moment, it would surely launch another attack on this ancient castle at dusk. The castle had a history of two hundred years and was now the campus of this private boarding school. Noisy chatter and loud laughter came from outside the window. Mac pressed his nose against the cold glass and looked down. Some students took advantage of the wind's brief pause to run into the courtyard, shouting and playing, throwing snowballs at each other, their spirits soaring. Seeing his classmates jumping in the snow, Mac felt a sharp pang of pain. He sighed and turned from the window, scanning the entire room—the dormitory he shared with two other classmates for six years, his home. The room was large and bright, with walls painted in cheerful colors, everything arranged to suit the taste of a sixteen-year-old boy. Besides the shared wardrobe, three beds, and a shared desk, each had a private cabinet for personal belongings, and even the teachers didn't have keys to them.
After a while, Mac stepped away from the window and walked to the desk. His gaze lingered on the calendar on the wall for a moment, displaying December 9, 1913, today's date—someone had circled the date with a red pen. Mac sat despondently at the desk and picked up the letter he had received the previous morning. He had read it at least twenty times, as if frequent reading would render its contents meaningless. The letter was handed to him by Mr. Mikotale, the headmaster. Although the students living in Andala Castle considered him an enemy of the students, he had shown genuine sympathy when handing over the letter yesterday. Mac opened the envelope, and a wave of discomfort washed over his stomach, growing stronger.