The Fate of Sister Agatha（7 / 8）

and shyness. The book had a satin cover that evoked languid reminiscence; its inner pages were filled with verses of romance and beauty, with dashing signatures of men at the bottom. It had to be opened clandestinely, careful not to be caught by the Mothers, and thus aroused the most fascinating fantasies among the schoolgirls.

On one page, several innocent and vibrant noble girls were depicted, burying compact boxes in the soil beneath a tree. In the blank spaces, as customary, elegant cursive handwriting adorned the page, weaving sentimental verses that described this unique game: to bury a few significant objects in the depths of the earth, inscribe a message capturing the present moment, and unearth them after ten or twenty years, thus allowing memories to transcend through the passage of time.

Little Fiona found this idea incredibly romantic. She poured her heart and soul into creating her own time capsule. But in the end, all she could think of was to cut a strand of her fiery red hair and select a hairpin from the Marquis''s gift that she wouldn''t miss too much. Finally, on a slip of paper, she crafted a few crooked lines of poetry with her newly learned words, mimicking the style in the sketchbook.

However, after preparing everything, when she invited a few close pals to join her in the venture, she was met with hesitant refusal. "Those pesky Mothers are always lurking around even during breaks. How can we find a chance to dig the soil? If they catch us, who knows what punishment awaits us?"

"We can sneak into the garden at night when everyone is asleep!" Fiona proposed.

Upon hearing this, the other girls shook their heads repeatedly instead. "Even though we won''t encounter that madwoman anymore, it''s still unnerving to walk outside in the dead of night!"

Fiona shrugged her shoulders with a mixture of regret and pride and said, "Well then, I''ll have to go alone!"

That very night, little Fiona took a