Not every drop of dew within the Gardens reflects the morning.
A handful have been observed reflecting moments that have not yet happened.
Most are found before sunrise, suspended from spider silk stretched between poisonous blooms, or resting along the edges of forgotten headstones within the Sleepy Hollows.
Witnesses report seeing impossible things inside the droplets.
A lantern already extinguished.
A blossom not yet opened.
An empty path where footsteps will later appear.
The reflections vanish the instant the dew is touched.
No sample has ever been collected.
Several Keepers have attempted to sketch what they witnessed, though no two drawings have ever agreed.
One particularly weathered field journal contains a single warning:
If the dew remembers tomorrow… do not ask it about yesterday.
Curiously, the phenomenon is most often recorded after nights of heavy fog followed by a sudden clearing beneath an unusually bright moon.
Whether this is coincidence remains unknown.
Margin Note
A tiny handwritten addition appears beneath the original report.
Some insist the droplets merely reflect the sky.
Others refuse to look closely enough to find out.
🖤
Status: Observation ongoing. Lantern Keepers are encouraged to record any unusual reflections, but under no circumstances should the dew be disturbed before sunrise.
