The story

It’s autumn. Nighttime. The air is hot, unusually hot. It smells like burnt toast… or the end of the world, depending on how you see it. The sky glows orange, thick with smoke. Wildfires are sweeping across vast stretches of land.

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11:30 p.m. Elle, a 16-and-three-quarters-year-old teenager, is wide awake. She’s anxious. Quietly, she slips out and heads to the nearby park… a neglected patch of greenery that seems devoid of any poetry… and yet…

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Night after night, she trades her anxiety for this open-air refuge, a mysterious sanctuary that makes her feel better. But unlike previous nights, a strange figure appears: a kind of oracle from ancient times, who confronts her and asks her to leave their domain. She soon discovers that this non-binary character, more than just an outsider, lives in the heart of the park with an equally peculiar friend.

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Through this encounter, the teen begins to see things differently, perceiving a reality she never knew existed. She quickly realizes that this unusual duo accompanies the souls of those who have left the world of the living and entered this park, which is in fact a magical sanctuary.

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Through the stories of each of the dead, she embarks on a journey around the world and a philosophical, existential quest that opens up paths she never imagined. Her view of empathy and kindness transforms, nurturing a hope she thought was lost.