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I picked it up and held it in my hand.
It was a glass-like orb and although it didn’t seem particularly interesting, something about it caught my eye.
At its center was a tiny speck of blue.
I had to peer closely at it to even notice it.
The Governor drew up beside me. “Do you like it?”
“What is it?” I asked.
“That is called a Kloia Sphere. What’s funny is it’s not really made of glass at all. It’s actually a natural substance. It’s one of many eyes in a creature called a beholder.”
I blinked in surprise. “Abeholder?But isn’t that—”
“A myth?” he said with a nod. “It’s meant to be. But as you can see, it’s very real. The eye of the beholder is said to turn anyone who looked upon it to stone. But in reality, it happens not through turning something to stone but turning rigid upon seeing how beautiful it is. People see it and marvel, becoming enrapt.”
“Enrapt?” I said uncertainly. “But it’s just a glass orb.”
“Not when you shine a light through it.”
He moved to the wall, flicked a switch, smothering us with darkness.
“I can’t see a thing,” I said.
My eyes were slow to grow accustomed to the glow of the moon’s silvery light through the tiny office window.
“You’re not supposed to see anything,” the Governor said. “Yet.”
There was a flick as a small flame ignited behind the Orb.
The tiny blue speck in its middle sparkled and grew larger, brighter and brighter, until it filled the entire room with magnificent blue light.
“That’s beautiful!” I said.
Then the light grew so intense that it emitted a burst of white that danced in time with the flickering flame the Governor was holding.
I peered at it closely.
It looked almost like a… was that a rabbit?
It raised its head at me, sniffed, and cocked its head to one side.
The flame moved again and the rabbit ran around me.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do you see it?” the Governor asked.
“Yes,” I said, reaching out to touch the rabbit’s quivering nose. “What is it?”
“It’s a Figment,” he said.
“A Figment? What’s that?”
“A figment is something your mind sees but no one else can. If someone else saw this light, they would see something, but not the same thing as you. They would see their own Figment.”
“Does it mean anything?”
