$100,000.
That was the price they told us to convince them to continue the treatnt of my mother. Was it not against the Hippocratic oath to do injustice against them? Was this not ten tis more than the original cost!?
"Your mother’s condition had reached a point where it would be more optional to let her go... I’ve already checked your family records, and the amount of money you are spending will only cause you to have a bad life in the future. It’s best if you call your father here and go in together to say your last goodbyes to your mother."
All I could do was grit my teeth and glare at the doctor. What gave him the audacity to tell this? Were these really the doctors I was admiring in the past?
What they said was true. The amount of money my father and I have been putting into this was far more than they could make back... Their debt to the bank was far more than they could have hoped.
But...
"Fine... At the end of this month right? I’ll get the money. I’ll get the money and shove it in your face, you damn vampires..."
She couldn’t give up on her mother, not when she had sacrificed so much for her...
After putting on a sterilised suit and entering my mother’s room, I clutched her hand and promised from the bottom of my heart.
"I promise I’ll get the money for you... Please wait, mum. and dad will find a way, I promise..."
My mother was weak, but I knew she had heard , given the way she smiled. She heard and promised, she acknowledged my promise... And yet, in the end...
I failed her.
No matter how many jobs I took, I couldn’t earn enough. No matter which bank I went to, they refused my request for a loan, after checking with the past banks I had been to.
This was the sa for my father.
We could only watch from the insides of our sterilised suits as they pulled the plug on my mother. And as I looked down at my mother, who moved her lips weakly...
I read:
"I’m... disappointed in... you..."
Although the way my mother’s lips moved was hard to read, I still managed to decipher it. And... It was sothing that had stuck with ever since.
I... I knew she would hate for not upholding my promise, but... to say it to my face...
...
After using whatever money we had scrounged for my mother’s treatnt to pay off the due bills for the rented building, we grieved together. The worst part was that no one showed up to my mother’s funeral.
I knew my other family mbers didn’t want to associate with us, but... Why? Even when soone had passed away? Was it not common courtesy to co and pay so level of respect for the dead?!
As ti went on, I began to find beer bottles scattered throughout my ho whenever I returned from work or school. The state I saw my father in left heartbroken; he had beco an alcoholic after my mother passed away.
Because of the state that my father was in, it was up to to do everything around the house.
Cleaning, cooking, working. Whatever I could do, I tried my hardest; this led to whatever ti I had for myself for leisure or to study disappearing, with only sleep being my only mont of rest.
Because of that, my mood hit an all-ti low. The next ti I was bullied in school, I lashed out, leading to their hospitalisation.
Due to that, I was suspended for a few days, not expelled, since it was self-defence, but still...
When my father heard the news of her suspension, he lashed out at , drunk and half-conscious about the world around him.
Why... Why was he lashing out at ? It’s his fault. He was the reason for this.
He may be grieving, but so am I, yet—why am I the one needing to do everything myself? Why can’t he lessen so of my burdens too!?
...
"Please... Please focus on your studies from now on. Leave anything outside of that to ."
One day, my father approached and begged on his knees. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I rembered he had gone out for sothing, but never told .
But whatever it was, it seed to have caused my father to stop drinking entirely—he had even found work.
I was glad, joyful even, after so long.
Once I was let back into school, I pushed all of my attention to studying like he asked, scoring top marks and fixing my horrible grades. I had even tried to socialise a bit, which... It was rather difficult at first, but I soon got the hang of it!
I even managed to pull together all of my courage to ask soone out! Although... I did get rejected in the end... But that was fine! It was much easier to handle compared to my mother!
And unlike that ti, I felt like I was moving forward, especially when I was given money by my school to pay for college—wasn’t this a scholarship?!
Everything was going in the right direction! I felt like nothing could go wrong.
I now had the money to go to college, my father had a promotion at an office company he was working for, and all of our rent paynts had been on ti.
Things were looking up!
...
But when I returned ho to tell my father about the scholarship, I found him lying still on the ground.
It was his day off, sothing he usually spent on the couch watching a sport.
Of all places, why was he lying still on the kitchen floor?
...
When the ambulance arrived and took him away, I learned that my father was suffering from a severe case of liver failure. He was hiding this from ...
I looked around my ho and found a hidden stash of alcohol... He hadn’t given up drinking like I thought, and because of his decisions, he had passed away... Leaving all alone by myself...
How could I not have known? Why’d it take so long to find out?!
...
I had always been alone, but why... Why did this feeling of loneliness feel much more painful and cold?
"Why... Why did you two have to leave all alone...?"
I cried... And cried for several days straight until I lost my own voice.
...
I spent the scholarship on myself to forget the pain I felt—to forget the loneliness I felt. I knew it was a dumb decision, but... I just couldn’t move on from that.
I invested in alcohol like my father to drink away my sorrows. I invested in cigarettes, but threw them away due to the sll them. Luckily, I was still in a state of mind where I was responsible enough not to purchase narcotics.
The thought of ending my life had appeared more than once in my mind, but... I could never go through it. I’m not sure why, but I felt as though I should wait a little longer.
Waiting for what exactly? I wasn’t sure...
But eventually, I ran out of money.
Having used up the money that would’ve been for my further education, I looked for a place to work and managed to land at the company where my father used to work before he...
Well, let’s say that after acquiring that job, I managed to make so steady inco at the cost of my ntal health. But it wasn’t like I was healthy in that departnt anyway...
"ARGH! THIS BITCH, SHE KILLED AGAIN!"
"Huh...?"
I was now 23 years old—it had been seven years since life took a sharp turn.
During one random evening, one of my coworkers suddenly scread in frustration. At first, I wanted to ignore it and get on with my work, but... The glimpse of a digital woman with black hair and red eyes caught my attention.
Marionette Von Roselle was the na my coworker called her. Apparently, she was so major villainess in a viral ga going around.
I wanted to scold them for playing gas during work hours, but the more I eavesdropped on my coworker, the more inclined I was to know more about this character.
Marionette Von Roselle... Marionette Von Roselle...
An assassin that belonged to a powerful noble family that ruled over a quarter of the Underworld and was trained since birth—a character from a ga called "The World of Millis".
Taking a gamble, I decided to buy the necessary equipnt to play this ga. At first, I wondered why anyone would spend their ti playing gas when they could be doing sothing much more productive.
But as ti went on, I grew to love this ga. Since the death of my father, I hadn’t been able to look at things positively—I was pessimistic about everything.
However, the very mont I played through the ga’s storyline and died over and over again, a fla lit up inside —a fla of wanting to continue doing sothing out of pure compassion.
I died. Over. And over.
But I didn’t stop for even a mont, and with every mont I could get, I used it to admire a certain Assassin, who always remained silent and cold-hearted about everything.
I couldn’t help but admire her.
I felt similar to her in ways during my ti in high school. Silent, introverted, and of course, horrible with social activities. But still capable when it ca to academic topics.
However, unlike , she was strong, confident, and steadfast in what she did. Nothing—not even the player—could put her down without a fight that would leave them with a sliver of life left.
Despite the fact that her life might’ve been far more traumatising than mine, she still remained strong.
I... I really admired her... A lot.
And even after undergoing a surgery that resulted in her becoming more ruthless and colder with her actions, I couldn’t help but feel pity.
Although she killed the player several tis, I can’t help but want to help her endure the effects of her surgery because it reminded of the terminal illness my mother had.
They weren’t the sa in the slightest, but the feeling that the sight of soone you valued enduring an extre amount of pain as if they were infected by an illness was enough to remind her of it.
No matter how many routes I played, things I did, or interactions I made, she would always remain hostile to the player. It was disappointing and extrely frustrating.
I couldn’t do anything but watch and replay the scenes that included her.
"My na?"
I wanted to soothe the pain that plagued her...
"Can’t you even rember the simplest of information, Vellen?"
I wanted to know more about her without the unnecessary fighting...
"I am..."
I wanted—
"Marionette Von Roselle."
—To be of use to her...
"..."
I shifted in my seat as I held a hand over my chest.
This feeling I had once forgotten throbbed inside my chest whenever I heard her voice or laid my eyes on her. This... This was love, wasn’t it?
I was actually in love with a digital character... Soone that I would never et in real life...
Why... Why was life so cruel?
Beep.
I looked back at my screen and found a notification from inside... The ga?
{Happy Birthday, lissa! On this day, [April 14th 2025], we hope you will co to find yourself around those you love and celebrate such a special mont! Please make a wish!}
"Ah... It’s my birthday... That ans I’m 24 now, right?"
I looked back at the video I was watching of Marionette and rembered, "We have the sa birthday don’t we? Ah... Happy Birthday, Marionette..."
As I said that, the corners of my lips curled up into a smile... A rare smile. To think I would be so lucky to experience my birthday with soone else, even if they weren’t real...
"Please make a wish...? Hm..." I thought about the ga’s request and noticed the text box beneath it. My lips opened slightly before sealing shut.
[Wish: I want to be with Marionette Von Roselle]
"So day... I want to et you, Marionette... I want to et the real you one day..."
Click.
’Until that day cos, I’ll try to take care of myself... I promise.’
And just like that... Marionette beca sothing more than just a digital character I admired.
She was a character I shared my most precious day and... Soone I had chosen to live for, as weird as it may be...
I really... Really was hopeless...
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