"Eirin."
The teenage girl stared at Bright after he called her na. She smiled as she slowly moved away from him and he gently let her hand go. Her eyes landed on the door where Ava’s mother entered, and she sauntered towards it while thinking that there was no way it was Ava. When she entered the room, she saw her dear ntor sitting on the cold and hard floor, weeping for her loss.
’There’s no way.’
Eirin’s gaze turned to the stainless steel in front of Ava’s mother, and she could not stop the trembling of her hands as her eyes went wide upon seeing the lifeless and pale face of her precious friend. Eirin huffed and dragged her feet towards the stainless steel.
"Ava," she called her friend’s na in a soft tone. "This isn’t the ti to joke around. Get up there already. You’re making your mom sad," Eirin approached Ava’s body covered with a white sheet and she held Ava’s freezing hand, rembering how she was just holding it earlier. "I think I should wake up from this bad dream," the teenage girl scoffed after letting Ava’s hand go.
Eirin closed her eyes and whispered to herself, "Please end this nightmare already." Thinking that it was just another nightmare that would make her sweat buckets and weep after waking up. "There’s no way Ava would leave like this," her words echoed through the room alongside Ava’s mother’s sobs. Eirin stayed standing with her eyes closed, waiting for a miracle to happen, waiting to be woken up from this long nightmare.
"Eirin."
Bright grabbed Eirin’s shoulders, making her open her eyes. "She said we’ll be together forever," her voice cracked as she scoffed. "This is an awful joke. I don’t like it." Eirin went back and touched Ava’s cheek, but she flinched after feeling that the warmth had vanished from Ava’s skin. "No," Eirin’s mouth trembled as she said that. Tears welled in her eyes and her vision got blurry. As if sothing was stuck in her throat, it was too hard for her to swallow.
"No."
Eirin fell on her knees, making Bright quickly get a hold of her arms, stopping her from getting hurt. "This isn’t real. There’s no way this is." Her head spun as she closed her eyes.
"Eirin? Ei!"
Pain stuffed Eirin’s broken heart as she wished to not feel anything anymore. The sounds of cries and lancholy, it was too much to bear.
’If this is a nightmare, I wish to wake up now.’
"Ei? Did you fall asleep here?"
Eirin’s eyes opened and saw a bright light coming from the clear and cloudless sky. Her head turned toward the voice and she imdiately stood from lying on the bench. ’Where am I?’ She road her vision and saw that she was in the rooftop garden of their high school.
"What happened to you? Did you have a nightmare?"
Eirin blinked lots of tis and her mouth trembled, saying, "A-Ava?"
"Yes? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost? Did sothing happen? And why are you crying? Are you sure you’re alright?"
Eirin stood and reached out her hand to touch Ava’s arms. "You’re warm." She stared at Ava’s hands as she intertwined them with hers.
"What’s with that? Weirdo."
Ava’s soft giggles resonated in Eirin’s ears as she stared at the girl in front of her. The weather was nice. There were no clouds in the sky, and the sun shined.
"Thank god. You’re not dead."
Ava’s smile slowly vanished as her eyes gawked at Eirin. The seemingly pleasant weather took a turn; the sky turned dark followed by lightning which caused Eirin to be petrified in fear.
"I am dead, Ei."
Eirin’s eyes looked at her hands, and blood dripped through them, making her look back at Ava. She was no longer standing in front of her.
"Ava!"
The teenage girl called for her friend’s na as she knelt on the ground. Ava lay unconscious in a pool of blood. The floor turned into muddy and black sand. Eirin’s feet started to sink.
Ava started coughing blood out, and as if sothing was grabbing Eirin’s legs, she fell further into the bottomless pit, letting go of Ava’s arm as her face got covered by the darkness and she could no longer breathe.
"I’m sorry, Ei."
Eirin gasped, "Ava, ugh."
Her blurry eyesight witnessed the familiar ceiling in her room.
"Ei."
She turned to her right and noticed Bright beside her bed.
"I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything when she was right in front of . I... I’m so sorry."
Eirin could not hear any of his words as the thoughts about her best friend filled her head. She wondered what was the nightmare and what was the reality. The teenage girl could not differentiate them anymore.
"Where’s Ava?"
Her voice sounded hoarse, and the pain in her throat caused her to wince. "I need to see Ava," she said despite the pain and stood up from the bed, but her knees instantly fell.
"They’re preparing her."
"Preparing for what?"
Silence followed after Bright chose not to answer Eirin’s question. The young man could not look Eirin in the eye, as it was his first ti seeing the teenage girl in a ss like that.
"What are they preparing Ava for? It isn’t her birthday yet."
Those confusing words made Bright’s forehead crease. "Her parents are preparing for her funeral." He knew that his words might receive a violent reaction from Eirin, but he did not want to lie to her.
"Stop joking around and tell where Ava is."
The cold and authoritative tone Eirin used made Bright’s body stiffen. "She’s... she’s no longer with us, Ei."
"Stop lying!"
Bright froze. "Eirin... I’m not lying." The young man tried to remain calm, as he could feel his heart shattering into pieces. "I’m sorry," he could only mutter those words as he did not know how things ca to this.
"Stop apologizing and stop lying to ! There’s no way Ava could die like that. No!"
Bright pulled Eirin into a hug as he closed his eyes and thought of how useless he was. He could not alleviate the pain Eirin was feeling and could only apologize for not being able to do anything.
"I’m sorry."
"Stop apologizing. You’re making angry."
It was the first ti Bright heard such words from Eirin. Never in his life had Eirin told him that he was annoying and made her angry. Eirin knew that she did not an to say such hurtful words, but the pain she was feeling clouded her judgnt.
Bright tried to tell Eirin more about the situation, but Eirin could not hear anything anymore; she did not want to see anything either. Silence enveloped her room as she crouched and stared at her pale hands.
"I wish it was who died."
Bright gasped in disbelief and said, "Don’t say that! No one wanted for this to happen."
Eirin scoffed as she lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and said, "This is just a nightmare. All I need to do is wake up." She laughed as if in delusion. "That’s right. I need to wake up."
"Eirin!"
Bright could not believe his eyes after seeing Eirin slap herself.
"Ei, please, don’t do this," Bright said as he grabbed both of Eirin’s hands. "We need to keep it together. Ava will be sad seeing us like this."
Eirin did not say anything as she stayed staring at the ceiling. Bright could not bear seeing her like that. He pulled her once again into a hug and apologized. He just kept on apologizing.
The next day ca, Eirin’s grandmother, Eleanor, t her granddaughter, who only stared at the empty wall in her room.
"Dear, would you like to see Ava?"
Eleanor sat on the bed and held Eirin’s hand. "Evelyn’s waiting for you to co." The teenage girl did not respond.
After Bright had left, she had been in total silence. Her eyes were glued to the wall and heard only the awful silence surrounding her the whole night. The teenage girl does not bother to respond to anything.
"You haven’t had breakfast, and you also skipped dinner yesterday." Eleanor winced as her grip on Eirin’s hand tightened. "Do you want to make porridge for you?"
Eirin did not say anything as she turned to Eleanor and said, "Ava died on my birthday." Her voice was hoarse. "It was my fault. I didn’t bring her to the hospital."
"My dear... it was no one’s fault this happened." Eleanor cupped Eirin’s cheeks. "No one knew that sothing like that would occur. Maybe even Ava did not know. So, please. Do not bla yourself, my love."
Eirin shook her head. "Ava knew! If she didn’t, why would she keep telling how much she loves ? That she’s extrely happy to be with ? How could she do that? If she loved , she should have cherished herself better," her voice continued to crack as she bawled her eyes out. "I can’t do this, grandma. Ava’s not dead."
"Eirin, my love. Ava would not like it if she saw you suffering like this."
"Then she shouldn’t have left ! If she hated seeing miserable, she should have stayed beside ."
As a child who barely showed emotions, Eleanor could not endure the pain of seeing her granddaughter’s tears for the first ti. Seeing her scream and be angry was all the first ti. The only ti Eirin showed human emotions was whenever she was with Ava.
’Ava, that child was everything to my granddaughter,’ Eleanor thought as she caressed Eirin’s hair. "Ava will be happy to see you," she tried to persuade Eirin. "They would not keep her there for too long. It might take ti, but you might regret it if you don’t et her before it’s too late."
Eirin’s eyes lost all hope, ’It’s already late. She left , and she wouldn’t co back even if I beg her to,’ she thought.
In the end, Eleanor could not persuade her granddaughter, which left her no choice but to leave her alone for now.
"Would it be fine not to explain anything to her?"
Eleanor’s forehead creased upon seeing Link standing by the door. "I have told you not to step foot in this house ever again."
"Those people might have caused this."
"You know nothing, child," Eleanor said as she shook her head. "How are you certain that there’s an involvent of a third party?"
"I saw her life energy depleting." Cali’s winter gray eyes glistened. "Sothing’s sucking that dead girl’s energy out of her body before she died."
Eleanor froze. "My goodness." Terrified, she leaned against the wall as she massaged her temples. ’This cannot be...’ Eleanor’s gaze went back to Link after that. "You must deliver a ssage for ."
Link pointed to himself. "A ssage? To whom shall I send it?"
"To the school director."
Cali and Link looked at each other. "Are you referring to the Queen?"
"That is correct. I must direct a ssage to Regina regarding the situation."
"Then we’ll be able to finish the mission," Shade appeared from the shadows with his arms crossed and an annoyed voice.
Eleanor sighed and thought, ’I wished for this ti to not co at all.’
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