Xandra opened her eyes to a faded white ceiling.

To her left was a pole with a pack of white liquid. She raised her arm to see the wires attached to it. Without hesitation, Xandra wrapped her fist around it and braced.

"Woah there!" The curtain swished and a hand grabbed her arm.

Xandra looked up at the doctor with deadpan eyes.

Doctor William sighed. "You know you can't just pull that out like in the movies, young lady." Xandra stared ahead.

He tried to steel his gaze to match the cold woman and sat on a nearby chair. With crossed arms, he said, "You do know this is the second time this week, Xandra."

A small scoff escaped her, but her gaze never fell on anything other than the white blankets gripped tightly in her fists.

"First it was in the bus stop, now it's the park. You should thank the kind woman who brought you here.

"You're overworked, Xandra," William concluded. "How many more times should we see you here?"

Xandra remained quiet for a long time. With a huff, she collapsed back onto the bed and held up her arm. "When can I leave?"

"You're free to leave now. But I'm hesitant until you promise me you'll take care of yourself." William frowned. "Your brother is a dear friend of mine. What would he say to me if he could see you right now?"

He tried to duck down to Xandra's eyesight but she only turned away. He forced a smile and changed the topic. "But hey, he told me you'd all be spending the summer at Blossom Hill. Have you packed your bags yet?"

"How much?" She said abruptly.

"Hm?" William blinked. "How much wha-"

"The fee. How much is the fee?" This time, she looked directly at him. She raised her arm and said, "And excuse me for my bluntness doctor but if this isn't off my arm by the next thirty minutes I'll pull it off myself."

William's mouth fell. This had been the first time he heard Xandra speak a full sentence in the multiple hospital visits she'd had since she moved in the city.

He cleared his throat, "I...I'll get it off now."

***

Xandra flexed her fingers and wrung her hand around her wrist, now free of its medical shackles.

She grabbed her purse from beside the bed and checked its contents. Her wallet, phone, receipts, even the empty gum wrappers stayed in place.

William spoke with a smile, "Isn't it amazing?" A lump lodged in her throat. "The woman even paid for all of your expenses. What do you know? Good Samaritans actually exist in this world."

Xandra remained quiet. She hooked her purse over her shoulder and faced William, her face an ever frozen state of neutrality. With a nod, she bid him farewell.

"Hope we don't see you here again!" William shouted from behind her. Xandra ignored his laughs.

"Oh-hold on!" Xandra stopped but didn't turn around.

William continued from across the hallway, "I think the woman knew you, do you have any idea who they may be?"

To be honest, Xandra knew nothing. But instead of asking further, she continued to walk forward, ignoring the doctor's shouts. Whoever the woman was, she was thankful of her, but meddling in her mysterious identity would mess with her schedule. Xandra needed to get herself together first.

***

Closing the door to her bare apartment, Xandra went straight for her laptop, not even bothering to change or to shower. She looked at the clock on the office table, 3:30 PM, way too late for her schedule.

She opened it and set to work. Time ticked by, minute per minute, second per second; it did not bother to stop or to wait. Xandra found it frustrating somehow.

She set up her mic, the script on the blinding screen in front of her. Mimicking lively words on the screen, her upbeat voice betrayed the coldness that has slithered itself into the cracks of her skin and nestled in her heart. Xandra doesn't understand.

"If you want to learn more about freelancing and engineering, visit my website on..."

Her voice, it seemed to her, felt detached, and her thoughts flew every which way. Why was she feeling this way? Didn't she like voicing YouTube channels and giving engineering advice? The twenty five Subscriber count did not leave her gaze. Didn't she like designing websites for pushy clients? The ten pitches that sat with no replies gawked back at her.

Yes, she did enjoy this.

Time ticked by on an excruciatingly fast ride, sending Xandra careening from her studio to her piles of paper and notes. Even though it was vacation, she couldn't leave everything she learned behind.

Once the clock struck 8:00, she had gotten dressed in the convenience store's uniform and clocked in.

It was a long night.

Her watch set off at 12:00 midnight, just as she opened the door back to her apartment. Unsurprisingly, she had been fired at the 7-11. I should go to sleep now.

Her purse hit the ground as she clomped to her bedroom. Xandra crashed on her bed with a low groan. Her arms hung off the tiny mattress, her cracked phone slipping slowly and slowly off her grasp.

It fell on the floor with a thud. Xandra didn't bother picking it up. Instead she turned to her side, tired body curling into a ball. The warmth on her skin clashed with the cold, bare room. I just want to... Her hands gripped at her blonde curls, desperately closing her eyes...See him again...

***

Fast taps of bare feet rushed to her ears, and Xandra's eyes opened to auburn wood walls painted by the moonlight.

"Good night Sun," A boy with long white hair calmly smiled, leaning against the dark wood door frame.

Night? Sun rubbed her eyes and turned to the window, moonlight spilling on the potted flowers' leaves.

She looked toward the white haired man who still had a cheeky smile plastered on his face. Sun started, "Shouldn't it be morning now?"

"Forget about that! Come with me," giddiness painted his golden eyes as he leaned in and took Sun by the wrist, dragging her up the bed and into the back door.

A light chuckle unwillingly escaped Sun's mouth, though Miyo didn't seem to mind. Grabbing her watering can along the way, the two emerged from the house into the labyrinth of flowers and vines. Has it always been this overgrown?

Comfortable silence reigned between the two as the calm trickles of Sun's watering continued. Miyo fretted with some leaves, muttering unintelligible words.

Sun lifted her head from her work and watched the light that danced in Miyo's eyes. The greens and the purples, the colors of the flowers reflected in his golden gaze. With his fingers, he twisted the leaves, caressed the stem. She watched him reach into the thorn bushes and procure a single red fruit.

Water trickled into Sun's feet, and she jumped back to the work she'd momentarily forgotten.

She turned to the Cyclamens, but her eyes never left the curious person. There was a light scratching in the back of her being, something she couldn't quite comprehend. But well, her grip on the can tightened for reasons she couldn't understand, whatever it is, I don't want to know.

She sighed, "Miyo." He looked at her. Sun smiled and for the first time in who knows how long, she let her voice soften, smooth and warm. Not the cold and unfeeling voice she usually donned.

"How was your day?"

Miyo's smile widened and without a beat started his story. "The fairies were a lot fussier today," he sighed, "it was probably because you refuse to see them."

"It's not that I refuse to acknowledge them, I just don't see them."

Miyo hummed and shrugged his shoulders. For a couple more minutes, he went on about fairies and hummingbirds and Cyclamens longer than Sun expected.

As he talked and she listened, he picked up an Alpine Violet between long snaking fingers. Sun looked at him curiously as he moved closer, hand reaching closer and closer for her face.

He tucked the lavender flower behind her ear. "It matches your dress."

As the garden behind him glittered, the moon setting his white hair a shade purer, Sun stared at him, stunned. Her mind was racing, scrambling for answers and a conclusion. But there was something akin to a warmth that spread in her heart.

They weren't butterflies.

Miyo's gaze softened as his golden eyes seemed to bore into her, unforgotten, forever seared through. It was his smile that first vanished, and it was his eyes that remained.

His face blurred.

The breeze lightly kissed Sun's skin, the purple petals lightly grazing her cheek.

Miyo's hand remained on her face.

The tears that blurred his face fell, dribbling so excruciatingly down her chin. The warmth spread, burning her, killing her. Sun was not an emotional person. She didn't like emotions, or crying. Most of the time, she didn't know what she was feeling, so she didn't feel at all.

But this time, oh this time, she knew. It looked at her so clearly, so blatantly clear. Even when the man's face before her melted into a milky white substance, a golden gaze unforgettable.

"I guess this means we're friends now?"

She took the hand that kept itself on her cheek. A smile, so clear and so wide, stretched her skin and met her eyes. Sun beamed at the man before her, the purple petals on her hair fluttering in the breeze.

"Thank you..."

Blonde hair swayed with the wind, blonde, glittering hair. Strands of hair moved, weaved into each other, braiding down to her back. The purple Cyclamens' upright petals moved, flapped, giggled.

The fairies smiled as it pulled at her hair, and formed a crown on her head. Blonde strands were wrangled in their talons, their eyes shining with intent.

***

The stars glowered at the green grass, the hill before Sun setting ablaze on a silvery haze. She raised her head to see Miyo stop in front of a lone tree. His snow white hair swayed as he kneeled under it and set the picnic basket down.

Sun caught up with him. "Why did you bring me here?" She sat adjacent to Miyo and placed the lamp between them.

He chuckled, rubbing the nape of his neck. "This is the second thing I wanted to show you since you became my-er, client."

Sun ran her eyes over the hills aglow with the fireflies lights. The night wasn't as cold as she remembered it, but the trees swayed and the air felt crisp.

"What do you think?"

Sun turned her head back to Miyo and nodded.

He handed her a sandwich. "Not a very ideal time for a picnic, no? But I thought the fireflies were pretty so..." He seemed embarrassed, eyes averting to the ground.

"I think it's nice." Sun desperately nodded.

Miyo seemed to light up instantly, "Eat, my client. I have prepared thine for thee!"

Sun blinked, "Sure." A thought crossed her mind, and she spoke, "Why do you always seem so quiet?"

Miyo stopped mid-bite and hummed, eyes still not meeting hers. After a moment of contemplation, he gave an awkward chuckle. "People make fun of me because I often pronounce things wrong."

Just then, he had mis-pronounced 'pronounce.'

Sun nodded rather instantly. "I could see why."

Miyo choked on his sandwich and pointed at the stoic blonde. "Don't you make fun of me too! You're my client, shouldn't you be kinder to me?"

Sun sighed, "You're heavily misunderstanding the word 'client.' You say I'm your client but it's like you're the one benefitting from this." Her eyes stay glued on the fireflies that lit the hill. It had been a long way up.

"You haven't granted my wish yet."

Miyo simply fluttered his eyes closed and sighed, "It's because I haven't pulled out the true wish out of you yet."

Sun turned to look at him and retorted in the calmest voice, "Why won't you let me say it first?"

Miyo blinked and a smile broke into his face once again. He gestured toward her and said, "As you wish, then."

Sun didn't expect that.

She thought he'd be harder to convince than that. I suppose he really did just want a friend and forgot his job. Miyo kept his playful gaze on her, almost a creepy, knowing gaze. It almost made Sun shiver.

Because in truth, she didn't really know what she wanted. Sun cleared her throat, "I..." What does she want? She could've sworn the answer was on the tip of her tongue, brushing past her cheek, even. Beaming down her face, almost. But her mind couldn't make up the words, and she went with the first thing that could reach her comprehension.

"I want ketchup on this sandwich." The breeze stopped. Her voice was monotone, matching her stone-still face.

Miyo's mouth fell, before he gathered his wits and released a small snort. "Didn't I tell you? You still don't know your own wish." He bit his lip to stop the teasing grin that threatened to be let out. "What would we do with that now then? We can't have our bond be that easily cut off with a single ketchup now would we?"

Sun gulped and turned her back on him as he continued to chuckle.

"Oh no," Miyo came to a halt. Sun turned back to him.

He smiled and raised the empty ketchup packets, "We're all out."

Sun must have had a miserable look on her face because Miyo instantly added in, "But I remember having some emergency packets right there." He gestured to the back side of the tree he had been leaning on. "There's a box under the bushes. Hurry on now, client."

Sun grumbled, "You should really change that word to 'servant.'"

But she trundled to the back of the tree nonetheless. Pushing aside some leaves and thorns, her fingers grazed rough wood and she pulled it out. The small wooden box was around the size of a textbook, and Sun set it down gently on a patch of grass. It wasn't heavy, but she had a tendency to keep gentle with everything she touches. It would've been unfair for Miyo to have his ketchup stash broken, especially since it did seem pretty flimsy. The lid was glued on, rubber bands keeping it in place.

Sun started removing the bands, it made light snapping sounds against the wood.

On the other side of the tree, Miyo's eyes widened with a certain urgency on his face. He scrambled up his seat, "Wait hold on-!"

Sun stopped, the bands sat beside the box, her hands only lifting the lid a few millimeters off. She looked up at his distressed face.

Miyo exhaled, relief smoothing his features. "Don't mind that now. I-I just figured out what 'clients' and 'servants' mean and Sun, you aren't a servant to me. So let me take that for you now." His voice was steady, his expression masked in the usual lively but calm smile. Though the moon refused to lighten his face, and the tree shadowed the two with a sinister gaze.

Sun wouldn't let his lies break through her. What are you hiding? She thought, but she didn't say it. She let her actions tell itself.

Sun opened the box.

Above her, she heard Miyo's small intake of air. But what she had seen had already been imprinted in her eyes.

Rolls of bloodied bandages outlined by the slowly rising sun stared at her. Miyo's hand came crashing down the lid of the box.

"I told you I would get it," his voice was harsh, and the sunlight that backlit his figure made his hair glow an uncharacteristically dark shade.

"Miyo..." Sun's hands were shaking. Her eyes couldn't meet his own, settling instead on the dark blue coat over his arms. "What were those for?"

"What do you mean?" Again, his voice lacked the friendly warmth it gave only a few moments ago. He grabbed the box and quickly started dressing it up again with the bands.

Sun gulped, and took this moment to grab him by the arm. She looked up at his shocked golden eyes, teary and furious.

"Please tell me, are you truly okay?"

It was then that the breeze stopped, truly stopped. Her bold words echoed bluntly against her ears, the shameful way the sun shone on their grim, frozen faces chilled her to the bone.

The frozen sunrise exploded into darkness, and the image of Miyo broke into a thousand crystals. His pieces scattered in the windless void, the tree and the box with its bloodied garments melted into the darkness that surrounded Sun.

A force pushed her into her back, a cold hand kept her steeled despite her struggles.

Blue eyes met gold, but it was dark, leaning on bronze. The echoes of her words resonated back to her ears.

Are you truly okay? Are you truly okay?

Mannasseh's face softened above her, "It isn't okay at all." His cold hands went to close her eyes, the only color in the void fading into black. A soft kiss chilled her forehead. Gentle and sad. "Everything isn't okay at all."