"Thank you so much, Beth! You really helped a lot today."

Simone walked together with Beth out of the Laurel campus, after Felicity went away.

"Well, I hope Fifi actually shows up at the audition tomorrow!"

"I hope so too! " Simone looked up at the sky. "But whether she comes to the audition or not is her decision. I don't want to pressure her into anything. Just talking to her again made today much better. Looking back on my journey playing music, I couldn't recall most of my achievements. However, all the feelings and memories that accompanied those achievements lived on."

Simone stopped midway, picked up a rock from the floor, and casually threw it in the air.

"Fifi seemed to be shaken by you, though."

The rock fell back on Simone's right hand.

"How so?" Beth asked.

"See, Fifi ignored my letters and Jules can't reason with her at all. At that moment, I wondered what you would have done. You totally surprised me by throwing those inspirational words at Felicity, saying that it's not shameful to make mistakes, that imperfections make us who we are...yada, yada. Oh man, who would believe in these words anymore, especially Felicity? But I was moved." Simone blushed. "They felt so real to me. You are one of a kind, Beth. A good friend. You really are."

Beth felt her chest burning up as Simone finished talking. Simmy called me a good friend. I should feel happy, right? A weird sensation hit her. From when she was young, she had been told it's not possible much more than you are doing great. In order to be seen and heard, she had to fight an uphill battle, to wash away words and memories that once let her down. Yet a part of herself was lost in this process forever. When she looked back at her life before Laurel Prep, there was a subtle, transparent barrier between her and the world she once interacted with. She was left on the sidelines as an observer, always looking from the outside inwards. Being real came with a price — she was all alone.

Suddenly she seemed to look a little sad.

"Simmy, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure! Ask away."

"Why do good people suffer so much?"

"I'm not sure, but I think good people simply care a lot. They see the world with many unresolved potentials. However, when they are exposed to a world that refuses to change, that treats their earnest wishes as unrealistic thinking, that lets them down again and again...it is not possible that they won't be in pain."

"Do you think there's value to caring this much, even if they were subjecting themselves to misery?"

"Everything exists for a reason, I guess," Simone said. "Good people don't suffer just in vain. They were able to live a life witnessing sceneries and miracles that other people never see. That's what makes their life truly magical."

✨

As Beth parted ways with Simone and made her way back home, she saw a couple of stars shining in the sky. She was reminded of the night after the runway competition. Along with Julianna and Simone, the three girls laughed and joked around, like no one was watching them. They felt as if they were yelling from the center of the universe, as if they had made history in that very moment, fearless of anything life threw at them. The fall chilliness didn't dim any of their spirited moods. All the illumination from the faraway buildings looked brighter than usual. There were simply no words that could picture that special moment, filled with hope and anticipation for the future.

Now, Beth found herself looking at the stars again, yet her feelings have subtly changed. The stars were still there, but the laughter she and her friends shared was nowhere to be found. People passed by, not noticing her presence as if she could easily melt into the atmosphere. Her much cherished day was only a passing page in the constant flow of time.

The nearby river was quiet and tranquil after the sun went down. Beth sat down alone by its shore. A small, frail flower bloomed alone in the evening wind. She leaned forward to feel the small, yellow petals of the flower, pretending to shelter it from the wind crossing by. Just in front of her, a fallen leaf landed on the river, awaiting its destiny to be taken away by the waves. A couple of days ago, Simone told her that the riverside looked quite different in spring. Flowers of all kinds would be blossoming side by side, creating a pretty bed of colors. I heard one's wish can come true if you write it down on a paper boat and send it down the river on a fine day. Simone said. Me, you, Jules. Let's make wishes together by the river when spring comes.

Drips of tears dropped down from Beth's cheeks. They were surprisingly warm; she couldn't distinguish if they were happy or sad tears.

Before she came to Laurel Prep, she often wondered how high school life could have turned out. She imagined whether her life would be drastically different if she was born in a different place, at a different time. Never did she want to accept her fate of being a big fish in a small pond. It was not until befriending Julianna did she reconsidered her relationship with fate. There could have been a myriad of possibilities, and an infinite amount of choices one could have made. Julianna said. However, only one of them was true — the life we were living right now.

Beth took these words close to her heart.

She learned to love the fact that everyone's flesh and blood were made from the same elements found in distant stars. From the happening of the Big Bang, the forming of the first organic compound under the sea, the emergence of the first vertebrates, the extinction of dinosaurs, the evolution of the modern human being...everything, and exactly everything led her to the day she first clicked on Simone's video, the day she checked Bianca's Magical, and the day she spoke for the first time with Julianna. It was through millions of permutations out of all the possible choices, that she was able to meet and form a deep longing for those people.

And with this deep longing came an equally deep pain.

She soon realized that everyone was so lonely. Under Simone's quirky and successful surface hid a girl who only wished for the support of a close friend. Julianna's smart and strategic personality came with an alienated and misunderstood soul. Felicity's sunny disposition hid away her desire to express and experiment. Bianca struggled to scrape by while inspiring everyone forwards.

Eventually, Beth turned to think of her own life.

More and more tears began flowing down her cheeks as she envisioned her future. It should have been more idealistically orderly. At least, that's what she thought about before high school. Doing well in exams, going to Lisette Art, interning in the city, landing a dream job, having good family and friends, and eventually, making a decent living as a fashion designer...that would make a happy ending, right? That should be the happy ending I was reaching all along, right? She felt this future slipping away from her grasp ever since the day she faced her emotional monsters. She couldn't distinguish if she was in love with Lisette Art itself, or the idea of it. Not too long ago, she would have been ecstatic at any mentions of Lisette Art from others. Now, she was not so sure. Nothing was eternal. Everything that was yet to come began looking murky.

What if how much I struggle, how much work I do, my dream would still be insignificant in the end?

Would everything be the same if I couldn't get that happy ever after I imagined before?

I should be heading home, shouldn't I? Beth tried pulling her up from the ground, yet she collapsed. Her face was completely drenched with tears. In a minuscule amount of time faster than the speed of light, all her feelings suddenly clicked in her mind.