Paddock: Lumiere...Trent! She is coming to her senses! She followed me with her eyes!

          Trent: What a relief! Still, give her some space to finish recovering.

          I am... this is Paddock's room... despite not having completely regained control of my body I immediately recognize this place... what happened last night. Was it a nightmare? I wish that with all my heart but I don't think I'm that lucky... I'm completely immobile, my mind suffered a lot in that place.

          Paddock: You're going to be okay, you're going to recover... you're the strongest person I know.

          Trent: Take it easy, try to move one finger and when you succeed, do the same with the next... slowly... don't force yourself.

          I listen to Trent and concentrate all my strength on moving my index finger... after a while I manage to do it and with a little more effort I manage to do the same with my other hand... I don't know how long it will take but I should be able to recover mobility... Is Paddock trying to hold back his tears?

          Trent: Are you okay?

          Paddock: Don't worry about me, the priority is Lumiere.

          It's been almost an hour since I was able to move my fingers, enough time for me to sit up by myself and start articulating words... I do it clumsily but my friends put all their effort into deciphering what I'm saying and responding to me in the best way.

          Lumiere: What... happened?

          Paddock: Rest, finish recovering, that's what matters right now.

          Trent: That's right, once you're better we can talk.

          I appreciate that you care about me but I have a lot of doubts inside... I remember things that... no... it definitely must have been a nightmare, my mind was just trying to escape from that dark place and that generated horrible images inside me... Right? Please... someone tell me that everything I remember didn't really happen... ouch... it hurts me to sit... oh god... no... No!

          Paddock: Calm down, you're very agitated... I imagine it must be frustrating not being able to move but you have to stay calm so you can regain mobility.

          I can't be calm and you know it perfectly well, you yourself are holding back the urge to cry... tears begin to form in my eyes and I can't stop them from running down my cheeks... they notice it and Trent wipes them away with a piece of paper... I feel so fucking helpless! I can't talk, I can't move... I'm trapped with the memories of last night... I can't fool myself, of course they weren't nightmares... everything happened just as I remember it... I desperately try to get my body to respond but all I can do is cry more.

          Paddock: Come here.

          He reaches out to hug me but the desperate sounds I make as I try to speak make him back away immediately.

          Trent: No, Paddock! Don't touch her.

          Paddock: Why? I was just going to hug her... I want to let her know that she can count on me.

          Trent: Give her your support but don't touch her... now is not the time.

          They know it, of course they know it... I feel so much shame, frustration, helplessness... I would have preferred to die, that way I would be spared all this... my emotions are so intense that they give me enough energy to speak.

          Lumiere: Don't look at me, leave me alone.

          Paddock: It's okay, you'll get better... we're here to...

          Lumiere: It's not okay! For once in your life stop saying stupid things! Go away! Leave me alone!

          I have never felt so much hate in my entire life, screaming is not enough, I want to return the damage they did to me... I want to kill them... I want... I want to die... I can't stand it... How did my life go to shit in such a short time? ?

          Trent: Let's go out for a moment, Paddock... we have to give her space.

          Paddock: But... she needs us.

          Trent: We have to let her come to us when she's ready, we don't have to force her... come on... we're just going to leave the room, we're at your house after all, so we don't have to leave.

          It's incredible that Trent, someone I only met a month ago, knows better ​​what I need than my lifelong best friend... I understand his concern but he is terrible at interpreting the seriousness of situations; the pain is so great... I have lost everything... my innocence, my body, my mind, my sister... the best I can do is close my eyes, with any luck, I will not wake up again.

          I fell asleep for I don't know how long and even though I woke up I don't want to open my eyes... I don't want to face the world, I just want to rest... someone just stood next to the bed, I don't even have to see him to realize that, I hear his breathing... apparently they don't understand that I want to be left alone, but on the other hand, I'm in Paddock's room... I have no choice but to get up and go home, at least there no one will bother me... hoping I've already recovered the mobility of my body, I open my eyes and see... no... please stop. How much mental torture do I have to endure?

          Etoile: Lumiere... my little sister.

          Lumiere: Please, I'm begging you... I've received enough punishment, I'm broken and I can't take it anymore.

          I start crying uncontrollably and fall into the arms of this hallucination I'm having of my deceased sister... that's how pathetic I am, seeking comfort in someone whom I didn't provide it myself... someone who is dead because of me... but it feels so real, like she was really hugging me and rubbing my hair to give me comfort.

          Etoile: That's it... get it all out... allow yourself to feel and express all the pain you have.

          Lumiere: I'm sorry, Galaxie... I'm sorry I have to resort to your memory to be able to bear my own burdens, I don't deserve you to be here even if you're not real.

          Etoile: Galaxie? No, Lumiere... I'm not Galaxie... I'm your other sister, Etoile.

          Lumiere: Huh?

          I must be going crazy. Why did my mind think of this? Am I so horrible that I'm looking for a replacement for my sister? With the same appearance but with a different name?

          Etoile: Look me in the eyes.

          I break away from the hug to slowly look up and see the person who is calling me... between sobs and tears I see a familiar face but with some differences. What does this mean? She kneels to be at the same height as me, who is still sitting on the bed... she puts her hand on my cheek and her touch gives me a warmth that immediately helps me feel a little better.

          Etoile: You are very beautiful, more than I thought.

          She also cries when she says those words but unlike me, she cries out of happiness.

          Lumiere: Who...? Who are you?

          Etoile: I'm your sister, we were separated at birth and I finally found you.

          Lumiere: But... How is that possible? I... I always thought I had only one sister, you are almost identical to her.

          Etoile: Galaxie is my twin, although unfortunately I see that she is no longer with us... no, no... calm down... none of what happened is your fault.

          Lumiere: You say that because you don't know what happened... however... I still have a hard time believing all this. How do I know it's not my mind playing tricks? You could be a desperate attempt by my subconscious to make me feel better.

          Etoile: Maybe this will help.

          Once again I start crying when she reveals that she has a third eye... just like Galaxie... but with a difference, something that I had never seen and therefore it is impossible that my mind could have imagined... when placing her hand on my forehead, Etoile showed me an image inside my mind of the three of us when we were little... I'm in my mother's arms, someone I never met... Galaxie never used her third eye like that on me, so this is definitely real... I have another sister! A new opportunity to do things right!

          Lumiere: After what happened I thought I could never be happy again... but I was wrong, it's the first time I've seen you and I already love you... sister.

          Etoile: Come here, little one.

          The emotion I'm feeling is so great that I jump up and hug my sister, which means that I have already regained control of my body... we both cry with joy and there is no need to speak to express all our affection... I still have a lot to heal, but this is undoubtedly the first step.

          Etoile: Lumiere, you have no idea how happy I am... but we need to talk, there are many things you need to know and I can see that you also have a lot to express.

          Lumiere: It's true... I can't carry my guilt and other negative feelings forever... it will be very difficult to talk about this... but I think it's for the best.

          Etoile: That's right... and don't worry, I'm not going to judge you... I'm here for you.

          Lumiere: You know? There are other people I would also like to talk to about this.

          Etoile: Your friends out there, right? I already met them and they are good people, they even offered me food, something I really needed.

          Lumiere: Do Paddock and Trent know you're here?

          Etoile: Of course... I managed to find you thanks to the strong connection you have with them, I assumed that if they were so close to you they must be good people, so I simply knocked the door.

          Lumiere: Connections... Galaxie also mentioned them... she frequently talked about the relationship they had with energy.

          Etoile: That's correct.

          Lumiere: How did my friends react when they saw you?

          Etoile: Paddock turned pale, he also met Galaxie and seeing someone almost identical scared him quite a bit... Trent didn't know what was happening or why Paddock had reacted that way... when I told them who I was and provided them with evidence they let me in , that was a few hours ago.

          Lumiere: I see, so I was asleep for hours after they left the room... I want them to be here when I explain what happened, they deserve to know after everything they did for me recently.

          They both enter the room when my sister calls them, they smile when they see that I feel better but they do not approach me... they know that I'm not ready for physical contact yet.

          Paddock: I'm glad to see you can move now, you really scared us.

          Lumiere: I'm sorry about that... thank you very much for allowing me to sleep in your room, I apologize for the way I reacted.

          Trent: The important thing is that you feel better now.

          Lumiere: Yes... but I want to get to the point, there are many things I need to express and I want you two to hear them too... I have to get it out so it doesn't continue to consume me inside.

          Etoile: Take all the time you need.

          Lumiere: Please don't say anything until I finish talking.

          The three take a seat in front of me on some chairs that they brought from the living room, I am forced to close my eyes while I speak because I don't think I can bear the looks full of criticism when I get to that point in my story... well, here I go ...my sister Galaxie and I always had a good relationship, although I admit that on several occasions she was really annoying because she had a personality that I considered passive, always trying to avoid conflicts and arguments.

          Like Etoile, she also had a third eye that she could make appear and disappear at will... she always insisted that it was a blessing since it allowed her to see things that others couldn't, such as the color of the aura, the reflection of the soul and even invisible beings... on more than one occasion I thought she was crazy, I simply couldn't conceive the idea that everything she said was true.

          Despite that, we were quite close, not having a mother and our father being so cold and distant, we could only trust each other... but there came a moment, approximately two months ago, when I ran out of patience due to all the nonsense that she began to say from one moment to another... she insisted that she had had an epiphany through her dreams, in which she was able to realize many things... she nervously told me that everything we think we know is a lie, we live in a deception, she even used the word simulation... it was no longer enough to humor her because she wanted me to adopt her beliefs.

          Every day she told me to open my eyes, to stop living deceived because deep down I knew that her words were true... her attempts to force me to think like her really bothered me, every time I responded more aggressively by telling her things like "if you want to believe in what you saw in your dreams, that's fine, but don't involve me in your crazy things, you act like a mentally ill person"... every time I said things like those, she cried out of helplessness and added that the reason why she was telling me all of those things was to free herself even a little from all the emotional burden she had inside for having discovered so much at once.

          I never believed her. How did she expect me to take her unusual behavior seriously? Day after day, week after week... she became more and more hysterical because supposedly in her dreams she discovered new details of reality that were hidden from us by those who had power, that was the name she gave them... her frustration was so great that she woke up in the middle of the night screaming and crying because she couldn't get out... Get out from where? I asked her, to which she only responded "from this programmed world."

          In the end she reached her breaking point, she ran into my room even knowing that I hate it when she does that without first knocking on the door... she turned off my music without permission and with an expression of absolute desperation she told me "sister, I know you don't believe me, but at least tell me that I count on you, so much information is destroying me inside... it hurts me a lot to live in a false reality... I need a big hug so that the broken pieces of my heart can be reunited."

          What did I do? I laughed in her face because of how dramatic she was, I told her that there were much more important issues like surviving day to day in this shitty place, so I didn't have time to put up with her nonsense... "I'm not going to give you a hug, you don't deserve it because you are not even trying to stop for a moment to think about what you are saying, you just want to drag me into your little world of madness, you already refused to participate in the big event when you reached the required age, from that moment on I realized that something was very wrong with you... besides, you know that I can't stand it when you come into my room without knocking."

          I will never forget that conversation, the look she had when she heard those words from her own sister is something that will forever be tattooed in my brain... so sad and full of hopelessness... she didn't say anything else and left my room, I closed the door behind her and I heard her crying on the other side, so I turned that fucking old radio that I found in the trash back on and turned up the music so I wouldn't hear her... the next day I went out to practice at Mind Games , but before leaving I asked her if she needed anything... I didn't get an answer, she had locked herself in her room and I assumed she didn't want to talk to me because of what happened the day before.

          Hours later I returned home and the door to her room was still closed, I called her but no one answered me... I felt angry because her dramas had already gone too far, so I opened the door to face her and... what I found was... a lifeless body hanging from the ceiling... she hanged heself... she committed suicide... the impact was so great that I almost fainted, I had to lean on the wall to stop myself from doing so... I was in shock... it took me a moment to process what my eyes were seeing.

          After realizing, I fell to my knees and in the most hypocritical way I started crying for that sister whom I didn't help when she felt worst... on her bed there was a note that said "it's not your fault, please forgive me but I can't  continue living in this world of lies in which there is no escape... I love you with all my heart and I hope that one day you can see what I saw and that you have enough strength to do something about it".

          I can't help but cry again when I remember it, it's not just a few tears but a whole sea of ​​sadness, regret and guilt that soaks my face... I don't have the courage to look at those who have just listened to me... but I can perceive that one of them stands up and before I know it she is already hugging me... Etoile; How can she do it after finding out the truth? How can she hug the monster who indirectly murdered her sister?

          Etoile: You're doing good... take it all out.

          Lumiere: It's my fault! She just wanted a hug! But as the horrible person that I am, I couldn't even give her that... I didn't have to believe in her words... I just had to support her and give her love... But did I do it? No! I killed my sister! I killed Galaxie!

          I'm shaking, I'm a mess... but I couldn't take it anymore, I had to express it... I'm so selfish that I can't even accept the punishment I deserve for having treated my sister like that.

          Etoile: Telling all that makes you very brave.

          Lumiere: No! It's the opposite! Carrying that guilt was just what I deserved.

          Even my voice is chaos, between sobs, snot, and pathetic whimpers, they can barely understand what I'm saying.

          Etoile: Never say that... and I want you to know that what happened was not your fault... at first you will have a hard time accepting it, but you will realize that it was Galaxie who made her decision.

          Lumiere: But... it could have been avoided if I had shown a little empathy... What kind of monster denies her sister a hug when she was clearly affected?

          Etoile: Lumiere... now you see it that way, but no one knows what would have happened even if you had hugged her... you weren't the one who ended her life, she did it... in moments like this you think about the most insignificant details, it didn't depend on you... what was happening inside Galaxie's mind was what caused her to make that decision, it wasn't you.

          Lumiere: Even if that's true, I behaved in the worst way... I know I could have done a lot more to help her... or rather, I could have done something... since I didn't do anything... I think it's most fair that I experience the same thing as her, I should bear my burdens and not involve others... I don't deserve this.

          Etoile: Stop thinking that way, you are seeing things from the wrong perspective.

          Lumiere: How can you say that? Galaxie was your sister... your twin.

          Etoile: You are also my sister and I love you... I also love Galaxie despite not having been able to meet her and I respect her decision.

          Lumiere: What?

          Etoile: As you heard it, she no longer wanted to live in this world and did what she considered most appropriate. Was it right or wrong? The answer is none... we can't give our opinion on such delicate matters because we will never experience firsthand what others feel... much less what is inside their minds... our sister chose her destiny and we must respect it... knowing that, it wasn't your fault... you didn't decide for her... you didn't force her to do it.

          Lumiere: I... I wish I could believe that.

          Etoile: Listen, the only one who is judging you is yourself... I'm not doing it and based on Galaxie's note, she didn't  judge you either... you need to forgive yourself.

          Lumiere: Maybe... maybe you're right... but I can't help but feel terrible about the way I treated her and the last words I said to her... I made her cry and ignored her call for help.

          Etoile: We have all hurt someone we love. Did you do it on purpose?

          Lumiere: Of course not!

          Etoile: There you have it... we can't change the past but we can find within ourselves enough strength to move forward and try not to make the same mistakes.

          Lumiere: I wish I could apologize to her.

          Etoile: You can do it, wherever she is she will listen to you... you may not believe it but you should still do it... it will help you free yourself and in the process you will also forgive yourself... listen to me carefully, you do not deserve to suffer nor receive punishment, you are an imperfect human being and you will continue to make many mistakes throughout your life, just like everyone else... but that doesn't mean that you should be mortified by each of them, some will be more serious and will make you feel bad, but at the same time, those kinds of mistakes will help you become a better person.

          Lumiere: Sister...

          I hug Etoile with all my love, I have no way to thank her for being here for me at this moment.

          Etoile: And whenever you have a burden that you want to share, I will always be willing to listen to you... we are together now.

          Words are incredibly powerful, some can cause irreparable damage while others help heal the soul... with all the emotions I forgot for a moment that Paddock and Trent were here, I'm grateful that they respected this moment that I'm having with my sister... the simple fact that they are here just listening also helps me a lot.

          Lumiere: Thank you very much for everything to the three of you, there is so much I need to express and your support is invaluable... especially when I talk about the other matter.

          Paddock: That's what we're here for, friend... although perhaps it's best for you to rest before moving on to the other matter, you've just emptied yourself emotionally and it wouldn't hurt to organize your thoughts.

          Trent: I agree, we are in no hurry and we have to take these matters slowly.

          Etoile: That's true, sister... rest for a moment and when you are ready we will continue here supporting you.