Rocket took her time in front of the mirror, stretching her hair and putting it in box braids while humming along to a quiet tune a late friend of hers had sung once. It was a sweet song, one that reminded her of a life that wasn’t hers---a life that she couldn’t fathom but one that made her antsy nonetheless. Once she was done with her hair she slipped her favorite muscle tank on (it read ‘you abducted my heart’ with a little old fashioned cartoon foreign spaceship pulling a heart up with a strange light), ‘retro’ Sunny had said when giving this gift. Something Sunny and Mom grew up seeing from their parents. That was the only explanation they had given Rocket when she received it; still she loved it and would wear it everyday if she could. Why couldn’t she?

...Stinky……...

Rocket shrugged, nodding and admitting to herself that yeah, it’d get stinky. The song changed and instead played something from 2015---a classic. It was slow and easy, an ode to a lover. She yawned, her golden teeth glinting under the bathroom light and casting a yellow hue throughout the room. A knock on the door.

“Rocket?” Came a worried tone.

“Yeah,” she replied, turning down the music.

“Are you alright? I’ve been doing some studies on humans and it seems that humans don’t do well with memory transfer; and you often need time to rest afterward.” Sa’Loane said, a little whine in her voice.

Oh, right.

“I’ll be out soon.”

“Do not strain yourself.”

“I’m just braiding my hair.”

“You’re doing what?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Rocket sighed as she weaved the final braid together ah---Rocket peered close to the mirror; much to her surprise Rockets freckles had come out.

An eerie gold that sat beneath her eyes, over her nose, on her neck shoulders, arms and hands---everywhere. Strange. Her freckles often only presented itself back in the stark Neo November Rain on Earth. Rocket brushed her fingertips across her cheeks and as a result her freckles left a faint glowing trail. Rocket placed her arm over the sink, leaned in even closer and found herself holding her breath. As she watched the trail of her finger her vision began to blur, with her eyes feeling as if they were drifting away from her; and though the movement was small, as she passed her finger down her face Rocket could feel her bones grow cold, her skin stiff, her muscles felt prickly. She passed had through her hair, feeling every strand of hair on her skin. And behind her appeared a blinding light.

Rocket shot back from the mirror and onto the ground. Every second, every breath of time was presented to her in hours, and she could feel them burning in the back of her mind, in her toes. A cloud of dust poffed up and covered her from head to toe. Rocket let out a slow shallow breath and gripped onto the edge of her pink jacket, her grip was so tight that a pastel array of rainbow nail polish fell to the ground. Still holding onto herself Rocket stood and took a few big shaky steps back toward the mirror, the dying blades of grass reached for her as she passed; also wishing to clean to something comforting. Around her flowers grew, and just as quickly as they did they began to welt. A sad yet familiar sight, the stained glass that was melting into the ground glinted quickly---almost like a light flickering. A few more steps and Rocket reached the window sill, the mural had broken, leaving its depiction shattered across the floor; and though the window had been damaged the light remained unscathed, as if some force held it there. Rocked started at ut, ge straight unwavering light suddenly burst, and the shards from the mural rose up and found their proper place in the picture. At this Rocket paused, stopping just seconds before she reached out to touch it. The mural shattered again, this time in a different order---from a different source and with the glass hitting the ground the fixture above cast light around them again---

“Rocket!” Came Sa’Loanes worried tone from behind her.

As the bathroom door slammed open Rocket turned to look at her and the scene blinked away, leaving the plants and mural behind but the light remained.