Mother Nature showed me the beauty of the world through a key.

"You are safe and sound, it's okay, open your eyes." A voice spoke to the right of me, their hand placed on top of the blanket that covered my own hand.

The hospital lights burned my eyes as I opened them, and the stench of blood and bleach making me wince. My eyes trailed to the large door that shielded us from the outside world, curious why such a heavy door was needed. I tried to move my hand but I couldn't feel anything. There was a loud rattling behind the door and the door began to open with a loud creak.

Two people walked in with clip boards in their gloved hands and pens upon their masks. The one was reading intently while the other stared through me. I felt their gaze on me and began to shrink myself into my pillow; meanwhile, the other began to scratch along the paper, making me bite my lip at the sound. One came to my side, mumbling something under their breath, and began to push several of the buttons beside my head, making me look up in curiosity.

"We will be releasing the child in a matter of a few hours. However, the marking on the left hip is of concern so we would like to be kept informed on how the healing process goes over the course of the week." The person beside me nods and gets up to follow the two others out.

The door didn't get the chance to slam shut, it came towards me before closing quietly. A being must have come through the sliver of an opening, but short since I could not see them from my lower bed. The blanket makes a rustling noise to my left and I looked down to see a small hand tugging on the blanket. A child looked up at me with dark wide eyes and a pout.

"What's your name? I'm your next door neighbor! Can we be friends? I don't have any here, pretty please?" The child had a high-pitched voice and I blinked as I looked at it.

It decided that a look from me was good enough an invitation and climbs up onto my bed after a struggle. Plopping down onto the empty space beside me, the child tilts its head and grins at me. I glare at it and look away, only to see white walls and floors surrounding us. Turning back, I see the walls begin to twist and curl, black beginning to bleed through it and towards us.

The walls begin to move towards me and further back like a wave as the black continues to spread like water. It stops where I sit and take a breath to look back at the child. Its eyes were black with no white to be found. Black tears began to drip down its face while it tilted its head and grinned, a few droplets of dark blood coming from its canines and burning my blanket.

"You know what you're seeing. I'm dying, and I need your help. Please, they're hurting me," the child whispers into my ear and grips my hand with both of theirs.

Their gown slips down their shoulder to show black ink swirling like a disease along their torso. The closer my hand went, the more the ink began to bubble and burn the skin around it. I bit my lip and my hand was placed along the mark, I looked at the child and waited. They smiled at me, and one of the tears dripped onto their cheeks, making scar lines down their face.

The burns began to fade and the child whimpered in pain. My heart was pounding as I looked to see their ribs sticking out against their sunken in blue-and-purple stomach. The child placed their hands on mine and offered me a look of remorse. I reached for the nurse button on the bed behind my back, only for my hand to be grabbed and brought back to my lap.

"You gave me more time just by being around me. They are killing me with this poison. You do not have much longer, you need to find The Ave, please, I will die without that." The door opens, a scream makes me close my eyes, and then there was nothing. Screams woke me up with a startle, and I reached over to see that it was only six past. Opening the blinds, I look at the rising sun and grimace before making my way down the stairs. Two kids whiz by me as I go down to the already bustling common floor. The kitchen's aroma smelled of chocolate and fruits made its way down the hall. Maple syrup was immediately placed in front of me as I took a seat across from Sage, whose pancakes were already drowned.

"Good morning, we have plenty of choices if you want something to eat, but I think the pancakes are much better." I received a smile from Sage, and gave a small one back.

As I got my breakfast, more adults started running down the stairs to grab some of the food before it was devoured by the children, who were still asleep. I grabbed my oatmeal and took a seat next to Sage since my seat had already been filled in by Ari, who had strewn pancake crumbs everywhere on the table cloth. I grabbed the sweatshirt behind Sage and threw it on, pulling down the sleeves to cover my hands. The room felt colder to me as I sat next to Sage.

"Good choice with the pancakes Ari, they're so delicious I can't believe they're healthy!" Sage laughs but then speaks to me, "what's on your mind? You haven't started eating."

I notice the collar of the loose t-shirt Sage was wearing slip down, and I saw the burns that looked like what I saw in my dream. Shaking my head, I begin to shovel the oatmeal into my mouth to prevent conversation. Sage continued to look at me with a questionable look until Ari steals a pancake. The child giggles and eats it while Sage grimaces and gives the plate away.

"Hello everyone, settle down please, and Ari please clean that mess." Kameron walks in with Avery and everyone scrambles to find a seat while Ari blushes. "Well, that was one of the quickest moves I've seen you make since Joa's birthday party ten years ago Jae."

The people laugh at the joke and Jae shyly looks up from the back of the room. I look back at Kameron who now sat on the loveseat with Avery. Sage finishes off the pancakes and glares at Avery like something was going on, before putting the plate in the sink. Avery mumbles something, but I wasn't able to hear what. Kameron nods and gets off of Avery's lap.

"As you know we will have visitors coming for the next foreseeable future. Avery's family is coming from the South and will be working with us on expanding our schools!" The children giggle and start moving in their seats until they give up and start running around again.

Avery looks around and winks at me before taking Kameron's hand to lead them to the kitchen. Sage nudges my side and I scowl, grabbing my plate to wash it in the sink. Avery stands next to me at the sink and fills the glass with water. As I turn to go, Avery stands in my way.

"Kiddo, we need to talk soon. Your license needs to be renewed soon or you won't be able to go to work!" Avery smirks and I roll my eyes before walking past to go get ready.

I walk into my room later to find Sage changing. My eyes trail to the injured arm and bite my lip. Sage meets my gaze and winks before grabbing a shirt to throw on. I move out of the way, but Sage stops in the doorway. My gaze falls to the floor and continue moving back.

"We're swimming after work today, I expect to see you past noon down at the lake or else I'll pick you up." With a grin, Sage walks down the hall and away from my room.

I get to the café not long before it opens. My art sat along the edge of the stained glass windows and the bench cushions were nowhere to be found. The back door creaks and I make my way over to it. A small fox in the back has the blue seat cushion in its mouth.

Sprinting out the door, I chased after the animal. It darted out into the bushes and I followed it, watching the path as I did. The silver tail vanished under a mass of tree roots. My head tilted as I tried to see where it had gone.

"Your cushion is gone love." I turned around to see no one.

Someone tapped on my shoulder and I turned around to see someone much taller than me standing with a smile. Their hair was cropped to their cheekbones and their sharp jawline left a shadow along their neck. I bit my lip and looked down at the ground, glad I had borrowed Sage's sweatshirt so I could feel less exposed under this stranger's intimidating gaze. A gloved finger brushed along the underside of my chin, making me shiver, and brought it up so I looked at them.

"Don't be afraid of me, I mean no harm to you. My name's Angelo, what's your name?" I brush Angelo's hand away and take a step back, uncomfortable at this stranger's touch.

Brushing past me, Angelo crouches down to the den. Pulling something out of the back pocket of the jeans Angelo wore, I noticed it was a small bundle of berries. The berries disappear inside the den and I noticed a blue light before the hand came out unscaved. Angelo began to pull out three seat cushions and held them out to me, I glared and tried to grab them.

"Tell me your name first, I'm new round these parts." I grumbled and snatched the handle of one of the cushions, only for Angelo to yank it back so I stumbled into the cushions.

I shook my head no and continued to glare, grabbing the cushions. Angelo pouted and I spun on my heels to walk away from the annoying stranger that was pestering me. I glanced back to see Angelo waving at me before taking a path back to the outskirts of town to the inn.

"My goodness, are you feeling alright? Your face is all flushed!" Devyn runs to the back to grab the thermometer and I roll my eyes. "Oh, I see. You met someone didn't you?"

"Devyn, I just chased after that darn fox again, it keeps sneaking in here and stealing the cushions for its den!" Devyn laughs and grabs the cushions from my arms to put in the back.

"That little one has only been around for a few days or so, it won't be long until all the babies are out! Although, it is quite chilly around here now, maybe it's trying to warm up?" I rolled at my eyes as Devyn starts to go on a rant about how foxes are good for the Earth.

After placing the second set of cushions down, I see the fox poking its head through the back door once again. Devyn smiles and places a dish of berries on the floor before closing the screen door that separates the back. The pasties begun to be put out behind the glass as I make my way to the back room. Tables are set for the customers and I flip the sign to open.

"Thank you again for helping me out today! I'll let you go early now, have a good one," Devyn calls and waves goodbye as I finish placing the dishes into the dishwasher.

Sage was sitting at the bench reading a book. Our eyes met and I gripped onto my small satchel with my bathing suit. With a smirk, Sage grabs my forearm and begins to drag me to the community lake. I grumble and catch up, shaking off the hand that clutched onto me.

It was an odd time during the week so few people were at the main portion of the lake. Sage and I walked to a more secluded area and set down our bags, watching the children play with their parents with a sad smile. After changing, I sat on the cliff dangling my legs as I looked into the water. Hearing a yelp, I look at Sage who just entered the water and was now shivering.

Smiling, I dive into the water after Sage, allowing my head to become submerged. The cold seeped into my veins, making my hairs raise for a moment while I adjusted to the colder water. My eyes focused on the movement of the sun, seeing the ripples move across my face. Its heat hit one half of my body while the other only became colder by the second.

Feeling my consciousness slip away, I allow myself to fall between a state of conscious and unconscious. My mind opens and I feel at peace, looking at the sun above me. I feel a tug on my heart and let out a breath as something leaves my soul. And yet I had to question if I even had a soul, and what would happen when I would be taken by the dark force in my dreams.

My head breaches the surface as a pressure is applied to my back. The sun's brilliant waves becoming blinding as I took my first breath. The thing that left me returns with a cold atartle, making me wonder if I had begun to drift away. Sage floats next to me with worry, cupping my face and tilting before rubbing my mid back. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to cough up water so I faked a cough and Sage glared at me before laughing softly.

"Don't scare me like that, I was scared you were beginning to drift again." Sage splashes me, and that last moment was forgotten as we began to fight with one another.

Sage and I made our way back to the house by having a running competition. The children had just arrived home from school, so parents were running around trying to get them to call down. My eyes drifted to Sage, who kept glancing at the empty spaces in the wall with distaste. I didn't pry, but I couldn't believe that I didn't notice the constant glances until now.

We went up to my room and Sage sat down on the bed while I drag the easel out of the closet. It was heavier than I remember it last being, although that was a week ago or so. After setting the back locks on, I went back to my closet to grab the acrylic paints. Sage was staring at the blank canvas on the easel and I pursed my lips with confusion.

"Why is there a small child crying black tears?" My eyes widened in confusion and I scrambled to the easel to see what Sage was talking about.

I shook my head, having no idea when I drew this. Sage stared at me and the child in the drawing, laying on the bed as the black from the walls clutched onto them. My back shivered as Sage placed a hand on my back and rubbed soothing circles while we looked. I bit my lip, looking at the child and took my thumb, smearing the black away.

"Is that you?" I mumbled while sitting back on the bed.

"I don't know, but your subconscious must know something we don't." Sage rubs the marking and I watch intently, noticing how small flakes of skin begin to fall like snow.

The white shirt begins to stain black and I notice a shadow begin to creep behind Sage. It was like it was its own being, moving with brilliant grace. It began to slither around and snake around me as if it was taunting me. I glared at it and saw a grin form from the absence of shadow. The more I moved towards it, the more it backed away towards Sage, only smiling.

It began to move up Sage like a snake, squeezing here and there as if it was a game. Stopping behind Sage's neck, a hand formed and began to squeeze. At first, I didn't see anything, but once the shadow began to fade I saw the deprived blood flow before the visual shadow returned. Reaching up quickly, I run my hand through the shadow and Sage visibly relaxes.

My hand is grabbed by Sage while I stand up, causing me to shake it off immediately. My eyes cast down to the floor as I watch the shadow snake away to the window. It appeared to come out of the wall, tilted its head and grinned at me, a white glow coming from where its eyes should have been. Bringing its hand up, it put a finger to its lips as if to tell me to be quiet, and stuck out its tongue before jumping out, making the room immediately begin to warm.