Chirp.

Chirp.

Chirp.

The birds’ morning choir gradually filled Mine’s ears.

“Hm…” Mine mumbled and rubbed his eyes.

His body was way better than those past few days, but his head was oddly heavy. Last night, when he was about to go to sleep, he felt a sharp pain across his head and the Chronos pattern on his hand subtly glowed intensely. However, his head hurt so much that he passed out on the bed before he could do anything.

Now, his head was buzzing, but it wasn’t hurting. Thank God.

Mine yawned and looked to the side. Faint snores came from that side. He rubbed his eyes once again and his hazy vision finally became clear. The one snoring was no one other than Addai himself, slumped by Mine’s side on the bed.

He was still wearing his thin golden eyeglasses, which Mine hardly saw him wearing it. It was so thin that Mine worried it could bend and eventually break, so he carefully took them from Addai's sleeping face. Addai had dark circles under his eyes, his clothing was partially changed – PJ's pants and casual shirt, plus a sole sock partially covering the right foot – and Mine assumed he fell asleep before his brain could help him change his clothing and go to the guests' mattress on the floor.

“You didn’t leave…” Mine stroked Addai’s fluffy hair. “Thank you…” he faintly smiled.

Addai could have left, and Mine would have completely understood. But that option wasn’t available.

On the same night after the hospital visit—and after Mine had asked Addai for a dance—the last song had barely finished when Mine began to feel hotter and dizzier. First, he told Addai the room was too stuffy and his clothes too heavy, so Addai took off his shirt and replaced it with one made of lighter fabric. Then, he said the room was spinning and that he couldn’t feel his legs anymore—just before collapsing.

His last memory was of Addai checking his temperature and saying he would call a doctor. All Mine could say was that he would be fine once the meds kicked in…

… but he was terribly wrong.

Mine squirmed, coughed blood, and groaned in pain until the doctor arrived. It was unbearable and he felt his body being tied to the mattress by the ill creature within his insides, boosting his hallucinations. His body was filled with glowing patterns and there was nothing Addai could do to ease that, all he did was wipe the cold sweat from Mine’s forehead and give his hallucinations some sense of reality.

It hurt so much that his swollen eyes made hot, silent tears roll down his cheeks.

When the fever finally subsided a little, Mine felt like a wounded animal—scared, hurt, tired… desperate. He didn’t know when the doctor had arrived nor when they had left, but he remembered something warm on his chest during one of his hallucinations. It was fuzzy and vibrated as it rubbed against his face and chest.

It took some time, but the pain eventually eased.

As his senses returned, he recognized the fuzzy little creature that always lay on his chest: it was Umbra! Addai had brought her along so she wouldn’t feel lonely at home, and there she was—adventuring through Mine’s home and gifting him with purrs and nuzzles whenever he needed them most.

Speaking of which, while Mine stretched, the fuzzy, black cat lazily approached him.

“Meow…” Umbra softly meowed, her fur as perfect as ever and the touch of the small ribbon on her head gave her the last touches of her elegance.

“Good morning, Umbra,” Mine chuckled, messy hair fluttering as the wind blew from the window. “Sleep a bit more, or- oh,” the cat jumped on his lap, resting right after like a purring pillow.

He couldn’t help but laugh. He loved the mornings with the cat and wondered if he should adopt a kitten just so he wouldn’t feel too lonely when Addai returned to his own home that afternoon.

"What would I do without your morning purring?" Mine chuckled, and Umbra glanced at Addai, then glanced at Mine again. Umbra made a silly face, arching her brows to her owner and then at her newest beloved human. "What's with this funny face?"

“Meow meow,” Umbra meowed playfully.

"You're so silly!" Mine laughed while Umbra meowed proudly. "You can always stop by if you're fine with that. You're one of the few beings who can visit me anytime," he smiled, and Umbra licked his nose.

“Hm…” Addai groaned, and both Mine and Umbra turned into statues. “Hm,” he turned to the other side, going back to sleep.

Mine exhaled, relieved that he hadn’t disturbed Addai’s peaceful sleep. Umbra then settled comfortably in his lap and began to purr. Mine was doomed to stay put until she decided otherwise. Well, a few more minutes in bed wouldn’t hurt.

His gaze fell on the sleeping Addai beside him.

Addai was a big question mark, hard to decipher.

At times, Addai was sweet as sugar melting on the tongue; then, he could be sharp as sea salt in an open wound. He carried the bitterness of eggplant, the softness and sweetness of cotton candy, and the sourness of a lemon… a myriad of flavors Mine never dreamed could exist in just one soul.

“Friend…” Mine echoed, looking at Addai’s back. “It doesn’t sound bad but… don’t get too attached… It’s for your own good, okay?” he lowered his gaze, only to find Umbra’s golden eyes looking at him.

“Meow,” Umbra softly meowed, looking at him.

“I’ll be okay, don’t worry,” scratching Umbra’s chin, Mine faintly smiled.

Even though he wasn’t sure of what he had just said.

When the sun was high in the sky, Umbra left Mine’s home for a walk.

Addai had already woken up and Mine tried to make breakfast but was interrupted by Addai when he saw Mine’s bandages moist again. Of course, they argued and that was Umbra’s cue to go for a walk.

Things were working fine from the cat’s point of view.

Outside, Umbra prowled through Mine's front garden, searching for the perfect prey to gift her new favorite human. She preferred feeble cockroaches—her favorites—but instead found only a small mouse and a pile of leaves. Tired of searching, she was about to give up when she suddenly let out a loud hiss!

A flyer—that came out of nowhere— had smacked into her, startling the poor cat.

She practically destroyed it with her claws, and the thorn pieces became one with the small amount of leaves she quickly left behind.

One piece, still mostly intact, held a photo of an old woman and a young lady with burgundy hair color. Other fragments bore bits of faded writing.

__________ 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝, 𝑎𝑡 ________________________///////// 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑟𝑠. ________ 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑝. ////////// ___//////////////_ 𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 ________ 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠. _________________________ 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑡. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒.