Taeyeon welcomed the sight of Tiffany in the kitchen the next morning. The relief was evident in the slumped shoulders and glint that shone in Taeyeon's eyes when she saw the warm smile.

“Tiffany,” Taeyeon laughed, a little strangled, “I had a bad dream last night. I dreamt that you were leaving.”

The expression on Tiffany’s face made Taeyeon believed otherwise. 

“Shall we bake today?” Tiffany suggested like it was the most normal thing to do knowing it's your last day on Earth. She didn't want Taeyeon to have any regrets, she said. They had not completed the to-do list, she said. She wanted to make the best of her last day with Taeyeon, she said. Taeyeon watched her like a third party in this conversation- her thoughts jumbled, hands shaking and feet rooted on the asphalt kitchen floor.

Taeyeon pulled out the ingredients and tools anyway- she had them prepared but lacking the motivation to start on a hobby. Taeyeon had always wanted to try baking- initially a solo activity but when Tiffany asked for the weekend activity, Taeyeon decided Tiffany was a motivation enough to let her pick up something. Tiffany was reading the ingredients on her phone and she weighs them meticulously. 

"I had Ben's Cookies once. At Itaewon," Tiffany sighed dreamily and Taeyeon chuckled, "I really like the dark chocolate chunks with ginger cookies."

"Ginger?" Taeyeon turned her nose up in disgust, "In a cookie?"

"It's really good! And then this double chocolate-" 

Amidst their conversation, Taeyeon found their momentum again. Taeyeon knew that Tiffany was trying her best to be cheerful and she too, should at least pretend to do the same.

For two hours, Tiffany stayed with Taeyeon in the humid kitchen. Creaming butter, sifting flour, adding cups of sugar, a pinch of salt, folding in a pound of chocolate chips later, Taeyeon had two trays of presentable cookies and one tray of burnt ones. Taeyeon and Tiffany were laughing genuinely as they watched the burnt cookies crumble under Taeyeon's touch- inedible and a failure. Taeyeon hummed around a mouthful of cookies with a gleeful smile; missing how Tiffany was staring sorrowfully at her.

The duo maneuvered into the living room when Taeyeon began fidgetting to shift her weight from the left leg to the right- Tiffany animatedly gestured and Taeyeon flowing with the conversation like they would on usual days. A ray of the afternoon sun blinded Taeyeon momentarily and Tiffany was gone. Taeyeon leaped up in surprise.

"Tiffany!" She scoured the kitchen in a panic. 

Taeyeon called her name in a frenzy, panting as she searched every nook and cranny of her apartment. Tiffany was no where in sight and Taeyeon convinced herself that it was one of Tiffany’s prank. 

“Please,” Taeyeon was pleading, her voice desperate and eyes dilated with anxiety.

"I only saw you for four hours today!" Tears blurred her vision as she bounded up the steps, "It's not fair!"

Tiffany wasn’t in her bedroom either. Taeyeon pulled at her hair with huffed desperation.

"Tiffany!" She exclaimed in relief to see the spirit staring longingly at her at the foot of the steps. Taeyeon missed a step and tumbled. She closed her eyes as she fell into Tiffany’s open arms.

She is warm and soft. Tiffany is warmer than Taeyeon had imagined. She is a little taller than her, her thick mahogany locks cascading down her shoulders and Taeyeon could count the lashes from the close proximity. She smells like Starbucks on a cold winter day- a pleasant vanilla and espresso. Taeyeon pulled her closer and Tiffany planted a kiss on the crown of her head.

"Don't go," Taeyeon choked, 'I'm not ready to let you go."

"You will be okay. I'll ask God to let me come back to you. He will allow if you pray hard enough. Stay healthy and don't fall sick, Taeyeon. Eat well. Sleep well."

"A little longer. Just a little."

"I see my parents, Taeyeon. Prince too." Taeyeon saw the undeniable glow on Tiffany's face and Taeyeon knew it is time to let her go. When Taeyeon craned her neck to kissed her, they saw the memories they shared flashed before their eyes.

The cookies they had baked. The blanket fort. Tiffany watching over Taeyeon while she sleeps at night. The dogs and puppies. Yoona and Juhyun. The afternoon when Tiffany helped Taeyeon with the transcription. A handshake of peace. The day they first met. And Taeyeon saw Tiffany in a high school uniform. In California. Eating an In-N-Out burger. Sunny. Her parents. 

"Thank you."

There was a luminous light from her arms and Tiffany faded before her eyes.

"I will go to you when you least expected it. Just like first snow."