november 25, 2019. 

Ever since Sherryl awoke a few days ago she just wanted to stay asleep forever. It was easier to be unresponsive when you were out of it and have no knowledge of the world, but to pretend to do so was much harder when you were aware of what was going while pretend sleeping. Her only solace were the quiet hours of the night when everyone else was either asleep or doing their own thing. There were no visitors besides the nurses to do their routine check, but other than that it was just her alone with her own thoughts. For once she was thrill for such a private VIP room and Sherryl soon drifted off to sleep due to the medication after having dinner.

Sherryl found herself in some dream-like world where she saw her past self writing in a purple diary. Sherry couldn't recall having such a diary, but wondered what her teenage self could be writing. Sherryl walked over to peer over her younger self's shoulder to see what she was writing.

~I don't like how things have to happen to fall a part so that other things can fall together. I hate how the happiness you once had is betrayed by some other force that spreads like a virus and destroys it all within seconds. I dislike how I have to feel all of this when everything was going so well. Oh so, perfectly well. I hate my life now. Now I have to say goodbye to it all and start all over again.~

Sherryl wondered what the passage was pertaining to. Luckily the Teenage Sherryl wasn't aware of her future self and so Sherryl read further.

~I hate starting over because they always say a new start is good for the soul. But can a new start; a new beginning, really work out for the better? When in reality, you don't want to move on and wish with all of your heart that everything can just go back to the way it was before anything ever happened. I so desperately wished with all of my heart, soul, and mind that I could return. Return back to those times that I had ever held so dear to me. But, I know I cannot and that's why I'm stuck.~

Stuck? Sherryl's brows furrowed before a solemn expression clouded her face. It was the realization that she held no real place on either side of her parents' life. Both of her parents re-married and had their own child with their respective spouse. Sherryl learned that she was loved, but not the same as her half-siblings and never by her step-parents. The surrounding before her suddenly shifted into another familiar scene. She sees Teenage Sherryl sitting on the balcony's railing of her mother's home. Sherryl vaguely remembered she had a heated argument with her step-father, Stanley, about his missing cigarettes.

She walked closer to Teenage Sherryl and upon opening the glass door she could hear her younger self softly humming to a random tune. Her eyes lingered to the busy scene below. She was ten storeys high and not frightened of how high she was. It actually seemed quite welcoming. Sherryl forgot how it felt to be up this high and having the cool breeze blow across her skin. It was quite comforting. For some reason Sherryl joined Teenage Sherryl on the railing feeling6 at peace while watching the sun sets ever so slowly, yet looking all the more mesmerizing.

Sherryl soon began to mimic Teenage Sherryl's movements. Both of their legs begin to dangle absent-mindedly, as they rocked back and forth in a slow and steady rhythm. They could feel a slow, shy, but real smile begin to form upon their faces. They couldn't recall the last time they'd smiled a real smile. It felt foreign, yet the smile stayed as they continued the rocking, the dangling, and the gazing of the beautiful and golden horizon before them. With the steady motion, the calming feeling, and the beautiful scenery before them they could feel themself slowly drifting away in a hypnotizing way.

The leaning forward too dangerously, then leaning backward too safely and all the while without a careful thought in mind. Sherryl continues to mimic Teenage Sherryl as they began counting softly at the same time. With each count there's a rock. To and fro without any thought to what may or may not happen. The pair continued and like impulse, or maybe not, they let go of the railing. Their fingers releasing the bar and spreading out openly, freely. The air whooshing easily passed them letting them passed right on through with no hold backs. Both of the Sherryls smiled dreamily and free fall to blissfulness just as they could faintly hear someone loudly calling their name.

"SHERRYL!"

Then everything suddenly went black and they faded into the nothingness. The real smile that they once had disappeared along with it.
 

november 26, 2019.

Sherryl's eyes fluttered opened for a brief moment, but they closed soon after. She fell into another slumber and dreamt again of her past and in a way was re-living them again with Teenage Sherryl.

Future Sherryl observed her teenage self waking and adjusting to the brightness of the room. It wasn't her room she had at her mom's. It was a hospital room with a heart monitor, IV drip stand, and everything else to track her current status. Future Sherryl remembered it was at this moment that she realized her world had changed once again and she would never be accepted by either of them. A knock sounded breaking both of them from their thoughts as they heard it open and a little over middle-aged woman entered.

"Dr. Fujiwara?" Future Sherryl says the woman name, but neither Teenage Sherryl and the doctor heard her.

Sherryl had completely forgotten about the therapist who had gotten her to open up bit by bit and talk about her life and worries. She wondered how she was doing now.

"Hello, Sherryl. I'm Dr. Fujiwara. " The woman introduced herself, but Teenage Sherryl ignored her.

"You may call me Dr. Rie, if you'd like."

Teenage Sherryl ignored her once again.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk."

Both Sherryls followed the movements of the doctor as she went about the room minding her own business and checked on the machine. She wrote something on the clipboard she had with a neutral expression. Teenage Sherryl continued to ignore the woman while Future Sherryl made her way to the doctor to see what she had written. Before she could read the contents Future Sherryl heard another female voice distract her.

"If you want to leave this place, then you need to wake up."

"What?"

Future Sherryl was bewildered by the words the new voice spoke as she looked about the room to see if another person was here beside the other two, but there was no other person. The voice came again, but this time with a different message.

"Are you ready to wake up?"

Future Sherryl spun around, but saw no one else. It was still just Dr. Fujiwara and Teenage Sherryl in the room. They continued to flow with time without being disrupted. So was she hallucinating again? Or was she just in one of those medicated moments? Before she could ponder on it some more she heard a familiar voice calling her by a familiar nickname.

"Hi, SherBear."

"Sabrina?"

Future Sherryl immediately whipped around to find her deceased friend, but was met with another woman, Grim Reaper Serena, dressed in weird clothes. She missed the part of the stranger's ability to float in mid-air.

"Who are you?"

Grim Reaper Serena cast her a small smile not answering her current question just yet.

"It's time for you to wake up."

november 27, 2019.

Sherryl's eyes shot opened and closed a second later forgetting that she was still in the hospital. She blinked a few times trying to adjust to the brightness before focusing them at the ceiling and figured that it must be morning and before breakfast due to the sunlight peeking through and that she remembered eating dinner last night. Sherryl closed her eyes again trying to recall what she had just dreamt about a moment ago. All she remembered was a younger version of herself and two voices, but just as she was recovering her dream it all vanished when she groaned as her body ached upon lifting herself into a sitting position.

"Oh, you're awake." A male voice greeted her and she turned to see that it was Nurse Minho.

She didn't respond, but Minho didn't mind.

"Would you like breakfast?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, actually."

Sherryl forgot her previous thoughts and looked at the white board to see the info written for today and was confused by the information.

"It's already the twenty-seventh?"

Minho nodded.

"Yes. Nurse Pamika informed me that you've been asleep for the last day and a half."

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope. Anyways, what would you like for breakfast this morning?"

"Forget my breakfast." Sherryl dismissed and returned to the previous topic. "Why was I knocked out again? This is the second time that's happened since I've been admitted and it never hapened before."

"Dr. Karliak doesn't know for sure and neither does Dr. Martella. They believed that your mind may be recovering or coping from shock."

Minho regarded her a bit.

"How are you feeling?"

Sherryl sighed wiht half-hearted shrug while thinking about it.

"The same as before, I guess."

She moved her body, but felt how stiff and aching it actually was.

"But sore. I ache all over. I thought resting would help me, not add more to it."

Minho chuckled, but didn't comment and instead wheeled the overbed table to place over her hospital bed. He then placed a bowl of sealed cereal, a carton of milk, and a plastic wrapped spoon onto it after.

"Eat up. I'll come back in two hours if you feel like getting some fresh air."

"Um, maybe." Sherryl answered while wistfully looking towards the curtain closed window.

Minho followed her gaze before casting his eyes back onto Sherryl.

"Just buzz if you need anything until then."

"Thanks."

"Welcome and make sure to eat it all. I heard that you barely ate your last meal the other day."

"It lacked flavor."

Minho chuckled in response, but cast Sherryl one last smile before leaving. Sherryl glanced at her breakfast and one side of her lips quirked up as a slight feeling of nolstagia hit her. She opened the colorful and sugary goodiness while doing the same with the milk and dug into the taste of sweetness.

Sherryl was in the middle of eating her macaroni salad when she a knock sounded from her hospital room's door and she looked over to see her half-siblings entering.

"Happy early Thanksgiving, Sherrie!" Both Melissa and Milo happily greeted their older sister while bringing in small gifts.

"That's not until tomorrow," Sherryl responded instead of greeting them in return, "Um, aren't you supposed to be in school though?"

"We know and we won't be here to actually celebrate it with you." They replied.

"Mom's taking me and Dad over to her side this week." Milo explain with a frown. "The cousins on that side are so boring."

"I know." Melissa agreed. "Dad wants to spend it with his side and Mom caved."

Sherryl didn't comment on their family activities knowing she wouldn't be at either one to celebrate this week's Thanksgiving Holiday break.

"I jumped the fence when Lissa told me about visiting you." Milo answered in a nonchalant manner while perching himself at the end of Sherryl's bed with a mischievous smile. "It was so easy to do."

"No, he didn't." Melissa replied while pulling the spare chair towards the bed and plopping a plastic bag filled with yummy treats from the cafe near her school. "I asked them for a half day due to a family emergency which is you."

"Sheesh, Lissa, you couldn't just let me be cool in front of Sherrie?"

"No can do, little bro."

Sherryl suppressed a smile from popping up and controlled herself to shoot them a stoic expression.

"What kinda emergency and won't your parents be angry with you?"

"Forget them." Both half-siblings dismissed not really caring about the consequences they'll face later when they returned home.

"I told them you were having a life-threatening surgery." Melissa grinned as Sherryl scoffed in a good-nature upon the reason.

"What are you eating?" Milo asked peering at Sherryl's half-eaten lunch. "Does it even taste good?"

"Omelette rice, macaroni salad, chicken soup, squid rings, some mixed fruit, and green tea." Sherryl answered as she took another bite of the macaroni salad. "And yes, it's quite good."

"I thought it lacked flavor?"

"Nah. My current nurse spiced it up and gave me something else than the one that was recommended."

"Can I try?"

"Sure."

Sherryl pushed the overbed table closer to Milo to try the meal while Melissa reached a hand towards Sherryl's hand and squeezed it.

"I..."

Sherryl had a feeling what her sister wanted to say, but she didn't want to talk about it. Instead she changed the topic towards the plastic bag.

"So what did you get from Orbit Cafe?"

Melissa got the hint and went with the change of topic with a half-hearted smile.

"Well..."

Sherryl listened to her sister go about her story at what happened at the cafe while noticing Milo eating up the rest of her lunch. She couldn't remember the last time she had hung out with her siblings like this and something within her felt at peace and she allowed herself to relax. Sure the only visitors she had so far was Sophie and Sara due to telling them why she hadn't shown up in class. Luckily though their surprise visit came with good news on their art project which they score a perfect score. Other than that, that was it until her siblings came.

"Alright, Ms. Grey," Minho announced after he filled in the new information on the status board, "You're all set as Nurse Ciize will take care of you when I leave at eight."

Minho faced Sherryl as she held out the same plastic bag from this afternoon towards him.

"This is for you."

"For me?"

Minho cocked his head as he walked closer to the female.

"My sister thought you were cute and wanted me to give you this when she left."

"Oh. That was nice of her."

Minho smiled as he reached out to take the treat, but Sherryl moved it out of his way with a neutral look.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

Sherryl offered the treat once again almost a bit hesitant as she never really done this before or even for her sister. Minho cast her a kind smile and accepted the gift.

"Tell her thank you for me."

"Okay."

"So," Minho's voice came out in a little drawl, "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"Could you hook me up for another tasty meal for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

Minho nodded with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I can. Anything else?"

Sherryl shook her head.

"Okay, then. Have a very good night, Ms. Grey."

"You, too, Nurse Minho."

Sherryl waved and watched Minho go before lying comfortably in bed. The last thing she thought about was actually getting that fresh air that the nurse had mentioned earlier before falling asleep soon after.

"Let's run, play, and jump, Sherryl." Sabrina encouraged her friend. "Let's be free like a butterfly!"

Sabrina ran around the field of chrysanthemums and strelitzia laughing and giggling with her arms spread out and face towards the sunny sky. Sherryl was bewildered by the sight as she felt like she was wide awake, but also not awake.

"Let's live in this moment!" Sabrina exclaimed with laughter as she was now running alongside butterflies that came from out of n