october 28, 2019.  

"Hey, Melanie," Nett called out to Melanie as the pair were back in the galaxy-like milky way space.

"Hmm?" Melanie hummed as she was lightning a few candles that Nett had provided a moment ago.

"Do you wanna write down any goals or stuff about your life while burning them with the lit candles?"

"Are you into that?"

"Some times. It helps pass the time when I have nothing else I want to do."

"I see."

"Or we can create an altar with sacred objects. Yeah?"

Nett motioned with her hand and an archaic greek altar appeared before Melanie. Melanie eyed the altar before shifting her gaze towards Nett.

"We're not going to sacrifice a person or animal are we?"

"No. Unless you want to."

Melanie stared at Nett with widened eyes as the latter let out a slow laugh.

"I'm kidding."

"Mmhmm."

Nett's body glided over to hover beside Melanie as they gaze at the blank altar together.

"How would you like to decorate it?"

With every snap of her fingers Nett gave visuals to Melanie of how the altar's image could look like as she suggested things.

"Springtime?"

"Oceanic view?"

"Lights of sorts?"

"Animals? Cute or not cute."

"Cars?"

"How about neon colors?"

"Sports, perhaps?"

Melanie shook her head at each suggestion that Nett threw out. Nett's face perked up when she spoke the next one.

"Ooh, Halloween themed, yeah?"

The altar transformed into the most spookiest design that Melanie has ever laid eyes on.

"I know you mortals love stuff like this. I even made you and your sister witchy-like."

Melanie chuckled at the idea while shaking her head.

"Not me, but Serena, most definitely. Although she wanted to be something like a magic user with demon-like animal features or whatever. She was weird and not like others growing up."

Nett nodded.

"Hmm, interesting."

She gazed at Melanie.

"So, no Halloween?"

"Yeah, no."

"Okay. Then how about you and your closed ones?"

With a snap of Nett's fingers the altar changed from a spooky theme before being lit up with Melanie's favorite scented candles along with pictures of her, Serena, their aunt Eugenia, friends, and colleagues. Melanie glanced at Nett hopefully.

"Could we make one for Pearl, too?"

"Of course. A friend of yours is a friend of all."

Nett motioned with her hand again and another archaic altar appeared besides the other one, but filled with memories of Pearl.

"Was she a good friends of yours?"

Nett glanced over at Melanie curiously.

"Yes even though we've known one another for less than a year, but she and I connected instantly."

"That must've been nice."

"It was. I don't easily make friends as I prefer to build trust, but there was something about Pearl as if we were kindred spirits."

"Kindred spirits, huh? That does sound nice."

"Yeah."

"Hey, do you wanna take a floral sea salt bath?" Nett suddenly suggested while explaing the effects as Melanie cast her a skeptical look.

"What?"

"It's supposed to wash away all of the negative energies during a new moon so that you can start with new beginnings while reflecting on your past self or something like that."

"Sure. A bath sounds nice."

"Okay, let's do it."

Nett clapped her hands as their surrounding changed to one of a grand bathroom with a clawfoot bath tub in the center.

"Wow, that's pretty fancy."

"I'll leave you alone to enjoy your relaxtion moment. Is there anything else you need?"

"Is there any way you could make the lights dimmed with lit candles around the area? Oh, an a shower spot to rinse myself, too?"

"Very cliche, but yes."

Nett chuckled as she snapped her fingers and gave Melanie the mood she wanted to relax.

"Thanks, Nett."

"You're welcome, Melanie. Call me if you need me."

"Will do."

Nett shimmered away leaving Melanie alone to bathe. Melanie rinsed herself while letting the tub filled with warm water, a sea salt bath bomb, and a mixture of various flower petals until she was ready. When she soaked her body into the tub and let out a relaxing sigh did she feel like everything was alright with the world and herself. That was until she had a weird feeling and had just called out for Nett when she disappeared. Nett immediately materialized into the bathroom with Melanie no where in sight. She sighed with a frown while running a hand through her hair.

"She's fading even more than before."

Nett sat besides the bath tub and dipped her fingers into the floral mixed sea salt water.

"Nick, we need to hurry before Serena's lifeline won't be able to sustain the both of them and your sacrifie is all for naught."

Nett signed while playing with the bath water.

"Hang in there, Melanie. We'll figure it out."

Nett shimmered away as the room faded into an empty space.

Serena jerked awake as if she's been underwater and finally broke above the surface to in the much needed air. She panted heavily as she looked about her surrounding wondering what had just happened while calming herself at the same time. She was in her room and it was early evening judging based on the faint orangish light coming through her window. She last recalled falling asleep a little after six in the morning due to an early morning photoshoot for a client earlier today.

Yawning, Serena ran a hand over her face before looking at it a second later as she felt a weird substance rubbed against her cheek. They were damped petals of rosemary, orchid, rose, sweet jasmine, and others she couldn't quite remember at the moment. Frowning she looked down at herself and noticed that her clothing and bedsheets looked and felt damped as well. With her free hand she removed the blanket to see that she was basically soaked in the area that she slept on with scattered petals around her.

"What the?"

Serena quickly scanned the room for the mischievous felines to scold them forr this prank, but they weren't around. She wondered if her other life had conjured up this incident while in her sleep. She dismissed the thought with a heavy sigh. Serena got out of bed, removed the covers to toss the wet petals, left the mess on the floor before stripped off her clothing, and heading to her bathroom for a shower. Serena felt fatigued and thought showering would help wake her before something else happened.

november 12, 2019. 

"While life is pre-determined, we still make the choices of our own actions we decide and must accept the consequences given to us."

Grim Reaper Serena spoke into the air as she hovered over a sleeping Shinji Niel recovering at the Xhin Xhin Medical Center.

"So please accept your new reality due to your past actions, Shinji Niel. This is my mercy to you on behalf of the Inferal Realm."

The grim reaper place a slim vase of white and pink moonflowers on the night stand which bloomed open upon the full moon's rays shining upon it through the sliver of curtains covering the window partially. Grim Reaper Serena peered at Shinji with a neutral expression.

"If your heart proves unworthy, then the bloom will close and there will be no more mercy. Your pre-determined life ends then and the trial to be reborn will be judged."

Once the words were spoken did the grim reaper disappeared into the shadows of the night. The moonflowers stayed opened even after the rays of sunrise filtered into Shinji's hospital room proving her worthiness to accept the consequences of her choices in life and begin anew.
 

november 14, 2019.  

"Good afternoon, Ms. Min. I'm Officer Kim of the Illia police."

Taehyung greeted Arin with a kind look as he observed the young woman wondering if she heard him or even knew he was in the room. The numbers above her head were hard to decipher as if they were glitching with no where else to go. They frizzled and frazzled with no apparent reading to the time she had left to live. He frowned upon having the ability to read Arin's lifespan since the incident a few years ago. Usually the timer of someone's life counted down to their death. Or went back and forth due to contemplating if they wanted to continue to live. As for Arin, it was like she was frozen in life with no way forward or backward.

"I would like to speak with you about what occured in your apartment that day you collapsed."

Silence followed as Arin continued to stare before her in her upright position. The doctor gave the okay for Taehyung to speak with Arin, but the doctor did mentioned that although she was awake she was unresponsive and stare blankly into space most of the time. Taehyung bent forward slightly to be in her line of sight, but he saw the eyes of someone who wasn't all there and off wandering in a world of her own. He sighed while glancing around the room knowing that there was no real use in further investigation of the case of Arin Min.

"So pretty."

Taehyung's attention snapped to suddenly hearing the young woman speak. His expression became puzzled upon noticing a bouquet of bright yellow flowers in Arin's grasp that wasn't there before. He also caught a whiff of another flowery fragrance that wasn't there before, but it dissipated before he could determine the exact scent of it.

"The buttercups are so pretty."

Arin's voice came again and Taehyung focused on the female. The timer above her head stopped glitching and started the countdown again, but he could only make out the seconds as the rest was obscured. Taehyung tried talking to Arin again.

"Ms. Min, can you hear me?"

Instead of responding to the officer, Arin continued to compliment the buttercups with a child-like demeanor still lost in her own little world. Taehyung watched Arin just a little longer in hopes that she was faking the behavior, but Arin continued to behave the same. He sighed again and knew that Arin's case would be passed over to a psychiatrist and closed due to her current condition. Still, Taehyung wondered how the flowers appeared in the first place.

"I'll take my leave now, Ms. Min."

"Pretty flowers. Oh so pretty."

Arin giggled as she complimented the flowers over and over. Taehyung cast her a sympathetic gaze.

"Have a wonderful rest of your day and life."

Taehyung left the room, closed the door, and waited a few minutes before peering through the small square window of the hospital door. Yet, no changes occured to Arin's behavior as she was still admiring the yellow bouquet. He returned to the police station and wrote his report.
 

november 16, 2019.  

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you," Serena softly sang to her comatose sister with a sad smile along with the two felines and two anthromorphic rabbits with a soft smile, "Happy birthday dear, Melanie, happy birthday to you." Serena finished softly as she absentmindedly stared at the lit candle on the cake.

"Do we have to go through this every year, NaNa?" Maofah asked while stretching himself upon Serena's lap.

"Do what every year, Maofah?"

Serena feigned ignorance as Maofah glanced up at her knowingly.

"Where you look like you're gonna cry, but don't actually cry yet you blab about this and that of NiNi's life in a very sad and depressing way."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't. Besides did you bring the lotus flower like you said you would bring?"

Maofah didn't answer as she shot him a knowing look.

"Usakki said you wanted to bring it this year."

"I forgot it."

"Luckily Taamtu brought one."

"I got distracted."

"Right."

"Whatever. At least I reminded you about the cake before coming here. Ms. Forgetful."

"Shut up."

Serena pushed the white feline off of her as she focused back onto the small and round cake where its' candle had been removed and half of it was already gone.

"Wow, Taamtu and Nerok. You couldn't have waited for like another minute?"

Serena eyed the brown rabbit and black cat as both were rubbing their now bloated stomachs.

"Nerok made me do it." Taamtu said as he blamed Nerok.

"The strawberries were calling for me, NaNa. It's their fault for being so yummy." Nerok remarked not denying the blame.

"Okay, it's my fault, too." Taamtu admitted. "The blueberries were calling for me, too."

Serena shook her head with a small smile as she cut a small piece, placed it onto a small paper plate along with a plastic spoon, and handed it to the white rabbit, Usakki.

"Same place as last time?" Usakki asked about to set it beside's the table next to Melanie's bed, but Serena shook her head.

"No. By the window this time where the lotus is. The weather is really nice out." Serena explained as Usakki did so.

"Ooh, okay. I agree to that."

Taamtu appeared beside him and set an already opened bottle of pink lemonade right next to the plate. Serena did this as a spiritual offering for her sister and the spirits within the hospital. She's been doing this for the past four years with the animals, yet her sister remained motionless like previously. The only thing that moved was the rise and fall of Melanie's chest maintained by a machine. Serena hoped by now that there would be some kind of improvement, but the results were the same.

Serena quietly returned to stretching and massaging Melanie's hands to get the blood circulating, but to also allow Melanie's muscle to still be active and to be of use whenever she awoke out of her comatose state. At first Serena didn't think much about it, but she remembered reading something online about a mother doing it for her own son who was also in a coma which allowed the son to be able to move about without total