I re-edited this chapter. Changed a few things up, it would be wise of you guys to read it ^_^ Oh and I also changed Lina's death to 4:37 instead of 2:37.

---CHANGSHA, CHINA---

Lina slowly opened her eyes as she woke up. She blinked a couple of times before sitting up on her bed. She looked out the window and saw that it was still dark. She looked at the time on the clock hanging on the wall. 4:00 *Time for work.*

She got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up. Lina lived by herself in a small, one bedroom apartment. It was quite small; there was a door that led to her room and a door beside that that led to the washroom. Her living/dining area was all one room and the kitchen was to the side of it. There was one storage closet. Her whole apartment was probably the size of a classroom.

Lina had two jobs. Before school, she would do a paper route. After school, she would go to her part-time job at the grocery store.

*I’ll just wear my uniform and then I won’t have to come home. I’ll just go straight to school from the hospital.* she decided as she went back to her room. She quickly changed into her uniform and grabbed her backpack, last night’s homework unfinished due to her crashing to bed the moment she came home at 12:15. She went to the living room and threw her backpack on the floor. She went to the kitchen to grab a water bottle. *I think I’ll skip breakfast for now.* Line didn’t like eating so early in the morning, *I’ll get something at the hospital…. Maybe* She took a bottle of water from the fridge, and tossed it into her bag.

Lina combed her long, stringy, straight black hair. *Ugh, I hate combing my hair. I wish I could just leave it the way it is when I wake up. Being a girl .*

She tied her hair up in a pony tail and let her bangs fall into her dark brown eyes. She put on her favourite wool hat.

*I remember when Mama made these for me and-* she decided not to think about the rest of that thought; today was going to be a good day. A good day because it was her mother’s birthday and if she visited her mother all sad and depressed…. Well, that was the last thing a mother would want to see on her birthday.

She put on her jacket and shoes, grabbed her bag and apartment keys, and was out the door. It took her five tries to lock the lock on her door. It was jammed and the building manager said that she would have to pay to get a new lock. She didn’t have that kind of money; every cent she made counted for a lot and she didn’t want to waste it on useless things like a lock. Yes, there were bad people in her neighborhood but no one bothered her. She minded her own business. Besides, there was nothing to steal in her house.

Lina fixed the straps on her backpack and zipped up her jacket. She trudged down the dark hallway and to the elevator. The elevator arrived and she stepped in. She looked around. No one else was with her in the elevator. *Obviously, Lina you idiot. It’s 4 in the morning! No one’s going to be here!*

What Lina didn’t know was that she wasn’t alone.

Lina played with the ends of her hat until the elevator reached the ground floor. She walked through the elevator doors and went outside. Her bicycle was parked near the outside of the building. She unlocked it and hopped on.

*Why, why is the newspaper office so far away.* Lina thought as she pedalled to the newspaper office. The bicycle creaked and there were scratches on it. Paint was coming off of it and one of the brakes was broken. Again, she couldn't afford these new kinds of 'luxaries'.

Lina got the freshly printed newspapers from the office and loaded them onto the basket that was on the back of her bike. Then she began her route at 4:45.

2 and a half hours later, Lina finished and exhaustedly went to the hospital. *Maybe I should stop throwing the papers, and go to the door. My arm kills.* she groaned in her mind.

She parked her bike and locked it in front of the hospital. She went inside and greeted the receptionist. Before going to the upper floors, Lina went to the gift shop. *I have just enough extra money for a gift….*

She grabbed a bouquet of flowers, lilies. Her mother’s favourite. She then scanned the shelves, looking for something else that would cheer her mother up. Stuffed animals weren’t allowed, and Lina was pretty sure the nurse would take the flowers away sooner or later as well. Even though flowers were her mother’s favourite things in the world.

*Aha! Perfect!* she spotted a snow globe. The perfect decoration that her mother could keep on her side table. Her mother loved decorations as well. She loved to liven things up. This snow globe was harmless, as it was sealed and there was no scent. It would be the perfect thing for her mom to keep with her.

Lina purchased the flowers and snow globe. She held onto the flowers and had the snow globe put in a gift bag with tissue paper in it. She decided to buy a card too, reading a heart-felt message always made her mother happy.

Line went to the elevator and rode it to the tenth floor. *Floor ten, to the Cardiac Procedures Unit, room 1007.* Lina thought to herself as the elevator doors opened again and she stepped out. She turned to the left and went to the Cardiac Procedures Unit. She stepped in through the double doors, bowed to some of the nurses and went to room 1007.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened the door. She opened her eyes and put a big smile on her face, the dimple on her right cheek showing.

Lying on the bed, was Zhang Mei-Lien. Lina’s mother. She had heart troubles and she was currently being treated. That was why Lina had two jobs, so that she could pay for her mother’s hospital bills and her school fee. Her mother had said that under no circumstances was she to quit her education just so that she could work extra hard to pay for her hospital fees. Lina's mom needed a surgery as well, and Lina was saving up for it. She didn't have the money for it right now, she had to divide her money for the many things she had to pay for. But soon, she would. She was so close to getting the money for her mother’s surgery. It was only a matter of weeks. Then the surgery would be done and then maybe they could go back to their normal life.

“Mama.” Lina smiled. Her mother looked as old and frail as ever. She was so thin and she looked like a pile of bones. Lina went over to hug her and Lina felt that if she squeezed too hard, her mother would break. That was how fragile she seemed.

“Happy birthday, mama.” Lina said softly, putting the flowers on the side table. Her mother’s face lit up.

“Waaahh, they’re beautiful, dear!” she exclaimed, touching the beautiful flowers.

Lina smiled again. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. Now tell me child, how are your studies going?” her mother asked, her voice as lively as it had ever been.

“Good.” Lina lied. Her grades weren’t bad, they were quite good actually. But Lina was naturally very smart, that was the only reason why she was getting good marks. But she felt very stressed out. If only her mother would let her quit school for a while so she could focus solely on her….. then the surgery would be done faster and all this hospital drama would be over.

Her mother smiled again, “That’s good. I’m glad you’re still in school. Education is the most important thing in this world, you know. It’s a blessing to have it.”

Lina nodded and gave her mother the gift bag. “Open it.”

Her mother looked surprised but did as told. When she opened it, her eyes widened and an expression of tenderness came on her face. *My two unicorns….*

“Do you like it?” Lina asked.

Her mother smiled and nodded. “I love it, Lina. Thank you.” She carefully set it on the side table, staring at it with joy and grief. She opened the card and read it:

Dear Mama,

Happy birthday!

I hope this will be your last birthday in the hospital, and that soon you may get your surgery. Then we can go home and live our normal lives!

That would be so great, huh Mama?

Well that is what we shall pray for! A good life, just the two of us.

Don’t worry Mama! I will make the money and soon you will be out of this horrid place! I’ll always be here for you Mama, I’ll take care of you just like you have done for me my whole life.

Love,

Zhang Lina

Her mother smiled, touched as she read her card. “Thank you, Lina. I love all three and shall treasure them forever.”

Lina smiled again and her mother noticed her dimple. *That dimple… they had so much in common… beautiful smiles and a big heart.*

After a while Lina asked, “How is the treatment going?”

Her mother just nodded, “It’s fine. I really don’t want to go through with it though.”

Lina stared at her. “W-What? Mama….”

"I don't see a reason for me to be alive. I've just been burdening you. Look at your dark circles, you haven't slept for days. And you've gotten so thin. You're working too hard, it would be better if I left and you could focus on taking care of yourself." she said, looking at her changed daughter.

"Mama!" Lina yelled. "Don't say these things! I'm perfectly fine, and you will be too rigth after I get the money for your surgery! I've been working this hard for 4 years, I'm sure another couple of months won't make a difference. So stop talking nonsense and focus on getting better. Mama," Lina whispered. "If you leave me, I'll be alone. By myself. I won't have anyone, do you know how horrible that would be? I need you, and you need me. We only have each other in this world. You wanting to get better and stay alive is all the motivation I need to keep working. So stop talking so negatively. You shouldn't worry about me anymore, just focus on getting better."

Her mother looked down, knowing full well that if she died, Lina would turn into something else. She couldn't blame her, they'd gone through so much. Lina was right, they only had each other. Mei-Lien couldn't lie to herself, she wanted to get better and live a wonderful life with her daughter. But she didn't want something to happen to Lina because she was working so hard. All she ever wanted was for her kids to live good lives and grow into amazing people. But so far, that didn't work out the way they had planned.

“What time does your school start?” her mother asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

“In a little while. I should get going now.” Lina said, getting up and grabbing her bag. She knew she had made her point. “I’ll be back after school.”

“No need, child. You should go home and rest. You look so tired.” Her mother said, worriedly.

Line smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll come and I’ll bring something yummy for us to eat!”

Her mother smiled and nodded. “Okay then. I’ll see you then, child.”

Lina hugged her mom again, not too tight just in case she might break her or something. She waved and went out the door. But before she left, she spoke to the head nurse.

"Under no circumstances, are you to listen to Zhang Mei-Lien if she asks for her treatment to stop. I'm paying the bills, which is all that matters to you. So make sure she is continuing on with her treatment. No matter what she says." she told the head nurse, who nodded. Lina bowed and left the Cardiac Procedure Unit. *I don't think Mama will stop her treatment, not after I told her all that. She would never leave me. But it's good to be on the safe side.*

She checked her watch, it was almost 8. She had just enough time to ride her bike to school and get there by 8:30.

*Another day. Which means I’m another day closer to Mama’s surgery! As the Koreans say, fighting, Lina! Fighting!*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lay ran out of the hospital room as fast as he could. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen. From the moment he followed Lina onto the elevator at her apartment, to her giving their mother a stiff hug. Their lives had changed so much. And it was all because of him.

Lay ran through walls, not caring about where he was going. It didn’t matter, no one could see him or feel him.

He stopped outside the hospital, watching Lina ride away on her bike.

He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

*Mama… mama has heart troubles. I can’t believe it. She's had them for 2 years..... I've been dead for 2 years. She has heart troubles because of me.* Lay thought to himself. *She needs surgery... Exactly how much more has changed? This is so unexpected....* Then something else dawned on him. His eyes widened. *Wait.. Lina... She's.. she's going to die.... today.... No.... That can't happen... I can't let my twin, my other half, die..... She can't die, Mama needs her. She needs Mama....... No.... There is no way I'm letting all that happen. I've done way too much damage already.*

And that was when Lay made a series of decisions he thought he would never make.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember next chapter is a jump into the past before Lay died~