Black Butterfly

The numbing pain. It was all ignored as they staggered their ways towards the apple tree.

Tiffany and Sooyoung were both in pain. The red-haired girl ignored the hot tears flowing to her cheeks. She bit her lower lip to ease her emotions. Somehow, seeing the short haired brunette ran her way towards the apple tree also on the opposite direction relieved her. At least her friend will be there when she also arrives at the mysterious center.

"What in the---" Sooyoung uttered in surprise.

Half way through, a black butterfly appeared in front of the two, individually. This caught Sooyoung and Tiffany's attention. Suddenly, the voices they were hearing seems to be coming from that butterfly flying just infront of them. 

'Soo... please...please come back...' cried the voice coming from the butterfly floating near Sooyoung.

"Taeyeon-ah! What are you talking about?! I'm here!!" Sooyoung exclaimed, her voice trembling as her guard slowly crumbles, to the black insect and trying her best to increase her pace. Meanwhile, Tiffany was experiencing the same difficulty.

'Stephanie! My baby girl! Don't leave daddy... please!' Mr. Hwang's voice were strained and hoarse because of his endless cries.

"Dad! Dad! I'm okay! I'm here dad! What's happening?!" Tiffany bursted into more tears. They tried to reach it but the black butterfly would speed up or dodge their touch. The mysterious insect was actually heading to the center: the apple tree.

"Aish! Pabo...butterfly!" Sooyoung mused in frustration as she tried to catch the black butterfly for the nth time. It always dodges her hands. Tiffany on the otherhand tried her hardest to keep up with the said insect, her energy level close to zero.

"Slow down!" Tiffany told the butterfly in english although she was certain that it won't understand her. Do butterflies even have ears?

They were still running but their objective has changed. Now, they wanted to catch those eerie butterfly floating infront of them, not realizing that they're nearing the tree.

Both Tiffany and Sooyoung unknowingly reached the center at the same time. As they stepped on the fresh-looking green grass, the pain they thought their bodies got immuned shot back again, almost stopping their heartbeats. But that didn't stopped them.

The two butterflies were within their reach as Tiffany and Sooyoung got closer. The two ladies didn't notice each other as their eyes could only see the black, uncomfortably beautiful butterfly.

Sooyoung and Tiffany stretched their arms, ignoring the waves of pain surging. The butterfly infront of them was now only an inch away from their hands.

In the middle of the garden was the apple tree. The two black butterflies collided just infront of it, exploding and painting everything black.

"Sht." Sooyoung exclaimed when her vision started to get dark.

Sooyoung and Tiffany fell to the endless pitch black cliff, screaming their lungs out as they ran out of breath. They could see nor feel nothing. The darkness had numbed all their senses.

"AAAAAAAH!" Tiffany screamed.

*

San Francisco, California
5:00 am

A man in his early 30s and a woman who's a few years younger sat at the nearby couch, silently crying as they watched they're father broke down beside the hospital bed where a beautiful young lady lay for almost 8 hours, lifelessly.

Her wounds and cuts were cleaned. Stitches and bandages were present on her body. Her face was still sublime but something was missing. Her smile. Her color. Her life.

She was pale and her expression showed how much pain she had suffered.

This was enough for her father and older brother and sister's heart to be squeezed and crushed. They never expected something tragic besides their mom's death come in their way so soon. She was their princess... she had always been.

"Stephanie! My baby girl! Don't leave daddy... please..." Mr. Hwang cried. For hours, he knew that his daughter won't hear him, but he still kept begging...begging for her to come back. To not leave their side.

"Dad, p-please stop... you're m-making it more hard t-to let g-go..." his older daughter told him, her lips trembling. Mr. Hwang fell on his knees as he held onto her youngest