"I'm so tired" I muttered, stretching my back. "Even my spine is complaining."
"I told you not to lie down like a corpse every night" Aysel teased.
I didn't even know what day it was anymore. Time moved differently here. But tonight, the Bar of Apitz was holding some kind of event. I wasn't planning to go.
Aysel insisted.
When we arrived, the place was glowing with lantern lights. Laughter filled the air. Souls gathered in small groups, sharing drinks and stories. Clyde stood near the counter, talking quietly with Mr. Apitz and Mrs. Evergarden were seated together, hands intertwined as always.
For a moment…
I forgot everything.
The grief. The anger. The emptiness.
I felt alive.
It's ironic. Not long ago, I wanted everything to end. And now, here I was, smiling beneath a sky full of stars.
Maybe… maybe there was a reason I survived.
Maybe God wasn't done with me yet.
I stood outside the bar with a bottle of juice in my hand. Aysel stood beside me. We watched the moon climb higher.
Then—
A shooting star streaked across the sky.
"Quick! Make a wish!" Apitz shouted from behind us.
Everyone closed their eyes.
I did too.
What did I wish for?
…I don't know.
Maybe I was afraid to say it, even to myself.
When the event ended, we returned to the Garden of Aster.
This time, exhaustion hit me all at once. The moment I lay down among the flowers, I fell asleep.
Strangely… I didn't dream about the abandoned building.
Instead—
I heard crying.
Soft. Broken. Familiar.
I opened my eyes.
The garden was dim, washed in silver moonlight. I followed the sound toward the edge of the hill. Beneath a large tree stood a figure.
Aysel.
She didn't turn around immediately.
"You don't have to hide behind the bush" she said quietly.
I stepped forward.
"What's wrong?"
She was silent for a moment.
"Estelle… do you know what happened the first time I woke up here?"
"Three months ago?"
She nodded.
"I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the middle of the garden. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what happened. I didn't even know I was… dead."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I was scared. I cried. I panicked. I kept asking why I was alone."
She looked down at her hands.
"Those little animals came to me first. They stayed near me. It felt like they were trying to comfort me."
I stayed quiet.
"I asked someone about this place. About why I was here. That person was Clyde."
I blinked.
"At first, I thought he was lying. But everything he said was true. He told me about the Garden. About unfinished regrets. He even told me that some souls can learn how to fly… and visit the living world."
"That's how you followed me?" I asked softly.
She nodded.
"For three months. I tried to talk to you. To touch you. But you couldn't see me. I felt helpless. I watched you cry. I watched you break."
Her voice cracked.
"I didn't get to say goodbye to my parents. Or my siblings. I just disappeared. I felt so… lonely."
Something inside me tightened painfully.
"I'm sorry" I whispered. "I never thought about how it must've felt for you. I was too busy drowning in my own pain."
She gave a faint smile.
"It's okay. Now you're here. I'm not alone anymore."
I stepped closer.
"Aysel… I'll find out who did this to you. I swear. I'll make sure they pay."
She snorted softly through her tears.
"You sound creepy."
"…I'm serious."
"I know." She looked at me with warmth. "And I'm grateful to have a friend like you, Estelle."
The wind rustled the tree leaves above us.
My body suddenly felt heavy.
"Aysel…"
"Yeah?"
"I'm… really tired…"
Before I could finish, my vision blurred.
Next thing I knew—
Darkness.
Aysel sighed, catching me before I fully collapsed.
"Seriously? She falls asleep this fast?"
She adjusted my head gently so I was resting against her shoulder.
"You're impossible" she murmured softly.
She looked up at the stars.
"For the first time in three months… I don't feel alone."
After a moment, she leaned back against the tree.
"Guess I should rest too."
The moonlight bathed the Garden of Aster in silver.
Two girls beneath a tree.
One alive.
One not.
And somewhere far away—
Clyde was watching.