Aera was vacuuming in a unicorn pajama, her hair tied up in a messy knot, a pink face mask on, dancing like an idiot to an old K-pop playlist crackling from her Bluetooth speaker.
She sang off-key.
She did it on purpose.
She spun around with the vacuum like it was a stage microphone.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared her for the sound of the doorbell.
DING.
DING.
She jumped, abruptly cut the music, and trotted to the door, her unicorn slippers dragging on the floor.
— Who's ringing at 6 p.m., I ordered Uber Eats? she grumbled.
She opened.
And all the air left her lungs.
Nari was there.
Or rather…
a collapsed version of herself.
She was still wearing the dress Aera had lent her — but it hung on her like a garment abandoned on a hanger.
Her hair was soaked with dried tears, tangled, static, chaotic.
Her mascara had run down to her jawline, leaving two black streaks as if someone had painted tears on her with charcoal.
She was clutching a bag of clothes against her chest, as if it was all that remained of her life.
Her eyes were empty.
Not red, not swollen.
Empty.
Like two extinguished lanterns.
She looked like a body standing upright by accident.
Aera didn't need one second to think.
She grabbed her.
She hugged her so tightly her arms trembled.
— Oh… Nari…
An embrace that said: You're not alone now. Breathe. I'm here.
Nari didn't react.
Not a sound.
Not a tear.
Her body hung against Aera's, limp, cold, drained.
Aera stroked her hair like a mother soothing a child after a nightmare.
— Shhhh… come here, come here my darling… it's going to be okay… I'm here…
She gently took her by the hand, pulled her inside, closed the door with her foot, and sat her down on the powder-pink couch covered in heart-shaped pillows.
Aera immediately knelt beside her.
She placed a pink blanket over her shoulders.
She stroked her arms, her hands, her cheeks.
— It's going to be okay, sweetheart…
I'm here for you.
I'm here, I won't let you go… never…
Nari wasn't crying anymore.
There was nothing left to cry out.
She had gone past tears.
Past panic.
Past even pain.
The stage where only the cut breath remains…
and the heartbeat that physically hurts.
Her hands were trembling.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the void, as if they were still watching the scene.
Aera slipped a hand behind her head and gently pulled her against her.
Nari stayed motionless, her arms hanging, like her body no longer responded.
After a long minute of silence, Aera whispered:
— Do you want to stay here for a while?
Nari nodded very slowly.
A small broken movement.
Barely perceptible.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
It was as if her voice had been torn away along with what was left of her heart.
Aera tightened her embrace.
— Okay… You stay as long as you need…
Take all the time you need.
She ran a hand through her hair to gently detangle it, like an older sister taking care of a little bird fallen from its nest.
Then, very softly:
— Do you want me to call Kai to tell him you won't be going to work today?
— No… answered Nari in a barely audible whisper.
Her voice… it wasn't really her voice anymore.
Just a shadow-murmur.
Aera's eyes widened.
— Nari… you should rest, okay? You just—
— No.
Nari shook her head, her hair sticking to her cheeks.
— If I stay here… I'm going to go crazy.
Aera felt a chill climb her spine.
Because in Nari's eyes…
there was no light anymore.
No life.
Just a black void.
And Aera understood she hadn't just recovered a girl with a broken heart.
She had recovered a girl who was dying on the inside.
Aera took Nari by the hand and led her into the bathroom like guiding a lost child.
The light there was soft, honey-yellow, the mirror fogged by the steam of a warm bath she had already begun to run — as if she had known Nari would need this today… before she even appeared at her door.
Nari entered the bathroom without a word.
Without resistance.
Without energy.
She looked like a doll forgotten in the rain.
Aera gently opened the towel still wrapped around her, her movements delicate, almost ceremonial.
She helped her step into the warm bath.
The water wrapped around Nari's body, her bruises, her marks, her tense shoulders.
Aera sat on the edge of the tub.
She took shampoo, lathered it between her hands, then began to gently massage Nari's scalp.
Long slow movements.
Rhythmic.
Soothing.
Nari didn't move.
Not a blink.
Not a deeper breath.
She let herself be handled, as if her body no longer belonged to her.
As if she had left the room and abandoned her skin behind.
Aera then washed her back, her arms, her legs.
With infinite tenderness.
A sister's tenderness.
The tenderness of someone who knows pain in others because she has known it in her own flesh.
Once the bath was done, she helped her out, dried her gently, wrapped her in a large soft pink towel.
— Come here, my beauty… wait…
She rummaged through the bag Nari had brought — a bag stuffed in haste, wrinkled clothes, t-shirts rolled into balls, as if she had fled a war in seconds.
Aera chose a soft top, comfortable black leggings, and helped her dress.
When Nari was ready, Aera took her face in her hands, staring deeply into her eyes.
— Are you sure you'll be okay… for work?
Her voice trembled, yet she tried to smile.
Nari lowered her eyes.
And then…
A single tear fell.
A solitary tear, slow, heavy.
A tear sliding from her lashes like a drop of burning glass.
— I can't… stay alone.
Her voice broke.
A cracked, accidental smile crossed her face — a smile that wasn't a smile at all.