109 The Somber Reality

I stood before the closed door leading into Luna's hotel room on the thirteenth floor, inhaling and exhaling deeply as I prepared myself. Slowly, I brought my hand up to the door and knocked gently on the door. Then, I waited.

...

Silence ensued my knock, which puzzled me. Therefore, I knocked once again, this time somewhat harder so that the knock was of a louder volume. However, once again, there was no reply.

Is she not in her room? I asked myself as I took out my phone and decided to message Noah for aid.

Me: She's not in her room I think.

Noah: That's weird.

Noah: I'll send you the key card to her room. Just enter and wait for her to comeback.

Then, like he had promised, I received the digital key card on my phone. I looked at it in silence, wondering how he acquired this key card. However, I didn't allow my mind to linger on this question for long since as an angel, he must be capable of these sort of things. Now, the only question is whether or not I should enter her hotel room.

I brought my phone up, but didn't press it against the scanner. I was still hesitant on whether or not I should scan the key card and enter. It was as if my soul itself was in flux by this decision as it was one that divided me deeply. If I were to enter, I would be invading her privacy, so maybe I shouldn't? I should probably just wait here for her to return... But, there's also the possibility that she might be feeling ill and unable to answer the door...

I stood there, pondering over my options for a bit longer before I finally made up my mind. It was a difficult decision to make, but I ultimately couldn't best myself. I brought my phone to the scanner and unlocked the door with the digital key. Then, I opened the door slowly and entered.

Inside, the room was a pitch black. There was no lighting whatsoever available, and even when I reached my hand to the wall in search of the light switch, I failed to find them. After taking a deep breath, I took my first steps further into her room. I couldn't see where I was going for the curtains were pulled over the windows, so my first objective was to find a light source.

With my arms reached out in the darkness before me, I slowly made my way into the room. My progress was slow for the darkness made it difficult for me to proceed. Therefore, with a hint of frustration, I took out my phone and activated the flashlight on it to illuminate the way for me.

With the small beam of light, I saw that this room was quite different from the one I lived in. It was quite large when compared to my room. However, I didn't allow that to distract me from the fact that I must find the light switch fast.

My foot proceeded to step on the soft, carpeted floor of the room as I entered. However, I felt as if I accidentally stepped on something which caused me to tumble and fall forward. I landed hard on the floor, but luckily for me, the carpeted floor softened my fall. However, that doesn't mean it didn't hurt or didn't make a large noise.

"Who's there?" I heard a girl's voice say and then the lights were turned on. "A-Alevian?"

voice stuttered as she saw me on the ground and gazing up at her

voice stuttered as she saw me on the ground and gazing up at her. She appeared to have just got out of the shower as she still had the towel around her body. She must've finished showering when I had entered her room, which explains why I didn't hear the sound of water running. In addition, she must still be drying her body when she heard my fall for there were still some droplets of water clinging onto her and her hair was still wet.

She looked down at me with a confused and troubled expression on her face as she wondered how I got in. It was something to be expected from her, but I wasn't expecting her to be present in her room. Therefore, my brain went blank as I sat there on the ground and stared at her.

Slowly, I forced myself up from the ground, and this sudden motion from me caused her to take a small step back. I observed her with a sheepish gaze as my face turned red from seeing her almost in her nude. However, I noticed that her face was oddly pale, almost as if it was a winter snowflake... It was a deathly color, one that appeared gaunt and as if she was deprived of vital vitality.

"G-good evening?" I said with an awkward smile on my face.

"How'd you get in my room?" she asked while holding onto her towel so that it stayed in place and concealed her body from me. Her facial expression seemed to be one of fatigue as she appeared oddly weak.

"I uh..." I said, avoiding eye contact out of guilt as I searched my brain for an excuse. "I was—"

My words were interrupted when she suddenly started falling backwards without any warning. Time itself seemed to have slowed as my eyes widened and my body reacted without me thinking. My hands reached out in front of me and I lunged forward to catch her, hoping that I could stop her fall before she hurt herself against the floor. I felt her soft body fall against my arms. My body was strong enough to withstand the impact as I held her in my arms, preventing her from collapsing onto the floor.

My body was strong enough to withstand the impact as I held her in my arms, preventing her from collapsing onto the floor

The entirety of her body was soft. However, I felt a particularly soft area in my right hand. When I glanced in that direction, I discovered that the softness was because that hand was in partial contact with her soft breast.

"S-sorry," I apologized as I became flustered and started blushing.

"I-it's fine," she responded weakly.

I gazed at her face and realized that her gaunt face from earlier forecasted her collapse. Her body wasn't in the best of conditions, leading me to believe that it must be her illness catching up to her. Her face did not display that energetic smile that she had so often displayed around me. Rather, it was one that pained my heart to look at, making me want to run away in denial. However, no matter how hard I tried to comfort myself, I cannot change the fact that Luna is living out the last few months of her life. Nothing can change that fact... even the divines can't. I'm truly helpless...

"C-can you carry me over to my bed," she whispered in that weak voice of her's.

I did as she wished, carrying her light body over to the large bed in her room and set her down on it, allowing her a comfortable place to rest in.

"Alevian," she then said softly in her weak voice. "On the dressing table," she said, looking over in the direction of the dressing table. "In that bag is my medicine. Can you bring it over for me?"

I didn't say anything as I followed her orders. I wasn't in the mood to respond. Rather, I felt devastated seeing her, someone who's often so energetic and lively, laying weakly on her bed and unable to even walk over to the dressing table to retrieve her medication.

As I approached the dressing table, I saw my face in the mirror. It was also pale, but that was from seeing her in such a terrible state. In addition, I noticed how gloomy my countenance was. I directed my gaze to the black purse on the wooden dressing table and peered into it. Inside the purse were numerous bottles of prescription medicine. I reached in, grabbed one, and read the label. Then, I placed that bottle back in the purse and drew out another one. I repeated that process until I read the label on every single prescription battle in the purse. Once again, that bitter taste returned to my mouth as I discovered that I've never heard of any of the chemicals she had to consume. In addition, there were also medical equipment located in the purse as well, medical equipment that I've never seen before let alone know how to operate. This sight... it reminded me of her critical state as it revealed to me how difficult it was for her to maintain the illusion of that energetic girl that I was so accustomed of seeing.

Since I didn't know which bottle it was that she needed, I grabbed the purse by its strap and carried it over to the bed. As I returned and stood over the bed, looking down at her gaunt body, I once again felt as if there was something heavy swelling up in my chest, pushing against my throat. In addition, I also felt as if I was about to weep, but once again... no real tears were able to roll down my cheeks.

It was at that moment that I truly realized... Luna Mist Frostblume, that energetic and lively girl that I had thought to be the epitome of freedom and vitality, was merely an illusion. This gaunt girl that I saw laying helplessly on the bed, a girl who was too weak to even walk over to the dressing table to retrieve her medications... she's the somber reality.