Selen and Mumei sat together near the firewoods. Kronii, Irys, and Bae talked incessantly about who gets to possess Mumei, while Sana and Fauna snuggled inside a small blanket.

"Mumei, you never told me how you were in the past."

"Oh…it's kind of depressing."

"Please do tell. I am your friend, aren't I?"

"..." Mumei smiled kindly.

9 years ago.

"I don't exist." Mumei mumbled.

She walked alone in the empty desert called reality, if…she could tell it was reality. She couldn't tell whether what she was seeing was real or not. She felt empty and dead. She wanted to cry, but tears failed to come out.

Destroy this world. The voice entered her head without permission. Every time she resisted, saying 'No, I love this world. No I got a family.;, the voice did not listen. It kept on repeating and repeating, until her soul was tired.

Maybe I should just…disappear. She thought. She shouldn't have, yet it was her honest feeling. I am not…needed. Her heart fluttered at the thought of leaving this world.

"No..Mumei..Ple..."

Huh? She couldn't hear, nor see who said it. It only lasted for an instant, yet it made her feel a little better.

"...I will try a little more."

And she did.

3 years passed.

I can't. I can't. I can't. I only hear people screaming at my ears. They are so scary. Someone…protect me. Her eyes were dried even though she did not manage to cry heartily for the past 5 years. Her mother would feed her, but the food didn't taste great. Her chest felt suffocated, and the air reeked.

I tried…I tried to…Please. Free me from this misery…Someone…

"Wai…t. Mum..ei."

STOP. I don't even understand what you're saying! Say it more clearer! Say it! But her only reply was silence. She whimpered pathetically, alone in the corner of her bedroom. She once shouted into her pillow, but it didn't release her. She just wanted to be released. She just wanted friends. She just wanted someone to call her name.

…

No..This is a blessing. It is a blessing that I am given even an instance of hope. Even if I felt way better in the past, even if I am only receiving only a fragment of what I had before…it is still there.

I won't give up. I won't. I won't give up. I will live. I will meet people. I will smile more. I will work harder. I will become famous. I will become desired. I will…make so many friends…She cried at such happy thoughts, and her warm tears soaked into her bedsheet as she snored silently.

4 years later.

"...I love you Mumei"

Selen hugged her gently, her tears dropping on Mumei's deep eyes.

"I…am okay now."

"I should have been there for you. I'm..so sorry."

"You couldn't have. And this is only a theory, but I think you were already there."

"Huh?"

"Yes..the voice might have been from the future, which is now. A future so bright I couldn't see. It was…such a warm feeling. And I met you. Thanks friend."

Selen hugged Mumei tightly.

"Oh, Selen! You can't just take Mumei for yourself!" Kronii, Irys and Bae hugged them.

"Oh..is it hugging time? Fauna and Sana woke up from their evening nap.

Mumei has long forgotten how she has lived, but she knew it was there. She existed, with people who faced similar problems as she did. Reality flicked beautifully as the firewood in front of her. She could feel her body weighing down her, and she loved to feel the weight of her heart as well. She was alive, and she wasn't alone.