—Umbral—

"Good morning, sleepyhead", a voice invites my return to the corporeal realm.

A heavy light pierces through my closed eyelids. Intending to shield my eyes, I placed my hand before my eyelids and slowly opened my eyes. A figure cast its shadow upon me.

In front of me is the owner of the greeting earlier, dressed in a blue dress and a long green skirt. She's on the visitor chair provided by the hospital, resting her arms on the bed that I was on. So, I wasn't wrong, it was her voice that I heard before, Ersis.

I looked around the room and saw a clock that indicated the longer hand resting on the lower right side of the clock, while the shorter hand had moved just beyond the nine, drifting toward ten but not yet close to it. With a puzzled tone, I replied, "It's 9:25 in the evening, Sis. It's clearly dark outside." Seemingly angry with me, she pouts while embarrassed by my remark. "I meant it as a joke. Hmmmpphhh~~" She crossed her arms afterwards.

I can't help but inhale the smell of disinfectants that flew by, which I don't really like. Something about the scent rubbed me the wrong way. I wafted the air around me using my hand to reduce the intensity so I could handle it.

An image of Serina suddenly appeared in my head. I can't put my tongue on it, but the visual is so vivid, depicting her. Curious, I asked Ersis if she came to visit. "Serina came when you first admitted." She already seems relaxed from the posture she made before. "When was that?" Leaning forward toward me, she replied to my question by showing four of her fingers. "Huhh~!!??" I felt a little bit irked that she seemingly tried to 'play a guessing game' with me. "Four hours ago?" Signalling that I made a wrong attempt in answering the question, she made a sound "Bubuuu~~". I immediately caught Sis by her cheeks and declared right to her face, "Can you just tell me? I have a headache, and I don't want to deal with your shenanigans at the moment". She pulled her head away, then replied, "Uhhh~~ You're not as cute as before. Where did my beloved little Rion go?" She rubbed her cheeks vertically, indicating it was hurting her, and she also added a little flair; waterworks, a fake one, though. However, I do feel a little bad about making her feel hurt, even if only a bit. Then I remembered something that she said in the past.

"Treat others the way you want to be and never forget that, okay?"

I felt a pain aching my heart when it came to that word; That's what Sis said to me each time I got bullied. Thinking back, that word was probably for herself, but she had also looked out for me ever since my parents' death. Maybe she saw part of herself in me from the time we first met.

I lived at my grandparents' house, and near it, there's a park where I always play. That is where I first met Ersis.

I was playing alone on the swing when a young lady approached me with a question, "Is no one with you? It's dangerous to be here without anyone around." I replied by saying why I was alone; no one else was home at the moment. She looked confused and seemingly disbelieving of what I said; she asked another question, "Are your parents at work?" While looking down at the ground, I told her that my parents had already passed away. I also added that I lived with my grandparents, and they had to go out today. The lady was seemingly wearing a sad face, but after I realised the expression she was making, she tried to smile. "Can I play here with you? I don't have anyone else to play with." I nodded in response to her, and we played together until sunset arrived. She made a promise to me that she would accompany me to play. From that point forward, she always came to my grandparents' house to invite me to play at the park.

But why do I feel something amiss? Did I forget something that happened in the past?

While I am still confused and pondering, Ersis' voice halts the thoughts I had. "Ignoring me again, huh~~" She closes her pouty face to mine, then she pulls back and continues to speak. "It's just five years since we last met, and you basically become another person. I remember when you used to come to me after y—". Knowing what she's gonna say, I quickly interject, "Okay, okay, okay, okay. I get it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I had a headache, and it impaired my thought process." Ersis chuckles, then lets a small laugh. "That's the Rion that I know". I looked away as I blushed.

"She came here 4 days ago". Unannounced, Ersis gave me the answer I wanted earlier while making the same gesture with her finger as before. Four days ago!!?? Serina came right after I got in; So that means I've been in this hospital for almost a week!!?? I've been unconscious for that long??? As if she were reading my mind, she said, "Well, you fall from a great height. I think it's more surprising that you're still alive than being in here." I had no response to that. In the first place, I don't even think I'll lose my consciousness mid-air and fall.

She pointed her finger closer to my nose. "I hope next time you're careful with your little magic, will you?"

Wait, did I ever tell her about my ability to use magic? Or did Serina?

I wanted to ask how Ersis knew about it. But before I can say anything, she is already moving toward the hallway indicated by part of her body shaded by the absence of light. As she leaves, the darkness slowly obfuscates her figure until she can't be recognised.

Ersis is a bit weird, but the air around her today seems a bit off. I'm lying if I say that I don't feel uneasy about it.