"If she had one more chance to give"

[November 26th, 2021]

"Something is up with Aurora... I can tell." Giselle said to Lucy while they were sitting in the library after school. "And Sean." She added coarsely.

"Do you think they are dating?" Lucy said as she chuckled trying to read the book in front of her.

Giselle sipped coffee slowly as she narrowed her eyes.

"I don't think they're dating. I wouldn't mind if they would... There's something more to it."

Lucy slowly nodded as she grabbed her phone and swiped through her gallery looking for pictures.

"They've known each other for years, longer than we've known each other." Lucy said. "I think they deserve to have some secrets?" She added, looking at old pictures.

"Right." Giselle sighed. "But it still concerns me. I've never seen Aurora act that way."

Lucy stretched her arm across to show Giselle a photo she found. It was when the whole group was introduced to each other for the first time. Aurora and Sean had known each other already, but the others were new to the circle at that time. It was an adorable picture in general but for them, it was disgusting.

"Why did I make a bun to school? That's horrible." Giselle pointed herself out, with a bun despite having short hair at that time.

"You look cute, I look cringe!" Lucy said pointing at her bob hair-cut.

Maybe nothing was wrong and they were overthinking. Giselle wanted to find out about it but more than that, she wanted to give Aurora time and let her share it with them herself when the time is right. However, Aurora had no intention to let them know any time soon. Having Sean know was already overwhelming as it was.

He would call her 10 times a day and ask about her health. He would take her around and do all the work necessary for her. He even bribed the examiner to sit in the same classroom as her. No, she didn't hate that.

Nor was he trying to give her the 'special treatment' she despised. The only thing that made his actions overwhelming were that his worries. He would switch from time to time. It just showed how worried and upset he was, and Aurora couldn't bear to watch it. He already had his own concerns and Aurora felt like she threw more concerns onto him.

Just when Aurora returned home, exhausted and tired to go back to her bed, she received a call from Sean... Again. She sighed before picking up the call to nag at him.

"Do you only find my number to call?" Aurora nagged loudly as soon as she picked up the call.

"Eh? What? What're you talkin' bout?" She received a reply from Sean, but not Sean.

"Who... Is this?" Aurora asked.

"Adam." Adam said.

Oh, she remembered now. Adam, the one who allegedly agrees to everything you say.

"Oh.. Adam, Nice to meet you but I'm really busy right now." Aurora replied.

"I just called you cuz you at the speed dial for some reason." Adam said. "See ya then!"

"Who sets up speed dials these days?" Aurora said to herself as she put her phone down her fell back to bed.

She had known Sean for more than 7 years, yet she never got to see all his alters until now. It just worried her because the ones she had never seen only showed up now, when he found about her terminal illness.

She blamed herself for his switches, thinking he wouldn't have switched that often unless he never found out about her. She hated that feeling as much as she embraced it. As soon as her back touched the soft mattress, she received another call. She grabbed her phone in annoyance and saw it was Giselle, so she picked it up.

"Hey..." Giselle murmured.

Aurora felt concern in her voice.

"Are you alright?" Aurora asked.

"Is that the first thing you have to ask me?" Giselle asked sternly. "You don't need to tell me anything?"

"What... Am I supposed to tell you?" Aurora asked as she was alarmed.

"It's fine if there's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you're fine."

"Oh. You scared me for a bit." Aurora chuckled in relief.

'There is no way Sean would spill the beans, right?' She thought to herself. She believed Sean as much as it pained her to have him learn about her sufferings. If she had one more chance to let someone know, she would pick Sean again.

Not just because she trusted him but because how caring he could become without trying to show it. Even though she was worried about his mental health, she liked that he knew and cared. She was able to tell him things she wouldn't tell her parents or anyone above her age-group. Therefore, she tried to think of it as a blessing.

[November 26th, 2020]

The caterpillars had risen, not into butterflies but into human beings? Aurora and her father were on their quest of capturing the flag at the peak of Tip Top mountains with no hiking trail, just cramped feet. They woke up even before the Sun rose. Adventure stirred within their veins. It was forced but as long as it stirred, the lemons would make lemonade right?

"Dad, how many more meters?-" Aurora said before cutting herself off, "Actually don't tell me." She added while panting.

As the Sun slowly rose above, the screeching light shined over the mountains like disco lights. What a tiring disco! Suddenly, she saw an actual caterpillar after thinking about them last night. It was in a process of building a cocoon. 'Why couldn't it do that early?' Aurora thought to herself thinking of how caterpillars build a cocoon in their pupal stage to get through the winter.

It was already so cold, and it just started doing so. Maybe it was a slow fellow. It already had some pure white silk coatings, which she mistook as snow.

It's color was bright green, like most common caterpillar. 'What am I? A kid?' She thought to herself, shaking her head, as she found herself admiring insects. Ew. The evergreen leaf the caterpillar was under was also green. It was a hard sight, of course she would admire it.

"Aurora! Speed up!" Her father shouted from a distance, a few steps distance that is. Yet he shouted loud so she could hear.

Aurora sighed before leaving the caterpillar to do its business while she climbed the never-ending peak of eternity. She slowly walked behind her father trying her best to enjoy. She started missing wi-fi, her friends, and most of all, the plains as she tried to admire the view.

After an hour or two, the Sun rose at it's peak so they stopped to eat and put on some sunscreen. Then again, it was a small break and they had to move again.

The steep mountains became more inclined as they climbed further. Aurora kept losing her breath but she didn't want to stop as getting over with the climb was her goal. She actually started to enjoy it. It was tiring but fun.

And the mountains were magnificent.

Why were they suddenly black? Pure white snow was suddenly painted black but in spores. She found her head to be spinning. She tried to call her father, but it appeared he couldn't listen. She felt sudden nausea and lost her breath. She kept walking and walking without realizing what was happening.

...

"Aurora!... Hey!" Her father called her as she slowly opened her eyes with a ringing sound in her head.

"Dad?" She asked and looked around.

She was in a car. They were no longer on the mountains. What happened? She didn't remember a single thing.

"You fainted! Why didn't you tell me you were not feeling good?" Her father nagged. "We used to hike before too! When did you lose your stamina?"

"I... Fainted?" Aurora asked. "Hike?"...

Aurora was confused. She couldn't remember anything that happened. It was like her anxiety from exams hadn't disappeared yet. She sighed sharply trying to remember what happened as she regained complete consciousness. She looked at her foot realizing it hurt.

"You sprained your ankle. No walking for two weeks." Her father said as he started the car to drive it.

She didn't know if she should've been happy about that or not. What she did know was that something was out of the ordinary. She never used to lose when it came to hiking. She never forgot about anything either. So, why was all of this happening? Her mind was full of thoughts as she stared out the window. They reached a little rest-house so they could rest for the night.

"Wi-fi!" Aurora exclaimed in joy as she grabbed her phone and turned on wi-fi, her absolute bliss.

"I messaged your friends about your ankle, by the way..." Her father murmured from the distance.

"Why?!" Aurora exclaimed as she nagged.

The wi-fi turned on with a bunch of messages in the group chat. She sighed as she shook her head. He didn't have to tell them! A group call rang on her phone and she totally knew the consequences of ignoring the call. So, she picked it up nervously.

"Aurora, Oh my God!" Lucy screamed, causing Aurora to twitch her eyes in annoyance while pulling the phone away from her ear.

"Are you stupid?" Sean asked neutrally.

"What do you mean!" Aurora complained. "I fell and it's not my fault!" She added.

"You never take care of yourself. It is your fault, admit it." Giselle said.

"Also, I'm taking the Hiking-God title because you failed at it." Ethan said.

"That's not important right now!" Lucy said.

Aurora sighed sharply as she lied down.

"I'm sorry I fell down. Is that what you guys want to hear?" Aurora asked as she pouted and made her voice sound as sulky as possible.

"Are you stupid? Would we want apologies from you?" Sean asked before leaving the call which was very normal of him as his alters would end calls after switching.

"We want you to take better care of yourself, dummy!" Lucy said.

Aurora sighed yet again before saying her goodbyes to her friends and ending the call. She couldn't understand why her occasional anxiety turn so aggressive.

"Dad do you think I fainted because of anxiety?" Aurora asked.

"Hikes are meant to be therapeutic. I don't think so. Besides, didn't the doctor say it only stays for exam season. If you think that's the case then we should totally seek help." Her father said. "Don't overthink. Just go to bed. Your friends are right... You should eat well and take care of yourself. Sleep now and you'll feel better."

She hoped too that she would feel better. Being sick wasn't something she was used to, or something she was curious about. Nor did she ever think about being sick and skipping school for that fact. She hoped it wasn't something annoying as she slowly closed her eyes to let her dreams take over, only if she didn't faint in her dreams too!