After the sun had settled, Rosaria came to check on Vin, but strangely, he was nowhere to be found.

"Vin?" Rosaria called out, but to no response. She grew increasingly worried and tried searching the area but found nothing, until she came across a cliff that seemed like its surface got scratched. Rosaria approached the cliff to take a better look.

Suddenly, a loud scream echoed all over the area. Everyone rushed to the source of the scream and found Rosaria. Her face was pale, as if she just saw a ghost.

"Miss Rosaria! What's wrong? Are you okay?" The people who just came over asked Rosaria but she did not say a single word in response. Instead, she just slowly lifted up her face with one hand covering her mouth and the other pointing down the cliff.

Everyone collectively followed her trembling finger down the cliff and what they saw was an empty wheelchair that seemed like it had tumbled down. Suddenly, everything went into chaos. The adults were still confused as to what happened but somehow grasped the situation and were trying their best to manage the panicking children.

"Oh, my god! The boy in the wheelchair fell down the cliff!"

Mia, who had just arrived at the scene, heard the shouting. 'What...? I must have misheard that,' she squeezed through the crowd to the other side.

"Vin... oh, god why...?" Rosaria cried out.

Seeing the state Rosaria was in and the words she muttered sent Mia into a sudden panic, everything around her became blurry, she couldn't hear anything beside her own thoughts.

'Huh...?'

'Vin? What is it about Vin? Where is he?'

'I saw him talking to Miss Rosaria just a while ago...'

'B-But Miss Rosaria is crying right now... why?'

Rosaria was crying, everyone was panicking, Vin was missing, and the scratched edge of the cliff, Mia started to put two and two together.

Gulp

She swallowed her saliva and turned to the cliff. She started making her way to the edge as her hands grabbed onto her clothes. Anxiety hit and she felt light headed, as if she was about to faint.

'No...'

'It can't be. Vin's fine.'

Time felt so slow with each step she took. her stomach ached and she felt nauseous.

'I saw him just now.'

'That's right. He's fine. He's...'

Mia made it to the edge. As she looked down the cliff her eyes shook greatly.

That wheelchair, there's no mistake, it was Vin's. Her lips opened and closed a few times but no word came out. Her hands trembled and she subconsciously started walking closer as if she's trying to reach for the wheelchair. The memory of when her parents left her off at the orphanage flashed through her head.

Madam Aria saw her and screamed. "Mia! What are you doing?!" She tried to call out to Mia but she did not budge.

Rosaria rushed to Mia's side and grabbed her arm. "Mia!"

"M-Miss Rosaria... that wheelchair, it's Vin's. I'm certain!" Mia spoke in her trembling voice. "What is he down there? W-We have to go pick him up! He must be lonely right now." Mia was in so much shock and disbelief, she tried to convince herself that Vin was safe.

Rosaria couldn't find a word to respond to Mia, so she just cried and hugged her tight.

"Miss Rosaria...?" Mia grabbed Rosaria's clothes. "P-Please Miss Rosaria, we gotta go get Vin!"

Mia's cry only made Rosaria hug her tighter.

"No! Let me go!" Mia tried to struggle out of Rosaria's arms.

"MISS ROSARIA, STOP! PLEASE!!"

"VIN-!!"

"VIIINNNNNNN!!!!!"

As Mia cried out, the scene of her being left by her parents flash through her head again.

"AAAAAAAAA—!!"

------

No one could have predicted the unfortunate accident that day.

Later on, Vin's funeral was held beside his parents' graves. Rosaria along with the kids from the orphanage and their sponsors attended the funeral except for Mia.

During the funeral, Rosaria heard the kids whispering to each other.

"She said she was going to check on him and then this happened."

"Suspicious."

"They were always together and yet she's not attending his funeral, how heartless. Maybe she's the one who pushed him"

Rosaria was shocked to hear the children saying such things. At that moment she realized how much her attitude had affected them. Her not caring for Mia and Vin had made the kids assume that she hated them, gradually leading them to acting like her too.

------

Mia, who was still shocked by Vin's sudden death, had gone on for many days without eating and sleeping. She kept insisting that Vin was still alive and that she needed to go find him.

Cary, one of the kids at the orphanage, saw this and reported it to Rosaria.

Rosaria went to look for Mia and found the poor little girl in the garden. She was sitting by herself, hugging her knees under a tree, the spot that she and Vin always hang out at, as if she was waiting for him to return.

Rustle

The sound made by Rosaria's approach startled Mia.

"Miss Rosaria... it's you. I thought it was Vin..." said Mia, sounding disappointed.

"Mia, let's go to your room, okay?" Rosaria put her hands on Mia's shoulders.

Mia shook her head, "No, I am waiting for Vin."

Rosaria tightened her grips hearing Mia's words. She knew how much Vin meant to her, he's her only friend after all. Mia's pitiful appearance broke Rosaria's heart. Her body had become so thin and weakened from the lack of sleep and nutrients. Her expression was as if she was lifeless. 'How could I let such a thing happen... you poor, poor girl.'

Rosaria took a deep breath and attempted to convince Mia again. "Mia, Vin is gone now, so- "

"NO!! LIES! LIES! YOU ARE LYING TO ME!" Mia screamed in denial, breaking down. "Y-You are just lying to me... Vin is fine. You are lying!"

Rosaria was surprised by Mia's sudden outburst. She went silent for a while as Mia was sobbing. "Mia... you have to face the truth. I know it's painful, but we have to accept it and be strong, okay?" said Rosaria, with a trembling voice.

Mia looked up at Rosaria's face with her teary eyes and saw her painful expression, as if she was about to cry. Mia instantly realized she wasn't the only one who was affected by Vin's death. Vin was gone, she knew that, but it was too painful to accept it.

Rosaria hugged Mia tightly and cried. Mia grabbed onto Rosaria's clothes and cried along. The two embraced each other and cried together, sharing their grief over the deceased Vin.

------

Mia later visited Vin's grave since she did not have the strength to attend his funeral before.

Seeing Vin's grave made Mia shed tears once again. She sat down and leaned against the tombstone thinking about all of the time they spent together.

The incident had a huge impact on Mia. She had become reserved and quiet, more so than before he came into her life. Having had her only friend taken away, she once again started ignoring everyone as she felt lonely and unbelonged.

Meanwhile, the police who were investigating Vin's case, found out that it was out of his carelessness that resulted in his own death.

The kids felt guilty for suspecting Mia to be the cause. They tried to apologize to her but to no response, Mia simply ignored them. She stopped caring about what was happening around her anymore, as if she could no longer feel emotions.

------

Mia visited Vin's room, the imagery of him sitting on his bed with his warm smile pained her. She sat down on his bed, thinking back about the happy times she had together with him, but then she noticed a book under the pillow. Curious, Mia opened the book to find Vin's hand writing, it was his dairy. She quickly rushed to her room with the dairy in her hand.

Mia put the dairy on the desk, but hesitated to take a look. Her guilt and regret for not staying by his side that day, made her feel unworthy of reading the contents of this diary.

After a few minutes of staring at the book, Mia decided to shut it in her drawer, thinking she would open it when she felt ready.

------

That night Mia finally slept for the first time in a while. Once again, as always, she dreamt of the empty space. The emptiness stretched out to the horizon, as far as she could see.

'...I feel lonely.' Mia thought to herself. 'Dreaming or not, It's always like this... if only you could visit me in my dream, Vin.'

"Why does everyone always end up leaving me?"

The little girl sitting in that wide blank space, alone, only had her legs to hug to comfort herself.