"Good morning, Mia." Vivi greeted Mia after arriving late for class as usual.
"Good morning, V-Vivi." Mia replied with a smile.
It had been a while since the day the two of them shared their first lunch break together, and they started getting along after that. Although their personalities were polar opposite, Mia quiet and gentle, Vivi was always playful and somehow mischievous, it didn't stop them from befriending each other.
With Vivi, Mia started enjoying life and was looking forward to the next day. Every night, everytime she fell asleep and met Vin in the dream land, she would tell him all about it.
"Ah, lunchbreak!" Vivi quickly stood up from her seat. "I'm gonna go ahead and catch us some seats."
"Okay," Mia took out the lunch boxes that she had prepared for herself and Vivi.
Mia was heading toward the cafeteria, but then...
"Ah-"
The lunch boxes in Mia's hand fell to the ground.
"Sorry, sorry, are you okay?" A small group of students bumped into Mia. They helped pick up the lunch boxes for her
"Y-Yes, thank you..." Mia flustered as she accepted the lunch boxes from them.
"That's good to hear," the group walked away from Mia, but strangely, they seemed to be whispering and giggling at each other.
Mia stared at them as they were walking away. 'Ah, those students... weren't they Vivi's friends?'
Actually, after befriending Mia, Vivi started spending less and less time with her other friends. The friends did not like Mia and on top of that, their friend, Vivi, started getting close to her. Although mildly, they had been bullying Mia behind Vivi's back.
Mia on the other hand, did not notice that she was treated in such a way and just brushed it off.
"You're late! What happened?" Vivi asked.
"I'm really sorry, I tripped..." Mia flustered.
"You tripped?! Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine but..."
Mia opened the lunch box and the food inside became a mess after she dropped it. She made a sad expression.
"C'mon, the food still tastes good no matter how it looks!" Vivi started shoving the food into her mouth. "It's good!!"
Mia smiled looking at Vivi and started eating her lunch too.
------
It was time for PE class. After changing, Mia was hanging out and talking with Vivi in the gym when suddenly someone yelled.
"Hey, watch out!"
BAM!!
Mia got hit by a ball right in the face and fell to the ground.
"Mia!" Vivi rushed to Mia's side. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." Mia looked up at Vivi while holding her head.
"...you're bleeding!"
"Huh?" Mia touched her face and looked at her hand that was stained with her own blood.
"What's going on?" The teacher heard the commotion and came to check the situation.
"Ma'am, Mia got hit by a ball. She's having a nosebleed!" Vivi replied to the teacher.
"... she needs to go to the infirmary and rest."
"I will go with her."
"Very well. Make sure to clean the blood and let her rest."
"Wait, I-I can go by myself-" Mia protested against the idea, not wanting to be a burden.
"Don't be silly! I'll help you there, c'mon."
Vivi stood up and helped Mia up too, but she stumbled back onto the ground.
"... I'm still a little bit dizzy," said Mia as she had her hand on her face.
"..."
Vivi adjusted her stand and then...
"!!"
She suddenly picked Mia up and carried her in her arms, surprising everyone around them, even Mia herself. Vivi rushed to the infirmary without wasting a second. Mia who had never been carried by anyone before flustered.
They arrived at the infirmary. Vivi quickly sat Mia down and went to grab some tissues.
"Can you lift your face up a little bit?"
Mia stared at Vivi who was wiping her blood.
"That was my first time..."
"Huh?" Vivi looked up at Mia.
"It was the first time I've ever had someone carry me like that."
"... is that so?"
"Yeah! You know, you were actually pretty cool. Suddenly picked me up like that, I was surprised," Mia giggled. "... kind of like a prince."
"H-Heh?! What are you saying?" Vivi blushed. "I was just trying to help you..."
"Hehe, yeah, thank you," Mia smiled.
Vivi finished cleaning the blood.
"Should we head back?"
Vivi laid down on the infirmary bed. "Nah, let's just skip it."
"Are you sure?"
"Why would you want to go back when you have me, Prince Vivi, here with you." Said Vivi, with a try hard smirk.
Mia chuckled at her joke. "Okay, fine."
They rested in the infirmary and chatted until school ended.
------
Mia started to tend the garden as usual coming back from school, and helped out around the orphanage.
Rosaria noticed that Mia's nose was unusually red and asked. "Mia, what happened to your nose?"
"Oh, this? I got hit by a ball in PE class."
"What?! Hit by a ball?" Rosaria lifted Mia's face with her hand. "Are you hurt?"
"Ah- I got a nosebleed... but don't worry, m-my friend already helped treat it."
'Friend?' Rosaria was dumbfounded when Mia mentioned having a friend.
"...I see, that's good, just try to be more careful next time."
"I will!" Mia smiled.
Rosaria watched Mia as she was walking away and smiled. 'friend, huh... good for her.'
------
That night, Mia went to bed and dreamed of Vin again. She chatted and told him about her day as usual, but then she suddenly said something unexpected.
"Hey Vin, can you take me to the place where you first took me?"
"...sure, but why suddenly?"
"I just want to revisit it."
Vin did as Mia asked and took her to the place where it all began. The big, crystal clear sea that reflects the blindingly shiny stars in the sky.
Mia strolled alongside the beach with Vin.
"Vin, I've been curious about something..."
"What is it?"
"How are you able to appear in my dreams like this?"
Vin was a bit shocked by Mia's sudden question. "I don't know either... one day I came to my consciousness and found myself here. I tried so hard to call out to you after that but it didn't work, until that day."
"...I see."
Actually, Mia has always felt skeptical about Vin's existence in her dream. She can't seem to wrap her head around how it all works... a deceased person able to appear in her dream and communicate with her. It all seems too strange. But she kept these bothersome thoughts at the back of her mind, not wanting to sound doubtful to Vin because she enjoyed every second of when they were together. Even though the 'Vin' that was in front of her sometimes seemed like a different person from the one she used to know as a child.
Mia then spoke up. "... can we hold hands?"
Vin took Mia's hand with a smile. They walked on the beach some more with locking hands.
'Maybe I'm just overthinking."
Mia thought to herself, trying to reassure herself.
