It had been two weeks since Alysha returned to their town, and Selina started living alone again. At first, she thought that she would have a hard time sleeping at night, knowing that Alysha was not beside her anymore, but miraculously, Selina had not dreamt about it – not even once after Alysha left.

Maybe it’s because I knew subconsciously that Grace has already awakened and is safe from any danger, Selina thought to herself as she prepared her dinner for tonight.

Selina visited Grace every other day, and during those times, she had not noticed anything unusual about her friend, except that sometimes she would say things that did not make any sense.

She went to the living room while holding a bowl of noodles on her hand and a glass of water on the other, then sat on the couch and opened the television. She was in the middle of savoring her food when suddenly, her phone rang.

She immediately reached for her phone beside her and answered it without any hesitation when she saw who was the caller.

“Hello, Mr. Brown.” She greeted as soon as she answered it.

“Oh hello, Selina. How are you? Are you already home?” Mr. Brown, Grace’s father, asked.

Selina and Grace’s family were close because their fathers were friends since high school, just like how Selina and Grace were. They were like a second family to Selina.

“Yes, Mr. Brown. I am currently at home.”

“I see. That’s good. Anyway, I called you just to ask if you are free tomorrow?”

Selina thought for a moment before responding. Tomorrow would be Saturday and Selina had some plans. “I am planning to visit Grace tomorrow in the morning and go to the university library to study. Why?”

“Well, something came up and I would not be able to visit Grace tomorrow, as well as her mother. I would like to ask if you could accompany Grace for tomorrow and spend the night there with her? Don’t worry we will be there the next day.”

“Uhm…that’s fine with me, but won’t Michael be there? I mean, I can accompany her during the day and I’ll just leave in the afternoon.”

“About that, Michael was on a trip with his friends since yesterday and will be back the next day, so nobody can accompany Grace for tomorrow. I just thought that it would be best if she would spend her day with you rather than with a personal nurse. If that's okay with you.”

“…I-is that so?” Selina did not know why, but her heart felt uneasy when she thought about spending the night tomorrow in that hospital. She thought she had already moved on and had forgotten about it, but that was not the case.

Grace would be there so I guess…it will be fine, she thought to herself.

“Okay. I’ll accompany her tomorrow.”

Selina went to visit Grace the next day and brought some clothes with her since she was going to stay the night there.

Grace had become more lively and her health progressed in a fast phase; the therapies that she had undergone were also a success. All that they were waiting for was the doctor to allow her to go home. Though, she still had a hard time walking because of the fracture she got on her legs and used a wheelchair for the meantime.

Selina helped Grace to stand up from her wheelchair to get her on her bed after they took a little detour around the hospital’s garden. The weather was nice and windy so Selina decided to take her out until the sun set; it was one of their ways to shake off their boredom in staying inside the hospital room.

“Selina, can you help me change my clothes?” Grace asked when she can finally sit properly on her bed.

“Yeah, sure. Where can I get your spare clothes?” Selina asked while looking around the room.

“The bag over there.”

Selina handed some spare clothes to Grace and helped her changed, but while Grace was changing, she noticed something on her back. It did not seem like a bruise, rather, it looked like veins spread on her upper back, and what confused her more was its color – it was pure black.

“What are these?” Selina unconsciously asked while staring at her friend’s back.

Grace looked at her from her shoulder and realized what she was talking about. She shrugged her shoulders and put her clothes on. “I don’t know. It has been there since I woke up from comatose.”

“Really? Have you told the doctor about it?” Selina worriedly asked then walked towards the table near Grace’s bed to get their dinner since it was already six o'clock in the evening.

“No. I don’t need to ‘cause it’s not something humans can comprehend.”

Selina froze for a moment after hearing what her friend said. She felt the coldness in her voice when she said that, which was unusual for Grace, who was always smiling and speaking words with kindness and warmth. It was like, she was the same person when she first saw her after she woke up from the comatose.

She could not respond for a while and just kept her back towards her. Somehow, she felt a little fear growing inside her which was worsened by the sudden deafening silence inside the room. Then suddenly, Grace spoke again.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? What are you thinking, Selina?” She asked in the same voice and tone - emphasizing every word.

Selina swallowed to wet her dry throat. It’s fine. It’s Grace, she thought to herself and reluctantly turned towards her friend.

Grace was smiling at her but she knew that smile meant something. She knew it ‘cause that was not how her friend used to smile and she felt like she had seen that kind of smile many times in her dreams.

Selina tried to pull a faint smile and turned back to get their food before finally walking towards Grace. “Nothing.” She said as soon as she reached her and gave her the food.

Grace got the food but kept her eyes on Selina - watching her as she walked towards the couch beside her bed to get the television remote control. Selina then opened the television.

Selina was facing her back towards Grace and was silently choosing a channel to watch from when all of a sudden, Grace's eyes turned into pure black colored eyes that covered her whole eyes.

“How was your grandma?” Grace asked in a tone that was accompanied by a threat, which made Selina stopped from what she was doing. Selina felt sharp stares were being thrown at her back and made her skin crawl.

It took a while before Selina returned to her senses and continued pressing the channel button on the remote. “…Why?” She asked.

Grace suddenly laughed wickedly. “Nothing. I just hope she’s still doing fine.”

This time, Selina could not help but to turn back and look at her friend – she wanted to confirm something. But before she could see her face, Grace’s eyes returned to normal - all Selina saw was her friend, sweetly smiling at her.

Grace turned towards her food that was on her lap and started eating cheerfully like how she used to – like she had not said anything. It seemed like she was back to her normal self once again, savoring her food to her heart’s content.

Selina, on the other hand, stared at her confusingly while still feeling cold on her hands and feet. We spend much time together ever since she recovered from the comatose, but...there are split moments during those times when I felt like I was with someone I do not know.