07
Jax jostling me made me feel even
more nauseous.
I pushed at him, struggling to speak. “Want… to throw up…
Jax only heard a weak mumble. “What did you sa-?”
Before he could even finish asking, I wretched, spewing everything out.
I hadn’t eaten anything all morning, so what came out was just acidic water mixed with blood from my stomach.
I tried my best to avoid it, but it still got on Jax’s clothes.
I gripped his shirt, weakly apologizing.
Jax’s face darkened, but he gently laid me on the infirmary bed, letting the school nurse take over.
He silently went out to get a mop and rag to clean up my vomit.
The school nurse applied medicine to my face and put me on an IV drip of glucose.
“Young lady, why are you throwing up blood? Do you have any medical history?”
The school nurse advised me to go to the hospital for a thorough check–up, just for peace of mind.
I thanked him and explained that it was just because I hadn’t eaten breakfast.
I didn’t need a check–up; I already knew this body’s condition.
I silently asked the System why this was happening.
The System’s mechanical voice quietly responded.
“Because the original owner’s consciousness is fading faster.”
Meaning she wanted to leave this world faster, right?
The System remained silent.
I gave a knowing, bitter smile,
Elara. Her name, given by her grandma, held a hidden meaning: “to retain,” “to keep.”
When Grandma Rose found the baby girl, still bundled in swaddling, she was stiff and purple, frozen in the bitter snow.
Grandma Rose thought the original Elara had already frozen to death, but then her tiny finger moved.
Grandma Rose took the original Elara home and named the little girl Elara.
Grandma Rose was a woman of deep faith.
She always said that saving Elara, retaining her, was fate’s decree, and her own heartfelt wish.
At five years old, Grandma Rose passed away.
The original Elara was sent to an orphanage by the neighbors.
Later, the Richards family took her back and wanted to change Elara’s name.
<
But she stubbornly refused; it was the only thing her grandma had left her.
But now, Elara no longer wanted to follow fate’s decree. She just wanted to find the only person who had ever truly loved her: Grandma Rose…
Perhaps it was the pain, or perhaps it was because of the girl.
My eyes welled up, and I stared blankly at the ceiling.
We were two souls adrift, bound by the same tragic fate. No need for introductions; we understood each other instantly.
in that moment.
Int
I wanted to hold that girl deep within my soul, tightly
