A Loss of Hope

Yellow eyes meet Brown eyes

Luz wakes up for another sluggish day ahead of her. She turns to her nightstand to see that she woke up an hour before her alarm. She turns back to face her ceiling and tries to rub the tired away from both her eyes. After about ten minutes of staring at the ceiling, the Latina girl rolls out of bed and gets an early start to her day. She walks to the kitchen, dragging her feet the whole way when she notices a pair of scrubs attempting to cook.

"Buenos dias mama. What are you burning today?" Luz laughs at her own joke as Camila struggles to flip a pancake.

Camila turns to her daughter and lets out a big smile "Luz! You're up early! I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed. Desde que me perdí tu primer día de clases." Luz's mom attempts to flip the pancake again, but instead, the pan flies out of her hand and the half-cooked batter sticks to the ceiling. The two girls look up and stare at the failed attempt and both burst out in laughter. "Well, I guess I will just have to surprise you with this apple." Camila pulls an apple out of the fruit bowl and presents it to Luz like a crown.

Luz grabs her mother's kind gesture wearing a smile "Why thank you, mama. I will eat this apple with much grace!" Luz grabs the apple, but Camila doesn't let go. Instead, Luz gives her mother a puzzling look and then realizes. "Ah, how could I forget!" Luz hugs Camila and kisses her on the head "Gracias por el desayuno."

Camila returns the hug and sinks into her daughter's embrace. "Cualquier cosa por ti mi amor." Camila squeezes her daughter with all the love she had for her. She has defiantly noticed Luz's change in behavior these past four years and has tried to help, but nothing seems to work. So the best she can do is show how much Luz means to her, and that no matter what she'll love her with all of her heart.

Luz laughs at her mother's tight grip and starts to tap her back like she's playing the drums "Ok mama, time to let go!" Luz manages to get out while losing her ability to breathe "I can't come to work with you today, even if you push all the air out of my lungs!"

Camila quickly releases her grip and takes a step back "Oh sorry Luz." The mother lets out a half-hearted chuckle and stares at her baby girl all grown up "I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart."

"I know mama," Luz says while taking a big bite of her apple. "I love you too." The two give each other loving looks, and at the moment everything is perfect. But everything comes to an end. Luz comes back to reality and takes another bite of her apple "Ok I'm going into school early today. I just think getting in before the crowd will be relaxing." Luz grabs her bag from the kitchen chair and throws it over her shoulder. "I'll see you after school. Have fun at work!" Luz says right before she walks out the door and starts her stroll to school.

The door closes and Camila is now standing in a messy kitchen, staring at a closed door. The nurse can only pray for a miracle that Luz will open her doors and actually talk to her like they used to. It was ever since that damn camp she sent Luz to, she completely changed. But until then, she will just show Luz that she will be there for her.

~~

Eda and Lilith were the first two through the portal. They both stumbled through the ash and caught their footing. Lilith looks at the sky, mesmerized by the blue that lies above her, while Eda is entranced by the scene of the ashes that take the place of the cabin she left Luz on a couple of years ago. It reminded her of the portal on the Boiling Isles after Luz defeated Belos.

"You know, last time I was here, I never got to experience it due to the fact that I had to try and save you," Lilith says while admiring the brown pine trees with green needles instead of their orange hue on the Isles.

Eda laughs while still looking at the fallen ash "Yeah, more like Luz saving us. You and King got captured the minute you walked back through the portal. Luz was the one who chipped that tyrant's mask."