And will be done (Fields of the Nephilim: Volume 4)

Chapter 18

When Cerise woke up, she was already expecting to see darkness but what welcomed her was the bright fluorescent light. Too bright in fact that it was almost glaring at her. The smell of alcohol and other antiseptics were floating in the air. There was no sound except for the buzzing of the air conditioner and the faint sound of intercom calling out doctors or nurses behind her closed door.

She tried to get up as soon as she had adjusted her sight to the brightness of the room. Her body felt heavy but she felt glad though, it was just her round belly. She didn't lose it or anything. She smiled to herself as she touched it gently with her right hand attached with a needle for the IV fluid. She closed her eyes and started humming a tune until every other sound has turned inaudible.

She didn't hear the door open and the footsteps that came into the room. When she stopped humming, it was then she realized an audience clad in a black school uniform standing by the door. She looked about fifteen or sixteen and her hair is so thick and bouncy that it framed her small face like a lovely veil. Her round dark eyes almost looked black as it was surrounded by thick lashes and it gave her that innocent yet mysterious aura.

Somehow, she flickered as she suddenly remembered that girl who had killed Yuri in her apartment. A Nephilim?It couldn't be. And before she could speak, the girl smiled almost shyly as she held out her hand towards her as if asking for permission. And it was then she realized she was holding something in her hands. A weapon? Silly, but those white and red lilies looked immaculate!

And with hesitant steps, the girl walked towards her struggling to hold the lilies and to keep the straps of her backpack from falling off her shoulder at the same time. Cerise finally managed to smile and nodded to the girl who is already arranging the flowers in a vase on her bedside.

"I'm sorry, I just barged in like that" the girl said almost fidgeting. "Ah, my sister asked me to wait for her so we could go home together, but it won't be another hour until she finishes her business here at the hospital, so she asked me to come here and wait instead"

"Sister?" Cerise frowned.  The girl smiled almost embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I thought onee-chan already told you about it but I forgot you've been asleep for almost three days now. I'm Stellar. I came here as well yesterday. I brought those cookies for you" she said pointing at two boxes of Koala's March just beside the vase. Now, that she thinks about it, she could see the resemblance of the girl to her nurse Amber.

"Arigato Stellar-chan" Cerise smiled at her. Then she remembered something. "Johan! You said I've been sleeping for three days now, the little girl who lives with me, do you know what happened to her?" she was suddenly in panic.

Stellar slightly shrugged her shoulders. "But I heard onee-chan talking to a woman the morning after you we're sent here. She said she was sent to take care of her while you are gone. She was sent by your friend I think? She said his name was Gabriel"

Gabriel. Cerise sighed in relief. But of course, Gabriel will do that. She remembered him to be the one who caught her before consciousness has left her. To think that Gabriel would do this much for her for the past few months now, sometimes it was overwhelming.

"That man" Stellar suddenly said without looking at her. "He really isn't a man, is he?"

Cerise frowned and gave a nervous laugh. "You mean Gabriel? Of course he is. You might have seen him and yes he's too beautiful enough to become a woman but——"

"That's not what I mean" Stellar interjected while her eyes were focused on the lilies. She was looking at them with sudden curious eyes and for a moment, Cerise thought the girl isn't there with her anymore. "He is too beautiful to become a plain mortal. But beauty aside, I know what he is. Gabriel....that is who he is" she said with some sort of an emphasis on his name that Cerise doesn't know what to say. How can this girl tell that? And if she knew about Gabriel, then could she not know about her as well?