Epics of Noche 5, Reflection

EON CH 11

MARY AND ALICE VR.

1777, APRIL 06th, WEDNESDAY11:15 am.

Mary sat in her room and stared at the scattered collection of notes and paper on her desk. To her side was a Bunsen burner that was heating a vial of liquid. Her unblinking gaze fell upon it and lingered there.

"You are a kid! Just let the doctors treat you!" The voice echoed in her head.

"They don't care about finding a cure! They're just watching me waste away!" Her voice in the past screamed.

"You don't have time to become a professional! Just trust them!"

"No – if they're not going to save me, then I'm going to save myself!"

Her eyes flickered to the notes on the desk. She grabbed her pen and started to write down her findings. Mary paused, then wrote something. I am ok is what she wrote on the corner of the page. She turned to the Bunsen burner and stared. She had made mistake after mistake.

"Shut up, me," she whispered. "It'll work... It'll work."

Mary turned off the flame, pricked her finger with a needle, and then allowed a drop of blood to fall into the vial. For a moment there was a cloud of red floating in the liquid. Then in a flash, it shifted into a hue of blue. Mary slammed both hands down onto the table.

"Damn it!"

Alice shot up from the bed, her bra barely hanging onto her shoulders. She jumped out of bed, dashed towards Mary, and placed her arm around the dark-skinned girl's shoulder. They stayed silent together for a full minute before Mary spoke.

"I fucked up. The reaction had the opposite effect," she muttered. "It'll only kill me faster."

Alice didn't say anything, she just wrapped Mary in her arms as tightly as she could. Droplets fell onto Alice's pale arms as her lover shuddered. Once Mary's shaking stopped, Alice turned Mary's head to face her and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you," Mary muttered. "For being here.'

"I will always be here for you," Alice said.

As those words left her mouth she started to glitch. Mary's face went a shade paler and she held onto Alice tighter. She couldn't deal with being alone – not right now. To her relief, the glitching stopped and Alice was still in the room with her.

"W-We both have our struggles," Mary did a half smile.

It was forced and faltering; Alice shared a similar, sullen smile in return. She hugged Mary once again. When they parted the violet-haired girl stood up and took Mary's hand.

"Follow me," Alice said.

Mary was all but dragged from her chair and out of the room.

"A-Alice! Where are we going!"

It didn't take long for the violet-haired girl to drag her girlfriend to the doors of the VR room. Once they were inside a smile crept onto Alice's face.

"Play old fart simulation," she said.

Mary's eyebrows scrunched up as she turned to Alice just before a hologram formed around them both. Once the visual effects settled they both appeared as old, wrinkled women. A snort escaped Mary's lips before she could stop herself.

"What is this?" Mary chuckled.

"Look at yourself."

She did so and laughed.

"Apple, what is this?"

"It's us," Alice smiled. "It's what we're going to look like in the future. When we grow old together."

Mary's grin faltered. "If I find my cure."

"When you find your cure," Alice said.

Tears welled in Mary's face once again. Before they slid down her cheeks she pressed her head into Alice's chest.

"This... Isn't fair."

"You don't like it?"

"I love it."

"Good," she patted Mary's head. "Look forward to it."

Mary chuckled between tears as she pressed herself further into Alice's chest. A few moments later, she raised her head and wiped her eyes. Both girls jolted when Mary's phone alarm went off. They laughed as Mary took out her phone and they took their daily selfie together.