To My Dearest Roseanne

Chapter 35

Raindrops kept hitting against the window. Cho was lying in bed, motionless from exhaustion. Her head was splitting with pain, her stomach was empty after violent rounds of vomiting. The skin did retain elasticity, but it was white and dry, with occasional bloody spots popping up on the arms, legs, and face.

Doctor Molly Champignon, head of the Neurosurgery Department in the Asclepius Health Center, transferred Cho to a separate room after the examination. Molly wanted to notify Roseanne's parents, but Cho refused to give any contact details. Then, Molly tried calling the school, but it was already closed. At the moment, the woman was hanging on the phone trying to contact the police, so they could locate the parents.

Cho was stalling for time, for Roseanne's sake, because she didn't want the secret to be uncovered. Yet, she knew it was a fool's errand. Everyone is going to find out about her and Roseanne eventually.

The rain outside made Cho recall the incident that transported her away to this reality. Maybe it wasn't destiny or cosmic kindness, but just a quirk of nature? Perhaps that's why she was suffering right now because she crossed over to a world that was not her own. Each and every molecule of her body began to slowly rot away the moment she arrived here.

It was just a theory, but there was one more thing that kept bothering Cho: that horrendous pulsation she kept hearing. She felt really bad as soon as she heard it for the first time, and the dog that attacked her must have heard it too. Was it a calling? Was it a warning? Or even worse: a foreshadowing of Cho's inevitable death?

The more Cho focused on the sound, the more vivid the images from the previous day became. Children shouting "Haru!" to her face, the monster-like woman scolding her, the ceiling pool devouring her body. All the negative flares of the life she left behind were seeping into her consciousness like water through cracks in the wall.

Maybe the universe was telling her to go back?

What if it's the only option? What if I have to go back? To that miserable existence of mine. Cho thought.

Of course, Cho didn't want to go back to that place, to that lifeless shell on the Korean peninsula. But then again, she didn't want to die either. There was also Roseanne she had to take into account. The moment Cho landed in a hospital, things got out of control. Even if the return wouldn't save her, Roseanne's life would certainly get back to normal. Nobody would have ever found out about Cho's existence.

She had to try.

***

The doors opened slowly and Emily peeked inside with a shy look on her face.

"May I?" she asked.

Cho nodded in her bed.

"I'm sorry it all turned out like that. I shouldn't have taken you to a hospital."

"Don't say things like that, Emily," Cho's voice was hoarse from vomiting, "I'm really sick and you did the right thing."

"I don't know myself anymore. My mom is now hellbent on finding your parents... I mean Roseanne's parents," Emily covered her face with hands. "Shit, am I gonna get it this time."

Cho reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Em, please, keep it together. I think I can still fix this, but I need you to help me one more time. I'm not asking for much."

***

Having followed Cho's instructions, Emily toured the emergency department and snatched a t-shirt, some trousers, and a raincoat when nobody was watching. She then returned to Cho's room where the girl changed clothes, leaving her military uniform behind. She also made sure to let her hair down, so that Emily's mother wouldn't spot her braid in the corridor.