Borderline Wonderland

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ An "Alice In Borderland" Inspired Story ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

Her chest heaved, eyes fluttering as she held onto the wall.
What kind of games are these?!
She looked up, seeing the only other survivor stumble out of the building as well, wounded and exhausted, yet smiling through the sweat dripping from her nose.
The woman spotted Soph in an instant, letting out a deep sigh before stiffly walking to a white table, picking up the playing card that was laid neatly on top.
She turned back to Sovanne, holding the card out, the blood on her hands staining her fingerprint to the corner. "O medetō. Anata wa mada ikiteiru." 'Congrats. You're still alive.'

♤♡♧♢

Sovanna's life had already been stuttering forward when she found out her grandmother had gotten sick. At just 18, she had taken the responsibility to become a carer, traveling from her rural English village all the way to the grand Tokyo. She had only a few weeks to learn the basics of Japanese, and could only prey it was enough.
She studied overseas, joining classes back in England over calls, and even got a job in a hotel as a translator and guide for tourists to help her grandmother financially.

But then, when going home from work, she saw the fireworks.