Thalya didn't say another word. She simply stood up, leaving her cappuccino half-finished and the sweet bread untouched, and walked out of the coffee shop. The glass door caught the blinding glare of the noon sun.
Seina, her heart lodged in her throat, tossed a few bills on the table and rushed after her, met at once by the midday heat and the city's lunchtime buzz.
Outside, the world was loud and bright. An LED sign flashed ads for a new subdivision that would never be built. Two men argued near a car with a flat tire, one holding an old bill, the other gesturing with his cell phone, shouting, "Nobody accepts this anymore! It's useless!"
It was the chaos of ordinary life — a violent contrast to the supernatural horror they had just shared.
Thalya walked fast, with no clear destination, slipping through the crowd as if trying to escape herself.
The sunlight hit her silver hair, making it look almost white-hot.
"Thalya, wait!" Seina's voice was nearly swallowed by the street noise.
Thalya didn't hear her — or didn't want to. Seina caught up and gently grabbed her arm.
"Stop. Please."
Thalya finally stopped, but stepped away from the stream of people, pulling Seina with her into the cool, shadowed quiet of an alley between two buildings.
Away from the crowd and the noise, Thalya leaned back against the brick wall, its chill seeping into her skin. She was breathing fast — not from exertion, but from panic.
"What's it like?" Her voice echoed in the empty alley.
"What's what?" Seina asked softly.
"To die. What's it like when I die?"
Seina swallowed hard. She remembered the first time she had seen Thalya dead, in an alley just like this one.
"It's… quick," she said, glancing down at her dirty white sneakers, then at Thalya's combat boots. "Most of the time."
Thalya closed her eyes, pressing her nape against the wall.
"Does it hurt?"
"I… I don't know." Seina said, lifting her eyes to meet Thalya's, her mouth twitching. "But you're always quiet. It looks… peaceful afterward."
A single tear slipped from Thalya's eye, carving a clean line down her dust-streaked cheek.
"I'm so scared, Seina… and I can't even explain why."
"I know." Seina stepped closer. "But you're not alone in this. And if you forget something good… I'll remember it for you."
She raised her hand and, with a courage she didn't know she had, wiped away Thalya's tears with the tip of her finger.
Thalya opened her eyes at the warm touch, her violet gaze — usually so resolute — now vulnerable.
She didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned forward until their foreheads touched.
"Stay with me," she whispered, her voice as soft as a breath. "Until the end… whatever it is."
"Until the end. Always… I promise."
After a few minutes, they left the alley, the sun still burned bright above.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" Seina asked, noticing Thalya's shaken expression. "You don't have to go home yet."
"I don't know…" Thalya shrugged.
Seina pointed toward a hill on the edge of the city, with a single bench beneath a tree.
"What do you say we head up there? The view's probably great from the top."
Thalya nodded, and a timid smile appeared on her face.
They walked in silence, but it wasn't a heavy silence — it was a shared, unspoken understanding. When they reached the hilltop, they sat on the bench.
The breeze played lightly with their hair, and Thalya held her cap to keep it from flying away.
"It's so quiet here…"
Seina looked down silently, lost in thought, but she noticed Thalya's combat boot buckle had come undone.
She stood almost immediately, then knelt in front of Thalya, taking her boot in her hands to fasten it.
"Seina," Thalya said in surprise, but didn't pull her leg back, "why'd you do that?"
"Because you look like you could collapse at any moment — and if you trip over your own shoe, that'll just make it worse," she replied.
A smile appeared on Thalya's face, this time genuine, tinged with both happiness and relief at not being alone.
"You're sweet, you know that?" she said, looking at Seina's messy dark hair.
Seina's brown eyes flicked up quickly; her ears turned red in an instant.
"I just tied your boot." She said, standing up and brushing her hands off on her shorts, averting her gaze. "That's all…"
"Yeah. That's all." She smiled.