Page 315 of His Sunshine Baby

“Liam, I can’t heal that,” sobs my cousin. “I… I’m sorry I can’t…”

Damian walks up to her to hold her and comfort her.

I don’t know if Sylviana doesn’t have the strength to, but she just looks at us without adding a word. For a long while, we stay there, sobbing silently, waiting. Waiting.

It’s… I close my eyes and take deep breaths. I know she wanted us with her, but… it’s hard. I can even hear Danny crying from the kitchen. The house gets awfully quiet, and somehow, I know she’s gone. Sylviana is gone.

Liam’s crying gets even louder and more erratic, and Nora gently shifts her position to hug him. I can’t deal with that. I turn and cry against Nate’s shoulder, unable to hold back. Moon Goddess, why? Why Sylviana, of all people? She did nothing but protect us!

I can’t take it. I can’t stay here, with everyone crying around her body. I need some air. I run out of the house, into the garden, to take deep breaths. My head is spinning, but I’m just trying to calm down, calm down my frenetic sobs and breathe. Breathe, just breathe…

“Sunshine…”

Nate comes and hugs me, trying to comfort me. I’m so fucking tired. Tired of crying, tired of losing people. If it wasn’t for my mate, my daughter, my family being here, I know I’d be a fucking mess. I’d collapse and crumble. I hear him sigh against my ear.

“It’s been a fucking long day…”

I nod. When will this all be behind us? I feel like the end of the world is just taking forever.

“Boyan?”

We turn around and, standing at the entrance of Nora’s house, Boyan is there, carrying Sylviana’s body. What the fuck is going on now? He just walks out, looking determined. Daniel and Nora come out from the house behind him, both as confused as I am.

“What’s he doing?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” sobs Danny. “He just said he had to do something, and he…”

Whatever it is, Boyan is walking away from us, and we need to get moving if we want to follow him wherever he’s headed. Liam and Damian soon come out too, rushing behind us. It takes a while, but Boyan keeps walking, deaf to all our questions. Daniel is freaking out, and Liam doesn’t even say anything, Damian almost has to support him…

Boyan takes us to the border, another part of the city. Where the hell are we? This is such a deserted part of our territory, why would he take Sylviana’s body all the way here? He suddenly puts her down on the ground. This makes no sense. We all stare at each other, confused, but Boyan retreats, and opens his arms to push us to retreat too. What’s going on?

Suddenly, something happens with Sylviana. Her butterfly! I had forgotten about her pet thing. It comes out of her chest, or maybe an inside pocket I didn’t see. Is it supposed to survive its owner?

The butterfly flies above her, and I realize that thing is getting bigger. Much bigger. Before our shocked eyes, it grows until its wings are as wide as a human being. Some strange dust is coming out of it with each flap too, almost shining. Is that some witchcraft…? I exchange a look with Nora, but we are both lost.

“Look.”

Nate points to the ground, and I realize the butterfly’s dust is not simply falling, it’s moving to some specific spots. The dust piling up is slowly starting to write some enigmatic scriptures on the ground. I have no idea what that writing is, but it’s like gathering into shapes and circles around Sylviana’s body and lighting up. Something strange is going on.

“Since when was that here…”

“Sylviana did this,” suddenly says Boyan.

“And how the fuck do you know?” growls Liam.

“I just… remembered.”

Boyan looks confused, like he’s half-awake. Did she do something to him? How did he forget she did such a thing? I stare at the strange scene, and suddenly, the soil under Sylviana starts moving. It’s trembling, like there’s something underneath. What the heck is that!

“Step back,” orders Damian, pulling Nora and Liam away from it.

Nate has me retreat too, and Daniel pushes Boyan. Every part of the soil that was touched or inside the strange scriptures is moving and suddenly, Sylviana’s body starts being engulfed by it too.

“Sylviana!” yells Liam.

“Liam, no!”

Damian and Boyan both hold him back. Should we do something? I know Sylviana planned this, but… Slowly, the soil recovers her, digging under her and swallowing her in. Moon Goddess… Soon, her face is the last thing we see, and she disappears underneath the ground. I can’t believe what just happened, but it’s not over. The soil is still moving. No, it's shaking even more.

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