“Mira?” Macy pushed open the door for Mira to let her in. “Is there anything wrong?” she wondered aloud when she noticed Mira breathing heavily. Mirabella was panting as well.
Mira responded with a tiny shake of her head while trying to keep up with her breath. Her hands were positioned on both of her knees as she tried to cool herself down. “Uhmm… May I go see Bella?” she asked after taking a deep breath.
“Uh, sure.” Macy’s brows were drawn together in wonder. In the absence of an explanation for Mira's unexpected arrival, Macy gently made a wobbly motion with her head and smiled. “Bella is in her room. She might be asleep after reading a boo--”
Even before Bella’s mother could finish her sentence, Mira said, “It’s okay.” Giving a little nod of her head to indicate agreement. “I’ll go and see Bella,” she continued. There was a pause in the middle of their conversation. The moment Mira noticed she was acting a little unusual based on the way Macy was looking at her, she let out a little nervous chuckle to herself. "Can I?"
“Are you sure everything is fine?” Macy pondered. Her words came out slowly and clearly in her voice.
"Yes," Mira quickly replied, with a little nod of her head. She could be heard stifling a hesitant laugh as she tried to avoid Macy's gaze. “Thank you!” She grinned, reassuring Macy that there was nothing to be concerned about, before walking away and racing to Bella’s room.
The moment Mira arrived reached Mira's chamber, she opened the door as swiftly as she could. She breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed Bella squirming and snoring softly on her bed. She walked over to Bella and ran her hands over her body, looking for any signs of black blotches.
There were a few on Bella’s left shoulder. The marks have spread all the way down to her lower arm, although they have already started to vanish.
Mira stared more profound into the marks, trying to figure out what it was. The marks were like ghosts, gradually fading away and seeping deeper into Bella’s skin.
“Hmm?” Bella only opened half of her eyes. “Why are you here?” she asked, rubbing her eyes as she attempted to adjust her vision due to the brightness of the room.
Mira assisted Bella in sitting up on her bed. “Why? Can’t I come over?” Mira responded.
Bella shook her head, disagreeing with Mira’s statement.
Mirabella then appeared, its jaws clenched around a ball in its mouth.
“Mirabella!” Bella jumped with a little less energy than she usually did and embraced the canine companion.
“Are you okay? You seem... weary,” Mira said, her voice tinged with worry as her brows wrinkled in concern.
Bella made another wobbly motion with her head. “I’m fine. I have only just gotten out of bed.” She pleasantly grinned and added, “My energy is still warming up.” Bella let out a small chuckle and continued cuddling Mirabella.
As expected, Mira, Bella, and Mirabella played until they were completely exhausted from their exertions. They trained Mirabella by playing with her and teaching her to sit, stand, speak, shake, run, and perform other canine feats. After that, they participated in cooking, marketing, and role-playing games. Mirabella donned a cape to represent her transformation into a superhero, whilst Bella represents the villain out to harm Mira.
After a few hours, Macy gently knocked on the door of Bella’s room and unlocked it with her other hand. Macy wasn’t even surprised when she saw the three of them all burned out. The room was soundless as they were all sleeping peacefully. Macy hesitates to have to wake Mira up, but she has to.
“Mira?” The moment Macy uttered Mira’s name and gently shook her shoulder, Mira opened her eyes. “It’s almost sundown, dear. Your mother might be looking for you already,” Macy stated in hushed tones so as not to disturb Bella.
Bella squirmed a little when Mirabella lifted her head away from Bella’s arm.
Mira and Mirabella headed down the stairs and patiently waited for Macy to finish packing the food.
“Here’s to you, little bud!” says Macy. Mirabella was given a piece of a treat by Macy and handed a paper bag containing a bunch of food containers to Mira. She requested Mira to bring them to Anastasia, her mother.
It was time for sundown.
Bella, who was upstairs in her chamber, unconsciously rose to her feet. Her eyes began to shine with a radiance of red. She floated in the air with her wavy hair billowing in the breeze.
During this time, Mira was saying farewell to Bella’s mother downstairs. They were about to leave when Mirabella began barking. Her head turned towards the upstairs.
“What?” Mirabella was barking nonstop. “Hey, Mirabella!” Mira scolded her dog when it didn’t stop.
After being scolded by Mira, Mirabella let out a quiet weep, covering her face with her paws as she whined.
“Oh, her ball. She forgot her ball,” Mira said to Bella’s mother, trying not to be embarrassed by Mirabella’s behavior.
Mira placed the paper bag on the kitchen countertop. “All right, all right. I’ll go get it, and then we’ll be on our way.”
Mirabella was tugging Mira’s clothes, attempting to prevent her from going to the second floor. “What? I told you I’d get it.” Mira continued her way.
Mirabella frantically followed Mira all the way upstairs and came to a halt in front of Bella’s chamber.
“It’s all right. After we get your ball, we’ll be on our way.”
Mirabella snorted and growled.
“That’s not nice. Bad dog!” Mirabella yawned when Mira pointed her index finger at her. “Hush, or you’ll wake Bella up,” she irritably whispered. She placed her index finger above her lips and nose, signifying to Mirabella that she needed to be quiet. “Geez, what the hell is up with you today?” she mumbled.
When Mirabella couldn’t stop Mira any longer, she whimpered and let out a soft howl that sounded worried, as if she were afraid.
As soon as Mira twisted the doorknob, Bella’s luminous eyes shut, and she collapsed on the floor. When Mira pushed the door open, she discovered Bella in a state of collapse.
Thud!
“BELLA!”
The sight of Bella’s body falling to the floor caused Mira to run over to her side immediately.
She took Bella’s head in her arms and laid it on her lap.
“Bella? Bella!” Bella’s face was gently tapped by Mira.
Mirabella frowned as she scooped Bella’s arm over her head.
“What happened?” asked Bella’s mother after dashing her way up the stairs when she heard the sound of something heavy falling and hitting the ground.
“I—I don’t know. She completely passed out.” Mira’s voice shivered.
After repeated unsuccessful attempts to awaken Bella, Macy carried her to the bed and dialed the number of a friend who works as a doctor in the hospital. The phone kept ringing and ringing, but no one answered. She attempted to reach the nurse’s station, and on her first attempt, the phone was answered by a member of the nursing staff.
“Good afternoon. Vendero Medical Center. Nurse Ivy speaking. How may I help you?”
“Hi! Yes. Uhmm... M—my daughter fainted. Is Doctor Shaun around?” The tone of Macy’s voice trembled.
“I need more IV fluids!” yelled a doctor from the hospital.
“More patients are coming in. You call all the other nurses slacking to be on call. Now!” The chief doctor ordered.
“Have you checked his vital signs?”
“Hey, Nurse Hendrick! Take care of this patient.”
The hospital sounded like it was in a frenzy.
“Doctor Shaun is currently occupied with other matters. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but the hospital is currently at capacity. Our ambulance is also unavailable at this moment. A lot of patients are still waiting to be transported to other hospitals. Please do not hesitate to contact another health center as all of our staff is now unavailable at this time. I hope you understand. Thank you!” The nurse hung up the phone immediately and hurried to the nurse’s resting cubicle to call the other nurses.
“What do we do?” Mira asked, her voice filled with worry.
Bella’s mother attempted to contact the other hospitals, but all were packed.
[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬
“M—mom.” Mira burst into tears.
“How is she doing?” Anastasia asked.
Macy shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Still not responding.”
“Shouldn’t we bring her to the hospital?”
“The hospitals are full. I’m--I’m afraid...” Bella’s mother was quivering with fear.
“What if... she’s like--” Macy hesitated for a second. “She’s like all the other patients in the hospital right now?” She crumpled down on her knees, brushing the hair from her face with her hands. “I’m worried about what will happen if she doesn’t wake up like the others. What am I supposed to do, Anastasia? Bella is all that I have. I—I can’t live without her.” Macy cracked into tears. “She’s my life.”
“Everything will be alright.” Anastasia attempted to soothe Macy’s agitation.
Mira took a sniff of her snot. “Bella is a tough girl. I’m sure she’ll wake up.” With her other hand, she squeezed Bella’s hand firmly.
It was beginning to get dark. Mira and Anastasia needed to go home.
Mira, on the other hand, asked her mother if she could remain at Bella’s side. Anastasia permitted her to stay and returned home all by herself, bringing the food containers with her.