"Hello, Milla... How are you feeling?" He found her way of speaking strange.
"Happy, now that I can see you in person once again..." Her charming smile confused him.
"What are you saying... we see each other every day..."
"You know what I'm talking about, Elzen, that day you looked straight into my eyes and our mana connected for an instant."
"Ma-Manila? I-I felt something, but I couldn't believe it..." His face went pale as he remembered that moment. What he had been looking for for so long was right in front of him, but at the same time, it felt strange.
"Yes, well... almost. I don't have much time, after all, it's time for me to deal with this with her, but I just want you to know that you were the best thing in my life, even if it was brief, and that even if you feel guilty, you shouldn't."
She says in a calm voice, her senses bombard his brain with messages telling him that she is Milla, the girl he has gradually become enchanted with because of her free and rough ways, but his instincts know by the way she speaks and the look she shows when she talks to him, that person is Manila.
"What are you talking about? What's going on?" His hand grips hers tightly; he doesn't want to let her go, not again.
"Don't despair. She'll talk to you when we wake up again. Just wait, please." Her smile slowly fades. She gently kisses his hand and falls asleep.
What is happening? This was the only question in his head: how could she be Manila, when she acts so differently, and even her body has changed so much since the last time he saw her? The day she looked into her eyes and looked deep down into her inner self, he felt something. Something that brought peace and tranquility, exactly as when he was with her before.
While Elzen was dealing with his strange encounter, inside Milla's mind, both girls were looking at each other.
"Hi again, Milla. Sorry to come without an invitation, but we need to talk." Manila was smiling like a sisterly love smile.
"Hello, I overreacted again and exhausted my body, right?" Milla was not surprised by Manila's appearance.
"Yes, but hey, you deal with those guys, except for us, no one got hurt, you saved that gentle waitress from that horrible group."
"At what cost, now I'm here with you, our bodies are in a bad shape, and you talked to Elzen...Why did you do that?" The surroundings of her mind became agitated, and a reddish light began to stir up the mood.
"You don't need to be angry, it was a thoughtless decision, I missed him. Even being happy for you sharing some moments with him, I craved for his lips and his glare. So, I am sorry for acting without thinking." Slowly, a red mist was filling the room, and she was angry.
"What will happen if he says something to Boltu? They will probably hunt me down, trying to bring you back and treat me like a demon or something worse. This will make my, no, our plans to get back at that disgraceful family." Moving around, thrashing her arms around, all signs of impatience that she so much avoided showing, but here she can show her true self.
"You don't know him, as I do, so I understand your anger and frustration. But now it's not the time to worry about that; we need to solve this." Manila opens her arms.
"What? Solve what? Are you going to take back control?"
"No, it's not who will take control or what. We are not different. I know our "relationship" started horribly, but if we use our minds together, we can understand one thing: we are the same person."
Milla looks confused by her statement; they are not the same. Manila had almost their entire life free to do whatever she wanted, but she chose not to get angry, not fight back, to be used and abused by others. Different from her, Milla wanted to deliver punishment to those who wronged her, make them pay for everything, and when she finally got a little control, she did that, and it was amazing.
"We are not the same. You are weak. You let people do whatever they want, never complain, and let them treat you like trash for years. I never let anyone who insulted or hurt me be free from the deserved punishment."
"Your words hurt, especially when I thought you would understand what I had to do." The red mist was now fighting for space with a blue fog, fighting each other for space in that limited dark room. "Yes, I was weak, I was a little girl trying to survive all that horrible experience. I never fought before because I couldn't or had any confidence I could do something against it."Manila approaches Milla, pointing her index finger at her chest.
"It's easy for you to say I was weak, that I was letting them do that to me, but I was weak! You could only burst into anger and kill all those people after years of me enduring all that alone!" Her cheeks were red and puffed, letting all her feelings go out with her words.
"What would happen to me if I were a rebel? That bastard expelled our mother, and her only sin was giving us birth on the wrong day! He was already treating me like a lesser being; imagine what he would do to me if I were not obedient?"
Milla felt cornered; she couldn't muster words to answer Manila, but she didn't want to admit it. Her eyes avoided looking directly at Manila. It was then that Manila, in an unusual gesture, hugged her tightly. The environment changed from a conflict between the blue and red fog to a peaceful purple tone.
"I know you are afraid, I am too. I don't know what the future will bring, if what I'm thinking will make me or you disappear, but I don't see any better option than moving forward." Her voice was sweet and caring, giving a secure feeling.
"I-i don't want to go, I like to feel everything with my body, to talk to people, to stay silent waiting for my prey...I don't want to lose that." Milla was shaking; the thoughts of disappearing were too much to hold, and she wanted to continue being bathed by the sun.
"I know...I know. I'm afraid, too. I don't want to stay in the darkness longer than I already have. But right now, we are just hurting ourselves, your doubts, insecurities, and all the stress you're feeling, it's because of our infighting, our energy is in chaos." She pats Milla's hair, trying to calm her.
"I need you to work with me. Our body will not hold much of this difference in our mana density. So I need you to concentrate, focus on our mana, and let's just be what we've always been, a single person."
"But, if we became something different, if both of us just disappeared with this." The fear in Milla's voice increased.
"My dear..." Manila gently kisses her forehead. "We are already becoming one, don't you see or feel the little changes in the way you live? Before, you were a force of nature that just wanted to hurt anyone in your sight. Now you take care of the little Aimel when it's needed, ask for advice from Ghord and Alliah, you even started to make little conversations with your colleagues at work, and I don't need to say how slowly but charming you were with Elzen."
Manila places her hands on Milla's face and gently presses her forehead to Milla's.
"You don't need to panic, I'll be here with you all the time, we will be free, we will be complete." Her soothing voice slowly started to encourage Milla.
"Even when I said or thought many times, I never hated you; I just hated those who are evil against you."
"I know, my dear, I know."
The two mists started to move fast, filling the entire room, making no space for any light. Then, in a flash, they combined into one, a bright purple one. Growing fast, a blinding light covered both girls. In the blink of an eye, Milla was not in that room anymore; she was looking at the ceiling of a familiar place, her room.
A single mana lamp, the light yellow painted plaster that covers the entire room, the sweet smell of lavender coming from a little bottle on the nightstand close to her bed, and sleeping in the comfortable armchair was Alliah. With a small fluffy blanket covering her, she looks tired.
Her body hurt like never before, her movements were slow, and it was a struggle to sit up. This was a new sensation for her; she had never had trouble recovering. It was then that she remembered the moments inside her mind. Had she changed? Was Manila now in control? Many other questions distracted her from the pain.
"Oh! You're finally awake!" Ghord's emotional voice woke up Alliah, who stood up immediately to hug Milla.
"You scared us, my dear!" A few tears ran down her face as she hugged her tightly. Milla's body hurt more with this gesture, but she didn't care about that now.
"I'm...sorry, was I...unconscious for too long?" She asked, confused, her head still feeling a little light.
"Oh dear, don't worry about that. The good thing is you are awake now." Ghord approached her, giving a hug. "You must be famished! I will prepare a hearty meal for you!"
His enthusiasm and pure happiness are like a refreshing cold breeze on a hot summer day; even not feeling well, she could smile seeing him so full of energy. Alliah sat in the bed at her side, holding her hand while caressing her hair.
"After you eat some good food, I will prepare a warm bath for us, don't need to worry about anything because I can wash you with care. I know you are feeling some discomfort; your body's reaction when I hugged you was the signal."
"It's okay...but, could you tell me...how long I've been unconscious?"Her eyes showed how worried she was.
"It's been...ten days, my dear. After the fight, we arrived as fast as we could at the tavern. That guard Elzen was at your side, his expression scared us, but he explained that you were in a stable condition, just needed some rest. Never thought you would be sleeping for so long, and each day you looked as if you were in pain, it worried us a lot."
"T-ten days... I need to...work...there are things I need to do..." In a hurry, Milla tried to stand up but gave up when a wave of pain hit her hard.
"You still need to rest, Milla. Don't worry about work; things are going smoothly for us right now. Ghord is taking a few days off work so you can focus on your recovery."
"T-there is... no time... to rest... after the meal, I need to return to work." The urgency in her voice and actions worried Alliah. Milla was always a hard-working woman, but never sounded so desperate for it.
"Dear, what is happening? Why are you in such a hurry?" As any good mother, Alliah's instincts sensed something was wrong. Milla's been a good friend since they met almost a year ago, but she grew fond of her and treated her like an older sibling of Aimel.
"S-sorry...I can't say now..." Milla could not face her directly, growing Alliah's worries, but right now, that would be the only answer she would get.
"It's okay, dear, but I promise you will tell me when you feel comfortable, okay?
With a weak smile, Milla agreed. Not long after Ghord appeared and helped her go to the dining room, they would have a nice meal with the whole family. Aimel was happy to see her walking again. She hugged her with all the strength her little arms could muster; They even laughed, having a nice moment together. Later that day, gentle knocks came from Milla's bedroom door.
"Come in, it's open." She was lying comfortably in her bed, using a fresh pajama set that Alliah had prepared for her. The door opens, and carrying a flower bouquet, Elzen smiles shyly.
"Hello...Milla?" He closed the door behind him.