Addie gently tucked Era into the soft sheets of the enormous bed. For a while, the two of them talked under the dim candlelight. Era was full of questions, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"What's the human world like?" she asked. "Are the people kind there? What do you do there? Are their skies the same color? Do they also cry when they miss someone?"
Her questions poured out without a break, one after another. Addie tried to answer them, smiling softly at the little girl's innocence. At the same time, she was struggling within herself. She was trying to be a mother to Era—but how could she? She wasn't Serenphile. She wasn't the real mother. She was just… Addie.
Even knowing she was Serenphile herself… she couldn't feel it. Her heart didn't remember, her hands didn't know how to comfort a child like a mother would. It was like trying to wear someone else's soul.
Still, she tried.
Some emotions travel with us from one life to another. Some bloom only when we live among those we love. And some… some reach so deep they touch the soul itself. We are made of emotions—anger, love, jealousy, fear, longing. Even desire.
These emotions—they remind us that we are alive. That we exist. Without them, what proof do we have that we're here at all?
Addie looked at Era, now fast asleep, her tiny hands clutching the blanket. She leaned down, kissed her forehead gently, and got up.
She walked to her room, quietly. As she passed by the tall palace windows, a soft silver glow caught her eye. She looked up—outside, a giant moon hung low in the sky, illuminating the palace walls with its pale light.
"It's a planet," a calm voice spoke behind her. Addie turned. It was Lilith.
"People live there," Lilith said, standing beside her. "They're from the Angel World. It's our second home."
"You knew all along, didn't you?" Addie whispered.
Lilith smiled, her expression serene. She turned her gaze from the glowing orb in the sky and looked at Addie.
"I know humans very well," she said. "I know their fears, their strength, their hearts… everything. And you—Addie—were always meant to return here."
Addie's throat tightened. "But not like this," she said. "This… this isn't how it was supposed to be. It's too hard."
"Maybe," Lilith replied. "But this is your truth. You were made for this place. What happened… it wasn't that we couldn't bring you back, or couldn't save you. It's just that the universe had other plans."
"We tried," she continued. "But you had already gone. And you know… time flows differently between worlds. What is five seconds here becomes five years in the human world."
Addie stood still, processing every word.
"We saw your body," Lilith said softly. "But your soul… it had already chosen."
"You mean… I chose this?" Addie asked.
Lilith nodded. "Yes. If Serenphile's soul had stayed just a little longer, we could have offered her—offered you—a different life. Right here. In this world."
"Then why didn't I?" Addie asked, almost to herself.
"We don't know. Even we don't know the reason behind that choice," Lilith admitted.
Addie didn't respond. She simply turned away and walked slowly to her bed. Her room was massive, the ceilings high, and the candlelight casting gentle shadows on the ancient walls. A few old books lay on a table near the corner, written in a language Addie couldn't understand. She picked one up, flipped a few pages, then set it aside.
She lay in bed, but sleep refused to come.
Her mind wandered back to Earth. To the life she had there. Her family. Her boyfriend. Her ordinary, human life. What were they doing now? Were they looking for her? Did they miss her?
Suddenly, a soft knock echoed from the door.
"Can I come in?" a voice asked from the other side.
Addie sat up. "Who is it?"
"It's Grey."
She opened the door slowly. Grey stepped inside, holding a dark bottle. It looked like wine—something she instantly recognized from Earth.
He held out a glass to her. "Want some?"
"I don't drink," Addie replied curtly.
"No problem." He shrugged and walked to the chair. "I just thought we could talk."
Addie didn't move. "What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice sharp. "Why are you even here?"
Grey looked at her for a moment. "Is everything… okay?" he asked carefully.
"Do I look okay to you?"
"I mean… is it like it used to be?" he said, almost hopefully.
"Don't talk nonsense!" she snapped. "Stop pretending nothing changed. I'm not Serenphile anymore. I'm Addie. And I don't even know you. I'm here only for Era. After that—I'm leaving."
"Are you really?" Grey asked quietly.
That question caught her off guard. She looked away.
"I didn't ask for any of this," she said. "You brought me here against my will."
"We didn't bring you," Grey corrected. "Your soul brought you."
"Stop with this soul talk," she snapped again, rubbing her temples. "I had a life. People who loved me. And now I'm stuck in a place I don't understand, with memories I can't feel, with a child who calls me mother—but I don't even know how to be one."
Grey placed the bottle on the table and stood up. "You don't have to be anyone you're not. But don't deny who you were."
Addie stared at him, confused. "I don't remember being Serenphile. I only know Addie."
"Then start there," he said gently. "Don't force yourself to be who you were. Just… take care of Era. Talk to Lilith. Let the truth come to you slowly. You don't need to run from it."
Addie didn't reply. The silence stretched between them.
After a moment, Grey walked to the door.
"I'll leave the bottle here," he said. "Just in case."
He stepped out and closed the door softly behind him.
Addie sat back on the bed. The wine bottle stood on the table, untouched. Outside, the silence of the night deepened, as the moon slowly moved across the sky. Somewhere in the palace, the sound of distant wind echoed through the empty halls.
She lay back down, pulled the blanket over herself, and stared at the ceiling.
"Who am I?" she whispered to herself. "And why… did I come back?"
No one had the answer.
Not even the stars outside.