Soran almost escorted me outside when I returned to the hospital with my new appearance. It took a lot of convincing and me showing him his literal contract for him to believe that I was his boss. The girls were over the moon when I went to say goodnight to them. I got a visitor later that night, Vaggie, once again coming in threw the window like fucking spiderman or some shit.
"Vaggie, how many times do I have to tell you-"
"Our contract, does it still stand?" she interrupts me, crossing her hands in front of her chest and giving me her signature glare.
"I mean, Charlie is safe, and you have been keeping me up to date on her well-being," I say as I sit down at my desk, and Meko sits contently on my lap.
"She knows who you are now; you can keep track of her without me around. There is no reason for you to keep quiet about who I am anymore. It makes sense now why you made such a strange deal with me. I couldn't figure out why you would care so much about some random Princess with whom you had hardly any connection," she sighs. "She can't know, Vera. It will ruin everything we have built up together. She will never look at me with the same caring gaze or give me the warmth of her dreams," Vaggie looks down at my carpet with sad eyes.
"Are we even talking about the same person? Would you fight for my sister? Would you protect her no matter what? Vaggie, if you want some serious advice from me, you should tell her yourself. It is no business of mine to tell Charlie something that is not mine to share. You guys love each other; even the blindest wombats could see that. As long as Charlie loves you and you love her, I have nothing to say about your situation. I want Charlie to be happy no matter the cost, and if you can do that for her, she can look past this, and you guys can get past it together. But to do that, you must open up about your past and be honest with her."
Vaggie sat looking at the ground for a long time.
"I do love Charlie. I love her so much it hurts. I will never let anyone harm her; I can't see her hurt." Vaggie gets up from the chair, comes around my desk, and awkwardly hugs me. They will both be fine. When you truly love someone, you would give up the world for them or watch it burn down to save them. I would learn the hard way what it means to give up something for someone you genuinely love.

We walk our way over to Charlie's when Helia starts having a coughing fit, he removes his hand from his mouth, blood coating the palm of his hand. Helia is running out of time.

Helia and I arrived at the hotel and walked through the already-open wall. I'm talking about the same wall that has been blown to bits about six times in less than a year. At this point, Charlie might as well leave it open, really letting the breeze into the living room. I noticed a very familiar head of pink hair in a high ponytail.
"Why hello, Cherri," I greet her, and she spins on her heel to look at me.
"Uh, hi? Have we met before," she stares back at me in utter confusion and crosses her arms in front of her chest.
"That's Doc Vesp; she had a bullshit Winx transformation and now looks like that. She is also Charlie's older sister," Angel explains from the couch, not bothering to look up from his phone.
"Well, I'll be damned. You are looking hot as fuck, getting laid, I see, Doc, or should I refer to you as your Highness," she raises an eyebrow at Helia, who turns bright red beside me and covers his mouth with an open palm and grabs hold of my sleeve.
"Amusing, next time you come to the ER with a sex-related-"
"Ayo, calm down, Doc. Why have you been hanging around this dingy hotel anyway?" she asks me as Helia tugs on my sleeve like a kid would to his mother at the grocery store.
"I run the clinic here for the guests. We're heading to Heaven with Charlie and Vaggie," I explain as I feel Charlie pick me up.
"Sorry, Vera. The portal's here!" she says as I squirm around. She tosses me through a pastel hole, and Helia catches me on the other side.
"Would now be an appropriate time to say a pickup line about falling from Heaven?" he grins at me.
"It would be backwards, considering I just fell up to Heaven in a sense," I pat his chest lightly, and he set my feet on the ground.
"Vaggie! Vera! Look at this place. Isn't it so clean? Isn't it amazing!" Charlie catches my attention as she starts walking down the golden road. This place resembles Charlie's depiction of Heaven, a pastel crayon set puking. Everything is bright and slightly irritating to my eyes.
"Hiya! Welcome to Heaven! Can I get your name, please?" A blonde angel who looks like a boy scout who attends church every Sunday pops up from behind a pedestal. Now, that has to be a personal Hell, sitting behind a pedestal waiting for people to die and maintaining a happy demeanour as the first face of Heaven. Smiling that much has to have some health consequences.
"I'm Charlie Morningstar, and this is my sister Vera Morningstar," the boy scout looks for our names to come up empty and question if we have ended up in the right place.
"Saint Peter, we can take it from here," two Seraphims float down from above, again blinding me with their presence. Do people in Heaven develop eye problems because of all the bright colours up here?
"Greetings, daughters of the Morningstar. I am Sera, the High Seraphim of Heaven; you are gifted to be here," the taller one greets us as the smaller one excitedly runs over to the four of us. Saint Peter Boy Scout starts breaking out into song as they open the pearly gates and let us in. The streets are so reflective that if I fell on my face, I would get an HD view of my own failure. I watched Saint Peter float around the promenade, singing about how great it was to live in Heaven; the only thing I could focus on was how much he was moaning. Without context, you would think that he is getting fucked during the song if you were only listening in. I mean, they were drawn and out and questionable at best; this man was full-on getting off in the streets of Heaven.
Emily guides us through the street, explaining that she wants to show us so many things while we are in Heaven.
"And we could get ice cream! Oh, and you have to go see the zoo; they have the most adorable and squishable animals that you will find anywhere!" she explains with literal sparkles in her eyes as Charlie squeals in uncontainable excitement.
"Do they have koalas?" she happily jumps up and down as Emily grabs her hands and bounces alongside my sparkling sister.
"Of course they have koalas! We have got to go now!" Emily happily pulls Charlie along, and Vaggie follows them with a scowl. Helia and I stick back and wait for Sera. I need to get to the herbal garden to get the flowers.
"How can I help you, eldest daughter of the Morningstar?" Sera came to where we were standing after a while, but I'm not sure where she went.
"If you be so kind as to point me toward the greenhouses. I need a particular flower from here. It's crucial to help one of my patients," I explain to her as she tries to mask her surprise.
"Are you a doctor? In Hell, the recognition betrays her as she puts two and two together.
"Yes, I am Doctor Vesper. I run the clinics in Hell, helping sinners recover from their ailments. The identity thing is complicated," I explain as she takes a deep breath and forces a smile.
"Since it is for medicinal purposes and the good of your patient, I will ensure that you receive the best quality we offer. It would be sinful to deny medical care to any soul," she snaps her fingers once, and a young girl comes over with a broad smile. A sense of familiarity washes over me. Her long blonde hair is held back with a pink headband, and her bright pink eyes stare at us curiously.
"Molly here will escort you to the greenhouses. When you are done there, please stop by my office. I want to discuss your medical practices further," Sera says, spreading her wings and floating away.
"Hiya, friends! I love showing people around. Follow me this way, and we will get what you need," she says with a wide grin as she starts skipping in a direction.
"Does she remind you of someone?" I whisper to Helia as we both follow the excited girl around Heaven.
"Yeah, I'm not too sure who she reminds me of, though," Helia said, looking at the back of her head closely.
"You guys dress funny. And what's up with your eyes? They are gorgeous. I just haven't seen someone like you before. What's Hell like? I hope it's not too horrible; my brother is down there. I worry for him a lot- oh, we are here. Let's head inside!" She happily pulled the door open for us, and Molly had a whole-ass conversation with herself. I didn't manage to respond to anything she said. Whatever she was saying got completely blocked out by the view in front of me.
Verdant shrubs that I have only read about are overgrowing the area, and nature completely surrounds us as soon as we walk in. Ancient leaves give off their fragrant mossy smell. A thick dampness coats the air as I admire the healthy steams of the nearby blue cornflower. To have such an immaculate ecosystem would be my wettest dream.
I hop the fence and venture further into the greenhouse forest, taking note of the serpentine vines growing wherever they please and the various buds of future plants making their way off the forest floor. I think Helia was looking for me, but I was too entranced by the memorizing forest surrounding me. In a small clearing, I found exactly what I came here looking for: the Winter Dratarde flower. Only one grew strongly, getting hit with just the right amount of sunlight.
I carefully approach the flower and pull out the book from my bag. I flip the pages to find the drawing I saw of it previously from the nameless author. It was a perfect match. I put my bag beside me and pulled out the container to store it for safekeeping. I was about to start uprooting the flower carefully when a shovel flew out of nowhere and smacked me hard on the hand.
"Oweee!" I yell louder than I intend as a cranky old lady stares down at me with pure disgust. Her white hair is tied up in a tight bun, and a permanent scowl is engrained into her expression. A grey sun gown hugs her aged body, specks of dirt mixed in with the fabric and grass stains that will never come out of the fibres. She hits me with the shovel again as I stand up and back away from the crazy broad.
"And what do you think you are doing in my greenhouse? You think you can come in here like you own the place and start grabbing my babies like that??! What the Hell is wrong with kids these days? And look at how you are dressed! It's improper; you are showing so much skin that I might mistake you for a naked hobo! How dare you put your filthy Hell hands on my Winter Dratarde flower, back you heathen," she hisses at me, swinging the shovel once again.
"Listen here, you old decrypted-" Molly comes over just in time and takes the shovel from the old hag before some creative insults leave my lips.
"Asha, this is Vera. She is our guest here, and you should not hit guests with shovels. Don't make me call Sera again," Molly says, removing the shovel from the miserable old lady's hand as her eye visibly twitches.
"Tell our guest that my plants are off limits," she snarls at me. I wonder how this hag ended up in Heaven.
"Asha, Sera said Heaven would provide the Hell Doctor with whatever she needs to help out one of her patients. They have both come a long way for this plant—" the old hag cuts Molly off.
"I don't give a fuck, she can suck my dic-"
"Asha, we talked about your language!" Molly places her hands on his hips as she scolds the older woman. "I'm sorry about her; she woke up on the wrong side of Heaven this morning. I promise she is a lovely soul when she has had enough rest," Molly tries to defend the old lady.
"I slept fine; I just hate people! And this little degenerate rubs me the wrong way! I think I would rather drop dead than help her with anything!" she declares, trying to get the shovel back from Molly.
"Why don't you do us all a favour and follow up, you miserably bat," this lady pisses me off. What could possibly be her problem? Helia needs this flower, or he will die; it's wasting away in this greenhouse. I could use it to help someone.
"I would probably end up in Hell and have to see your face; that's more of a punishment than this existence," the old lady fires back as I feel my patience running out.
"What the Hell is your deal, lady? I need this flower; someone will die if I don't take it. What do you need it for anyway?" I asked her harshly.
"It's a pretty colour that I like to look at," Asha answers shortly, defiantly crossing her arms.
"Asha, we talked about being more friendly when you have visitors! This is not the definition of that word!" Molly scolds her further. I take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose.
"Okay, Asha. What would it take for me to have this flower? I need it and can't leave without it," I explain clearly and calmly. Her wrinkled face shifts slightly, and she takes a moment to reflect on my words.
"Have you fallen in love?"
The question catches me off guard, and my brain glitches out as I attempt to process what she just said.
"Come on, girl! I don't have all day; I have matters to attend to! Have you fallen in love?" The old lady presses on.
"I have. Why?" I get nervous; I feel anxious. Something isn't right.
"Because there is an extraordinary method to growing this flower. It's rare because of the condition that needs to be met. I was the one who met the condition a very long time ago to grow this very Winter Dratarde flower. I regret it every waking moment, but if you are serious about saving your patient, you too will meet the requirements," a saddened look crosses Asha's face. "For this type of flower to blossom, the memories of your love are required. The person you fell for, who they are, what they mean to you. Their face, everything you grew fond of. You will no longer remember the person you loved; you will have to give it all to the flower to replace the one I have grown already."
I hear a twig snap behind me as Helia reveals himself from the shrubbery with a pissed-off expression.
"There is no way in Hell will ever do that! That's ridiculous; I could never ask that of her!" Helia gets a shovel to the face; I'm not sure how she got it back from Molly. This woman is quite spry for looking like she has one foot in the grave.
"I wasn't talking to you, you prick! Sit down and shut up; I'm talking with Vera," Helia holds his bloody nose and almost retorts when I stop him.
"The person you fell in love with, did you find each other again? Everything you loved just vanished into the flower?" I stare down at the plant in disbelief; why did it have to be this flower out of all the flowers in existence??
"Nah, whoever they were didn't bother falling in love with me again, whoever they were," despair radiates off the old woman as I feel bad for her for a brief moment; then I remember the pain in my hand and resend my pity.
"There has to be another way to grow this flower! You are an experienced gardener; why would you choose the dumbest method?" I question the old lady as she swings the shovel once again. This time, I grab the handle from her and chuck it far away into the trees behind her.
"I was obsessed with this flower; it drove me crazy trying to figure out how to get it to bloom. I would take it all back if I could. If you want to save this young man from his illness, you will need to sacrifice your memories of him." I'm unsure how she figured out Helia was sick, but I looked at him to see horror crossing his expression.
"No, don't even consider it. Stop it! Don't even think about this at all; we are leaving now," Helia holds his bloody nose with one hand and grabs me with the other hand.
"This is our last option, Helia." I stop the two of us, and my voice feels smaller as he spins to look at me.
"You're dying; this is the only way to heal you. You need to think of the girls; you need to think of you, Helia. Once you have the flower, you need to get Adam's blood. I won't remember anything; I will forget you," hearing the words leave my own mouth made everything more real. I will forget him. I won't know Helia anymore, his smile, his touch, his scent. All gone to save him from this illness. A cruel twist of irony if you really think about it.
"Please don't. I'm serious, Vera," he pulls me in for a tight hug; I nuzzle into his chest and feel his heartbeat on my cheek.
"I'm sorry for this, Helia," I shove him back into a plant that latches onto his limbs as he tries to fight the vines holding him in place. He starts pleading for me to stop as I head over to Asha, who is holding out a seedling. I take it in the palm of my hand as I try to block out Helia's voice, which is growing more panicky. I kneel on the ground with the seedling, place it in the dirt, and place the palms of my hand over the mound. No matter when or where we are, I know I will always fall in love with you. Thank you for everything, Helia.