Kenta dropped by again several hours after the sunset. He brought a parcel of assorted fruits.

"You're being way too generous, you know. Arigatou gozaimasu. But I didn't expect to have you visit me without Johan. What is he up to?"

"Dou itashimashite. Johan is busy tonight, but he told me to check on you."

"I can't shake this feeling that there's something you're not telling me." I said as I peeled an orange. "How is he holding up, really? You can be honest with me. If he gets mad at you for talking with me about his issues, then tell him to speak with me. I'm not letting him breakdown alone because he sure as heck never left me alone when I went through my own breakdown."

"Returning the favor, I see!" Kenta flashed me his signature smile, which vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Johan has been seeing a counselor after many psychosis episodes in a row. He suffers from visual and auditory hallucination, as well as a delusion born of paranoia. He has been rejecting physical affection from me because he's adamant I'm gonna die if I touch him."

"That's rough, you not being able to touch him." I replied. "What exactly does Johan hallucinate about? I'd assume it has something to do with Sherlyn?"

"You're very astute as always, Nardho. Yeah, he hears voices. In one especially nightmarish episode, he thought he heard Sherlyn sang the lesser known stanzas of You Are My Sunshine but most of the words were modified and in past tense. The lines that frightened him shitless were these: I had loved you and made you happy, but you never said the same. You left me to love another, now you'll regret it all. Then he thought he saw a glimpse of her jeering at him while derisively whispering you had my hearts inside of your hands and you played it to the beat. I have no clue what that last line was from, do you know?"

"It seems to be a line from an ancient song. Wait, let me think." I mentally went through the list of songs my mom had exposed me to through her obscure archeological research into the 21st century. "Rolling In The Deep. It's from a singer called Adele. Funny how Sherlyn knew that song, she didn't strike me as 21st century enthusiast, then again she might have taken an archeology class or something. But back to Johan. Does counseling help him a bit?"

"His psychosis episodes are not as frequent now. He used to have them like five days in a week, but now the frequency has gone down to like three days a week. Unfortunately, those episodes are still disturbing, no doubt. It pains me that I can't even comfort Johan by hugging him."

"I'm so sorry that this affects you too, Kenta, but if the counseling sessions work maybe he'll gradually let you be affectionate with him again. In the meantime, maybe try to find some non-physical ways to show your love? What about bento boxes? You still make them regularly?"

"I do. His appetite is almost non-existent nowadays but he still tries his best to finish my cooking and he often apologizes for having psychosis episodes." Kenta sighed before glancing at his wristwatch. "By the way, it's getting late. I shouldn't keep you up, Nardho. Good night."

"Good night. Tell Johan not to give up on getting better."

---

"Perched on a steady branch of a magnolia tree, a finch wails in sorrow..."

Mom was singing sweetly as she stood over the sink, washing the rice she would use to make chicken porridge. I hummed along as I watched her pour the washed rice over a fine-mesh sieve. She turned her head to face me and smiled before asking what I was doing in the kitchen.

"I want you to teach me how to cook, mom!" I said. "And maybe while we're cooking you can also teach me the rest of that song about a finch. Why is the bird wailing?"

"Oh, Nardho!" Mom pinched my cheek, laughing. "I thought you'd never ask. But you're almost seven now, old enough to be trusted with handling knives and other cooking utensils. Okay, I'll teach you, but first, where's Nardhia?"

"She's been sulking in her room and avoiding me." I exhaled. "Maybe she's still angry about the other day when Johan and I teased her about being a rascal. Mom, are we bad brothers?"

"No!" Mom chuckled. "There are meaner things you boys could have done to your sister. Since you seem worried, though, why don't you bring her a bowl of porridge once it's ready? That should patch things up between you two. By the way, what were you saying about a song?"

"The finch, mom." I whined and tugged on her apron. "Is the bird sad and lonely?"

"It might be lamenting the death of its soulmate." Mom looked out the windows, eyes fixed on the barely visible crescent moon, and sighed wistfully. "Your grandma taught me the ballad after your grandpa passed away. There are several versions of that ballad ever since its creation centuries ago, but in her version the spirit of the male finch was said to have flown to the moon."

"Soulmate." I whispered. "Is dad your soulmate, mom? Do you think I'll meet mine someday?"

"I do love him, but I love you and your siblings even more." She kneeled down and took my hand in hers. "And yes, we all have soulmates, but they're not always the people we end up marrying. You'll understand when you're older. For now, just know soulmates can come in many forms."

---

I groaned as a bright light brought me out of the dreamland. Apparently a nurse, I assumed the same one from yesterday, had opened the blinds to let the sunshine illuminate the room.

"Good morning!" she greeted me as she adjusted the flow rate of the intravenous drip. "How are you feeling? Any soreness on your ribcage? I have some acetaminophen to help with pain."

"I'm okay, just groggy. Is that breakfast?" I pointed at the tray by my bedside. "It smells good."

"Yes. Chicken porridge and boiled egg," the nurse smiled. "Very nutritious."

Oh. My favorite food. What a coincidence.

"You have two visitors in the waiting room. Are you in the mood for some company?" the nurse asked. "Some patients in this unit just want to be left alone this early in the morning. It's not technically visitation hour yet, but if you don't mind then I can let your guests in."

"I'll be happy to see them." I said in between bites of boiled egg. "Bring them in, please."

The nurse nodded and left. She returned with none other than Tony and Nardhia.

"Nardhia, I thought you and Tony were hiding in a remote village?" I rubbed my eyes.

"We were!" she leaned closer to hug me. "Until Neesa told us you're hospitalized. Oh, Nardho, y-you have n-no idea h-how anxious w-we have been!" she stammered. "During the three weeks we w-waited for you to open your e-eyes, I kept having strange dreams about finches. Do you remember that sorrowful ballad mom loved to sing for us?" She sobbed onto my hospital gown.

"That's odd. I had that weirdly specific dream too. But everything's fine, Nardhia." I hugged her tighter. "This finch," I pointed a finger at myself. "Isn't flying to the moon anytime soon."

"We thought we'd lose you!" Tony chimed in. "Nardhia was totally freaking out the whole time, convinced that those dreams were bad omens. My not being spiritual, I brushed her off at first but when weeks passed and you were still in deep sleep I grew more and more worried."

"I feel like the luckiest man alive to be surviving a gunshot," I replied. "And I'm lucky to have friends and family who care about me. Tony, thank you for being concerned."

"I don't get this Linda woman," he scratched his head. "Sure, Johan might have made a mistake, but that woman really blew things out of proportion. There's nothing logical about her."

"Maybe she wants Johan to feel the pain she felt." I answered. "Maybe that was the reason she shot me. She lost a sibling and now she wants him to lose his. I could be wrong, though."

"I think you're right on the money!" Nardhia exclaimed. "But she's too far gone. What did she expect, for Johan to keep his pretense up by continuing to date Sherlyn even if he was unhappy?"

"I understand where Johan was coming from with Sherlyn," Tony crossed his arms. "But that's because I know his background. I don't think Linda has any awareness of his sexuality and how he was lying to himself for who knows how long. If you ask me, Johan was brave for finally telling Sherlyn he was never interested in her. It would've been easier for him to keep pretending to be into her given how at that time he still lived in a society that condemned queer folks."

"Yeah, I see your point. I understand that in the beginning Johan was being deceptive and I'm not in any way justifying his deception, but there is no justification for what Linda has done to Nardho, either!" Nardhia remarked. "Linda is the personification of pettiness taken to an extreme. She has spite written all over her. Shooting an innocent person can never be justified!"

"Agree," Tony grunted. "I start to think Linda has problem letting go of the past. If she were a spirit, she'd be the type that lingers and can't pass on because of an unfinished business."

"Even the most resentful and vehement spirit can be pacified," Nardhia said. "But alas, she's no spirit and there's no appeasing her. She's Lucifer incarnate, I think. Just like how Lucifer being furious over God favoring Adam became his raison d'être, Linda's fervent fury fuels her."

"Calling her the incarnation of Lucifer sounds about right," Tony nodded. "By the way, Nardhia and I should get going so that you can get proper rest, but we'll visit you again tomorrow."

"Thank you so much for visiting."

"You're welcome. Get well soon, buddy."

---

In the afternoon, Moira visited me with Rain and Vannie. They had bruises and scars all over their necks, upper shoulders, and collar bones. I hesitantly asked them how they got injured.

"When you dropped to the floor and started choking on your own blood, Rain was the one who stayed calm and instructed us to call the EMT," Vannie looked at her partner adoringly. "But Linda tried to snatch their phone away. A tug-of-war ensued. It was a three versus one situation but we were outmatched because Linda was weaponized. That lunatic was gonna stab me when Moira stepped in to shield me and the knife slashed her just above her breasts. She bled a lot from the laceration and was transported to the hospital for blood transfusion."

"That bitch needs to be confined! How bad was the incision? Let me see, honey." I beckoned Moira to come closer so that I could inspect the gash. "That's a lot of stitches! You okay now?"

"Yes, no worries!" Moira placed her hand over the cut. "The doctors prescribed me some medication to prevent blood clots from forming in my veins and also to reduce swelling."

Linda hurting us is actually working in our favor, Rain signed. There's no way the court can just ignore this and let her walk away without repercussion. Since we can now prove that she was vengeful, the ramifications would be horrible for her. Her sentence would be a heavy one.

"But she's still at large, isn't she?" I sighed. "Unless Keith has updates on where she hides."

Oh, you bet he does! Rain's lips curved upward. Cunning and resourceful, that technician guy is. Apparently he had wanted to get the dirt on Linda ever since he began to realize how, as she climbed the ladder of leadership in the pharmaceutical company, she treated him more like a slave than a colleague of equal standing. So, he planted a hidden camera in her car. As it turned out, she fled to her old apartment, the one she used to share with Keith back when they were still best friends in Silver Pine University. That apartment is a perfect hideout since it is now a neglected, rundown building, a far cry from what it used to be thirty or so years ago.

"That's a good start, but we still need to lure her out before we go about demanding justice in court. How can we ensure she'll attend court proceeding?" I frowned. "Coercion?"

"Oh, we have a lot of things to fill you in!" Vannie grinned. "So, quite a funny story, but Izumi Sakamoto randomly texted me just to say hi and then before we knew it I shared more than I had intended in our conversations. You remember Izumi, right, the girl who was a year behind us in college? Ayumi's niece? I'm not gonna bore you with the details, but when she heard about the whole fiasco with Linda she brought the news to Ayumi, who offered to talk with Deandra because the Milton family, despite having fallen from grace, is still well-connected to attorneys. Guess what's next!"

"Whoa, okay, that's random but I'm glad Deandra can put her family's influential position into good use. Does this mean the Milton family's attorneys will deal with the whole business of trying to get Linda to come out of hiding and go to court hearing?"

"Yup!" Vannie enthusiastically gave me thumbs up. "And they'll not charge us for their service. Deandra said her aging father really wants to re-build the bridge he burned with the whole mining debacle. Surprising development, but hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"This is beyond my wildest dream, Vannie, a formidable former adversary turning into an ally. Do you have any other surprises for me?" I half-joked. Vannie, however, winked to Moira.

"We do!" Moira giggled. "Keith is dating Neesa. Nobody saw it coming but supposedly they became somewhat close while working together on locating Linda these past three weeks. Keith actually asked for my blessing before confessing to her, but really the only blessing he needs is from his son. George is super awkward about it, maybe because he's afraid Neesa would replace his late mom. As happy as I am for my cousin, I actually feel kinda bad for that boy."

"George's apprehension is understandable." I nodded. "But he seems like a good kid, hopefully he'll come around and accept her presence in his and his dad's life. Neesa deserves happiness. She's waited literally forever to get swept off her feet and this must feel glorious to her."