Stella woke up minutes after Tai-chi left.
"What a strange dream that was. It felt so real. It was like someone was bidding me goodbye."
*sigh, " Why do I feel so uneasy?"
She said as she placed her hand upon her chest.
She looked around and saw no sign of Tai-chi.
"Oh! Where has the little birdy gone?"
while she sat atop her bed, she noticed that the translucent curtains were blowing in the wind.
"The window, maybe he flew out. Hm, but I'm sure I closed it before going to bed last night."
" Was it a burglar? But it doesn't seem like I was robbed."
"Perhaps I forgot to lock it and it blew open?"
"...Well, it doesn't matter, I'm sure he'll be back soon."
She said as she closed the window gently.
"It's been a while and I still haven't shaken this feeling. It feels like something important to me had been ripped away. Why is that?
"...Could it be related to that dream I had?
Stella thought as she rested her head on the small wooden table while she on the floor.
" Whatever the reason, it's uncomfortable."
She thought as she closed her eyes to ease the troubled feeling.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring
"Ah!"
*Ring* *Ring *Ring
"Yes! Hello!"
Stella hurriedly got up and answered the phone.
"Cornello! Stop lazing around and get here! We need you more than ever! Packages are arriving non-stop to the company. We need you here NOW!"
"Yes sir! I- I'm on my way."
Stella was already dressed for work so she snatched her bag, locked her apartment, and took off.
"It's been quite hectic these days. Last week was like that too. The workload just keeps rising."
"Ugh, this feeling won't go away. I think I should have stayed at home..."
*Ring *Ring*Ring
"Cornello! Hurry up where are you!?"
"Sir, I'm going as fast as I..."
"Well Fast Is Not Good Enough! If I don't see you here in the next five minutes, YOU'RE FIRED!"
"Listen here mister! I've got 17 subjects all in ones and two PhDs! I don't need to work at such a low paying not to mention terrible ass job!! So you can fire me all you want! I'll get a better job in seconds Heck ready I already got accepted! I'm better than you by a million light-years! I don't need to work at your backwater establishment!! I quit!!"
She thought.
"Actually, I need to work at your backwater establishment. Being out of the spotlight is what I want most and this is the only job that has this going for me."
She once again thought to herself.
Her manager angrily yelled and he slammed the phone shattering it into pieces.
*sigh
"I better hurry. I think there's a shortcut nearby."
She quickly ran in the direction of thick hedges. Rushing through the brambles like a race car in a tournament, she continued until she arrived at a dirt road.
"Now, I think there should be an old building here somewhere. Aha! There it is."
"All I need to do is go through there and I'm practically at the company."
She was breathless when she arrived at the building. She grasped her aching chest and huffed using the door frame for support.
" This is all for the sake of keeping my job. I better get a raise when this is all over."
She cheered herself on.
"I can do it, I'm almost there. Just a little more! I can do this!
Bolting through the building like a bullet, she quickly reached the end.
"I'm home free!" *Huff, huff, huff, huff
She stood there too engulfed in trying to catch her breath, that she didn't realize,
*Krick...*Krick...
*CRASH!!
A large chunk of the building had fallen on top of her. With it, she was severely injured and became immobile under the pile of rubble.
*(In Avalon)*
" ugh!"
Tai-chi stumbled clenching his chest in his office. He felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Argh!"
"Some-something happened to my Stella!"
He glanced out the window and luckily for him, the lunar moons weren't separated yet.
"There's still time!"
Without hesitation, he flew to the world tree and succeeded at arriving on earth. He first checked the apartment but she wasn't there. Still, in his winged elf form, he searched the city. He caused a lot of confusion and fright among the Japanese.
"Stella! Stella! Where are you!? Stella!"
"Where is she?"
"It's around eight-thirty should already be heading to work."
"Right! The first time we met, she was heading back from work. So all I need to do is follow that route and I should be able to find her at her workplace."
Tai-chi walked in the direction. When he walked, he noticed a piece of Stella's suit stuck onto broken hedges and took it up.
"There is no mistaking it, this came off of Stella's jacket."
"She must be close!"
He saw a path between the hedges that Stella made when she broke through the bushes. He arrived at the old building in an instant.
"She's here. I just know it!"
He entered and saw her fingerprints on the door frame. He immediately started to look around. He was surprised when he saw the pile of rubble up ahead and saw Stella's hand sticking out from beneath.
"STELLA!"
Tai-chi shouted at the top of his lungs. Quickly, he began to uncover her.
"Stella! Stella! No this Can't be happening! Not to you! No! Not to my dear Stella!"
He yelled crying. He was hurting more than he ever had in his entire life. Tai-chi pulled and tossed the rubble aside at an incredible speed with water flowing from his Amethyst eyes. Under all the ruins appeared in front of him, a scene he never wanted to behold. When he saw Stella's face all covered in blood and his heart dropped, his blood ran cold and his face became drenched in tears.
Stella lied half-dead in front of his very eyes.