Akane was tired and lost.
Again.
But this time, her heart wouldn't let her feel even a hint of sleep, even though she was beyond exhausted.
She could feel her bones creaking, her heart painfully beating in her chest, just to keep her awake.
'How pathetic,' she thought. Akane figured her heart's desire wasn't worth all this trouble, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
It's hard to describe, but the silence felt heavier than back at the mansion, like all the living things were hiding, and all sound had disappeared from this "garden," as if the silence itself was a blanket trying to cover up some secret.
Secrets need silence to exist, because once the silence is broken, whatever was hidden comes to light.
It might take years, or it might happen in the blink of an eye, but what once was in the shadows will eventually be revealed.
Flowers and exotic plants in this part of the garden that resembled a swamp surrounded the path she walked, but still, she didn't hear or see any signs of life.
Shadows seemed to dance at the edge of her vision, still when she looked directly at them but moving when she wasn't looking; it drove her crazy.
Even stepping on a branch produced no sound… Or maybe it was just her awful hearing acting up again.
Akane started to worry after losing track of time, not that she had a great sense of it to begin with.
Mrs. Mahal began to freak out after about thirty minutes of wandering through that never-ending maze.
Trying to stop the small tears threatening to fall from her eyes, she ignored the ache in her worried heart. She wished she hadn't heard that stupid blood pump. If only she had stayed in her room and kept sleeping, none of this would have happened.
She was tired, but no one seemed to notice. She just wanted it all to stop. She just wanted her memories back so she could know who she was.
She was going to die here, and no one would care.
A clueless idiot with no memories, constantly weak...
Not even her husband was here, not that she could count on him for anything.
Damn Mr. Mahal was a total jerk. If he hadn't come up with this whole idea of controlling her sleep and counting her steps… none—none of this would have happened.
Akane hugged her arms tighter around herself and rested her head on her bent knees.
She didn't want to be here; everything felt weird, too much to handle.
She couldn't remember who she was, where she was, just her name and part of her wedding day. And what good was that? Why did she have to follow her heart? Why was it so stubborn? Why couldn't her husband just leave her alone?!
Without Akane Mahal noticing or knowing, something or someone sensed her distress and called upon a small being to help her.
A small guardian who would show her the right path.
A tiny white cat that seemed to glow under any light, with mysterious golden eyes like molten gold.
The little cat also had a red ribbon carefully tied around its neck, with small bells on the ends that jingled with every step.
The cat was confused as to why the emotionless woman was so upset.
'This is new, it's worrying, it's strange, this is totally out of character for the cold woman,' the cat thought. But then a thought popped into its tiny head, 'It's not my job to worry about this, but… if I care, could I get something out of it? But… is it worth the effort? I could just go back to sleep once this is over.'
After watching for a few moments more, the little cat decided to jump out from the flowers and hopped towards Mrs. Mahal.
As the cat approached Mrs. Mahal, who didn't seem to notice its presence, it stopped right in front of her.
The cat was confused as to why Akane Mahal still hadn't noticed it. Normally, she would have sensed it from a mile away. She would have noticed and come to him.
The little cat placed its paw on the woman's knee and patiently waited for her to notice.
Akane felt the air rush out of her weak lungs when her silver eyes met the cat's golden ones.
It was like calmness was pouring out of the little cat's eyes, washing over her and relaxing her, clearing away all the confusing thoughts in her mind.
Satisfied with the sight of the white-haired woman now calm, the cat stepped back and slowly returned to the swamp, as if expecting the woman to follow its lead.
But then, suddenly, it changed its mind, deciding to let Mrs. Mahal find her own way.
With one last look, the little cat disappeared among the trees, deciding to ignore the weird things it had seen and simply go sit in the lap of its favorite being.
Akane, left behind, could only sigh. Now that she had started walking, she couldn't stop, not because she didn't want to, but because she had no choice.
It was either find whatever it was her heart desired, or never sleep again.
She hated the second option, thank you very much.
Standing up, Mrs. Mahal resumed her slow walk into the unknown, trying to trace the little bit of the path the cat had taken.