Like any other day, Doug was working as a security guard on the beach.
Doug and his family had moved to Harborview last year. Due to his job, he frequently relocated and rarely spent much time in one place.
That's why, even after working on this beach for almost a year, he still didn't find it familiar.
His job wasn't entirely bad. His finances were stable, and he could provide for his family.
Doug had admired authority figures since he was a kid. He used to listen to his grandfather's stories about being a soldier, his eyes bright with admiration.
But to be honest, the job wasn't like the great adventures of his grandfather.
When Doug became a security guard, he sought adventure, but life proved that adventures were a rare part of it.
He was just accepting his reality as something inevitable and working as a good parent for his daughter.
His life was as monotonous as always... at least until now.
Doug saw bright eyes in the middle of the beach.
The vision was so terrifying that he felt shivers all over his body.
Click!
Doug quickly turned on the flashlight.
For a brief moment, the image of a creature became clear.
"Hey! Stop there!"
Doug contained his fear and approached the figure. For the first time, he felt like he was having an adventure.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Doug ran with all his strength towards the figure, but when he got close, nothing was there.
"What was it...?"
Doug was confused. He had run to a dead end, but no one was there.
"Ah!"
When Doug turned his head, bright eyes stared at him in the darkness.
A creature similar to a lion was there, staring at him in the middle of the night.
Doug trembled at the sight. A human was something he could deal with, but wild animals were another case.
"Ruwar!"
Suddenly, the animal roared in front of him, and a magical hole appeared in the air.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The lion walked as if nothing had happened and entered the hole without even glancing at him.
Rub. Rub.
Doug rubbed his eyes repeatedly in incomprehension.
What had just happened before him?
How the hell would he report it? What if people thought he was crazy?
Dip~ Dip~
Before he could process what had happened, a sound came from his cell phone.
Doug was confused. His heart was still pounding from the wild animal encounter, but he somehow managed to answer the call.
"...Hello?"
[Doug, it's me.]
The voice was from his wife, Priyanka. Her tone had an unusual coldness and seriousness.
The atmosphere suddenly changed.
"Did something happen? Do you want me to go to the hospital?"
[No, everything is fine.]
Doug knew one thing. Something definitely wasn't fine.
Priyanka would never call to interrupt his job. Both respected each other's space and wouldn't interfere unless it was an emergency.
He wanted to understand the situation to help her.
His heart started to beat, not from fear anymore, but from anxiety for his wife.
[I want to adopt a child.]
"Eh?"
Did he hear wrong? For some reason, his wife started talking about adopting a child over a call.
Doug quickly organized the facts in his head to understand the situation.
His wife had been particularly attached to a peculiar child these days.
He remembered a picture she had shown him. It was a beautiful child with eyes like jewels and a sickly stature.
"The girl from the tree?"
[Yes, the one from the photo.]
"My love, I understand, but it's better if we discuss this calmly together. How would Connie feel if we just brought an unknown child home?"
[Connie? She will adore a new sister, won't she?]
Doug felt shivers down his spine. His wife had clearly made up her mind.
He knew well that once she used this cynical tone, no matter what he tried to say, she wouldn't change her mind.
Doug wasn't saying Priyanka was irrational; rather, she was brutally rational compared to him.
He had invested a long time dating her to melt her heart due to her straight and hard nature.
He believed that this was one of her charms, and he liked decisive and proactive women like his wife.
If she was talking this way, something must have happened.
Doug remembered the state Priyanka had been in these days.
She barely came home, and when she did, she stayed awake checking her notebook to analyze data from the hospital.
This must be related to the girl from the photo.
"Okay."
People could say he was crazy to accept a child over a call, but that just showed how much he trusted Priyanka's judgment.
If things went wrong, they could reconsider.
Sigh...
Doug caressed his temples from the sudden events that happened all at once.
Now he had two things to deal with.
A strange magical lion running wild in the city at night and a new child he had agreed to adopt over a call.
He was certainly having multiple adventures today.
*
'What is she doing?'
That was the only thing Peridot could think, seeing a nurse caressing a cell phone in tears.
Some hours had passed since Peridot met the kind man from social services.
She never expected such an effect on the chatty nurse.
The only conversation they had was a small refusal of her request to walk together.
Sniff. Sniff.
The nurse intrusively hugged Peridot's head with both arms as if she wouldn't let her go.
She seemed to be saying something incomprehensible.
As always, Peridot decided to ignore her.
She was thinking about the serious doctor who left them abruptly.
'Why did she do it?'
Peridot had made a huge effort to finish as quickly as possible for her, but she just stayed there with the man.
She seemed to work so hard every day.
Peridot was worried about her workaholic friend. She always overdid her work...
Sniff~
The chatty nurse started to smell her neck strangely. She seemed to be pushing her limits today.
Peridot admitted the nurse had a good appearance, but her personality was so bad it nullified her charm.
Creek.
The door opened, and a man appeared.
The chatty nurse reluctantly let her go with a crying face. The man seemed to tremble for a brief moment after seeing the nurse.
Sigh...
Without the intrusive nurse, Peridot could finally think more clearly.
She was thinking about her new life in an orphanage and what she would do next.
Until now, she had just thought about surviving, but now she could reintegrate into society.
She didn't know how many months had passed since she came to this cartoon world, but it probably wasn't short.
Peridot always thought her luck was bad as hell.
She died choking on an apple, was reincarnated in an abandoned world, and lost all her senses trying to escape from it.
After escaping, she met a strange pink lion while almost dying from pain.
When she finally had some stability, she was brought to a hospital and had to pass 24/7 perfectly simulating a human body.
Peridot promised herself that the first thing she would do after leaving the hospital would be to sleep deeply.
She just wanted to rest from all this trouble and stay away from the original.
She didn't want to deprive herself of a good night's sleep anymore. She was mentally exhausted.
Peridot imagined her new life after regaining her senses again with hope. Her optimism had taken her this far.
Creek.
The door opened again, but this time, a more mature woman entered.
Peridot could recognize her silhouette easily.
[Sorry, I'm late.]
[Are you okay?]
Peridot held her coat as usual and started to analyze her body again.
It was terrible. Her body was exhausted, and black marks were visible around her eyes.
[I have something to-]
Peridot's hands strongly stopped the woman's hands from writing.
Broken eyes stared directly at Priyanka's eyes.
Priyanka barely reacted. Under normal circumstances, she would have made a faint doubtful face, but the woman in front of her couldn't even do that.
Peridot reached out her arms towards the doctor's head.
Grab.
She grabbed the woman's face with her fragile hands. Priyanka's head fell directly on her lap.
Shack-shack.
Priyanka tried to stand quickly, but Peridot pressed her head tightly onto her lap.
"..."
Silence filled the small patient room.
Pat... Pat...
Peridot slowly and steadily stroked the woman's head gently, as her grandma once did with her in the past.
The woman's eyes seemed to close little by little.
Fuh~
'Finally, she slept...'
Peridot felt indebted to the woman.
If she had some good memories after coming to this world, it was because of the woman before her.
The woman wasn't related to the original as Lion was, and she had a reserved personality contrasting with the chatty nurse.
As someone who received, she naturally wanted to give too.
And for the serious woman, she felt like she could give up her pride a little if it would help her to sleep.
'Both of us need a rest, doctor.'