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“King, King!” Nice Nature comes running down the hallway shouting King Halo’s name.
It’s a sweltery hot day at Tracen Academy in the middle of August. The summer semester is a relatively relaxed part of the year as everyone prepares for the autumn race schedule. Many umas choose to take it easy after the offsite beach trainings in July.
Nice Nature makes her way to Room 3-C, and throws open the door shouting, “King!”
“What!” King Halo exclaims, confused by the urgency.
“Remember when I said I’d be heading home next week to race at Kokura?” Nature says excitedly.
“Y-yeah?” King says still confused.
“Well, one of the girls won’t be able to make it to the Kokura Kinen, and I want you to join me!” Nature says beaming with a wide smile.
Halo gives a quick smile which then fades away. She begins but then is cut off, “I—my mom—”
Nature quickly interrupts, “King, don’t worry about her. This will be just for fun! It’s one of my favorite tracks, and I’ll get to show you all around Kokura!”
Halo still hesitant, “I—I don’t know, Nature. I—I’d really like to go, I just don’t know…” Halo’s voice trails off.
“This’ll be good for you, King! You haven’t raced in months, and this won’t be like that last, I promise! And like I said, this is just for fun! You’ll just be subbing in for someone who’s gate would’ve empty anyway.” Nature continues, “King, I’ll come and get you Friday, okay?”
Halo has no option to say no with how persistent Nature is, “Fine,” she responds.
“Yay! See you then!” Nature says then skips back out of the classroom.
“You know King, you haven’t been yourself since the Derby,” Seiun Sky pokes at Halo. “…Not very first-rate of you—.”
“Shut up!” Halo snaps back.
Under her breath, Halo whispers to herself, “You don’t know what it’s like.”
Back at the Japanese Derby:
Over the grandstand speakers, “The number two favorite, King Halo, finishes 14th!!! What an unbelievable disappointment from the 2nd place finisher of the Satsuki Sho!”
When Halo returns to the paddock, her phone is already ringing. In fact, several missed calls are shown on the lock screen. All are from her mother. Halo tries to take a deep breath, but her chest is tight. She is trying to hold back the rest of the tears that haven’t already fallen after the race.
beep. “Halo! I’ve been trying to reach you! You know you are never allowed to ignore my calls!” King Halo’s mother is furious.
“I—I wasn’t ignoring you, I just got back to the—” Halo is cut off.
“I don’t care whether you did God knows what after the race. I’m your mother and if I call, you pick up. And after that horrendous showing, I’m ashamed to even call you my daughter!”
Halo gasps at the harsh comment then pushes out an “I’m sorry” which only seems to anger Halo’s mom even more.
“Oh, you’ve got to do more than apologize! You’ve embarrassed me in front of the entire country! Why couldn’t I have a daughter like Seiun Sky or Special Week! Instead, I got you! A disgrace to this family and a disgrace to Japan. Do you know how much I sacrificed to get where I am?! And this is how you repay me. All the money and effort I did to get you into Tracen Academy is being pissed away. I might as well pull you out of that school and you can come back home where you can be useful to me.”
“—What?! No! I—The best thing for me is to remain here! It’s where all my friends are… I—Please don’t do that!” Halo begs her mother.
“Oh, you think you have you have a choice in the matter? It’s my decision because it’s my money that’s letting you go to that school.” Halo’s mom continues unrelentingly. “I know what’s best for you and clearly that school isn’t.”
“Mom! Please!” Halo’s voice is hoarse as she struggles to fight the knot in her throat.
“This isn’t up for debate. If you do not place in your next race, I’m taking you out of that school, period!” Halo’s mother then hangs up.
An eternal silence falls over the room. Halo just stands there within the silence unable to process all the anger, sadness, anxiety, and fear, that’s overwhelming her in this moment.
She finally sits down. If that phone call was an earthquake, the tsunami finally reached the shore. Letting out a wailing scream, she sets her head into her arms and sobs uncontrollably.
She whimpers aloud, “Tracen is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Why would she…” her voice trails off.
Several minutes pass and a knock on the door interrupts Halo’s crying.
“Kinggggg~. Don’t worry about the Derby. There’s a reason it’s one of the most competitive races of the year,” Seiun Sky’s voice passes through the door. “Get out of your racewear and let’s go have a nice dinner…”
Halo chose not to speak. That being said, her body probably wouldn’t let her utter a single word if she tried.
“I’ll take that as a yes, so come get me when you’re all set!” Seiun says in her carelessly cheerful voice, then walks off.
Back to the present:
Halo relives that traumatic afternoon, afraid of disappointing her mother even more.
Seiun looks over at Halo. Although Seiun gives a very carefree attitude, she is worried about Halo.
“King…” Seiun says in a firm, almost serious tone, that completely catches Halo off guard.
Seiun continues, “This will be good for you. And I’ll be cheering you on!”
Halo gives a half-hearted smile but then looks back at her phone worried about the what if’s.
Over the next few days, Halo continues her usual training with Grass Wonder, Seiun Sky, and Special Week.
After practice on Thursday, Agnes Digital heads over to Halo after watching for a bit.
“King! I heard you are going to Kokura with Nature tomorrow! I’ve gathered up a watch party with the help of Kawakami Princess, and we’ll have your race on the TV!” Digi exclaims in excitement.
Digi practically beaming continues, “You never give up, King! You really are a shining King for all of us to look up to!”
“Oh ho ho, that’s what it takes to be a first-rate umamusume!” Halo says almost as a rehearsed line.
Digi’s words ring through Halo. She’s got so many underclassmen that look up to her even though she’s not as good as Seiun or Spe. She gives a brisk headpat to Digi as she heads back to her room to pack.
The next day begins with a knock at Halo and Haru’s door.
“Kingggg! It’s time to go. Sorry about the early shinkansen, but I want to spend as much time in Kokura with you!” Nature cheerfully says through the door.
“I’m almost ready, I’ve got to look first-rate!” Halo shouts back as she finishes up the final touches on her hair.
“Now you’ll behave yourself, right Haru?” Halo questions as she peeks around the corner.
“Of course!” Haru says almost too quickly.
“I’m serious, Haru.” Halo says in a playful but stern way.
“I promise!” Haru bounces back.
A few moments pass. “King, we have to go! We’ll miss the train!” Nature says from behind the door.
“Okay, okay. Bye Haru, I’ll make sure to bring back something for you… if you are good!” Halo says as she opens the door.
“I’ll be the goodest, I promise!” Haru chimes back beaming with her child-like optimism.
Halo and Nature get to their seats on the shinkansen as the train leaves the station heading West. The fast-moving train causes all the buildings to pass in a blur with just the profile of Mt. Fuji stationery in the background.
Nice Nature chimes in while looking out the window, “Gosh, I love being able to see Mt. Fuji on a sunny day like this.” A short silence follows her words. She looks over to see Halo staring at her phone, but it’s just on the lock screen.
“King…” Nature tries to get her attention.
“Hi—Yes… Um, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said,” Halo responds.
Nature grabs Halo’s forearm, “King, it’s just us this weekend. Whatever worries you have, forget them.”
Halo glances back at her phone then responds, “Nature, what if I scratch the race?”
“King, this race is just for fun. It’s a G3 anyway. This weekend is about getting away from Tracen and all the pressure of the Classics. I did this because you haven’t been yourself. Let me take all that pressure and worry away from you this weekend,” Nature pleads.
Halo nervously laughs, “I don’t know. There are some things I don’t think you can take away.”
“I’ll do my best. That’s what I always do!” Nature says with a smile.
Halo returns a smile as both look out the window at the passing scenery.
The shinkansen arrives at Kokura Station. It’s midday now and the hot, humid air hits the two girls as they leave the station to head to their hotel.
Nice Nature opens the door to their hotel room, “Ahhhh! I can’t wait to show you around Kokura!”
Their hotel room looks out over the city. The monorail below them stretches as far as the eye can see in the direction of the racetrack. Just a few fluffy clouds dot the bright blue sky as the sun continues to heat the bustling Friday afternoon.
Both girls set their things down and Halo looks out the window. Nature cheerfully exclaims, “Let’s go get something to eat! There’s this good soba place right near the river.”
Halo nods to her, and they left the room as quickly as they entered.
After eating lunch, Nature enthusiastically suggests, “Okay King, now it’s time for me to show you all around. I know you love shopping so let’s go to the Riverwalk Mall! It’s right on the river next to Kokura Castle.”
The two girls make their way over to the river and cross the bridge to head to the mall. Initially, Nature was the one leading, but as soon as they start window shopping the boutiques and fashion outlets, she ends up having to chase Halo from shop to shop.
Halo has both girls trying on all kinds of clothes. Halo even has Nature try on elegant dresses she normally would never even think to wear. The two girls spend hours here, both having a blast.
As the sun begins to set, both of them head out of the mall, Halo with several shopping bags in hand. She picked out cute outfits for Haru Urara, her Trainer, and Kawakami Princess. She begged Nature to let her buy a sundress for her, but Nature was too bashful and kept turning down Halo.
“That dress really looked cute on you with your red hair, Natie,” Halo says as to tease her some more about it.
Nature’s ears twitch, “Ah!” Nature’s cheeks turn red like her hair.
They continue to banter back forth as they make their way back towards the hotel while walking along the river. The sun has now set, basking the sky in a diming indigo and all the lights begin to illuminate the streets.
“Let’s go drop these off and go have a nice dinner. There’s this ramen place that makes special ramen for Umamusume. It’s one of my favorite places; the way they add carrots to the ramen is really special.” Nice Nature has been looking forward to showing Halo this place ever since the plans were made to come down to Kokura.
The two girls make their way to their hotel, drop off Halo’s shopping haul, and then make their way to the special ramen place. The two girls step into this moderately-sized restaurant to see a sea of other Umamusume all enjoying ramen.
Nature excitedly says, “King, you really ought to try the carrot tonkatsu ramen!”
Nature then proceeds to go through the whole menu and list out all of her recommendations.
Halo goes with Nature’s recommendation of the carrot tonkatsu ramen. Nature goes with the Fukuoka garlic-rich ramen with added dried squid which is her personal spin on the dish.
The two girls enjoy the meal, then proceed to go on a leisurely walk back to the hotel to finish out the night.
The next day, the two girls wake up after having slept in a little too late. Halo begins her morning routine with curling her hair, as this is crucial piece of her ‘first-rate look’. Nature also makes up her pigtails which give her that iconic look that defines her.
As the race is tomorrow, both girls decide to head to the racetrack to familiarize themselves with the track layout and surface.
The hot summer sun bakes the turf giving it a firm, dry feel. The track is mostly flat with the exception of a gentle uphill at the first corner. With no downhills on the 2000m race, moderating stamina is crucial here.
Both girls begin doing several jogging laps and practice starts. Some of the other girls racing in tomorrow’s races are also there doing some short trainings.
After a couple hours, Halo and Nature decide to call it a day and sit over on the sidelines cooling off while watching the other Umamusume take turns getting some practice in.
“You ready for tomorrow?” Nature poses to Halo.
“A first-rate Umamusume is always ready!” Halo replies in an almost automatic response.
“King, it’s just us. Remember, this is purely just for fun; there’s no pressure.” Nature tries to reassure her.
Halo pauses for a bit giving a somber-ish look, but then reverts back to her usual self, “Expect a first-rate performance tomorrow!”
Nature thinks to herself, ‘Oh King, I really worry about you.’
The two girls head back to the hotel to enjoy a shower and take it easy for the evening.
After watching some comfy TV dramas together, night falls onto the city and Nature chirps in, “Well, it’s probably best we get a good night’s rest for tomorrow.”
Both girls finish their last-minute bedtime routines and make their way to their beds.
Late into the night, Nature wakes up for a brief moment. As she turns over, she faces Halo’s bed. Halo’s back is turned to her, but she notices light emanating from Halo’s phone lighting up Halo’s silhouette. Nature glances over at the clock, ‘12:08’…
Nature speaks in a cheerful tone that covers the concern she has, “Everything okay, King?”
“Ah, I’m sorry Nature, did I wake you?” Halo quickly turns over and replies back.
“No, I just happened to wake up and readjust. Get some sleep, okay?” Nature calmly replies.
Halo quickly turns off her phone screen, “I—I will.” A small quiver to Halo’s voice only worries Nature more.
The morning sun rises above the horizon shining into the girls’ room. Nice Nature is already up and moving around. She glances over to Halo, still deep asleep. Nature contemplates how late she should let Halo sleep thinking she didn’t get enough sleep last night. However, Halo has a rigorous morning routine, especially on race days.
She walks over to Halo, but before nudging her awake, she notices Halo’s phone. It’s not on the nightstand. It’s lying right by her head. And there are several notifications with the label, ‘Mother’.
Nature pauses for a moment. Nature thinks to herself, ‘I tried to bring King down here to help her… I hope I didn’t do the opposite.’
She gently puts her hand on Halo's shoulder and gives her a nudge to wake her.
“Hehe, sorry for waking you, but I didn’t want you to rush getting together before the race.” Nature’s soft voice waking up Halo.
“Ah! Nature! I’m so sorry! I must’ve forgotten to set my alarm last night. Not very first-rate of me!” Halo practically jumps out of bed.
“Don’t worry about it, King; we still have plenty of time!” Nature tries to calm her down. “Is there anything I can help you with while you get ready?”
Halo responds, “A first-rate Umamusume such as me, doesn’t need anyone's help!”
Nature gives her a disapproving smirk as to say, ‘yeah, okay sure.’
Halo finishes getting her hair just right, and both girls begin to make their way to the Kokura Racecourse.
They each enter their locker room where both girls get dressed in their racewear.
Over the announcement PA, the call to Post for the Kokura Kinen is announced. Both girls make their way up to the Post Parade. No one else from Tracen is participating, but there is one girl in particular watching from the crowd. Seiun Sky.
The track announcer begins presenting the lineup for the Kokura Kinen, “… In Gate 6, the number three favorite, King Halo!” Back at Tracen, with that announcement over the TV, Haru Urara and Kawakami Princess burst out, “KING!!!”
The announcer continues, “In Gate 7, our number one favorite, Nice Nature!” At the racetrack, practically the entire crowd bursts into a boisterous cheer.
Halo turns to Nature, “Wow, I didn’t realize how many people know you here.”
Nature replies bashfully, “Heh, Kokura has always had a special place in my heart. The people here are so pleasant, and I always do my best to make my way down here to give them my appreciation.”
The announcer keeps going down line until he finally reaches the last Uma in Gate 18. All the girls get set in their respective gates.
“The lights come on and the gate open!” The announcer shouts.
Out of the gate, both Halo and Nature release well. The fanned-out field begins to gradually consolidate as they make their way down the front straight. The crowd cheers as they pass the grandstands.
Uma 18, Precipitation, had a fantastic start and begins to cross over to the inside rail taking the lead from the rest of the pack.
Halo and Nature maneuver themselves into the front of the late surger pack.
Uma 8, Rushing Roulette, bursts ahead of them now making the front a race between themselves and Precipitation.
Uma 3, Doll Fin, leads the pace chaser pack and is about three lengths from the two front runners.
As the girls make their way up the hill at the first turn, Uma 4, Evergreen, who got a late start, loses her footing and kicks up a large chunk of turf that hits Halo on the right side of her face.
“Ah!” Halo exclaims. She quickly uses her right hand to rub away the dirt. This causes her to push wide in the middle of the first turn.
Nature remains in the lead of the late surger pack comfortably centered in her lane.
As the girls make their way onto the back straight, the front runners, Precipitation and Rushing Roulette remain in lock step with each other. Several lengths back, Doll Fin continues to lead the main pack.
Several girls from the rear of the pack begin moving their way forward by the end of the main straight, further pushing Halo out wide. Nature remains in a comfortable place ahead of the advancing girls.
Midway through the third corner, the final leg begins and the entire pack begins to close in on the two front runners still battling it out. Rushing Roulette holds the inside rail with Precipitation only a neck behind her to her left.
Nature and Halo begin to push themselves forward coming out of the last corner. Rushing Roulette begins to fall back, blocking Doll Fin from progressing forward. This begins to block the other pace chasers. Nature pushes forward and takes advantage of the blocked pace chasers. Halo, still out wide, is several lengths behind the front pack now.
At the 200m mark, Nature finds herself in 3rd place with Precipitation to her right using her remaining stamina to try and finish first. Halo finds herself in 8th place, but with a clear track ahead of her. She digs in and uses any remaining energy to spurt as hard as she can to make it up to the front.
With 100m remaining, Nature clears her nose ahead of Precipitation. The finish line is right there! She continues to push to the line. Behind, Halo screams with all her might, each stride deeper than the last.
Whoosh. “Nice Nature crosses first!” The crowd erupts in cheers as this line is rang out from the grandstand speakers.
“By half of a length, Precipitation places 2nd! Then 1 ½ lengths to 3rd is Rushing Roulette!” The announcer bellows.
All the girls come to a rest at the start of the first corner; each one of them catching their breath. Nature sees the confetti raining from the sky as she turns back toward the crowd. She then looks up at the scoring tower (that shows the Top 5 finishers). Halo’s number isn’t listed. She quickly snaps her head to find Halo, but she is nowhere to be seen.
The trackside commentators begin to make their way over to Nature for a post-race interview. “Nice Nature, what a performance. Tell us how that race went for you?”
Nature quickly answers as her eyes still try and dart to find Halo, “Um, yeah.. it was a good race. I kept my position… I just didn’t want to get third again, I guess.”
The interviewer continues, “Kokura seems like a home field advantage for you? I mean just listen to that crowd!” The crowd buzzes with cheers as they are acknowledged.
“Ah well yes, I’ve got so many fond memories here, and I love the people! This is just such a special place!” Nature responds.
The interviewer ends the interview, “We’ll let you go get set for the concert; we can’t wait to hear you sing!”
With that, Nature sprints off to the locker room. She throws open the door to find the room empty. Nature hurriedly looks around for any indication on where Halo is. She peers over to see Halo’s phone on the ground ringing. Nature reaches down to pick up the phone. It’s Halo’s mother calling. Nature doesn’t know whether to answer, so she lets it go to voicemail. No sooner than a few seconds later, the phone rings again.
Nature decides to answer it, but before she can even say hello, Halo’s mother begins her soliloquy.
“Oh, so now you finally pick up young lady. Whenever I call or text, you need to answer me! And now you need to answer for your actions on the track. What a cowardly performance! I am ASHAMED to be your mother! You do nothing but embarrass the Halo name and most importantly, me! I’m the one that sent you to that school, and it has been the worst decision I have ever made! You’d better pack your bags the minute you return because I’m taking you out of that school! After everything I sacrificed for you, this is how you repay me. An embarrassing loss in a G3 race! You weren’t even supposed to race during the summer! You do nothing but disobey me! I know what’s best for you, and this isn’t it.
Nature can’t believe her ears. She is distraught at everything she just heard. It’s completely opposite to how her own mother treated her. Even with all the third-place finishes, not once did Nature’s mom ever raise her voice at her for her performances.
The silence is broken by Halo’s mother, “Oh wow, for once in your life, you decided not to talk back. Mayhap you finally learned something useful.” A short pause follows as if Halo’s mom is trying to ragebait Halo.
She continues, “I don’t care if you aren’t going to say anything. This decision is final. I’ll be there tomorrow to take you back home where I can keep you from embarrassing me in front of all of Japan. Just wait till your father hears about your performance today. I expect an apology from you as soon as you stop being a coward.” beep.
Nice Nature stands there for a moment before looking back down at Halo’s lock screen. Missed texts and calls from her mother from the minute the race began. ‘Does she do this every time Halo race?’ Nature questions.
She sets the phone down on the vanity before a knock on the door can be heard. Nature quickly opened it thinking it’s Halo, but instead it is Seiun Sky.
“Seiun! Do you know where—” Nature quickly blurts out.
“Nature, it’s okay—,” Seiun tries to calm Nature.
“No, it’s not! I just heard her mother on the phone. I’m extremely worried about Halo! She’s nowhere to be found!” Nature exclaims.
“Oh, so you’ve now been witness to that too, huh.” Seiun has this defeated look on her face.
“Seiun, I don’t know, it was really bad—.” Before Nature can continue, rolling thunder can be heard off in the distance. An announcement comes over the PA, “Ladies and gentlemen, due to severe thunderstorms in the area, today’s post-race concert will be cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
“I have to find Halo!” Nature practically screams at Seiun. Nature’s attitude is always so laid back that this catches Seiun off guard.
Seiun in a matter-of-fact way says, “Look, she likes to run away. After the Derby, she ran all the way to the countryside by herself. Now, she’s stuck on Kyushu, so she can’t go too far.”
“I know the locals; I’ll see what I can find out. I’ll text you as soon as I know she’s safe.” Nature bursts past Seiun. The room fell silent until Halo’s phone rang once again.
Nice Nature begins traveling around the city looking for anyone that might know something. She runs into this lady who often visits the same market Nature once used to visit weekly. She states that she did see a young umamusume running north along the banks of the Murasaki River. Nature thanks her and begins to run to the river. The skies overhead continue to darken as the thunder grows louder.
Once she reaches the river, she peers northward to see no one insight. The storm brewing in front of her has all the locals seeking refuge inside.
Boom.
With sound of a loud thunderclap, Nature begins to sprint northward along the river.
Soon the rain begins to fall quite heavily, the river turns turbid from all the runoff, and the wind picks up from the strong outflow of the thunderstorm.
Nature makes her way closer and closer to the main city, still no sign of Halo. Nature is drenched and the rain makes visibility even worse.
She runs past the Kokura Castle and the Riverwalk Mall that both girls were at just days ago.
Just as Nature was about to pass one of the last remaining overpasses before the river meets main waterway, she sees the green of Halo’s racewear. On the other side of the river, a small green emerald is taking shelter under the bridge.
“KING!” Nature screams out. She quickly runs up to the street to cross the bridge and then runs down under the overpass.
Exasperated Nature gives another, “King!!!”
Halo looks up at Nature. Her eyes red and puffy from crying. The knot in her throat prevents her from speaking.
“It’s okay, King!” Nature crouches down and gives a tight hug.
Halo gives a sniffle and then a huge sob. Several seconds pass before Halo begins to speak. In between each sob she says, “I don’t want to lose you. Meeting everyone at Tracen has been the best thing ever for me.” The tears continue to flow.
“You'll stay at Tracen; we'll make sure of it,” Nature consuls.
“You don’t know her. Her wrath. I can’t do it anymore. It doesn’t matter if I win or not, I’m always a failure in her eyes.” Halo continues to speak pushing through the pain of what she fears the most, her mother.
“King. You are first-rate. In everything you do. You don’t need your mother’s approval of that. Everyone else can see you are a King. You’re our King, and it’ll always be that way.” Nature continues to consul Halo hugging her tight in her arms.
Halo let’s out a whimper, “Why can’t she let me be happy?”
Nature continues to consul Halo as the downpour continues around them.
As the thunderstorm moves eastward, the rain lessens. Halo, exhausted from the race and the emotional rollercoaster is asleep on Nature’s lap. Nature keeps giving her soft pets as if caring for a stray cat needing a warm place to call home.
The rain continues to lessen, and the sun starts poking out from the cumulonimbus clouds moving out to sea. Nature picks up Halo who is practically knocked out. Luckily, the hotel is not too far from the overpass they were taking shelter under. Nature carries Halo back to the hotel. Once Nature gets to their room, she sets Halo down on the couch. Both girls are wet from the rain, but by far Nature is drenched. While Halo continues to rest, Nature decided to get out of her wet, cold clothes and warm up in the shower.
Finally able to relax knowing Halo is safe, Nature takes full advantage of the calming effects of the hot steamy shower.
After about a half-an-hour, she steps out of the bathroom fully rejuvenated. Halo is still conked out on the couch. As much as Nature wants to let Halo rest, she doesn’t want her to get sick from the wet clothes that are now ice cold to the touch. Before waking Halo up, Nature texts Seiun that Halo is safe.
Nature nudges Halo awake, “Hey, King. We should really get you out of those wet clothes.”
Halo, confused and embarrassed asks, “How did we get back to the hotel?”
Nature replies, “I carried you back.”
Halo’s cheeks begin to blush, “You know you could’ve woken me up. I’m perfectly capable of walking!”
Nature playfully replies, “I promise I won’t tell anyone. Now go get changed and take a shower; you need one!”
Halo gets up and goes to change, clean, and warm up in the steamy shower.
She emerges from the bathroom and says to Nature, “Sorry you had to see me like that. It wasn’t very first-rate of me.”
Nature smiles back and replies, “King, you do not have to apologize. No one should have to deal with what you do. You’ll always find a safe place in me whenever you need one.”
“Thank you, Nature,” Halo says with a somber look to her face. “I suppose you answered the phone?”
“Yeah. I did,” Nature gives back a concerned but warm look.
“I’m sorry. It’s getting harder for me to hide it… A side I don’t want anyone to see,” Halo begins to choke up.
“Come here,” Nature says as she gestures to Halo.
Halo walks over and sits next to Nature. Nature wraps her arms around Halo as Halo continues, “I just.. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.” Halo begins to cry again.
Nature quietly hushes Halo, “Shhh.”
Halo now fully choking up trying to hold back the tears as best she can says, “Can I just say here forever.”
“Sure.” Nature pulls Halo even closer and grabs the blanket to wrap it around the two of them.
The moon illuminates the darkness that’s fallen over the city. A calm serenity rests over the girls’ room. Halo continues to be wrapped up in Nature’s comforting warmth. Both girls use this opportunity to recover from the day and choose not to think about tomorrow.