Snippet #2488443

Shio gasped a bit at Lucas's voice. She didn't expect that he would come. She expected Apsel or Matt. But... it was a nice surprise.
"O-Oh..."
Shio put on a weak smile to avoid worrying Lucas, though it was obvious that she had been crying due to her red eyes and soft tremble in her voice.
"I am only here to guide you back once you are ready, or to answer the questions that may plague your mind."
Shio stared up at Lucas.
"I do have a lot of questions, actually... But first... I think I owe you an explanation about why I ran out like that. When I was born, my mom had a pretty bad heart condition. She had to be confined to a hospital most of her life. Me and my big bro Hisashi would play by ourselves while Dad would stay by my mom's side. At first, it was fine. Mom could see me and Big Bro even if she was stuck in a hospital bed. But, when I was five, my mom decided that she wanted to try and live out her life. So she wanted to get a heart surgery so she could be a part of us. But..."
Shio trailed off. She took a deep breath and shakily said
"But... It failed. And what's worse is that the condition she had... it's hereditary. So, I'm on a time limit for the rest of my life. I think I only have a year left before I die... And... that's what I wanted to ask you about! I'm not going to ask you to turn back time so that I don't die or anything like that but... Can you teach me not to be afraid of death anymore? I'm going to die, I know I am... but I'm too scared to face myself. So, can you help me defeat my fears?"
Shio looked at Lucas dead in the eyes and came a little too close to him. Shio didn't notice how close she was to Lucas until she said her final sentence. She realized that her face was inches away from his. She backed away.
"Sorry, I get passionate... So, will you help me?"