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Ah ah ah blegh. Not feeling like editing this one. I <3 menhera so much it's unreal. I will now go die from cringe in a ditch.
>One attempt. Two attempts. She was trying and failing to get her medicine out of the packaging, shaking fingers not finding purchase on slippery plastic. Three attempts. With a hoarse shriek she threw it at the wall, then swallowed the only pill she managed to get and washed it down with stale water, foul liquid dribbling down her unevenly healed parched lips.
>Sitting cross-legged, she pressed her back into the worn gaming chair as hard as she could and bit onto the knuckle of her scarred index finger. The pain cleared up her mind just enough. She straightened her posture and started the usual voice warm up routine. After a round of lip trills, the dark room was filled with repetitions of ‘ma-na-la-da-ma-na-la-da-ma-na-la-da’ accompanied by rhythmic hits on her bony chest timed with changes of RGB patterns on the wall.
>***
>”…no, no, no. You don’t get it. See, as the speed of information exchange between agents in the network accelerates exponentially, and the markets push for ever expanding calculation in invariant Darwinian pursuit, it only fills in the patterns that already exist in the present, virtually invading from the fut… Ah, thank you for the superchat! ‘Ogey, skitzo…’” she winced and took a deep breath after muting herself, ”You know, it’s okay to banter, but try not to be mean to me, you guys. ‘It is just banter?’ You are so silly. Okay, it’s getting late and I need to wake up early tomorrow. No, don’t worry, I just lost track of time and really need to go now. Bye-bye, see you tomorrow, otsu~”
>She turned off the computer, slammed her face into the keyboard, and screamed until she tasted blood.
>***
>She woke up at 12:47 PM and absent-mindedly dragged herself to the kitchen, last night looping in her foggy mind, her head snapping to the side in a neurotic motion as she remembered the superchat.
>She entered the kitchen and opened heavy black-out curtains to observe an empty street outside. Relieved, she shut the curtains and turned on the lights. She microwaved some water for her honey and ginger green tea, her throat still raw after yesterday.
>She sat down and waited for the tea to cool. Her fingers were tapping out the melody of a song she was working on covering on the rim of the cup, her other hand caressing her neck. Her gaze was stuck on nothing in particular in the direction of opposite sit.
>Suddenly, her gray eyes met unnaturally amber eyes and a toothy grin of a stranger. An intruder who had no way, no right, to be here. She pulled up her legs and hugged them, as the rest of mysterious girl materialized in the room.
>”What do you want?” she asked the alien from behind her knees, not expecting to receive an answer.
>”First thing first, hello. I am here to witness you.”
>”Uh, hello? Witness me? Am I supposed to suicide rush into something?”
>The stranger looked at her intensely for a few seconds and asked, “Do you enjoy living like this?”
>”Yes!” she shouted in a shrill voice resonating with her glass cup, irritated by yet another episode, then continued more calmly, “I would go on forever if I could.”
>“But can you, really?” came the intruder’s answer, a hint of wistfulness in the voice.
>At that, she lost her temper and threw the cup at the girl, expecting it to dispel the delusion. Instead, it connected with the stranger’s face.
>”Aw, fuck, sorry, haha, wow,” the girl put pressure on the split brow, looking at her with a glowing eye overflowing with blood.
>Her heart rate spiked; skin covered in goosebumps; black dots at the edge of her vision. Fighting nausea, she rushed to the strange girl, but stood still, not being able to decide what she was supposed to do, so she just put her hands on the strangers’ and went on her knees. The mysterious girl grabbed her palms and forcefully pulled her into a hug.
>”It’s okay, you are okay. It’s going to be fine. You did nothing wrong,” the stranger kept comforting her and massaging the back of her head and neck, “Say, do you wish to try doing your best from now on?”
>Overwhelmed by the strangeness of the situation and unfamiliar touch, she attempted a nodding motion. The girl put hands on her shoulders and went in for a forehead kiss. Her body went soft.
>“I see now, I see~ But little miss messenger, don’t you feel responsible?”
>”I…” her world went dark before her numb lips could finish the sentence.
>***
>”Sorry for worrying you, guys. Apparently, I lost consciousness at work. They just wouldn’t let me out of the hospital, even though I was fine. It’s something to do with blood supply to my brain, but, supposedly, it’s getting better? No, you don’t have to worry, the doctor said there is no risk anymore. They told me to develop a healthier routine, though. Would you guys want to help with that?”
