In less than 20 minutes, everyone was at the hospital. Melody had begun the tests. Meanwhile, Mare and Mikael watched passively. The devil's hands were still shaking with fear. She knew full well that seeing creatures that didn't exist on Earth couldn't be a good sign. She only worried about the worst.
Mikael sensed it in his bones. When the doctor's news came, it didn't surprise him that Melody had cancer.
Mare sobbed at the news and buried her tears in her hands. The angel gently embraced her and began stroking her hair, as he always did when he wanted to soothe her.
"Why her?
" Mikael couldn't answer. Every time he opened his mouth, a blankness emerged. Finally, he decided to say nothing.
"You knew, right? You knew she was sick?" she finally said after a fifteen-minute pause.
"I only suspected," he replied, his voice calm, a tone somewhat out of place.
"Where, how?"
"A long time ago, an old woman asked me to teach her the dances of the world. Only later did I learn she didn't have many days left to live. On her last day, she admitted to me that she saw me as an angel. She had brain cancer, just like Melody."
Mare shook her head as if she couldn't believe it. She turned away from him and walked a few steps forward.
"We have two options," Mikael replied seriously. "Don't wait for events to unfold and begin a complicated operation, or"—he paused at this point, as if it were difficult for him—"wait those less than a month and pray for Melody's life, but then we have no chance of being her parents anymore and we probably won't see her again. "
Mare nodded. Mikael didn't know what he meant. After a moment, he received the answer.
"I need to think about it, now please leave me alone. I need to think about it.
" "Fine.
" Mare disappeared just down one of the corridors. Mikael headed for the room where Melody was staying. "It's hard to believe that in such a short time I've come to love this little girl like my own daughter. What am I supposed to do? Go in there and just smile?"
He forced himself to open the door. When he entered, he found Melody awake, even though it was already 10:00 PM. She was sitting on the bed, staring out the window at the stars. When the door to the room opened, she looked at Mikael. Her eyes lit up.
"Daddy!" she squealed.
"Yes, Daddy," he replied, his voice not his own, slightly cracking.
"Why are you sad?
" "Because you're going to have a very serious operation.
" "A lot?" she worried. "What are they going to do to me?
" "I'll cut you," the angel replied jokingly.
"Will it hurt?" she asked, more curious than afraid.
"No, it will tickle. Actually, you won't feel a thing because they'll give you very strong painkillers.
" "And it won't hurt?
" "It won't. I guarantee it."
"Okay, if you say so, Dad, it must be true," she said with deep conviction. "But I'm still scared. Is that so bad?
" "Of course not. Better for you to be scared than hard as a rock, right?
" "I guess so," she replied, yawning deeply. I'm sleepy.
"Then lie down, and I'll stay here with you the whole time.
" "Really?
" "Yes.
" "Then I'll go to bed. Goodnight," she said, rising slightly from the bed and kissing the angel on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Melody. Sweet dreams."
Meanwhile, Mare went to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, but as she realized, it didn't really help. She leaned against the sink and looked in the mirror. Her black hair was tousled and flying in all directions. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She didn't really care at the moment. She was thinking about Melody. She had become someone truly important to her. Someone she wanted to take care of and protect. "Why does nothing ever work out for me?" she asked herself. Unfortunately, she received no answer. She was about to lean against the sink and start crying again when a pair of wings and a child's familiar blond hair flashed in the mirror's reflection. She quickly left the bathroom. She spotted them in the distance down the hall. Little Marianne was running straight to Ben, but not with her usual innocent, childish expression, but with terror and fear in her eyes. There was one thing Mare couldn't understand. Why did the little angel take the form of an angel, and Ben the devil? She walked briskly toward her friend to get some answers.
"Hi Ben," she said sarcastically.
"Oh, who do my eyes see? If it's not my favorite devil.
" "Come on, stop fooling around.
" "What brings you here?" Ben asked with a wicked smile.
"I have the same question for you.
" "I just work here," he replied, laughing. "And you?
" "I'm here... I'm here... because," her voice cracked, but she finally managed to get it out. "I'm here because I'm about to do something that will win me the competition."
"Oh, really? I don't think you've already dropped to second place.
" "Excuse me?" Mare looked at the devil as if he were crazy.
"We're currently in the lead. In case you haven't noticed," he said, pointing to his wings and tail.
The devil looked around her body. Indeed, she no longer bore any sign of being a devil. Terrified, she backed away from Ben. She knew that if she didn't do something within the next month, her dream wouldn't come true. Ben was now laughing heartily at her. Marianne, on the other hand, was looking at Mare with growing anxiety. The devil could barely stand. She leaned against the wall. For a moment, she thought she would faint. Only now did she remember that only thanks to the devil's body could she function normally, and the wounds on her body weren't so severe. She clutched her stomach and walked forward. "Just a few more steps," she said to herself, opening the door where her daughter lay. She entered the dark room without turning on the light. She only turned on a single small lamp on the nightstand. Quietly, restlessly, she approached the bed and leaned against it. This immediately woke Mikael. He looked at her. The first thing he saw was a different glint in her eyes than usual, and now they were warm and brown. The devil nudged Melody, not at all protectively, like a mother. She was in a hurry. Melody rubbed her eyes and looked at Mare.
"Mom, where are your wings?
" "I don't have them, the crows pecked them out."
Melody flinched at this and looked at her father questioningly. Mikael stood up and took Mare's hand. She hissed in pain and slapped him hard, making him fall.
"Mom, what are you doing?
" "What I should have done a long time ago. Get rid of you.
" "Mom, but...
" "There's no MOM!" she screamed, making Melody jump. "I'M NOT YOUR MOM. It's just your sick imagination, do you understand?"
"Ma... Mom," she said with tears in her eyes.
"You're the most disgusting child in the world. Naive and full of hope for the best." You'll never be happy because...
"...because I'll never find wonderful parents like you!" she squealed, hugging Mare's chest. The devil fought back tears and sat her down opposite her, then slapped the little girl across the face. Melody squealed pitifully. She cried loudly. She didn't know why her mother was acting this way, nor did she know why her father didn't react, just sat there on the ground, watching the whole thing. A terrible sadness and pain filled the little girl's heart—a terrifying, excruciating pain. In one moment, she lost all the love she'd always craved.
"Remember, I never loved you, and I have no intention of loving a scumbag like you."
Everything fell silent. Mare immediately ran from the room, uttering only the word goodbye. The screams from the room were muted in the hallway because Mikael had summoned Hagres to temporarily seal the walls. Now they sat together, staring at Melody's tearful face. The angel moved a little closer to the bed, his heart beating wildly. He tried to embrace the little girl, but she wouldn't let go. She wrenched herself free and jumped out of bed onto something wet. She looked down at her feet and squealed. She was standing in a large pool of blood. Mikael calmly picked her up and wiped her legs with paper towels. Melody stopped crying immediately. She stared at her father with terrified eyes.
"Was Mom standing there?" she asked, sobbing slightly.
"Yes," Mikael replied dryly. "Now it's all up to you.
" "On me?
" "See, Melody," Mikael said. "Mom's dying.
" Melody squealed.
"Remember how I explained to you that we have to do things together to get to the end of the competition?
" "Yes...
" "Thanks to these things, we can sometimes heal wounds.
" "Like Mom's?
" "Yes...
" "Is that why she yelled at me?
" "Yes.
" "Will she yell again?"
Mikael smiled involuntarily.
"I don't know.
" "Hmm," she pondered for a moment, not looking at her father. The movement reminded him strongly of Mare's reaction when she refused to look at him.
After a moment, Mikael saw two large tears falling from her cheeks.
"I don't want Mom to die. I love Mom," she replied.
"I love Mom too, you know. Come here," he said, taking her in his arms and hugging her tightly. In an instant, everything changed. A pair of magnificent wings emerged from Mikael's shoulder blades. A halo appeared above his head. His body turned blue again.
"Dad, you're an angel again," she squealed, her voice brighter, though not the same.
"You're right," he said in disbelief.
"So Mom will live?
" "Yes, of course!
" "And me?
" "You... you will live too. The word of a guardian angel.
" "You're the best dad in the world!
" "Yes," Mikael replied, hugging her so she wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.
Mare ran from the room. Her arm and hand were already bloody. She ran into the bathroom and washed them with water. The blood didn't stop flowing. It was getting harder and harder to stop the wound, especially since most of the stitches had torn from the rougher movements. She was shivering all over, unsure if it was from the cold or because of Melody. The mere thought of her made her heart ache. She slowly stopped feeling sorry for herself, though it wasn't easy after a month of doing as much good as she wanted. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and she saw Marianne. She stood there with a terrified expression.
"Ben wants to talk to you.
" "I understand. Where is he?" she asked dryly.
"He's in the waiting room.
" "Tell him I'll be right back.
" "Uh-huh," she replied, and then continued. "Are you okay? Maybe I could help?
" "No, Marianne. I can handle it myself," she replied angrily.
Marianne, accustomed to this kind of treatment, approached Mare wordlessly and tugged at her dress to lower herself.
"What?
" "Please bend down."
Mare obediently bent down, though with difficulty, as she was running out of strength. Little Marianne pulled bandages and some gauze from her pants. She began dressing the devil's wound. Mare was surprised because she had never seen this little angel help anyone before. She wasn't old enough to do that yet. "She must have learned a lot during her time on Earth." After 10 minutes, the dressing was finished. The angel bowed and was about to leave the bathroom when Ben appeared before her. He had an angry expression on his face.
"What's taking so long? You were supposed to send her right away!
" "Yes, I know," Marianne said quietly.
"What do we have here..." Ben said with satisfaction. "A bleeding devil. What an unusual situation."
Ben approached her, swinging his tail to strike her, but someone else found himself under his tail. The angel shielded the devil with her body. Ben, surprised, took a step back. Marianne hit herself hard against the bathroom tiles.
"Are you crazy?" said Mare, who was now in a dangerous situation. She couldn't help Marianne, even though she desperately wanted to.
"It's because of you," Ben said with fury in his voice. He moved toward Mare again, but Marianne's quiet voice stopped him.
"Ben, don't do this. Don't, I only helped her. I didn't want Mikael to lose someone important. He always gets so little. Don't deprive him of his greatest happiness.
" Ben was speechless. He stared at the little angel for a moment, unsure what to do. He snorted under his breath and walked over to her, bending down to pick her up, then picked her up and hugged her.
"I'm sorry," he said, his horns and wings just beginning to disappear. "I'm sorry for everything.
" "I forgive you, Ben."
When he moved her to his head, he saw that they were no longer the devil and the angel. Ben looked immediately at Mare. She had become the devil. She had stopped bleeding and looked healthier. Despite this, the devil kept stealing glances at Ben, wondering how he would react to the news. He simply closed his eyes and left. The devil took a deep breath and sat down on the cold tiles.
"We've completed our next task, what a blessing." The thought of what she had done made her stomach twist. "Where am I supposed to go now?"
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened again. A frightened Mare tried to hide, but it was too late. Two nurses with flashlights peeked out from behind the door. Seeing Mare's condition and the large bloody marks on the bandages, they quickly called the doctor. The devil glared at them angrily.
"But I have to go to my husband and... my daughter."
The nurse looked at her with a smile and a gentleness in her eyes (Mare hated that).
"You'll see them in a moment. We'll call them.
" "No need, my daughter is in the ward here."
The nurse let out a quiet "Oh" and ran out of the bathroom, leaving Mare alone. The devil took advantage of the situation and went towards Melody's room.
"Excuse me, where are you going?" asked a male voice, probably the doctor's. The devil growled in anger.
"To your daughter.
" "You're in quite serious condition, please follow me.
" "Thank you, doctor, but I'm fine."
"I'll make that determination."
"I was hit by a car a few days ago. They did a checkup here, and it turned out I was fine.
" "However, I'd prefer to treat you. You could bleed out in one night and never see your husband and daughter again. So, will you come with me or not?
" After a moment's thought, Mare snorted and answered "yes" through her teeth. She couldn't believe anyone but Mikael could talk her into anything.
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