Chương 40: Home

I sobbed—no, I wailed. I wailed like there was no tomorrow I hadn't cried this hard in years. It was really scary—being faced with death. The only reason I didn't fully breakdown in the tower was because there was no comfort. Now that I was home, I had no restraints. [You have forfeited this floor. You cannot reattempt to clear the floor for 59: 26] I noticed the screen but paid little mind to it. My brain was in no shape to think hard at the moment. But—the world doesn't seem to wait. Knock Knock.

A knock came from my front door. I flinched, trying to stop my crying to no avail. Who would knock at my door? Especially at this time? With sniffles, I slowly got to my feet and stumbled over to the door. I could have ignored it, but maybe it was Luna… I really want to see Luna right now. When I got to the door, I opened it just enough to peek through the crack in the door to see who it was. It wasn't Luna. Rather, a mature older looking lady was standing in front of the door with a neutral face.

She noticed me and calmly smiled.

"W-Who're you?" I asked through sniffles. But then my mind recognized her a beat later. She was the grandmotherly lady from next door if I recall correctly. What was she doing here? Ah…She's seeing me crying, this is embarrassing.

"I live in the apartment next to yours." She politely replied with a gentle tone, "I was on my way home and I heard you crying. I wanted to see if you were alright, but…" She trailed off. My appearance looked anything but alright so I could see why she didn't finish her sentence. I tried to wipe my eyes and stop crying but sniffled, destroying any progress I made. The walls in our apartment aren't particularly thick but they're not thin either. So, my sobbing must've been a bother, I can only apologize.

"I'm…I'm sorry." I said with a lowered head, trying my best to not break out into tears.

"Oh, no, Darling, it's okay." Her gentle tone reached my ears; Her grandmotherly voice was especially soothing, making it harder to not cry, "It's okay to cry." She said, "Do you need a hug?" I slowly raised my head. She wasn't joking, she was patiently standing there with open arms. Something about that grandmotherly tone of hers made me lose my reason—I was reminded of my own grandmother. I simply nodded and opened the door enough to go out. Her embrace was warm and comforting.

I didn't full-on cry but I definitely covered her shirt in snot.

"…Thank you, Grandma…" I instinctively mumbled but soon realized my mistake, "Ah…I'm sorry." She never raised her tone, simply replying in the same gentle voice,"It's okay, Darling. You can call me Grandma or Grandmother all you'd like. I'd be happy to have such a cute granddaughter."

"Mm…" After a short while, I came to my senses and slowly parted. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I can't believe I just hugged and cried to a stranger. My cheeks showed my embarrassment as I slowly glanced left and right. Eventually, I settled on just staring at the floor.

"T-Thank you…" I mumbled.

"Of course." She didn't seem to mind my behavior and smiled, "If you ever need anything you're free to come over and ask anytime. When you're feeling a bit better, please come and knock, I'll make you some delicious food."

"Okay…"

"Good. I'll be waiting." She said before entering the apartment next to mine. She really left just like that? I looked at her door for a moment in silence. Was she being considerate? Whatever the case, I did start feeling better. So, I headed back inside my own apartment. I still almost couldn't believe that I was actually sent home. But my confusion quickly cleared up as I read the holographic screen. [You have forfeited this floor. You cannot reattempt to clear the floor for 56: 45]"Forfeiting a floor…?"

I mumbled. That was a thing? Could we always forfeit floors in the tower? Now, I feel kind of silly for panicking so much. Though, that doesn't erase the emotions I felt then. I still feel them… They're bottling up within me right now. It still barely feels real—that I'm actually alive, that I'm home. Grandma helped but… I want to see Luna. … After dropping Bin off at home, Luna drove back to her place, bopping her head to the music.

The two of them had created a shared playlist, combining both of their favorite songs. Though she was unfamiliar with some of the songs at first, they still sounded good and she quickly learned the lyrics. Back at home, Luna placed her shoes at the entrance. It was quiet. Every time after Bin left, the familiar silence returned. Luna hadn't disliked the silence, but lately, she's been liking the noise. The scent of breakfast still lingered in the air causing Luna to smile.

She remembered the pancakes and bacon from this morning, the taste still in her mouth. Eating homemade meals was nice. They tasted way better than delivery. Just yesterday, the two of them had bought a lot of ingredients—most of which Luna had no clue what to do with—So she hoped Bin would come more often. Even if not to cook, but to simply hang out. She remembered Bin had jokingly said that she might just come over to cook everyday, but Luna kind of hoped she was at least a little serious.

That pasta she had yesterday was one of the most delicious meals she's had in her life. And Luna couldn't understand why. She watched Bin cook it from start to finish and it didn't look like she did anything special to the food. Yet, it tasted better than most restaurants.

"She doesn't even have a cooking related skill…Or does she?" Luna chuckled to herself. Her friend was an alchemist without even an alchemy-related skill. That was funny to her. The tower liked to play tricks sometimes.

"Speaking of…" Luna had completely forgotten to ask about Bin's tower progress. She wanted to at least follow her account so she knew what floor she was on without having to ask directly.

"Whatever, I'll ask later." She said to herself. Heading to her gaming room, she looked at her messy couch-bed.

"She's like a snail." Luna chuckled. Bin loved wrapping the blanket around herself fully like a hermit crab. She'd greedily steal the entire blanket with a happy smile on her face. Just last night, she noticed the blanket moving more towards Bin's side. And as if to counteract that, she herself moved closer to Luna. Luna, of course, noticed this while watching the league match, but didn't bother to mention it. In fact, she thought it was kind of cute.

She was also warm enough anyways since Bin always hugged her when she went to sleep. After making the bed, she headed to her bedroom and grabbed some clothes. It was time for a shower. … Luna sat at her computer desk, she thought about sending a text to Bin to see if she wanted to play games together. But, she didn't want to intrude. Alchemists—or production classes in general—usually have a lot of stuff to do. Their livelihood mainly relies on the goods they produce after all.

Bin seemed to be doing well on that front though, at least she didn't look like she was worried about money. And didn't she say she could make D grade potions already? For someone who's been awakened for less than 4 months, that's impressive. In any case, Luna planned to take it easy today. Today was going to be a nice, relaxing day. Just then, her phone rang with the sound of a text notification. There's only a few people who would text her nowadays, her family or Bin. [Stella: Luna] [Stella: Can I come over?] It was a text from Bin, the person she was just thinking about. However, Luna's eyes widened as she read the text. Something was wrong. Though, seemingly normal, Bin had actually called her 'Luna' instead of the usual 'Mouse'. She had never done so before. They had only parted less than two hours ago. Could something have happened in the meantime? Either way, she'd find out soon and immediately sent a reply, acting like normal. [Me: Of course!] [Me: You're welcome over any time, you don't even have to ask lol] [Me: We just parted 2 hours ago and you miss me already? (teasing mouse icon)] Seeing that there was no reply to her banter, Luna's suspicions deepened. What could have possibly happened? Luna began to feel anxious and her mind started going to the worst case scenarios.

"Did someone die…?" She immediately thought but shook her head. She couldn't think so negatively. Maybe Bin really did just want to see her again. Luna thought to ask if she should pick her up but decided against it. She knew Bin would just take a taxi over. It'd take about 20 minutes until Bin arrived, assuming she immediately found a taxi. Instead of staying at her computer, Luna got up and headed to the living room with a anxious mind.

She would just wait for Bin to arrive, if something really did happen, Luna wanted to comfort her the best she could. If it was nothing, and Bin just wanted to hang out again, that'd be even better. But something told Luna that it wasn't that simple. All she could do was wait. … 25 minutes later, Luna heard a knock at the door. She immediately jolted up and speed-walked to the door. Her mind had been creating constant situations that could have happened.

She hoped what she thought wasn't true, but she couldn't help but feel like it was. To hide her worries, Luna calmed her expressions and opened the door. Then, her eyes widened—her pupils trembling—and her mouth slightly opened at the sight. Her worries weren't unfounded, something had happened. Bin stood in front of the door timidly. She wore black cardigan and wifebeater. A skirt covered her legs and a small leg pouch sat on the side of her thigh, at her hip was a dagger loosely attached.

But what surprised Luna the most was Bin's head. Around her eyes were completely red, as if she had been crying. Tears were stained down her cheeks and even stained her clothes. Her hair was a disheveled mess. At a glance anyone could tell something was wrong. Luna's heart hurt seeing her friend in such bad shape.

"Bin… Are you…" Luna started to say but when Bin looked at her with such pitiful eyes her mouth shut and she swallowed her words. She clearly wasn't alright. Bin sniffled and silently shook her head. Without another word, Bin silently stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Luna's back and buried her head in Luna's embrace. Luna quietly hugged her back tightly. Luna heard sniffles and the sound of her friend crying from beneath her. It took a lot of willpower for Luna herself not to cry.

She inevitable failed as a few silent tears streamed down her cheek. She didn't know why Bin was sad or crying, but as her friend, the only thing she could do was be there for her. Bin's arms tightened around Luna's back and she buried her head deeper into her embrace. She could feel Bin's trembling. Luna gently raised her hand and started to stroke the back of Bin's head, softly starting to speak,"It's okay… I'm here… Everything's okay…"