A soft melody pyed from a phone resting on a bedside table. Next to the table, lying in bed, was a cat-girl semi-human. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. With a small groan, she reached for the phone and looked at it.

  "Who's calling me at this hour... Hello?"

  On the other end of the line, she heard a familiar voice—a female voice she immediately recognized. A smile crept onto her face. It was Alyssa, her crush. But the news wasn't going to be so good.

  "Hey Sarah, I've been thinking, and... I don’t think I’m really into girls. Sorry."

  Sarah's face flushed bright red. The night before, she had dared to confess her feelings to her crush at the prom. She’d had a few beers and acted a little recklessly.

  "Oh, don’t worry, it’s fine... I-I kind of expected that… It’s just, you know, the end of the year, and I thought, "Waste not want not,’ right?"

  She let out an awkward ugh, staring sadly at her legs.

  "Don’t worry, we can still be friends. I’ve got to go now. Bye."

  "Bye…"

  Alyssa hung up, and Sarah let herself fall back onto her bed with a long sigh. She still had her phone in hand and began scrolling through her social media and messages. That’s when she noticed the time—it was already noon.

  She shot up from her bed, quickly taking off her long bck pajama pants and red crop top, and changed hurriedly. She slipped on a beige sweater, a short bck skirt, and tights. She finished off her outfit with a pair of Mary Janes.

  She darted out of her room to freshen up, heading to the public bathroom designated for employees. Sarah had been taken in at Saint-Bathory Institute, an asylum run by Doctor Denasaia. Though she wasn’t officially part of the staff, she was one of the doctor’s protégés.

  She finished brushing her teeth and, as she stepped out of the bathroom, she found herself face-to-face with Denasaia. Sarah looked at her with a slightly raised eyebrow. Denasaia hadn’t aged a single day since they first met a decade ago.

  “Sorry, Dena! I-I got home l-te and slept too long.”

  Denasaia didn’t respond right away. She simply stared at Sarah for a moment before turning around and saying calmly, “I’ve prepared lunch. I hope you’re hungry.”

  And with that, she walked away from the bathroom.

  For ten years, Sarah had lived with the scientist, yet she could never predict what Dena was going to do. She made her way down to the dining hall, which was shared with the asylum’s patients. Strangely, the residents of the asylum weren’t particurly violent. In a way, Sarah had always thought of them as her family. She also got along well with the nurses.

  She served herself a pte of carbonara pasta and sat down alone at a table. Since she was eating so te, the dining hall was practically empty.

  Suddenly, Sarah felt a light smack on the back of her head. Someone had just hit her with a rolled-up newspaper.

  “Arghhh!”

  She groaned in compint, turning around to see who it was. Standing behind her was the girl who had saved her all those years ago. Her bck hair was still cut short, but she’d filled out over the years and now towered over Sarah.

  “Morning, sleepyhead,” the girl teased.

  Mikki spoke while gently stroking Sarah’s head and cat ears, causing Sarah to start purring.

  “Sis ! You could’ve woken me up!”

  Mikki shrugged nonchantly and sat down across from her. At 23, Mikki already worked at the asylum, handling security. She looked at Sarah with a pyful smile and asked,

  “Do you know what day it is?”

  Sarah, still munching on her spaghetti, chewed for a moment before swallowing and shaking her head. “Nope.”

  Mikki grinned and answered,

  “It’s been 11 years since we first met.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise. Eleven years had passed since they fled the vilge together. She felt a little older just thinking about it. Since that day, the two had formed an unbreakable bond, so strong that they considered themselves sisters.

  “...Time really flies,” Sarah said with a sigh.

  Of course, she still had painful memories of that day—her vilge engulfed in fmes, her biological sister being taken away, the threats of the soldiers. She often had nightmares about it.

  Mikki then pced a brochure on the table.

  “Here. Something for you, since you can’t decide what to do next year.”

  Sarah picked up the brochure and read it. It was for a police academy located on another isnd. Being a police officer had always been a dream of hers, but she still had doubts.

  “I don’t know if I’m cut out for that. I think I might be too immature still. Maybe it’s better if I become a nurse or something like that,” Sarah said hesitantly.

  Mikki sighed and, standing up, leaned slightly over the table to reach Sarah’s head.

  "Don’t say such nonsense. If you don’t try, you’ll never know if you really want it or not," Mikki said firmly.

  Sarah nodded, conceding that her sister was right once again, though she rolled her eyes slightly.

  "Fine, I’ll give it a try for a year. I’ll talk to Dena about it."

  Suddenly, a voice came from behind her, followed by a soft whisper.

  "Talk to me about what?"

  Sarah shivered at the sound. Dena always had a knack for sneaking up on them like that. Clutching her chest lightly, she replied, "Please, Dena, stop scaring me like that."

  As expected, Dena didn’t respond with an apology or a promise. Instead, she stepped closer to Mikki, pcing a hand on her shoulder.

  "I need your help to restrain Emile. He’s being a bit resistant to the idea of undergoing the procedure."

  Mikki nodded, got up, and headed for the staircase, likely to retrieve this Emile. Dena then turned her attention to Sarah and asked, "We’ll talk about what you want to discuss ter. For now, could you bring some food to Zye?"

  Sarah nodded and gave a slight salute, to which Dena replied with a small nod before turning to follow Mikki up the stairs.

  Finishing her meal, Sarah pced the pte in the sink before heading to Cell Block A to see Zye.

  Zye was another semi-human cat, younger than both Sarah and Mikki. Like them, Zye had been brought to the institute by Dena. Sarah got along very well with her and considered her a little sister.

  Opening the padded cell door, Sarah pced a pte near Zye, who was lying on the floor, murmuring softly to herself. Her long pink hair was disheveled.

  Sadly, Sarah knew it was partly her fault that Zye had ended up like this.

  "Here you go, Zy. I brought you some salmon..."

  She gently stroked Zye’s cheeks, and the younger girl looked at Sarah for a few seconds before her gaze shifted to the pte of fish.

  "Can I eat it?"

  Sarah nodded. Zye had always struggled with decision-making, even when they were younger. She used to rely on a Magic 8-Ball to make her choices. Despite Mikki and Sarah’s best efforts, they had never managed to help her overcome this habit.

  Since the accident, her indecisiveness had only worsened. Leaving her alone without any supervision often resulted in her either hurting herself or sitting idle for days on end.

  Four years earlier, Sarah woke up in her bed in the middle of the night to the sound of her arm. Earlier that day, she, Mikki, and Zye had hatched a pn to sneak out of the asylum at night to watch the fireworks in the city.

  Sarah made her way to the garden of the asylum, where Mikki and Zye were already waiting. Using keys they had swiped from a nurse, the trio slipped out and headed into the city. The best spot to view the fireworks was the roof of a tall building.

  As they reached a suitable structure, Mikki grinned, pulling out a rope. She took off running toward the wall and, with impressive agility, scaled it by running vertically. Once she reached the top, she tossed the rope down for the other two.

  Sarah let Zye climb up first, keeping close beneath her to ensure her safety, and then followed right after.

  Once on the roof, the three sat together and gazed at the night sky as fireworks burst overhead. Their eyes sparkled as they watched the vibrant colors light up the heavens, filling the moment with wonder and joy.

  After spending hours watching the dazzling fireworks, the trio eventually decided to climb down from the roof using the rope. They were determined not to let Dena find out they had snuck out without permission.

  As they walked through the streets, making their way back to the asylum, an unexpected tragedy struck. While crossing the road, Zye accidentally dropped her Magic 8 Ball on the crosswalk. Without hesitation, she rushed to retrieve it, but it was too te—a speeding car was headed straight for her.

  Neither Mikki nor Sarah had the time to save her. The impact flung Zye onto the sidewalk, leaving her with a severe head injury.

  From that day forward, the Zye they knew was gone. She was never the same, and both Mikki and Sarah carried an overwhelming sense of guilt for what had happened.

  When they returned to the asylum, they faced Dena’s wrath like never before. She scolded them harshly, making it the most intense reprimand they had ever experienced in their lives.

  Sarah watched Zye, who had finished her pte as memories of that tragic event repyed in her mind. She lowered her gaze to the floor, her voice barely audible as she whispered a soft “sorry” to Zye. Deep down, Sarah wished more than anything for Zye to recover.

  She resolved silently, with every ounce of determination, that she would do whatever it took to make amends and help her heal.