The Flower Is Finished

Because we had been chatting for several hours with Lira, we decided to go look for Michelle's friend. I only listened to the longing between Michelle and Lira.

"Is she still at her house?" Michelle asked the elder, and it was answered with a nod, but he looked a little hesitant to tell Michelle.

"She is currently afflicted by something that has never happened before," he said in a stuttering voice, and we immediately looked at each other.

"Is she under a curse or magic?" I asked, since those were the two biggest possibilities, but he still shook his head.

"She is not under a curse or magic, but she has hurt herself several times, and we think it is demon possession." He immediately stood up from his seat and took a very worn book.

"Open it…" he handed the book to us, and we immediately opened the worn book. The book was very thin, only a few pages, but when we opened the first page the air suddenly became hot. There was indeed a small child tied to a tree. Then the second page showed the child trying to untie the bindings. The third page showed the child successfully freeing themselves and looking back while smiling. The fourth page showed them being chased by something, seen from the panic on their face. The fifth page showed them succeeding, and they were flying as if being pulled by something unseen. The sixth page showed them tied again, crying. The seventh page showed them looking up, and a sword piercing straight into their heart. I did not understand those images and how they knew what would happen next.

"So according to the elder, she is experiencing that… a demon?" I asked, and he nodded. For a moment we fell silent, trying to understand the situation, but as we suspected, it was indeed the work of a demon, so we had to hurry there. We entrusted Lira to the elder to take care of her.

"If you have business with her, you should go immediately. She will be possessed tonight." Hearing that statement made us worried and panicked because our purpose this time was to find out the contents of that book.

We were now standing in front of a rather worn house. The house was indeed smaller than the others. In the yard there were several herbal plants and a fairly large tree beside the house. The sound of a dog barking was heard, and the dog immediately approached Michelle. I stepped back a few steps because I was a little surprised seeing the dog that almost looked like George's dog.

"How are you, Bogi?" Michelle asked while gently stroking the dog's neck, and the dog immediately licked her hands and face.

"Woof… woof… woof…" the dog kept barking, and she immediately carried it. I stepped closer and tried to observe carefully, it really looked like George's black dog, but I shook my head and gently stroked its head when it looked at me deeply.

"Let me introduce you. Bogi, this is my friend Xanders… and Xanders, this is Bogi," said Michelle while introducing the dog, and I nodded and extended my hand toward it, but it licked my hand, making me smile faintly.

"Where is your owner?" Michelle asked again as she slowly walked into the yard.

"Woof… woof…" the dog kept barking, and after that we entered the yard. A cold sensation ran through my spine. I looked around, but there were only dense trees. Even though the house had a bamboo fence, it was still maintained, but it seemed that in the past few months the plants had not been cared for. Some were withered, even dead.

"Does she live alone?" I asked, and Michelle nodded.

"Yes, she lives with her dog, Bogi!" Hearing that, I nodded. It seemed she rarely took care of the garden, so the plants were withered and some had died.

"Mei… Mei… are you inside?" Michelle shouted loudly as she stood at the door, but there was no answer, not even a sound, which made me confused.

"Mei… you're inside, right?" Michelle shouted again, and suddenly the dog jumped down and scratched at the door. Michelle and I looked at each other, then I immediately forced the door open. Kicking it was the best option.

I rushed inside, and Bogi barked loudly. Michelle followed, and we saw what had happened—Mei was lying on the floor.

"Mei, what happened to you?" Michelle asked in a trembling voice, her face full of panic. I immediately laid Mei properly on the floor and checked her body temperature. It seemed she was poisoned again, so I had to inject a needle into her chest to prevent the poison from reaching her heart.

"Let me treat her first," I said, and Michelle nodded. I took out several special needles I had brought just in case.

After I inserted the needle into her chest, Mei suddenly woke up. She coughed up blood and gasped loudly, making Michelle breathe in relief even though Mei still did not want to open her eyes.

"Mei, you're awake…" "What actually happened to you?" Michelle asked with panic and worry, but Mei stayed silent and touched Michelle's face, feeling it.

"Does your chest still hurt?" I asked, seeing the signs of poisoning, though I did not know what kind of poison it was.

"Michelle… is that you?" she asked while still feeling Michelle's face, and Michelle nodded, crying softly.

"What happened to you?" Michelle asked again, but Mei kept touching her face.

"How are you?" Mei asked again, and Michelle clicked her tongue.

"I'm asking what happened to you, you don't need to ask how I am. I'm fine. What I'm asking is how are you and why are you poisoned?" Suddenly Mei cried loudly, and the dog barked even louder, as if sensing something.

"Woof… woof… woof…!"

"You came… at the right time. I can't hold back the attacks from all directions anymore."

"The item you're looking for… I've prepared it. Ask Bogi, he will tell you where it is…" Mei said weakly, while Michelle continued crying.

"You must not say that," Michelle said through sobs. I only watched the two women in front of me. It seemed they did not have much time left to talk.

"Thank you for coming into my life."

"Cough… cough… I'm grateful to you because you became my friend." "My time is short… I've held on as much as I could. After this, I trust that you and him will succeed… I… I…" Suddenly Mei fainted and fell into Michelle's lap. Michelle cried loudly while the dog barked intensely.

"Woof… woof… woof…!" Bogi kept barking and licking Mei's feet.

"Mei… Mei… wake up," Michelle said while gently patting her cheeks, but there was no response.

"Mei… I'm not joking. Wake up." "I still can't let you go." There was a tight feeling in my chest seeing Michelle lose her friend. At first I did not understand why Mei did not open her eyes, but when I held her hand, it was already cold. Most likely, Mei had already passed away, and what we saw earlier was her spirit waiting for Michelle.

"Let her go peacefully," I said hoarsely, but Michelle kept shaking her body.

"She is my friend… my best friend."

"Mei, why did you leave me so quickly?" I took a deep breath. There was a feeling I could not explain, but seeing Michelle so broken made my chest ache.

I left the room, leaving Michelle with Mei. I sat outside under the tree. The sunlight was getting brighter, so I leaned against the tree. Bogi came toward me and barked loudly again. I stood up and followed him as he began circling around.

"Did your master leave something for me?" I asked with curiosity, still watching Bogi closely.