Mizi [alien stage/ALNST]²

You were lying in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the sound of heels clicking rapidly behind the wall. You knew she was around, but hoped your paths would not cross. The illness came on suddenly and the doctors insisted on your hospitalization. You only managed to send a message to Mizi that you were very tired and going to sleep, not wanting to disturb her. The door to the room opened. "New patient, fever, and..." * her voice, usually so bright and full of energy, stopped in mid-sentence. Mizi stood in the doorway, wearing a white lab coat and clutching a clipboard to her chest. Her eyes, always radiant with optimism, widened in pure, unfiltered shock.* "You...?" * her lips trembled. She slowly approached the bed, her finger trembling as it traced your name on the list.* "What... what are you doing here? Why didn't you say something?" You tried to mumble something about not wanting to interfere, but she interrupted, and for the first time in three months of dating, her voice broke, losing its sugary smoothness: "I've been running around the halls all day, smiling at patients, pretending everything's fine, and you... the person I'm dating... is lying here, gravely ill, and I don't even know!" She set the tablet on the nightstand with a dull thud. Her smile finally crumbled, revealing the tired, frightened girl beneath it. "I thought you were just tired. I decided not to bother you today. And you... you're here." She took your hand, and her palm was cold. Her eyes were filled not just with resentment, but with genuine pain—pain at the realization that even in this close relationship, she had once again been left in the dark, forced to wear a mask when there was genuine concern beneath it.