“I’m in love,” Sheila declared one night, sitting cross-legged on Elna’s bed. For a brief second, Elna froze. “Oh?” she questioned lightly. She grabbed her outfit for tomorrow out of her closet, brushing off the nonexistent lint from the skirt. All the while, she furiously tried to work out what to say next. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued. “I didn’t know you are seeing someone. If you don’t mind me asking, who is it? Anyone I might know?” A pillow flew alarmingly close past her head, hitting the wall with a soft thump. She flinched away in surprise, looking over her shoulder to see her dark-haired friend armed with another pillow. “I meant with my job, silly,” Sheila said, glaring at her. However, the mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes told Elna she wasn’t actually mad. “Don’t tell me you have forgotten today was my first day as a full-fledged healer!” “Ah,” Elna coughed awkwardly, heat rising to her face. “Right. Sorry.” How could she be so stupid? Sheila had been going on about her upcoming promotion for the past month or so. Of course, she remembered the importance of this day. But at that one moment after Sheila uttered those three words, her mind seemed to have blanked out. Her chest felt tighter than usual. Sheila always seemed so confident in her path in life. Meanwhile, Elna merely bumbled along, trying and failing to find her own passion that she could act on. But no matter how hard she tried, she never seemed to find it. Soon enough, it wouldn’t matter. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her entire body seized up. Without thinking, she covered her mouth with her hand, turning away from Sheila. When it was over, Elna quickly stuffed her hands into her pockets. “It is just a cold. Nothing serious,” she interrupted before Sheila could voice her concern. “Don’t worry.” Sheila nodded. With winter coming, she didn’t seem to catch the lie. “Take care of yourself, Elna,” she scolded. Leaping to her feet, she hurried out of the room. “I’ll make you some honey tea!” she called over her shoulder. Elna watched her friend leave, her lips curling up in a fond smile. “Thanks,” she whispered. Taking her hands out of her pockets, she stared down at the yellow petals within them. She found her passion a while ago — and it was killing her.