Chapter 3

• Axion was done shopping and decided to go sit on a bench whole waiting for his driver to get him another car. But on getting to the bench outside the moll, he was surprised to see Phoenix lying on it and...
• She was sleeping! A scoff left his lips.
• " You again " He bent slightly to remove the dirt stuck in her hair. Using the opportunity, he decided to examine her face. His pupil dilated greatly and his heart skipped a bit.
• " She's cute " He mumbled with a faint smile but quickly came back to his senses. He stood up and made to leave, but stopped. He squatted back, looking over at her hair. That was when he saw a red-feathered hair tie which she used to tie her ponytail. The hair tie grabbed his attention and he immediately felt drawn to it.
• " What type of a hair tie is this? " He wondered as he reached out and gently took it off making Phoenix's hair fall freely, covering her face. He stared at it for some time, examining it.
• " I think I'll take this " He shrugged and stood up, putting the hair tie into his pocket.
• " Sleep tight " He scoffed and left.
• ×. ×. ×
• " So you came " Tamara huffed as Axion entered their house.
• " I told you I would " He replied, approaching.
• " Where is Grandma? " He asked.
• " She's in mom's room with Aunt Glinda " Tamara answered as they both headed upstairs. They got to the door and entered the room. There inside the room was an old woman seated on a chair beside a bed. And on top of that bed was a lifeless lady whose whole body had turned pale except for her face. On the other side of the bed was yet another lady, standing.
• " Any updates? " Axion asked, turning the attention of the two to himself.
• " You're here? Come, my dear " The old woman smiled on seeing him. Axion complied and sat beside the lady on the bed. He took her hand in, rubbing it gently.
• " No improvement " The other lady replied.
• " But Aunt Glinda, why isn't your spell and medicine working on Mom? " Tamara questioned with a sad pout.
• " It's not left for me to heal Kelsey, my dear, her sickness is really beyond my spells and magic. The only thing I can do is try preserving her for some time, but not forever " Glinda explained.
• " How much time do we have left? " Axion asked.
• " Not much time. Her whole body had already turned pale, including her neck. If her face is to turn pale too...then she's gone...for good " The old woman answered this time around. Axion let out a sigh, bowing his head down in sadness, his eyes closed.
• " I want to be alone with Mom " He muttered in everyone's hearing.
• " Come on Tamara, let's go," The old woman said, standing up. Placing her hand on Axion's shoulder,
• "Kelsey will be fine, my dear, I'm sure of it. Just don't lose hope yet " She assured. Axion only nodded slightly to what she said, his eyes still closed and head bowed. With that being said, the woman and Tamara left, leaving the room to Axion and Glinda.
• " Why haven't I found her yet? " Was the question Axion threw at Glinda almost immediately.
• " Maybe you have... but aren't aware yet " Glinda replied.
• " But how am I even going to know if it's truly her when I meet her? As you said, I don't have much time before my mom is gone for good and I've spent 7 years looking for her but still nothing " Axion groaned in a complaint, finally looking up.
• " I can't tell if you'll be able to identify her at a go but one thing I'm sure about is that there will be something in which you can use to identify her, I know that for sure "
• Signing sadly, Axion stood up and walked to Glinda. Putting his hand in his pocket, he took out the hair tie.
• " I saw this weird feathered red hair tie somewhere and I don't know why but I feel weirdly attracted to it for no good reason. I don't know... maybe because I haven't seen such a hair tie before " He revealed, waving it before Glinda.
• Glinda's eyes widened greatly on seeing the hair tie and she snatched it from Axion.
• " Where did you find this? " She demanded hurriedly.
• " Why do you ask, is something wrong? " Axion replied with a question.
• " Just answer my question, where did you find it? " Glinda snapped impatiently.
• " I..erm...took it from this crazy girl I met at the mall " Axion answered.
• " Is she red-haired?
• " Yep..."
• Glinda let out a happy scoff immediately, much to Axion's surprise.
• " Aunt, are you OK? " He asked, a bit worried.
• " Do you expect me not to be? Of course, I'm okay! " She chuckled happily.
• " Do you know what this is, huh? " She asked, and Axion nodded negatively.
• " Your search is over, Axion, you just found her...you did! " Glinda revealed, and Axion's eyes widened. His lips parted in shock.
• " You mean...I found the...Red Phoenix? " He asked, just to be sure.
• " According to what I know and all the books I've read about them, only a Red Phoenix can possess this red-feathered hair tie. And if you're one thousand and one percent sure you found this on someone...then yes, you've found her "
• Happiness went down Axion and a happy scoff left his lips. He ran his hand through his hair still in disbelief. His heart was already leaping in excitement and joy, but he was still shocked or rather surprised.
• " Your search is finally over...Axion...
• ×. ×. ×
• " I can't believe I lost my hair tie. Mom warned me not to take it off and even if I do, I have to keep I safe. She bought it for hundreds of dollars and now...I lost it..." Phoenix wheezed at herself as she drove back to the club.
• When she woke up, she was surprised to see her hair loose. She has been cursing and swearing at herself ever since she couldn't find her hair tie.
• " I'm sure it must be that blonde guy who took it. But...what does he even need a hair tie for? Is he stupid or what? " She hissed angrily as she stepped out of her car, entering the club.
• " Mom, I'm back " She announced on entering their office. To her surprise, she got no reply.
• " Mom? " She called out, confused.
• " Weird. The Lilly I know will never leave her office for anything or else if it is time to perform, so where is she? " She wondered and just then, the lights went off.
• " Hey, what happened? " She said, as darkness engulfed everywhere since it was night. She was still about to take out her phone when she felt a hand slowly grip her shoulder which made her flinch.
• " Don't let him find you, Phoenix " A voice whispered to her. She swiftly turned, about to send a hard punch at the person when the lights came on, revealing a random lady.
• "Oh Veronica, it's just you " Phoenix chuckled nervously.
• " You scared me " She heaved, placing her hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.
• " Who were you expecting it to be...a ghost? " Veronica scoffed.
• " Maybe " She mumbled.
• " It's nothing. Anyways, where is my mom? " She asked instead.
• " Oh, I forgot to tell you. Mrs. Lilly collapsed all of a sudden and was rushed to the hospital " Veronica replied, and Phoenix's eyes widened in horror immediately.
• " Mom what?! " She exclaimed in shock.
• AT THE HOSPITAL
• Phoenix can be seen seated in a doctor's office. She was rubbing her sweating palm because she was as nervous as hell.
• " Doctor, will my Mom be OK. Is anything wrong with? " She inquired.
• " Yes. Mrs. Lilly has...SGS ie Short gut syndrome " The doctor revealed.
• " What?! "
• " What does that even mean?! " Phoenix demanded, shocked.
• " Let's just put it this way...she has an intestinal failure and needs to be treated immediately " The doctor explained. Phoenix's lips parted in more shock as she couldn't believe what the doctor had just said.
• " But, when and how did it happen? How come I... never knew about it since? " She mumbled.
• " It's obvious she tried hiding it from you because this isn't the first time she was diagnosed with it "
• Phoenix could feel her whole world crumbling down. She couldn't believe her mom had been sick, yet she never knew about it.
• " What type of a daughter am I? "
• " Tell me what needs to be done doctor, I don't... want to lose my mom " She inquired, trying hard to fight back her tears.
• " She needs to undergo a gastrointestinal transplant. In a more specific manner, a modified multi-visceral transplant "
• " I don't understand a thing you just said, doctor " Phoenix muttered truthfully.
• " In simple terms, she needs a stomach, pancreas, and intestinal transplant. It's a really risky and complex operation which will take a long time " The doctor explained.
• " And how much is the transplant going to cost? "
• " Summing everything up, including the research, preparation, and postoperative care, it's a total of $1,206,000..." Phoenix's eyes almost popped out of their socket.
• " One million what!!!...