It was a peaceful day, far from any worries. Ina was particularly excited, it was the day she would finally return to the orphanage after all these years. She couldn't wait to see the place where she grew up and couldn't imagine a better moment than her twenty-third birthday to go there. After driving there, she quickly met a familiar face who was excited to see her again.

"Ina! It's been so long, we were wondering when you would come again."

The old woman in front of Ina was the one who took care of her throughout her childhood. Even though they weren't related by blood, Ina considered her as a mother.

"I was so busy, I wish I could come back earlier. With all those restaurants to manage, it's hard to find the time."

"You never found the time but always found the money to support us. Without you, this place couldn't have stayed up. Come on, let me show you how much this place has changed!"

The two entered in the orphanage. Ina was glad to see how much the building was restored, the walls were clean and the light no longer flickering. A feeling of relief filled her, glad to see that her efforts weren't in vain.

"I should introduce you to the children here, I'm sure they'd be glad to see you."

"I'm not sure, I'm not very good with kids."

Ina was about to continue her visit but was interrupted by a little girl. She had never seen her before but didn't want to look shy in front of the child. She waved at her with an awkward smile, trying her best to ignore her shyness.

"H-Hey, I lived here before, I just came to visit."

"Are you Miss Ina?"

Ina was surprised to hear that the child knew about her and crouched to get at the child's height.

"How do you know me?"

"Miss owner said you were the one that made everything better! We even saw you on TV!"

Ina blushed before standing back up. She turned toward the old woman with an embarrassed expression on her face, trying her best to not look at her in the eyes.

"Mother, is that true? I didn't want anyone to see me on TV..."

"But why? Everyone needs to see how great you did!"

"It's awkward... I don't want people to look at me."

A bunch of kids suddenly arrived, rushing at Ina. The old woman chuckled, amused by the situation.

"It's really miss Ina!"

"Wow! You're as pretty as on TV!"

Ina was overwhelmed but glad at the same time to see all those kids happy to see her. She smiled at them, trying her best to overcome her shyness.

"I could cook something for you, would you like it?"

The children were more than happy, cheering for her. Ina decided to continue her visit later to instead focus on the cooking.

"Oh, I'm really sorry Ina," said the old woman "I didn't get the groceries yet, we don't have anything to cook."

"It's fine, I'll just get it myself."

"You're such a sweet angel Ina."

Ina waved at everyone and left as soon as she could, excited at the idea of cooking for everyone.

After getting everything she needed, Ina arrived in front of the orphanage with her bags full of food. She was already thinking about all the meals she would make, but sadly for her, she quickly stopped those thoughts. The bags slipped from her hands as she was watching the orphanage burning. The firefighters were already here, trying to save the most people they could. Ina searched around and found the owner of the orphanage. She immediately asked for the questions she had.

"Mother? Are you alright? What happened?"

"Ina... I'm glad you're safe. I think one of the children tried to cook for you but..."

"Are they safe?"

The woman stayed silent. Ina looked at the orphanage in shock, still in disbelief. She couldn't believe what happened, and a part of her wondered if it was her fault.

A year passed, today was her twenty-fourth birthday. Ina was still traumatized about last year's event but tried her best to move on. She decided to stop taking care of the restaurants she made and sold them instead. Now, she was cooking for a retirement home, away from all worry. She brought everyone's meal, even after all these years, she was glad to see people enjoy her food. One of the elders came to her, Ina was a bit surprised, it was rare for them to come to her.

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"Is something the matter?"

"No, quite the opposite. I heard it's your birthday today so we wanted to give you something. We all tried finding a good gift for you."

"Really? You didn't have to."

"Nonsense, you cook so well for us, it's only natural that you get a treat once in a while."

A bit embarrassed, Ina accepted the gift. She opened the box to find a book of recipes inside. She was amused by the choice of the book and gave a soft to the old man.

"Thanks, it's a cute gift."

"I'm glad you like it. We didn't know what to give you, you're always so secretive about your life, so it was the best we had."

"Don't worry, it's more than enough. I truly enjoy the attention."

"If you say so, but I hope you will let us see more about you."

The elder left Ina alone, who looked at the book for a moment. She didn't want anyone to learn more about her anymore, only help those she could help. She placed the book in her bag and left the retirement home to return to her house for the night.

Tired by the day, Ina turned on the television in her room. She lay on the bed silently, the sound of the news in the background. The memories of last year still haunted her, seeing the place she grew up in burn, along with all those children who loved her. She felt like nothing would ever make her forget but the TV managed to get her out of her thoughts for a moment.

*We received new information from the police concerning the explosion of the Ebony Retirement Home that occurred a few hours ago.*

Ina recognized the name, it was the place she worked at. She stood up from her bed and turned on the volume to hear what was happening.

*A gas leak is the most probable cause. The police declared that one of the residents must have tried to use fire, which caused the explosion. There is no way to determine whether the gas leak was intentional or not but the police try their best to...*

Ina stared blankly at the screen, unable to process what just happened. A few hours earlier, she was there, talking with someone. All she could do was hope that everyone was alright but she didn't have the strength to go check if anyone survived. She turned off the TV and stared at the blank screen for what felt like forever.

Ina turned twenty-five today but it seemed like it would be her last year. Everyone was talking about the volcanos in eruption, causing the sky to be blocked by smoke and ashes. Everyone accepted it was the end, their chance of survival was near zero. She stared at the world outside her window, saddened by the state of the city she lived in most of her life.

"Ina, don't you want to do something else in your last moments?"

Ina turned toward the woman she considered like her mother. She didn't want the old woman to be alone during these dark times and decided to come to her house. Ina didn't admit it, but she was glad that this was happening. Even if she wanted everyone to live happily, her curse would finally end. She walked toward the old woman, trying her best to make her comfortable.

"Do you need anything mother?"

"I'd like some water, can you put it in a plastic cup? I don't want to break the glass by accident."

"You're not that old, I'm sure you can hold a cup without dropping it."

Ina went to the kitchen to get a glass but was quickly stopped by her mother before she could.

"Ina, can you smile for me? I haven't seen your smile for so long..."

"It won't be an honest smile but I can."

Ina tried to smile despite the sadness and emptiness in her heart, giving her an awkward expression.

"I'm sure you can do better, why don't you think about something you love? Don't you remember the smile of the people that you helped? How warm it felt?"

The woman tried her best to remember. Even if it wasn't easy, she managed to recall the good moments in her life and how much she was happy to help. Without even realizing it, a soft smile appeared on her face.

"It's the warm smile I know. I'm glad I was able to see your smile one last time. You should do it more often, Ina."

"You say that like it's the end. We still have a few days, maybe even a week."

Ina went to the kitchen to get the glass of water her mother requested. When she returned to the living room, she saw the old woman sleeping. A bad feeling went through her body, she grabbed her mother's wrist to make sure of something. The glass dropped off her hand when she realized she could feel the pulse disappearing, along with the most precious person in her life.

Today was Ina's twenty-sixth birthday. She didn't know why she still kept track of it, it was pointless to do so when she was the only one left. Everyone slowly perished due to the lack of oxygen and light, but not her. It has been a year that she was completely alone now, devoid of all hope. She made her way to the top of a lighthouse to see what was left of her city before ending her life. The ashes fell, enveloping the city in a grey blanket. The sky was clear but it was too late now, she was the last survivor. Or at least, that's what she thought. Sounds of footsteps made their way to her, surprising her. Not one, but three persons were standing in front of her. One of them stepped forward, it was a man that looked like a girl. He raised his open hands in the air and quickly announced his intentions.

"We don't want to hurt you, you're Ina, right?"

"You know me? And who's asking?"

"I'm Neige, and these are my friends, Silva and Kairo."

"I... Can't believe there were other survivors all this time... I thought I was the only one left."

Neige took a deep inspiration, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

"You are the only one left. We come from another world."

"Another world?"

Ina looked at the group with curiosity, their outfit looked like they came straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"You do look like you're from another world... You're dressed weirdly."

"Are we?" Asked the girl with red hair "That's this useless engineer! She made those uniforms so we look ridiculous!"

Ina chuckled sadly at Silva's words, already accepting her fate.

"Are you here to kill me? Was I supposed to die like the others?"

"No, and yes. It's strange that you managed to survive but we came here to save you." Neige extended his hand toward Ina and gave her a warm smile "We'll bring you with us, you'll see, it's way better than here."

Ina tried to step back but was stopped by the fence behind her.

"No, leave me here. If you bring me, the universe will be doomed... I only bring death with me."

Neige and Kairo looked at each other, unsure about what to do. Before they could do anything, Silva stepped toward Ina, getting too close for the woman's taste.

"You're not special, you don't smell like it."

"S-Smell? Are you saying you can smell whether I'm special or not?"

"Yeah, I can tell because I'm used it it, right guys?"

Kairo was completely lost but Neige nodded his head, playing along with Silva's lie.

"See? If we bring you with us, it's because we know you're not a danger."

"Alright... But if I bring any problems, please, give up on me."

"We will." Said Silva with a smile.

"Silva, you're not supposed to smile when you tell someone that you'd give up on them."

"It's not my fault Kairo, she's the one that wanted it!"

Ina chuckled at the group arguing. She looked at her empty city and decided that she could live for at least one more day.