• The stars hung in the sky like brilliant diamonds . The moon was hazed over with en eerie fog, yet it was still so visible. There was no need for any kind of man-made light. The stars themselves almost blinded Azami.
    She was amazed at the beauty of it all. Tokyo was the largest town she knew of, yet the stars shone like there was no tomorrow. But how could she know that there wouldn’t be ??
    Her day had been filled with stress and worry. Azami hadn’t had a moment to rest since the moment she woke up. The hospital was always busy, but never like this. She was one of the most celebrated doctors in her field. People came from all over the world just to see her. It astounded her. But at least that meant job security. She walked to her car at a brisk pace. Azami was ready to get home.
    She dug through her purse to find the key. “Finally!” Azami told herself as she pulled out the lone key. For some reason she kept all her keys on separate rings. There was no reason for it. She just did. As she went to put the key in the door, she remembered that she forgot some paperwork in her office. “Damn it . I was so close too.” Azami stormed back towards the hospital. All she wanted was to go home and cuddle with Kenta !! Was that really too much to ask ? Oh well, this wouldn’t take but a second.
    The hospital was closed at night, since it was a specialized hospital for people with severe heart conditions. The main branch was always open, but this was the branch that was always the busiest. And all because of her. She pulled out her office key. This one had a little nurses hat as the keychain! Azami thought it was cute.
    She opened the door and crept in. It was so eerie in this light. The stars that once amazed her now haunted her. She found herself walking with fear at her heels. She had to calm herself down. It was the same now as it always was. The receptionist’s desk was to her left, the waiting room to her right, and the patient wings and doctor’s offices directly in front of her. Same as it always was.
    Azami had to look closely at the names on the doors to find her office. It was so dark yet so bright at the same time. She unlocked the door and stepped into a world so familiar. Everything was in it’s place. But why should she expect it to be any different?? The colors were dark yet uplifting. She had patterns and pictures of roses everywhere. She loved roses. Somehow, she seemed to relate to them. They were so beautiful at first glance, but you can never get to close with out getting hurt. Roses always stand alone.
    Azami ruffled through the papers on her desk to find the ones she was looking for. They weren’t there of course !She looked through her files, her file cabinet and even her trash can!! They were no where to be seen. Then she remembered something. She had folded them up in her purse before leaving the hospital for the first time. If she would’ve been close enough to the wall she would’ve beat her head against it. Repeatedly.
    Azami started to gather her things and leave when she heard something. It sounded like the front door slammed shut. But , hadn’t she locked it? It was probably just the cleaning crew. They cleaned the place at night. That all it was. She was extremely tired. Now to just get out of here and get to Kenta. All she wanted was to be in her loving husband’s arms.
    Azami was walking to the door when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was some kind of glowing. It was almost as eerie as the stars. Azami turned the corner against her better judgment. She knew that she should just go home but the thought of what it could be was taking a hold of her body and forcing her towards it.
    Then she saw her. It was Hoshi, one of her youngest patients. She was only six years old, and needed a heart transplant. She was standing in the middle of the hallway, with something in her tiny hand. The sleeves of her night gown were covering what it was. Azami was about to say something to Hoshi when she saw them. Azami saw the girl’s eyes.
    They were empty of eyes, but filled with light. The eerie light was coming from her eyes. They were two dying stars, desperate to find another host to live out their pathetic lives in. Azami stopped for a second. What was going on? This wasn’t even possible. You cant have stars in your eyes, and Hoshi can’t be here. The hospital is closed. Hoshi left with her parents long ago. Hoshi was asleep in bed. Azami was only hallucinating from being over worked and extremely tired. So it was all in her head.
    Now that she had rationalized the situation , Azami just turned around and started to walk off. “Miss Azami, Why are you leaving me here ? Do you want me to be left here all alone? Left her without anyone to protect me from the monsters? Left her to die?” With those words Hoshi started crying. Azami instinctively turned to the crying child. “Shhh . . ., shh Hoshi. I’ll bring you home so your mommy and daddy can protect you from those monsters.” Azami rocked the child back and forth. Hoshi looked up at Azami with a smile. The stars were still there, Almost blinding Azami. “But Miss Azami, who will protect you?” Hoshi laughed maniacally and ran off towards the children’s ward. Azami was dumbfounded. What was happening , and what did Hoshi mean? Whatever the case, Azami had to go and find Hoshi. There was no way she could leave a child alone here. “Hoshi, Hoshi come Back!!”
    Azami turned corner after corner, desperately searching for the child that had seemed to be only a figment of her imagination. Maybe it really was all in her mind. Maybe she was really asleep in her bed, lying next to Kenta. Or maybe this was all real. That thought made chills go up her spine. Azami stooped at a corner to catch her breath. She had been running down the hallways for what seemed like hours.
    Azami grabbed the corner with one hand and her chest with the other. She was completely out of breath. She felt something touch her shoulder like it was trying to comfort her. Azami was frightened at first, but the hand was so warm and relaxing she gave in to the touch. As soon as Azami gave in, the touch became cold. Unbearably cold. Azami screamed as the hand moved up her shoulder and onto her neck. The hand grasped her neck and tightened it’s death-cold grip.
    Azami forced her body to turn and see her killer. It was Mr. Yoshiko. But why was he doing this? He was always so kind to Azami! Then she remembered, Mr.Yoshiko had died three days ago from heart failure. Azami pulled the hands away from her throat and looked at him. His eyes were also missing .The stars from his eyes were a deep blue. Like when the fire has reached it’s final heat.
    Azami turned and ran. She forgot all about Hoshi and everything else. She just ran for her life. Azami ran into the next unit and found Hoshi standing in the middle of her way. Azami scooped up the little girl in her arms and began to run again. “Hoshi, I’m going to take you home now.” Hoshi smiled up at the woman. “no you won’t , Miss Azami.”
    Hoshi smiled brightly at her doctor. “Why not sweetheart?” Azami was confused. “Because miss Azami, you’re going to die!!” Hoshi giggled. Azami stopped dead in her tracks. Before she could do anything about it, the little girl took the scalpel from her sleeve and thrust it through Azami’s chest. Azami stepped back and tried to catch herself .She leaned up against the wall. It was a fatal wound and she knew it. Azami really was going to die. “Wh . . .why, Hoshi?” The Last words of Azami were spoken in that moment. Azami silently slipped away into another world. Hoshi kissed Azami’s body on the cheek and skipped off while humming a playful song.
    This was the beginning of the end.