From that moment on, it had just become one of her daily activities. She still hoped that Simone would return but each day that hope was slowly dying. There was the strong possibility that Simone was gone, either killed or trapped somewhere. That thought occurred to the child multiple times. But she always pushed that thought away, believing that the universe had killed enough people she'd grown close to. They weren't allowed to kill any others. That childish logic helped her keep up her own hope. By that time, Lewis had apparently grown more accustomed to her presence. He didn't drink as much and it was almost like he'd pissed off someone who beat it out of him. Still she tried to stay out of his way and only touched the cactus in his room while focusing most of her attentions on Simone's room.

One day Lewis rushed out of his room, shouting about how he couldn't be late. Confusion crossed the child's face as she'd never seen him so excited. Perhaps Simone was finally coming back? The next two weeks there wasn't a sign of anybody and Dala's hope began to fall. Still she kept with the chores and taking care of the cactus, which had become a comfort cactus for herself as well. One day she was heading over to Lewis' room as normal. She checked for him first, not wanting to get in his way, then went over to the cactus. After giving it a little water, she went over to Simone's room with a rag and some soap for the weekend clean.

When she saw a figure in the room, she was shocked. Sneaking into the temple was all but impossible. Her dad wouldn't let a random stranger invade. Her eyes widened with realization as she took a closer look. The soap and rag dropped out of her hands as she rushed towards Simone, grabbing her legs for a tight hug and refusing to let go. Dala was determined to keep Simone around this time!

"You're okay!" She exclaimed with pure joy.

Then she realized Simone was alright and freed her. Dala had her hands on her hips and looked very cross.

"Where were you?! I wanna know!" Dala demanded, "I was worried sick!"

Simone had clearly changed. It was still the same woman but her attitude and appearance were different.

"And why do you look different? You look sorta lumpy." She said in reference to the sudden curvy figure that she called lumpy.

She had heard the door open to Lewis’s room but she sat still. Maybe Lewis had forgotten something but still, she was paying attention to the letters that Dala had written her and if Lewis needed her he would call. That wasn’t what happened though as the door opened and Dala looked in at her.

Simone gave a tender smile to her. When Dala launched herself at her she patted her head and hugged her back. “Yeah, thanks to Lewis.” She put Dala’s letters up in a neat pile of read and not read.

The look that Dala gave her made Simone chuckle a bit. “It’s a very long story but I can tell you the child-friendly version of it all and who I am. Would you like that Dala? I remember everything now.”

When Dala called Simone lumpy she instinctively got up and looked at herself in the mirror. “Lumpy? Am I seriously lumpy–” It took her a few seconds before she was laughing. “You are talking about my hips Dala?” Once she got confirmation she just smiled. “I won’t age anymore so this body was made to look older so when Lewis gets older it doesn’t look weird.”

She walked back over to the bed and fell down on it. “Did you know… that I am over thirteen hundred years old? And I died every time I turn twenty-nine and reset to sixteen… and if I got killed early the same thing happened. I couldn’t remember anything except when my true self could shine through. Lewis saved me. He set me free and it was one hell of an adventure.”

Simone told her the whole story of her curse and her adventure with Lewis to free her. She left out all the sex and extreme violence. “Lewis even gave me a last request to marry me,” she showed Dala her wedding ring. “And then he killed me. Just like he promised to do. We were so stupid but after everything I’ve been through I didn’t think I had a right to be happy. I thought I was his burden.”

There was a smirk. “Lewis got punched in the face by a goddess. He stormed into Angela’s temple and demanded she bring me back. She said it would take a month. He probably looked really rough for a while… Didn’t he? We were actually on a honeymoon for the last two weeks.”

Simone was slightly different, but it was still her. The child could see the care and kindness with a hint of sass. And now there was so much more to learn, no longer just hidden behind clouds of mystery. After the lumpy comment, Simone rushed to the mirror to inspect her appearance only to realize the child meant her hips. Dala nodded in confirmation with a confused look on her face. Then she explained the body was made to look older for Lewis. Dala nodded, pretending to understand what that meant then flopped on the bed with Simone.

"You're really that old? Then where are your wrinkles?" Dala asked suspiciously.

Simone explained how it was possible and how she died every time she turned twenty-nine. She listened as Simone explained the entire story. It almost seemed like something from an adventure and horror book rather than anything that happened in real life. But the proof was right in front of her. Besides, Simone wouldn't lie about this. Dala's eyes were wide as she drank up every detail of the story. She looked sad in the sad moments and ecstatic whenever they succeeded. Then they were married and he killed her out of a misunderstanding, which didn't surprise Dala in the slightest. The last time she talked with Simone about their relationship, Simone wasn't communicating with Lewis about her feelings.

"Yeah he was really drunk one night. That was the one time I decided not to clean up. I didn't wanna risk it." The child explained, "The next night he had a nightmare and was calling for you. I didn't really know what to do so I got him a little comfort cactus. Don't tell him! I'm trying to see how long I can go without him realizing where it came from."

The first couple of weeks were hardest on Lewis but overtime he did get better.

"After that drunken night he improved a lot. I guess that's when Angela punched his face." She said with a smirk.