Chapter 1:- Thread of something unknown (part-2)

The apartment smelled faintly of cinnamon, old wood, and second-hand books.

Aurora shoved the door open with her shoulder, careful not to jostle the fragile bundle tucked against her chest. “Almost home,” she whispered, flicking the light switch with her elbow.

A warm golden glow washed over the tiny space — one room that doubled as kitchen, living area, and bedroom, with a rickety old fan clicking above like an offbeat metronome.

She set the rabbit down gently on the floral cushion she’d gotten from the thrift shop for two bucks — still soft despite its faded pink pattern. He twitched, curling up instinctively, eyes fluttering half-closed in relief.

Aurora sighed. Dropped her grocery bag on the counter. Kicked off her shoes.

And stared at him.

“You’re really something, huh?”

The rabbit blinked once.

His fur was still slightly damp from the park’s dewy air. Aurora found herself kneeling beside him again, brushing a few strands back from his eyes. “You’re safe now. Don’t worry.”

He stared at her in that oddly intense way— like he understood.

A soft, disbelieving laugh escaped her lips. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not some saviour. I cry when I spill coffee and panic when I miss my bus.”

She leaned back against the wall, rubbing her temples. “God, tomorrow is my first day at Chrestvelle. My dream freaking college. I should be prepping my outfit, making notes or something. Not… rescuing half-frozen bunnies from parks.”

He just kept watching her.

She sighed again, but this time softer. “You need a name,” she said, scanning the shelves — they were lined with trinkets and old sci-fi books, most second-hand, most with bent corners. A tiny plush bear sat in the corner next to a framed photo of her in which she was in her kindergarten age and next to her stood a young, mature looking woman, smiling with melting ice cream cones.

As she scanned her kitchen for snacks, her eyes fell on a forgotten packet of strawberry mochi.

“Mochii,” she said aloud, her voice warming. “That’s what I’ll call you. It fits. You’re round and squishy and oddly comforting.”

Mochii blinked again, as if approving.

Aurora giggled for the first time that day — a real one. Her cramps still pulsed beneath her skin, her muscles still ached, but the weight in her chest… had lessened.

She stood and went to change into her comfy pyjamas — oversized tee and checkered shorts— additionally she brought the bag of strawberry mochi rice cake along some cotton pads and a warm towel with her.

After gently cleaning and dressing Mochii’s wounds, she shoved the aid tools beneath her bed, unbothered or rather feeling too lazy to tidy it up.

As she ripped the packet open, it burst—the rice cakes tumbling out, momentarily suspended in the air before landing all over the bed.

She actually didn’t react at all cause, she knows the klutz inside her. When the rice cakes finally landed on bed after their mid-air trip, Mochii was a bit amazed of the unknown things in front of him to be sure he sniffed it for a good 5 minutes then chewed on it when he felt like it was suitable to munch on… Soon enough when the sweet flavours of strawberry and that soft and chewy texture filled every corner of his mouth, he couldn’t help but eat more and more of them.

Aurora let out a big fat chuckle. “Well, that actually makes sense… Mochii need to love mochi…” she laughed until her sides ached.

Mochii continued eating each and every piece of that rice cake which was rained down on the bed like a hungry stray dog.

Meanwhile, Aurora at last gave her back the rest it needed so bad, she plopped down onto the bed, stretching like a lazy cat.

“I worked so hard for this, you know. It’s not a piece of cake to get transfer as a 2nd semester student… and Chrestvelle is the toughest one to get into.” she whispered to no one, to everyone, to the stars outside her dusty window. “Part-time job. Sleepless nights. Deadlines. God, the interview panel was so intense—”

She turned to face Mochii again. “But I made it. I made it.”

The rabbit had settled into a peaceful curl after done all the eating but still watched her — like he knew.

“You’ll be okay here while I’m gone, yeah?” she asked, voice already slurring with the promise of sleep. “Just don’t eat my notes or anything.”

She reached out, fingers brushing his warm fur.

Then turned off the lamp.

Outside, the moon had climbed high — a pale ghost behind city clouds — and inside, Aurora slept peacefully for the first time in weeks, unaware of the cosmic thread she had just tied without meaning to.

Because tomorrow… in her dream college, it’s going to be filled with machines and stardust and ambition…

…

The golden rays of early morning tiptoed into the tiny apartment, slipping between pale curtains and dancing across Aurora's sleeping face.

She stirred slightly, a faint crease forming on her forehead as the sunlight kissed her eyelids. Her lips parted in a sleepy sigh, arm draped over the edge of her pillow, tousled hair spilling like ink across the sheets.

Then—

Nibble. Nibble.

Her lashes fluttered.

“…Mm mph—ouch!”

Her eyes flew open as a sharp tug came at the strands of her hair.

Sitting proudly beside her, with the innocence of a saint and the teeth of a tiny menace, was Mochii—brown fur gleaming in the morning light, light-blue eyes wide and entirely unapologetic.

“Mochii!” she groaned, rolling to the side and scooping her pillow over her head. “Why are you eating my hair?! I fed you—like—a lot last night!”

Mochi blinked.

And then proceeded to chew on another strand.

Aurora groaned again, half-laughing now, lifting her head just enough to look at the mischievous furball. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she murmured sleepily, voice raspy from dreams.

Outside, the city buzzed to life — distant traffic, a bird or two singing somewhere on a wire, and the clink of someone’s mug from the next apartment. But inside her warm little corner of the world, it was just her… and Mochii.

For a moment, she forgot the weight she carried.

Forgot the grief lingering like a shadow at the edge of her smile.

In this small, absurd, hair-chewing moment — she felt something close to peace.

She plopped back onto her pillow, arm reaching out lazily to pull Mochii close.

"Okay, fine," she whispered into his fur. "But tomorrow, you set the alarm. With that said what time is it again?” she yawned.

Aurora jolted upright like she’d been electrocuted and all the sleepiness evaporated in an instant.

"SH*T!"

The word shot out of her mouth as her wide eyes landed on the glaring red digits of her alarm clock.

8:13 a.m.

Her first class at the college was supposed to begin at 8:30 sharp.

She launched out of bed with all the grace of a startled squirrel, nearly tripping over a pile of notes and a half-eaten chocolate bar on the floor.

“No, no, no, no—!” she muttered in a panic, hopping on one foot as she shoved her leg into her jeans, her other foot tangled in the hem of her blanket like it had declared war on her.

Mochii, the little, brown-furred rabbit, blinked up at her from the pillow placed on her cozy bed in the corner. He tilted his head, whiskers twitching, as if to say, you’re doomed, aren’t you?

“Don’t look at me like that, Mochii,” she gasped, dragging a brush through her hair with the same desperation as someone defusing a bomb. “Yeah! I get it; you were trying to wake me up! I owe you this one.”

He blinked again. Grinning this time, as if he won a battle.

By the time she stumbled into the tiny kitchenette, slapping together two slices of toast with peanut butter and stuffing one into her mouth, she looked like a whirlwind had personally styled her. Her eyeliner was smudged, one earring was missing, and her lanyard with her new college ID was buried under three layers of unfolded laundry.

Her cramps weren’t helping, either.

Neither was the fact that the nerves in her stomach were now in a full-blown mosh pit.

Today was supposed to be perfect.

Her first day at her dream college — Chrestvelle Aerospace, the most elite institute in the country, known for cutting-edge research, AI-assisted design, and students who basically breathed equations.

She had fought for this.

Sleepless nights, double shifts at the coffee shop, scholarship rejections, acceptance letters, late-night tears, dreams whispered to the stars—

And now, she was running late.

Of course.

By the time she slammed the apartment door shut and bolted down the stairs, shoelaces flailing and tote bag hung on her one shoulder struggling to keep up with her pace, she could barely breathe.

Mochii watched from the windowsill, still wrapped in the bedsheets she’d left him in.

And from rooftop, a pair of hazel eyes watched her again.

A small smile curled at the edge of his lips.

She had no idea who he was about to become to her.

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