Chapter 2

If she wanted to play a martyr, she could do it alone. I actually valued my life.

Mrs. Taylor, the housing coordinator, looked up from her desk. Her freshman registration list was only half-finished.

"Norah? You just checked in today and you're already asking for a single room?"

I placed my official medical documents on her desk.

"Mrs. Taylor, I have a severe history of myocardial ischemia. Extreme heat can easily trigger a life-threatening cardiogenic shock for me."

"Right now, my roommate, Sienna Vance, has locked up the AC remote and is refusing to let us use any electricity, including personal fans."

The office went dead silent for a second.

The student assistant sorting papers next to her stopped, wiped a thick bead of sweat from his forehead, and looked up in disbelief.

"It's literally 104 degrees outside today. She's not letting you use the AC?"

Mrs. Taylor frowned.

"Norah, dorm conflicts should be resolved through communication first. The paperwork for a single room transfer takes time. It can't be approved today."

Suddenly, a soft, pitiful, trembling voice came from the doorway.

"Mrs. Taylor, this isn't a conflict. This is a spiritual journey."

Sienna was standing by the door, clutching our dorm's AC remote tightly to her chest.

She was wearing a faded, oversized linen dress. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her eyes were so red she looked like she had just been terribly bullied.

"Mrs. Taylor, she wants to drain the very blood of our planet."

The assistant's hand froze halfway through wiping his forehead.

Mrs. Taylor looked at the plastic remote in Sienna's hands.

"Why do you have the AC remote?"

Sienna immediately hugged the remote tighter, as if it were some sacred relic.

"This machine is evil. Every breath of artificial cold air it spits out is a loan taken against the lifespan of our mountains and rivers."

"Mother Nature is crying in pain."

As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face.

"I know everyone thinks I'm crazy. But I just want this world to stop being poisoned by modern industrial civilization."

By now, a few other freshmen had gathered in the hallway, whispering.

"I mean, she's a bit extreme, but her heart is in the right place, right?" someone muttered.

Others started looking at me with judging eyes.

That familiar, suffocating pressure tightened around my chest.

It was exactly like my past life.

The moment Sienna started crying and brought out her grand, dramatic speeches about saving the planet, everyone automatically assumed she was the victim.

When I said my heart couldn't take the heat, they called me dramatic.

When I said she unplugged the fans, they said natural air was healthier anyway.

When I complained that she turned our room into a sauna, they said she was just deeply compassionate.

Even when I was finally lying in an ICU bed, hooked up to a ventilator and unable to speak, people on the school forum were still debating if I "lacked social responsibility."

This time, I didn't bother explaining myself to the crowd.

I kept my eyes on Mrs. Taylor.

"Mrs. Taylor, I'm not here to judge her beliefs."

"I am simply requesting to not live with her."

Sienna's sobbing paused for a fraction of a second.

She looked up, her sweat and tears sticking her eyelashes together.

"Norah, are you really that addicted to material comfort?"

I replied flatly, "I have a heart condition."

Looking deeply hurt by my "ignorance," she took a step back, her face full of disappointment.

"But children in underdeveloped countries live without electricity every single day, and they survive. Why can't you?"

I flipped my medical report open and pointed directly at the doctor's warning: Avoid extreme heat and high-stress situations.

"Because I want to live."

The office fell completely silent.

Mrs. Taylor stared at my medical records. Her brow furrowed, and her expression turned incredibly serious.

"A single room request requires us to verify vacancy, and it has to go through both the department head and housing logistics."

Sienna immediately sniffled and took a step forward.

"Mrs. Taylor, there's no need to make a big deal out of this."

"I will do my best to guide Norah with love. I want to help her experience the joy of detoxing through natural sweat. Mother Nature will heal her heart."

I looked at her.

"I don't need Mother Nature to heal me."

"And I don't need your guidance."