Chapter 3

After Dad cried, he started coming to the hospital less and less.

Mom told me the monsters out there were getting fiercer, and Dad had to spend even more time fighting them.

I knew he was doing all this for me.

Things around the house started disappearing, one by one.

When Mom was telling me stories, I noticed her shiny bracelet was gone.

The big TV on the living room wall, the one we used to watch cartoons on, was gone too, leaving just a bare white wall.

I asked Mom, "Mom, is our home playing hide and seek with us?"

Mom paused for a moment, then smiled and patted my head.

She said, "Yeah, because Angela's star castle is being built. All the things in our home have turned into bricks and are flying up to the sky to build your house there."

I was so happy to hear that. So my home in the sky was actually being built bit by bit by Mom and Dad.

But I never thought that even my friend would end up becoming a brick for the castle, too.

My friend was this really big, fluffy white teddy bear.

He was as tall as I was, his belly soft and squishy, and I called him Baymax.

After I got sick, I couldn't go to kindergarten or play outside anymore.

During those loneliest moments in the hospital, I'd just hold onto Baymax as tight as I could.

I hid my star notebook in the little pocket on Baymax's belly, just between us. It was our special secret.

One afternoon, Mom came up to my hospital bed, hugging Baymax close to her chest.

Her eyes were a little puffy, like she'd been crying just now.

She gently set Baymax on my lap, her voice soft and tender as she spoke to me. "Angela, Baymax says he wants to go home ahead of you and make sure everything's ready."

I squeezed Baymax tight, still not quite getting it. "Home? You mean the one way up in the sky?"

"That's right," Mom said, nodding as she gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

She smiled and went on, "Baymax told me he wants to go ahead and scout it out for you—see if your star castle is finished, and maybe even decorate your room up there so it's beautiful and just right for you. When you arrive, it'll already feel like your very own place."

I held Baymax close to my chest, and his shiny black eyes seemed to be gazing right back at me.

Even though I didn't want to part with him, I reminded myself that if Baymax was going to make my new home perfect, I had to let him go and cheer him on.

"So... when does Baymax have to go?" I murmured, clinging to him and hardly daring to ask.

"Right now," Mom replied softly.

"There's an angel courier waiting downstairs. He'll take Baymax in his extra-fast spaceship and make sure Baymax gets up there safe and sound. He'll take really good care of him, I promise."

I hugged Baymax tight, squishing my face deep into his fluffy chest, not wanting to let go.

"Baymax, be a good boy, okay? Make sure to lay a pink carpet in my room, and stick shiny stars all over the walls," I told him seriously, my words soft and careful.

"And also, please check if the marshmallows in the sky taste like strawberries," I added, whispering with a tiny, hopeful smile.

Mom lifted Baymax off my bed and slowly made her way out of the room.

As Mom was almost at the door, it hit me, and I hurriedly called out, "Mom, wait!"

I reached into the pocket on Baymax's belly and carefully took my star notebook out.

"He's not allowed to take this with him." I looked at Mom, my face completely serious.

"This is my mission, and I want to finish it myself," I said, my voice steady and determined.

Mom looked at the notebook in my hands, and her eyes instantly grew teary.

She just nodded quickly, hugged Baymax close, and walked out without looking back.

I pressed my face against the window, watching a stranger downstairs gently put Baymax into an old, beat-up car before driving away.

Of course, that wasn't a spaceship—I knew it.

But I kept quiet.

Because I knew this was part of the game, too.

To make sure my friend could get home safe, I had to pretend I believed it.

I waved goodbye, whispering softly, "Baymax, goodbye."

I really hoped he'd love the star wallpaper I picked out just for him.

After Baymax left, the little monster inside me was getting fiercer again.

I started sleeping all day, barely waking up, even when Mom tried to give me my fairy dew.

My hair began to fall out, too. Whenever Mom brushed it, she'd gently hide the strands in her pocket so I wouldn't notice.