CHAPTER 59: 59. IT CAME ALIVE

Greg’s brain registered that she was also completely naked a second later, and he quickly looked away, his face starting to burn. "Can this day get even worse!? Holy fuck..."

The woman walked steadily onto the shore, with water pouring from her body. She looked around with a look of amazement and confusion, taking in the lake, the sky, and her hands as she lifted them up to her face.

Then she saw Greg and Elwen standing there, and her lips turned up into a small, unsure smile. "Ohh~"

"Hello," she said in a soft, musical voice. "I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what’s going on."

"There was darkness, then water, then light, and now I’m here with so much going on."

"I think I should be somewhere, but I don’t know where."

"Oh my goodness! Why is everyone staring, and why am I not wearing any clothes?!"

Her words came out in a rush, getting faster as she seemed to become more aware of what was going on. She saw her naked body and gasped a little, then quickly crossed her arms over her chest.

She said, "This is awkward," and her face turned pink. "Very, very awkward."

Greg was still frozen, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The doll was alive and real in some way that was impossible, Felix’s carefully made friend had turned into a real woman. But how? And where was Felix?

The water erupted again, as if to answer his silent question, and Felix’s head broke the surface, gasping and sputtering. He thrashed toward the shore, coughing up lake water and looking around in a panic.

"What the fuck just happened?!" As soon as Felix could breathe, he yelled. "That thing ate me!"

"I thought I was going to die! And then there was this bright light and this strange feeling like I was being pulled apart and put back together."

"Then I was in the water and..."

He stopped talking when he saw the woman on the shore. His eyes got big, and his jaw dropped.

"That’s..." Felix’s voice was so soft it was hard to hear. "That’s her."

"That is my doll. But she’s..."

"Alive," the woman said, looking at Felix with recognition dawning in her eyes. "You made me."

"I can feel your loneliness and hope with all the pieces you put together to try to make something real. That’s a part of who I am.

She stepped toward him slowly. "Thanks for wanting me to be real."

"Thank you for trying so hard to make me real."

Felix just stood there in the shallow water, soaking wet and staring like he had seen a miracle. Greg thought that Felix had witnessed a miracle.

"How?" Greg was finally able to ask. "What just happened?"

"How did you come to be real?"

The woman looked at him, and even though she had only been awake for a few seconds, her eyes were full of wisdom and knowledge. "The serpent," she said slowly, as if she was just starting to remember.

"When it swallowed us, its magic mixed with Felix’s blood and the intent you tried to put in this body."

"The snake is a creature that changes and transforms. Its essence finished what you started and filled in the spaces between craft and creation."

"I think the snake tried to eat me and got more than it expected. Nothing like eating a lot of desperation and hope to make you sick."

Greg couldn’t help but laugh, even though everything was going wrong. It was crazy, totally crazy, but in some way it was perfect.

Felix’s desperate dive into danger and willingness to risk everything for even the chance of connection had been enough, even though he couldn’t create life through skill or technique. The snake’s magic and Greg’s real, raw feelings had done what Greg’s careful planning could not.

Felix’s voice shook as he asked, "Does this mean you’re real now? Like, really real?"

The woman nodded, and even though she was smiling, tears started to flow down her face. "I believe so."

"I can feel the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair. There’s this strange feeling in my chest like something is beating, and I have thoughts and feelings, and I exist."

"It’s all too wonderful and scary at the same time."

She looked at Felix, and something soft came over her face. "You were ready to die to save me when I was just a thing."

"That level of dedication, even to something that wasn’t real yet, says a lot about you."

Felix was crying now too, and he was still standing in the shallow water like he was afraid that moving would ruin the moment. "I don’t even know who you are."

The woman said, "I don’t either."

"I guess we’ll have to work that out together. And probably clothes... Clothes seem to matter." The woman said while still covering her chest.

"Oh shit, clothes!" Greg turned around and ripped off his shirt, holding it out behind him without looking.

"Take it. We need to get you covered up before anyone else sees."

"Thank you," the woman said, and the sound of fabric rustling showed that she was putting on the shirt. It was far too big for her and hung down to her thighs, but at least it worked for protection.

Elwen shook her head in disbelief. "I’ve never heard of anything like this in all the years I’ve studied magic and enchantment."

"The digestive magic of a lake serpent accidentally finished making fake life. The chances of this working must have been very low."

Felix suddenly looked down at his hands and said, "Infinite Luck System."

"This is my system. It should give me luck, which is impossible when I really need it."

"This could be it. Maybe all those months of nothing were leading up to this."

Greg looked at the woman who had just come back to life, at Felix standing in the water with a look of hope and wonder on his face, and at the lake where a snake had just eaten the strangest meal of its life. "I can’t even question it any further..."

Miracles couldn’t always be planned or forced. Occasionally they came from the most unexpected places, and all it took was real desperation and the willingness to risk everything for a chance to connect.

Finally, Greg said, "We should go back."

"You’re going to need real clothes, a name, and probably a long talk about what it means to be alive."

Lylia will likely have many questions, and Seraphine might have some as well.

Elwen said, "Everyone is going to have questions. This will be a big deal."

Greg caught Felix’s eye as they packed up their things and got ready to go back to Ferndale. The young man was grinning like a crazy person as he walked next to his friend, who was still amazed by everything they saw and heard.

"Thank you, Sensei," Felix yelled. "This wouldn’t have been possible without you, even though you couldn’t make it happen the way you wanted."

Greg shook his head. "I didn’t do anything. Felix, this was all you."

"Your hope, your willingness to take risks, and your incredible luck were all factors in this success. I was only there to see the miracle."

Greg smiled as they walked back to the village. His peaceful fishing trip had turned into yet another impossible situation, but somehow that felt right.

This was his life now, with a constant back and forth between calm times and total chaos. And to be honest? He wouldn’t have it any other way.

The lake was calm again behind them, and the sun was still shining on its surface. There was probably a perplexed snake deep down that was thinking about what it ate.

And in Ferndale, a larger workshop was waiting, ready to welcome one more person into their strange and wonderful family.