CHAPTER 40

I nearly yelled during our final performance of the day. The basketball game was still going on; I’d like to watch but I needed to get ready first.

My entire body was drenched in sweat.

“Your things, madame.” Seven handed me the duffle bag he was carrying, which was stuffed with my day’s goods. The majority of it was clothing, but virtually all of it was used, as I previously wore it for the first performance.

I entered the locker area to change into my clothes. I was so relieved to be the only one present, as nearly everyone on the cheering team was already watching the basketball game. Particularly the women.

The majority of the basketball team was fine, that’s why.

I was in the midst of applying perfume when I felt an odd discomfort in my head. This was the first time I’d felt that way, as I typically just feel dizzy.

I shook my head and fiercely closed my eyes. My vision dimmed somewhat but quickly returned to normal.

Maybe I was simply exhausted.

I paused for a few moments to feel myself. I instantly exited the locker room when I realized it wasn’t that horrible.

I would watch Pierre’s game because it would be his final game as a senior.

When I ran into Seven outside, he grabbed up the duffle bag again. We walked together to the gymnasium, but the discomfort I had experienced earlier returned unexpectedly.

“Ahh,” I groaned, like if something had pierced my brain in an instant.

What the hell is happening to me?

Seven appeared to be worried because of my sudden groan. If he was previously only a few inches away, our bodies were now virtually touching due to our closeness.

“Why? What are you feeling? “’ he asked. My head shook and my eyes diverted. I was at a loss for the appropriate words. I couldn’t claim that it was painful because it was also turning back to normal rapidly; nevertheless, I couldn’t say that it didn’t hurt because the painful attack was occurring suddenly.

“N-Nothing. Come on, Pierre might already be there waiting for me.” I snatched my arm from him and entered the gym. My lips curled into a smile as I began to hear the students shouting inside. I was standing at the gym’s entrance when I felt the unusual discomfort once more. I felt paralyzed because of the subsequent weakening in various areas of my body.

What the hell?

My legs quivered. I lifted myself up, but I fell down again. My tears were on the verge of dripping because I felt as though I was about to suffer a heart attack.

“Aurie!” Seven exclaimed. When he neared me, my vision began to dim; I could clearly see the anxiety and nervousness in his eyes.

“Oh God, you’re bleeding.”

I attempted to move various areas of my body but was unable to. I desired to rise and enter the gym but I couldn’t. I could hear Seven’s voice calling me, but I couldn’t speak; my mind was foggy, and I was already sensing the chill of my sweat. A few seconds passed without my body truly absorbing it, and the surroundings darkened.

#

When I cautiously opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a chocolate-colored wooden ceiling. The cold did not come from the air conditioning; it comes from the fresh air outside the window.

I was perfectly aware where I was.

My eyes welled up with tears because of the sadness I felt. I was relieved to be back here, yet sad that I left them without even saying goodbye.

I was trembling as I attempted to lift myself onto the bed. This was the room in which I awoke after nearly eleven years in a coma. Where I first saw the handsome guy Seven, my mother that was already a little older, and the room where I discovered my father had died.

I pushed the pager to the side with trembling fingers. I needed to inform them that I was already awake; I didn’t want to wait for several hours for them to come here.

After a few moments, I heard a series of footsteps. They sound as if they were being pursued by a bull. Seven was the first to enter when the door opened. Naturally, he was dressed in his laboratory coat. Mommy was next, followed by Dr. Williams.

They instantly ran towards me as they noticed I was awake. Mommy was crying again as she looked at me, just as she had done previously.

Damn, I missed her.

Seven and Dr. Williams performed an act on me that Seven did to me before. I simply waited for them to finish before speaking.

“How many days have I slept and y’all are acting this way?” I asked, laughing. I was not concerned that I passed out again; it was as though my body had grown accustomed to it.

“Today is your fourteenth.”

My eyes nearly popped out when I heard Seven’s response. Two weeks? I’d been sleeping for the last two weeks?

Thousands of thoughts raced through my mind. Was Iris familiar with my residence? Was Pierre already aware of my illness? What happened to the intramurals? Did they win? Did Pierre look for me? What were they doing right now? Was Iris alone at home? My eyes became hot because of the series of questions. I was unable to respond to even one of them because I had only just awoken. Even though I’d been sleeping for only two weeks, I was already missing them.

“D-Does Iris know I’m here?” I asked, my voice trembling. I didn’t care if I cry infront of them.

“The last time we talked was before you changed your clothes during the intrams; since then, I have had no contact with them.” I looked down and let my tears flow. I was sure Iris already knew where I was. She simply did not know where my residence was located because I never mentioned it. All she knew was that we live in a city, and given how large this city was, I knew it would be difficult for her to locate me if she wanted to see me. To be sure, my mother was a well-known lawyer. However, regardless of what search they conducted on the internet, they would be unable to locate my address. My mother was closely protected by the government, as a large number of criminals were after her due to her prowess in court. They would be unable to locate my address unless they hired an agent to do so.

Due to my crying, I was ignorant of Seven’s departure. When I raised my eyes, all I saw was mommy in front of me.

“I can tell you had a great time,” she said, smiling. I cried harder as I recalled the days when Iris and I were still together. Those were my happiest days.

“You made friends?” I nodded, still sobbing. I wasn’t expecting mommy to speak to me in such a calm tone just now. I was expecting a very hard slap and a sermon from her for running away.

“Oh, my choice was worth it, then.”

All of my tears appeared to recede as a result of what I heard. What? Her choice? Didn’t I flee when she refused to agree? Why was she claiming that her choice was worthwhile?

“What do you mean?” My quivering palms wiped the tears from my eyes. I had no idea what she was saying.

“Silly. Do you really believe my men won’t find you, huh? I didn’t employ them to do nothing, dear. As the best lawyer in town, I can also locate you without their assistance,” she responded, chuckling. My eyes widened as I realized what I had discovered.

“You mean you knew where I was for months that I wasn’t home?” I asked, still unable to believe what she was saying. She smiled and nodded as she approached me and sat in the bed’s vacant space.

“Of course, I am aware. Do you believe I would be able to sleep peacefully knowing that my only girl is missing? That my only girl has run away? I am aware of everything, dear. I even let Seven fall to my lies that the agents I hired were still unable to locate you.”

“W-Why did you let me to live my life, then? I thought... how... why?” I was at a loss for how to prioritize the flood of questions that flooded my mind. If she was aware the entire time, why didn’t she send me home? Prior to my escape, she was more than willing to lock me in that room. Didn’t I even see her speaking with the guard about tightening security throughout the house?

“Because I love you. Yes, I was terrified at first, but after reading your letter, realization hit me. You spent your entire life sleeping on the bed, and now you’ve discovered you’re going to die soon. I was extremely selfish for not letting you do what you wanted, Aurie. I was extremely selfish for planning to lock you inside that room for my own benefit. I also thought that if your father was here, we might fight every day because I’m not letting you be free. You’re a grown up woman, Aurie. You should be the one to decide for yourself. From now on, I’ll let you do what you want. If you don’t want those big machines, then I don’t want it too. If you prefer to die than to get treated, then I’ll prefer that too. I’m sorry for controlling you, my love. “ At the same time as she was crying, my tears were flowing again. I felt both thrilled and sad upon hearing her quick confession.

She understood my decision, which made me happy. But I felt waves of regrets because I missed out on bonding with her during the months I was gone.

“I... I met this amazing friend, Iris, who became my soulmate in less than two months, mmy.” My heart wrenched at the thought of Iris being alone at home today. I desired to see and tell her that I was well and still breathing.

She was now completely alone in our house.

“I know her, the agent informed me, and I also know Pierre Cardinal, your lover. Please tell me about them; they both seem like decent people for taking care of you.”

I was unaware of my surprise when she stated Pierre’s name. Naturally, Aurie. Your mother’s agent wqw a good one; it was not even impossible if they knew what time you go to bed.

I was abruptly melancholy upon hearing Pierre’s name. I hoped he was doing well; I didn’t want him to suffer another sad life because of me.

He had spent his entire life blaming himself for his mother’s death. If he tortured himself solely because of me, I doubt I would die happily.

I began informing mommy of what occurred to me after I left. We shared laughs, tears, and a variety of reactions as I told her about my life before I returned here.

Mom seemed to adore Iris and Pierre; she frequently grinned when I was mentioning their names.

“Oh my my, this is bringing tears to my eyes. I’m very proud of you, my darling.” I assumed mommy was joking, but as I saw her tears dripping once more, it was as if something had pierced my heart.

We were watching our performance throughout intramurals. This was what Seven filmed during our performance at the time. She appeared to be so pleased of me and Iris despite that she had never met my friend in person, she was watching her as if Iris was her child.

The hours passed until afternoon. I was left alone when mom left to go somewhere. I did not intervene, as it was acceptable for me to be alone.

I looked around the room; there were just two machines adjacent to my bed, in contrast to the last two months, when the room was full of them. Perhaps this was how they kept me alive for two weeks while I slept?

I took the needle from my hand since I believed I no longer require it.

I strolled over to a nearby shelf and examined each book individually. Most of them were self-helped books, similar to what I read as a child. There were some fairytale stories there, similar to the ones mommy purchased previously. Even though there were numerous books available, it was our family’s large album that drew my interest.

Perhaps mom placed it here while keeping an eye on me during the last few days. Maybe a time-killer to keep her from becoming bored.

I sat on the sofa and opened the album; it was only the first image that made me cry. This was our family picture when I was seven years old. We were all seated on a sofa, smiling and looking at the camera.

Oh, how I wished I could relive those days.

I spent the next minutes poring over our family album. I was unaware that the sun was setting due to my desire to view all the photographs in the albums.

I was about to put back the album in the shelf when something fell from the inside of it. It was a long brown envelope, it didn’t have a label outside, so I was not sure what was inside.

Perhaps these, too, were images? Well, I wouldn’t know if I wouldn’t look.

I re-positioned myself on the sofa and opened the envelope. When my name was written on there, it immediately grabbed my attention.

Aurora Elyse Jenkins | 08/16/11

CASE CLOSED –

I chewed on my lip while I examined the next papers. I was not sure why, but as I read them, my heart rate gradually increased.

Attempted murder, Villa Carte Mall, three gunshots, Julio Cardinal.

The surname was the only thing that stuck in my mind out of everything that was written there. Cardinal? Was this only coincidental?

There were a lot of Cardinals in the world, Aurie. Geez. When I read the Cardinal surname, I resumed reading while biting my lip. I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive; Did he have any connection with Pierre?

Julio Cardinal.

Born in July 23, 1965. Manila, Philippines.

Leo Involved in gambling and Arms trafficking/gunrunning. Accused for attempted murder and found guilty.

There was a plethora of other information on him placed there, but I never read anything. I was curious about him; might he possibly be linked to Pierre? There was nothing else from the papers but basic information about himself, and solely about himself, excluding his family.