Chapter 27: A moment of why's.

Alissia's Pov

Bryan left the room, leaving me all to myself.

A quick glance at the clock showed that it was a minute after four p.m., even though the rays of the sun filtering into the room made it seem like it was around the hour of two.

The events of the day began to unfold before me like a movie.

From the time of the accident to coming out of the room without the mask. How the lawyer showed up and the breath-taking scene that just played out between myself and Bryan, I couldn’t help but sigh, as the day had indeed been eventful.

I became puzzled concerning the lawyer's sudden appearance. Truly, I couldn’t remember what happened before I died and came back to life. Did he come on his own will, or had I scheduled an appointment with him?

Since Bryan revealed that he came regarding the transfer of ownership of my assets to him, it wasn’t possible to be done behind my back, I guess, which means that I knew before hand.

Was that how much I loved Bryan, or was it just a ploy by him?

“Why?” I cried, holding my head as I lay down in the bed. If only I didn’t die, I would still have my memories.

The timekeeper instructed me to find out who my soul mate was in thirty days so that I could come back to life. How was I supposed to concentrate on this mission when other shocking revelations kept springing up?

I still wanted to find out who was responsible for my death and, at the same time, get closer to Bryan and know the type of man he was before all this.

“When will all this end?” I asked myself, rolling towards the right side of the bed. “Gosh, I thought this mission would be easy. It turns out it is more complicated than I thought.”

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep—to put my mind at rest—but it became the most impossible task as I struggled with Jenna’s body. I finally succeeded in closing my eyes, and the most shocking thing happened: I could see right through them.

Confused, I called for the timekeeper, and he appeared immediately.

“There’s no resting time being your guide, Alissia,” he said, obviously tired of my constant disturbance. “What do you want this time?”

I stared at him with disappointment. It wasn’t my fault; I wasn’t granted judgment the moment I died. I was his lot now, and he had to stick with me till my days as a wandering spirit were over.

“I can’t sleep,” I protested, not taking my gaze off him for a second.

A frown settled on his face as he heard the reason I summoned him. “And how do you suppose I can help with that?” He rested, almost yelling.

I knew I was a handful—a real pain in the ass on a normal day. But right now, I was up to no jokes and needed help.

“I don’t know; think of something!” I fired at him, making his face switch from a state of anger to one of sympathy.

He walked close to my bed and sat on it, watching me closely. I could tell in his eyes that he wanted to help me—to ease the stress and pain I was going through.

But he was just a messenger, doing his master's bidding.

“Let me take you on a journey,” he offered, stretching his hands out and beckoning on me to take it.

“Where are you taking me to?” I inquired, skeptical of the whole setup.

“You’ll see for yourself; just trust me,” he assured, his hands still stretched out.

I was scared, and every part of my body knew it. My heart raced at a thousand miles per second as I looked from his face—void of emotions—to his outstretched arm.

I didn’t want to take it, but factually speaking, I had no choice. So I sat up and took his hands, letting go of my worries and trusting him fully.

My spirit suddenly came out of Jenna’s body, and we were suddenly floating mid-air.

“This is going to be puzzling, but with time, you’ll understand it. The ruler had allowed this to help you uncover some of the secrets that will help you in your mission. Use it wisely,” he advised.

Why would the ruler suddenly grant me a favour out of the blues? I wondered, but not for long. A sudden wind blew, and I found myself standing before a shabby house in the heat of the sun.

The timekeeper’s hand still held mine, and I tried to disentangle myself from it, but his grip wouldn’t bulge.

“Where are we?” I asked, frustrated from trying to free myself.

“Just keep shut and watch,” he commanded without batting an eyelid.

I looked at and observed my surroundings. There were children, about eight of them, playing around as people passed by, going about their normal business.

I would have asked the timekeeper another question to bring peace to my troubled mind, but his warning to keep quiet rang in my ears again, prompting me to hold my peace.

Everything looked normal to me until something caught my attention. A little girl, about the age of seven, stepped on the toes of a huge boy, probably the oldest, and he took his anger out on her immediately by smacking her face with his hands.

The girl began to cry and plead as the boy continued to beat her while the other children cheered on.

Passers-by who saw what was happening and made no attempt to separate the children. I was moved to help the girl—to save her.

I tried to move forward, struggling to release myself from the timekeeper's grip.

“Can’t you see that she is in trouble? We need to help her,” I protested, pulling harder than I have ever done, but he didn’t bulge.

“You cannot alter the events of the past, Alissia; stay still and watch; otherwise, I’ll be forced to help you no longer,” he declared, sending a fierce look my way.

Events of the past? What did he mean?

I wanted to scream and call him all sorts of horrible names for being heartless. As I opened my mouth to speak these words, a voice echoed from behind me screaming, “Stop! Leave the girl alone.”