Chapter 61: A LITTLE GREEN

It has been hours since I got back, and I'm already getting bored out of my senses. Siofra left to see if she could find her spirit guide. She hasn't been able to reach her in a while.

I was left alone in the big house. I ended up going from room to room just to kill time, but it seems like time has become my enemy. Most of the rooms were empty, while the others were equipped.

I entered the kitchen and grabbed myself a glass of water before deciding to head outside. I sat on the bench outside the house with my legs hugged to my chest. I will just sit here and wait for Xender or Siofra. 

Xender's POV 

I went straight to buy a ring for our engagement, which didn't take much time before I started heading home. When I drove in, the first thing I noticed was Alda. She was sitting on the bench while hugging her legs to herself.

She was wearing a sleeveless top and a mini-shot pant, which left most of her body exposed. I also noticed her dyed hair. She looked beautiful, and I nearly forgot I should breathe until I noticed I was beginning to suffocate. I loosened the tie around my neck and took a deep breath before exiting my car.

When she saw me approaching her, she waved at me with a beautiful smile on her face. I'm glad she smiled; I was almost getting used to seeing her cry all the time.

“Why are you out here, Alda, and with such little cloth on?” I took off my suit jacket and placed it around her shoulders before sitting besides her.

“I was waiting for you. I got bored of staying inside alone.” She replied.

“Aren't you cold?” I asked, and she shook her head.

“You dyed your hair.”

“Yeah, I didn't want to look like my old self. I wanted something different. I almost cut my hair,” she said with a little smile on her face, but it didn't reach her eyes.

“But someone told me that my hair was my crown, so I just dyed it instead. How do I look? It doesn't suit me, right?” She asked, glancing at me.

“You look beautiful as always.” I simply replied, tiring my glance away from her.

“Do you think your parents will like me? What if they recognise me? What would happen then?”

“They won't; you have never been a public figure to begin with. Everyone knows that Mr. Barnard’s daughter died, but not everyone knows what you look like, so you don't have to worry about that.”

“I hope so; let's just go inside.” I watched her head towards the door before following after her, but then she stopped and started gasping for air. Her hands tightly gripped her neck as she struggled to breathe. I rushed to her immediately, trying to understand what was happening to her.

“Alda, what's wrong?” Tears were running down her face, and her eyes turned a shade of red. I was confused; I couldn't understand what was happening.

“Alda, this is not funny.” I grabbed her hands, taking them off her already bruised neck. Her legs went weak as she fell. I caught her before she could hit the ground, pushing her up against my body.

She kept struggling to breathe until she passed out. I didn't know what to do; everything took me by surprise. Her hands, which were once holding on to my shirt, dropped by her side; she was no longer moving or breathing.

I panicked; I didn't know what to do. I grabbed my phone immediately and dialled Mike's number. 

"Alda, please wake up." Her body was getting cold, and Mike wasn't taking his calls. I thought I was going to go crazy.

I carried her inside my room as I kept dialling Mike's number while pacing around the room. I called Mike over and over again until he picked up his phone.

“Xender, why are...?”

“She passed out, Mike; she just passed out. She is not breathing or moving.”

“What? Xender, calm down and talk to me; what exactly happened?”

“I don't know; she suddenly started gasping for air, and before I could understand what was happening, she slumped.”

“Are you next to her?”

“Yes, yes, I am.”

“I want you to check and see if you can find a pulse in her.” I did as Mike said, but I found none, not even a little. I froze at that very spot with my phone still pressed to my ear, but my soul actually left my body.

“Xender! Xender, are you there?”

“I couldn't find any pulse, Mike; she doesn't have any pulse.” I said, my voice coming out shaky. My body started vibrating as I felt a shiver run down my body.

“I'm almost close to you, so don't panic yet.”

"Mike, she is not waking up; she is just lying there with her eyes closed.”

“Xender, I want you to get a hold of yourself and open the front door for me. Do you hear me?”

I pushed myself off from the floor to my feet as I headed for the door. My legs were so weak and heavy that I could hardly feel or lift them. I didn't even know how I got on the floor.

I opened the front door, letting Mike in. He took one look at me and shook his head.

“Hey, she is going to be fine, okay?”

“How do you know?”

“Because I just know; just tell me where she is.”

“My room; she is in my room.”

“Let's go”

I followed Mike back into the room where Alda was lying. She looked like she was just sleeping, but she wasn't. I paced around the room while Mike checked up on her.

“This is weird,” Mike said.

“What is weird?”

“I can't find a pulse in her, but her heart is still beating. We need to take her back to the hospital; I'm afraid she has gone back to a coma. We need to keep her heart beating, or we might lose her.”

“I don't understand; why all of a sudden? She was okay; we even had a conversation.”

“I can't give you any more answers until more tests are carried out, but now we need to take her back to the hospital and see if we can stabilise her. Hopefully we might get a pulse from her by morning.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Get her to the car while I get your car keys.”

I was about to wrap the bedcover around her body when she gasped, surprising me.

“Alda? Mike! She is awake. Alda, are you okay?” She was still struggling to breathe. She pushed herself up and drew away from me like she was scared of me, and there went the same pair of green eyes staring into mine.

She looked away from me before grabbing the bed cover and hiding beneath it.”

“What happened?” Mike asked as he rushed in.

“She is awake, but something is not right about her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She doesn't seem like Alda." Mike stared at me like I had gone insane. Am I the only one seeing this? The lady hiding underneath that bedcover is not Alda; I just know it. Mike passed me and walked up to her.

“Alda, can you hear me? Are you okay?” I watched as she peeped her head out with her hair falling on her face. She nodded at Mike.

"Good. I need to check a few things and ask you a few questions. Can you step out of the bed?” She glanced at me and quickly looked away when she noticed I was staring at her.

Am I going nuts? Is this a dream? Why does it look like I'm dreaming? She stood facing Miike while having her back on me.

“Are you in pain? Is there any part of your body that is hurting?”

“No, I'm actually fine. I was just a little tired earlier, so I kind of passed out.”

“That's not true; I checked your pulses and found none of them beating. You nearly died; why are you shrugging it off like it was nothing?”

“But I'm really fine, I promise.”

“Alda, either you let me do my job or I will have to take you with me to the hospital.”

Siofra's POV

What is going on? Alda Where are you? I can't really pretend to be you. Xender's piercing eyes are enough to make me want to disappear a million times.

Even as Mike did a little check-up on me, Xender didn't utter a word. I will look his way every now and then, only to find out that he is still staring at me.

“Okay, this is strange; you look perfectly fine to me, so why did you pass out earlier?” Mike asked with a confused expression on his face.

“Are you saying that nothing is wrong with her?” Xender asked. His voice came out chill, and I felt like it meant another message to me.

Come on, Alda, where are you? I can't even define what happened or how I ended up here. I just felt like I was being suffocated. That was the last thing I remembered before waking up in Alda’s body, and there was no sign of her in her body.

I have tried several times to see if I can move out of her body, but it is not working. I don't think we can both be absent at the same time.

I told Alda that Xender was beginning to sense my presence around her, but she wouldn't believe me.

“There is nothing long with her, but bring her in tomorrow for more tests just to be sure.”

“Okay, that is possible, but before then, I need to talk to Alda in private,” Xender said, glaring at me. I started panicking. I looked up at Mike, literally begging him to save him with my eyes. Xender grabbed me by the hand and took me into another room next to his.

"Xender, what's wrong? It's already late; we both need to rest.” I said to him and turned, heading for the door, but he beat me to the door, slamming it closed.

“Where do you think you are running to?”

“Nowhere; I just wanted to rest. I'm so tired,” I said, faking a yawn.

“Quit joking around; who are you and what have you done to Alda?” He started coming close to me. With every step he took, I backed away until I hit the wall behind me. There was nowhere to run anymore.

Alda, please get back to your body, wherever you are.

“Where is Alda!?” He questioned. He placed both his hands on the wall, trapping me in between them.

“But I am Alda.” 

“Even your voice is saying that you are lying." He leans closer to me. His face was so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my face. I stared at his face and pondered what Alda would do.

My glance fell to his lips. Maybe kissing him will keep him distracted, right? I can't even believe I'm questioning myself. I can do this; just act naturally, just like Alda.

“If I'm not Alda, will I have done this?" I grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him closer as I rocked our lips together.