Three days passed by quickly with me training a little martial arts with Prince Jihan. 4th Prince Henri tagged along, and, because of his talkative personality, the rest of the princes ended up joining us in the training hall. Then, all of us ate lunch together. I also spend time with my parents every time we ate breakfast and dinner.
Prince Theo and I would be alone with his grandparents in the temple at Scandinavia except for some monks. Thus, I decided to wear a black cloak suitable for winter wear with lining as a top embroidered with bunches of little white flowers and blue-green leaves, sleeves had two shapes-- Pipa sleeve and narrow sleeve, and a light pink horse-face dress as an underdress.
It was an almost one-day trip to Scandinavia so we arrived at night. At the same time, Prince Theo's grandparents were already asleep. We slept in separate little guest rooms with the bedding comprised of a thick blanket (about as thick as a thin futon) which was placed on the floor and a lighter blanket on top. For warmth, there was a traditional system heated rocks underneath the floor.
The temple was at the top of a mountain in Scandinavia, it was cold so I wore my long winter white cloak embroidered with white big flowers and a white faux fur as a collar. Prince Theo was wearing a white cross-collar tucked in a brownish-white male long skirt with a grey thin long ribbon, and a white coat with wide sleeves and long slits at each side. He waited outside my room so we could go together at where his grandparents reside.
They had a little garden where an old couple were sitting on what it looked like an old trunk of a tree with a wooden table, "Halmeoni, Hal-abeoji. It's Theo, your grandson. You have a visitor."
The old woman's eyes shimmered when she saw me, "Sonnyeo, my dear. Come give Halmeoni a hug~"
"Halmeoni, I'm your grandchild," Prince Theo faked his sulking as I walked towards his grandparents. I slowly went to hug her but she hugged me first. It felt right and I missed my grandparents, so I comfortably hugged her back.
After the hug, halmeoni took my hands and held them, "There's something different about you, but you're still the same person, my sonnyeo."
I felt like I was electrified, I became frozen in place because it felt like she knew that I was a different person. My mind was going crazy like, 'But, why did she say that I'm still the same person? Did she know something about my situation?'
I looked at Prince Theo, asked him with my eyes, 'Can I trust them?' and he nodded at me with a smile. So, I sincerely said, "Halmeoni, your sonnyeo lost her memories. But, I'm starting to get them back."
"I know, my sonnyeo," halmeoni smiled lovingly at me. "Old man, go and talk with our grandson."
"Yes, my queen. But, our sonnyeo haven't hug me yet.." Hal-abeoji faked his sulking just like his grandson as he spread his arms wide for me, which I quickly moved forward to accept hal-abeoji's hug.
Halmeoni affectionately took my hands again, "My sonnyeo, sit with me." I sat in front of halmeoni and nervously waited for what she was about to say.
"How did you know that I lost my memories, halmeoni?" I curiously but politely asked halmeoni.
She smiled at me before she started, "I've been in your situation before. Where you doesn't remember anything about this place, instead, you have memories from a different place."
"Did it happen to you, halmeoni?"
Halmeoni nodded as she caressed my hair, "Yes, my sonnyeo. Tell me, are you experiencing something like this?"
I leaned forward and said, "Halmeoni, do you know something about it?"
"You have to listen carefully, my sonnyeo. It can happen to any special person after she turned 20. The life you remember was real; but, your life on Earth, it only happened while you were asleep, before you woke up with your lost memories. The time there is equivalent to the time that you dream in your sleep. Earth is like a world of dreams for people like us, the life there is only a test for us, before we gain something more."
Halmeoni continued, "You've started regaining some of your memories here, right? As you regain it, you'll eventually lose your memories from Earth. It is up to you, whether you forget all about it or not. You're still Laurana Clementine Alexandrovanov, whether you forget or not."
"I'm Princess Laurana? How can I decide between forgetting it or not, halmeoni?"
Halmeoni questioned me, "Yes, you are, my sonnyeo. You'll always be the Princess Laurana. Do you want to forget the life you had on Earth?"
I sighed, I couldn't help but to feel sad, "I thought I didn't belong here, Halmeoni.. I was scared that I don't deserve any of your love for me.. And.. I don't know if I'd like to remember Earth, halmeoni. I don't know.."
Halmeoni suddenly hugged me, "It's fine, my sonnyeo. It was a test for a reason, yours might have been a hard and sad life. You must choose on what life you want to remember, your life here or your life there. For me, I chose my life on Earth, that's why I didn't gain what I was suppose to gain."
"What would I gain, halmeoni?"
Halmeoni solemnly answered after we hugged, "Soon, you'll feel something calling for you. If you accept it and use it, you'll completely forget everything about your life on Earth. But, if you never use it, the first time it called you, you'll forget your life here, Laurana. You'll never remember Theo."
"My sonnyeo, it is time for me to remember my life here," Halmeoni suddenly pointed her palm towards her plants as a green light coming from the plants surrounded her entire body.
Like a dream, the green light vanished as Halmeoni's eyes became green until it turned back to normal, "Ohh! My sonnyeo, I've missed you~ What are we doing here? Where's Theo?"
"I felt something, my sonnyeo. I think I can feel the plants, that's not normal.." Suddenly, a flower near Halmeoni's hand started blooming, "Halmeoni, look.."
"Ohh my heavens! Did I do that or is your Halmeoni starting to hallucinate? Should I try it again?" Halmeoni pointed her palms into the garden and holy moly! The flowers and plants started to grow even the dying ones, they became alive and bloomed again. What just happened?