I tried to open my eyes after gaining a little consciousness. But the sharp white light acted contradict to my action. When I made some movements with my limbs, the relief felt over my body that they were not tied. I covered my eyes with my hands before opening and slowly opened them. Then I felt a cloth under my palms, tracing on it I found a bandage tied around my head. When my sight was back I looked at the square white light hanging from the ceiling. Surveying my eyes around I found myself in a white room on a white hospital bed.
How?
"Hello, Levy." I tilted my head to the familiar voice and saw Loren sitting on the side stool beside the bed.
Confused by the situation I stared at him. Am I dreaming?
He waved his hand in front of me. "Are you able to see properly?" He asked genuinely.
I closed my eyes to open it again. So that I may wake up from my dream. When I reopened my eyes, the same scene repeated. I am not dreaming.
"What are you doing here?" I asked and stood up in a sitting position.
"I am here to take you home."
"How did I end up here? Where are those men? I was kidnapped, right? And-" he hushed me. "They saved you." And pointed towards the round window of the door where two men were visible.
"Who are they?"
"Men hired by your brother?"
"You mean his eagles. Why would he hire them? What is he doing? Is he some kind of Mafia or playing with the underworld?" I was so confused about everything. "They two fight with the two who kidnapped me?" I pointed towards them where one was having a conversation on the phone.
"They are three." He said.
I sighed and laid back placing my hand on my head. It's hurting badly. "Do they know who's behind this?"
He stood up. "Not yet. Let's discharge you and go home."
"How do you know?" I asked with my hand still on my head.
"Mr. Willson told me."
"Why isn't uncle here?"
"He went out of state for some work."
"He was present in the office yesterday."
"He went yesterday night."
I took a deep breath. The more I think about the incident the harder my head was hurting. But I couldn't stop thinking. What's going on? I need to talk with brother. Tears form up when the kidnapper's conversation ranged in my ears. I always wanted to know about my father, I always wanted to have a whole family, I always miss a hand of parents on my head. Since a tender age, I became mature, played the role of father as well as the mother for Adam. Never let him feel their absence. He might miss them, but I tried as much as I could. And now what I knew my father left me. Why? Did brother know this? A clicked sound distracted me.
"Shall we go?" Loren asked.
I stood from the bed. Seeing my moist eyes he softly spoke. "Don't worry, you're safe now."
I didn't bother about my safety right now. Those words were hurting more than physical pain. I nodded and walked with him with a sound of my empty stomach growling.
"We'll stop by somewhere to eat." He said while leaving the room.
I don't want to eat anything neither I want to stop anywhere. What if they kidnap me again. I was afraid to go out anywhere. While leaving the hospital, I saw those three men standing by some distance away from us, wearing a black suit.
During the way to home, I was staring out of the car window. We stopped in front of a little roadside restaurant. I realized it's too late for any restaurant to be open.
"Loren I don't want to eat." My stomach growled again against my words.
He gently touched my cheek. "No one's going to hurt you now."
I just looked at him. I was afraid and hungry too. So I nodded and stepped out of the car. This place was covered by tin sheets. Where rectangle cloth was hanging in the form of shade, horizontally all around the area. A red dragon painted on the cloth. The whole view was indicating it's a Chinese restaurant. We went in and sat on a bench where noodles were served in bowls. Eating was in silence which broke by the sound of Loren's phone. He stood up.
"Where are you going?" I asked as he stood up to leave.
"Stay here. I'll receive this call and will be back in a minute."
I gave a nod and he went out moving the cloth aside. After eating the quarter of noodles, I asked for a drink. Dragging the bowl aside, I held my head in my hands. It started hurting again. I should stop thinking. One of the waiters brought a bottle and a small plate as small as palm. And poured some water-like liquid in it. Taking it as a tradition, I took that palm plate and drank from it. It tastes sour and fruity with a weird smell. Drinking it decreases the pain in my head by little.
"What's this?" I asked the server.
"Wine," He replied, nonchalantly.
I haven't tasted wine before. I asked for one more as it was giving relief to my brain. After being served 4-5 times, I felt so light and my head didn't hurt anymore. I raised that palm plate for more.
"What do we call it?" I asked examining the little plate in my hand.
"Sakazuki cup." He replied.
"That sounds like a name of a girl," I said and pointed to the bottle in his hand. "And that?"
"Complete set of cups and bottle called shuki sake." He replied.
I drank and again raised my hand. "Oh! S square set. No, wait, shuki sake set, S cube."
I giggled whilst turning around on the bench and stood up. My feet were wobbling.
"Woah! Your restaurant is shaking." I tried to balance and stretched my hand towards him for more, he severed me again. Taking a big gulp, I sat. Glancing at the bowl of noodles, I asked him another question. "Do you give chopsticks too?"
"Yes, only on customers' requests."
"How to eat with that, it looks like long fingers of a female giant. I mean they are thin so female one, ladies' fingers of a giant. Not the vegetable ladyfinger. Do you get me?" I asked him.
He chuckled and responded. "Yes."
"No, you didn't. You laughed." I again attempted to stand on my feet, balanced by stretching my hands on either side. "Look." Safely placing the sakazuki cup on the table, I displayed him my fingers. "My fingers look like chopsticks."
He again giggled. "No ma'am, they don't."
I gave a close look at my fingers and waved them in front of him. "They do. See." Then I picked up the cup. After having another drink, I spun around and hit someone.
"What are you doing?" Loren asked, looking down at me.
"Hello, Mr. Black." I smiled at him.
"What's that in your hand." He held my hand.
"It's a sakazuki cup, with liquid looks like water, tastes like salty fruit, smells like water-soaked almonds and acts as a medicine." I pressed my two fingers on my wound. "See, I don't feel pain anymore."
"You're drunk Levy." He widens his eyes at me.
"Oh! Yes. In short, it's a wine." I tried to pull my hand from him to drink more. But his grip was tight.
"Look a dragon." I pointed back through his shoulder, but he didn't turn. So, I held his face in my hand and made him turn to look. "See it's a red dragon." I gritted my teeth at each word.
He slightly turned his head. Between this movement, I pulled my hand from him and fall back on the bench. He pulled me up by my arm. "Let's go."
"No." I dug my heels into the ground but he was strong enough to put me on my feet.
"That's not fair. You're strong." Ignoring my words he took the cup from my hand. Placing it on the table with some money, he pulled me out.
"I am not going, he's teaching me new things." I gesticulated my hand towards the waiter whilst getting pulled by him.
"You have learned enough things." We reached the car and I was waving bye to the waiter. Loren pushed me into the passenger's seat and locked the door from outside. Before he could sit on the other side, I crawled in the driving seat.
"Levy wha-"
"If we are leaving then I am driving." I folded my hands over my chest.
"Sure. Why not?" He slid in beside me and closed the door. Lifting me, he placed me back in the passenger's seat. "There's an invisible steering wheel use that."
"Really?" I mimicked him raising my hands in the air, in front of me while he chortles and drove.
We're standing in front of his house, Loren behind me unlocking the door. Unbalancing on my feet, I leaned back at him. He straightened me. Surrounding was waving like waves in water. I leaned back again. Straightening me again, he said.
"Stop leaning on me, let me unlock the door."
"Huh?" I turned to face him and looked up at him. His face was waving too. I looked down at the ground. "How can you stand straight when the ground is slipping," I said and again leaned forward.
He sighed and pushed me back on the door. "Lean on the door."
"Yes, sir." I salute him which made him smile.
With a click sound, the door unlocked causing me to fall back. Before I could touch the floor, he pulled me by my hand and I collided with him.
Dragging me in along with him, he closed the door behind us. I turned around and saw a white clean house. White fur carpet covering the floor. Looking around, I stepped on the carpet.
"Wait," Loren shouted and stopped me from going further.
He came in front of me and sat down. I looked down at him, his head was bend. I don't know what he was doing but wasn't allowing me to move. I saw a shield hanging on the wall with 2 swords making an X inside it. Turning back through my shoulder, I saw the same wall decorator on the wall behind me. I pulled out a sword from it. Its heaviness dropped my hand down, hitting the point of the sword on the ground. The sound made him look at me. I smiled, trying to lift the sword.
He stood up, snatching the sword out of my hand. I tightened my grip.
"No, I took it out," I said.
"Give it back, it's not a toy." He said, looking down at my hand.
I tried to run back and saw my shoelaces were untied. Tugging my shoes off, I moved back. Not more than an inch, as I hit the wall. Tossing my shoes off the carpet, he walked towards me, too close, and hold my hand to take it back. Holding a sword in one hand and pushing his hand back with the other, I spoke.
"I'll call commander Jacob with his army to arrest you."
He laughed at my words, I could feel his breath on my face. Holding my hand, he placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my head.
"Look there's one more sword up there." He said, then moved aside, pointing to the wall in front. "And two more there."
He then turned my face to face him. "Even commander Jacob cannot beat me. Now, hand me the sword you are free to go."
I looked at the sword in my hand then at Loren. I was looking at him with a pity face.
"Stop making that face." He said and pulled the swords out of my hand.
I quickly turned around to take another one but he caught my hands in a swift. Holding my wrists in his one hand, he carefully placed the sword down and lifted me by my waist.
"Put me down." I was kicking in the air.
"No." He said and threw me on the bed. "Stay here until I am back." He turned around to leave. I was slowly crawling out of the bed. He again faced me. "Don't you dare to move."
"Yes." I sat straight. He left and shut the door.
I looked around and saw a door in the room. I went in, it was a bathroom. I turned on the tap to have a bath.
Coldwater splashed on me, making me scream. "Too cold."
The door to the washroom opened. Loren entered and searched for me. I was hiding behind the door. He will scold me again for disobeying him. When the door closed, I was visible.
Facing me, he asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No, water is cold." I pointed to the tap.
He ran his hand through his hair and glanced at my wet T-shirt. "Stay here. I'll bring you something to change."
"I want to have a bath, make the water hot," I said.
"My taps don't provide hot water. You can never have a bath in my bathroom. Now stay here, quiet. No more movements. No more hiding." He scolds me.
He was back with a black shirt in his hand. Handing me the shirt, he asked me to change and went out. I looked at the shirt blinking several times. It was fully buttoned. I sat on the edge of the bathtub, two edges. No, three. Ah! It's one. Placing the shirt on my laps, I was undoing the buttons. It was hard to do. Whenever I touched the button, it turned out to be cloth. Searching for dancing buttons was difficult.
"Done?" Loren asked from the other side.
"No," I replied and caught one button. Hah! Gotcha.
After some time, he asked again. Holding the button tightly, so it may not slip away. I replied. "Nooo...."
"You bad buttons. Stop moving!" I scold them not to move.
"With whom you are talking?" He asked from the other side of the door.
"Lively buttons," I shout back.
Ignoring my reply he asked again. "Done or not?"
"Nooooouuuooouoouou..." I said a big no.
"What are you doing?" He shouted.
"Be quiet. You are disturbing my concentration." Holding the shirt, I stretched my hand to see if any left. Now 2 shirts were dancing in front of my eyes. I blinked to clear my view.
"You don't need to concentrate to put on a shit." He replied.
"I do when they are dancing," I said and asked. "Loren, why do your clothes dance?"
"Excuse me? Th-"
"Yeah, you are excused," I said.
"Just come out already." He shouts.
"Hah! Done the last button," I said and put on the shirt.
"But I gave you a buttoned one." He said.
"I know. I undo them all," I replied and gazed down at me with a smile of accomplishment. Oh no. Putting them back will be more difficult. I facepalmed which hit my ear. "Ouch!"
He opened the door. "Why did u undo them? You could have worn it like a T-shirt." His eyes widen at me. He ran out and shut the door.
"Will you come in and help a little, it's hard to put them back," I said.
"No." His reply was quick. He ajars the door and stretched his hand in. "Give me the shirt."
I removed it and handed it to him. He returned me after putting all the buttons and said. "Wear it without doing anything."
I wore and came out. He was sitting on the bed. I went and sat beside him. Turning to the side, I stared at him. He turned towards me, furrowing. His eyes always distract me; I thought and inched close to have a proper look. Pushing me back on the bed he stood up.
"Sleep." He said and walked out, locking the door from outside.
•••••••••••••••
Did anyone predict this?
Who would have kidnapped her?
LOCKHART.