I wished to die and be reborn.
A second chance in life.
A new beginning in another world.
– Who would've thought that it would be granted?
When my eyes closed, and when my heart finally beats its last beat – I thought what would welcome me once I open my eyes again is nothingness.
But when I opened them again,
I saw a ceiling.
I blinked. Blink.
Blink.
And Blink.
Cliché.
Wait, what? I stare at the ceiling, slightly stunned and stupefied at the same time. That was clearly a ceiling, that only means that I'm inside a building. Other than the ceiling with designs that screams 'elegance', I could also see a big chandelier. First, it was shining. Second, it's definitely gold. And third, are those diamonds? There's no way that I'm in a hospital. I've never seen a hospital that has a chandelier.
Then where am I? Am I even alive?
It was obvious that I'm lying down so I tried to move my body. Strangely, I had a hard time doing so – although I succeeded in getting up, I can't help but grimaced at the sudden pain I felt. My whole body was aching, I can't even move a single muscle without feeling pain.
Is this the result of being hit by a car? No. I'm sure I died at that time. But right now, I can tell for sure that I'm alive. I'm breathing and my heart is definitely beating. But how?
Forcing myself to calm down, I looked at my surroundings. The room, to say the least, was huge and spacious. The bed I'm lying on is also king size. And Looking at all of those gold, shiny, expensive-looking furniture, I can already tell that the person who owns this must be wealthy. However, no matter how much I dig up my memory, I have no recollection of what happened after my 'death', I have no idea how I ended up here at all.
Just then –
"Oh my God, Lady Aksia!"
– the door bursts open and my thoughts got interrupted.
It was a woman. The first thing that I noticed is that she's wearing a maid uniform. Base on her looks alone, she seems to be around 20-30 years old. She has this shocked expression on her face which I mirrored. Before I could speak, or think of anything, she had already walked near the king-size bed where I sit, unmoving.
"Thank God, you are finally awake!" she said and I stare – not at her but at the eyeglasses, she's wearing. Because from there, I can see the reflection of a woman. However, that woman doesn't have my face. The only people inside this room is me and the woman who's wearing a maid uniform, I'm also in front of her. The reflection I should be seeing is myself.
and yet, it wasn't.
"Lady Aksia, are you alright?" the woman asked. I wanted to say 'No' but I held myself back.
Hesitantly, I asked, "What happened?"
"Your mother – the Duchess.." she looked down, "I can't believe she did this to you. Even if she's your mother, this is just not right, my lady!" she exclaimed. She went closer to me and reach out for both of my hands.
"Why won't you inform the others about this? The Duke is also not doing anything despite knowing everything! Forgive me, my lady, I know they're your parents but this is not right." I panicked slightly when she started crying. I'm not good when it comes to socializing, so don't expect me to know how to actually and properly comfort a crying person – one that I don't even know while also being in a situation I know nothing about.
"Don't cry please." I softly said but she cried harder which I grimace.
"Please, stop crying alre – urrkk?!"
All of a sudden, I felt a wave of dizziness along with a painful headache. It was too painful to the point that my hands immediately went to my head, holding it in an attempt to somehow lower the pain or stop it.
"Lady Aksia?!"
A lot of images and scenarios played on my mind. A crying girl with beautiful raven hair and pink eyes. Her name. Her Family. The Duke and Duchess. Her maid. Her pain. Her wish and her dream. I saw everything.
"My lady, are you okay? I'll go and try to call for a doctor!" Before the woman could move, I immediately hold her wrists.
"No need, I'm okay now.." I said.
"But you're crying, my lady!" She said and that's when I noticed the tears streaming down my cheeks.
I'm sure of it now.
The girl with raven hair and pink eyes, she matches exactly the girl I saw from the eyeglasses reflection earlier. It was clear that this isn't my body, and now I'm also sure that this is not my world. The unfamiliar surrounding, the girl with raven hair and pink eyes that I know yet not at the same time, it all made sense now.
What I saw earlier isn't my memory either.
It was the memory of Aksia Euridice.
The villainess from an otome game I've once played.