[WHAT KIND OF CRAPPY ACTING IS THAT?!]
My hands flew to my head as I stared into space in shock.
'Am I hearing things?'
[You're not. And stop acting like a deranged person, unless you wish to be locked up in an asylum.]
I raised my head and looked around me. The doctors, nurses, and even Zee were intently staring at me like I was a newborn baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They couldn't hear the voice that I could hear.
'Are you saying that I'm not yet crazy at this rate?'
[Nope. You are merely… what's the right word? Enlightened? Hahahaha!]
'Why are you laughing? That sounds exactly like crazy. You sound crazy. That means I am crazy.'
[Ts. It was supposed to be a pun. Whatever. Stop talking to me and focus on the people in front of you. Before they get an inch close to diagnosing you with some kind of mental disorder.]
I looked at Mr. Doc and racked my brain for the symptoms of amnesia. "I could not remember anything before the accident."
Mr. Doc came up to me and checked my response to stimuli. "This memory loss could be temporary. Let's give it a few more days. Are you hurting anywhere else?"
"No."
"Can you lift your leg?"
I slowly did as I was told. The doctors standing behind him looked at each other with wonder.
Even if I were in their shoes, I would react the same way.
For someone who had been bedridden for a whole year, I was able to move my limbs a lot more freely than I should.
"It's nice to see that you're recovering fast." He pressed my legs and my arms, probably wondering how I still have my muscles intact despite being bedridden for a long time.
Then he didn't say much after that and just told me to do my best in my therapy so that I could go home as soon as possible. The thought of going home did not appeal to me as much as I thought it would. But I did as the doctor instructed because the voice in my head kept telling me to do so.
[Wake up!]
I jumped up from my bed when I was once again woken up by Xescilliz. Having her shout in my head was a lot more effective than any alarm tone that I've tried before.
I looked at the table beside my bed then I groaned and lay back down, pulling the covers over my head. "It's not even 8 AM yet. My therapy today will be in the afternoon."
[You have to wake up. You have visitors coming.]
I frowned. "What visitors?"
Aside from Zee, nobody visited me in the hospital since I woke up. At first, I found it strange. I was fully expecting Mom, Zee's mother, to visit me as soon as she heard that I woke up. But she hasn't visited me even once. Even my father was missing in action.
[Your step-mom and step-sister are here.]
"Zee and Mom?" I sat up abruptly which made me feel dizzy.
And right on cue, the door to my room slid open and an unfamiliar lady walked in looking like a madam of some department store. Behind her was an equally beautiful younger lady wearing clothes that could put any fashionista to shame.
[Stetson hat, green polka dot dress, blue and red beaded necklace, pink knee-high socks, and purple sneakers. I can never get used to her fashion style.]
'You know her? Who is she? Who are they?'
[You'll get your answer in 3… 2… 1… action!]
"My dear Arthur!" The older woman cried out in tears as she ran towards me. She grabbed my hand and held it against her chest.
I quickly pulled away. "W-who--"
She started tearing up and I looked at the other lady who was looking at me with a frown. The older lady cupped my face in her hands and forced me to look at her. "Is it true? Is it true that you can't remember anything?"
'Oy, Xes! Care to tell me what's going on?'
[The name is Xescilliz. And this is your stepmother and the other one is your step-sister.]
'Eh?! Since when? Did my Dad divorce Mom?'
[Your Dad never married Zeanne's mother.]
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
The lady in front of me jumped in surprise. "A-arthur, darling?"
[I told you to stop talking to me when there are people around. You'll end up looking like a lunatic.]
"Sorry. I didn't mean to shout." I combed my fingers through my hair. "I'm still a little disoriented."
The woman's jaw dropped in astonishment. "Oh, dear…"
"I guess it really was true, Mother. Big Brother doesn't remember anything." The other lady also moved forward to take a closer look at me with undisguised curiosity.
'Damn it, Xes. I have to get out of this place as soon as possible. I badly need those answers that you promised me.'
[Xescilliz. And yes, the better you are in acting normal, the faster you can get out of here.]
'Acting normal? So you do admit that I'm not normal right now? Is that why I'm hearing and seeing things?'
[Did you just refer to me as 'things'?!]
'What do you expect me to call you then? An imaginary friend?'
[We're not... friends.]
'Suit yourself.'
I looked at the two ladies in front of me then smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but can I ask you who you are? I lost my memories because of the accident."
The older woman sobbed and she pulled me for a hug. "Oh, my dear son! I'm your stepmother. I married your father two years after your poor mother died in a plane crash. And this is your sister, Rachelle."
My brows furrowed. My mother did not die in a plane crash. She died because of a cerebral aneurysm.
'Seriously… What the hell is going on? It's like I'm in a completely different world.'
[... Bingo?]
'W-what?'