Only those who have only tasted the bitterness of life long to taste the sweetness of death.
Was a simple and painless death too much to ask for?
Calliope opened her eyes only to find her alive and...well in a hospital. Just one glance at the hospital room and she shut her eyes again. One deep breath. Two deep breaths. Three deep breaths. She opened her eyes again and formed a smile on her face.
She was alive and so she had to smile at every suffering she underwent or would undergo.
She was alive.
Even the fire couldn't burn her down.
She must have done some good deeds in her last life. Or she must have been a wicked woman who had committed unspeakable crimes and sins in her past life and hence she was punished with a human life this time. If not this, she couldn't think of any other single reason why God was punishing her at every single point of her life.
Truth be told, at this point in life, she didn't even care if she lived or died.
Her life was already a nightmare and what was the worse that could happen to her?
Calliope heard the sound of the door opening and leaning up, she saw a woman wearing a white doctor's coat coming her way. The woman's face brightened as if she had seen Santa Claus carrying special gifts for her.
Oh, she wasn't a Santa Claus but a cursed duchess.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked her. She had such a soothing voice that could calm the raging storms brewing in her heart. Yes, it couldn't but it didn't as Calliope realised that it was a private hospital room she was lying in.
"Umm...I don't know," Calliope found her voice to answer. Her voice sounded hoarse and her throat hurt. As her hand touched her throat she noticed dressings on several parts of her neck, arms and her legs.
Oh, Lord, she had burn injuries.
"It's okay," The doctor said, lightly patting her unburned back. "They are second-degree burns. Luckily you weren't burned severely. Then, it would have been an issue, but nothing that medical science couldn't solve."
It was only when the doctor was standing closer to her that Calliope noticed how beautiful she was in person. She had big brown eyes and shiny dark hair. She was walking and talking juxtaposition of an angel in white.
"Are you my attending doctor?" Calliope asked in a whisper as she was finding it hard to utter a word.
"Oh, I'm not," the doctor laughed beautifully. How can someone laugh beautifully? She showed her ID card. "I'm Dr Valencia De Luca. I'm a senior doctor in the Gynaecology department. I was told to particularly take care of you." Pausing she said, "Wait a moment, I will inform your attending doctor that you are awake."
Calliope was staring at her in a daze. Did Jane do all this? She made herself perfectly clear to Jane that no matter what happened in the future Wilding household was not allowed to contact her ever again. Suddenly, she had a bad premonition and her mind her back to the time when William Joseph had lured her to his den and destroyed the peaceful days of her life.
"Are you alright?" Valencia asked immediately. "Calm down. You are having a panic attack. Take a deep breath and tell me five things you can see?"
"You, blue walls, ceilings, door and my wounds," Calliope whispered as she gasped for breath.
"Four things you can feel?" Valencia asked again.
"Air, pain, breathlessness and my wounds," Calliope whispered.
"Three things you can hear?" Valencia asked.
"A patient shouting outside, your voice and the throbbing inside my head, "Calliope replied with closed eyes.
"Two things you can smell?" Valencia smiled.
"Disinfectant and the medicines, "Calliope answered, taking a deep breath.
"Alright, one last question. One thing you can taste, "Valencia questioned.
"Bitterness, "Calliope answered as she opened her eyes to stare into the doctor's brown orbs. She felt lighter and calmer now. "Thank you. It helped a lot."
The door opened and another doctor entered. He asked several questions to Calliope who answered as much as she could. She was informed that she had to stay in the hospital for a week as her wounds needed extreme care for the time being.
"Doctor De Luca, you have read the charts. Any question you want to ask?" The doctor asked Valencia who was silently standing there.
Valencia smiled and shook her head. " I have no questions for now. If I do, I know where to find you."
"Of course," The doctor said and left with a smile but Calliope could say that it was fake. He didn't particularly seem to be a fan of Doctor De Luca. And she just noticed now how Valencia only spoke English with both of them.
It was clear that she wasn't native but something about her made Calliope lower her guard even though she was unknown to her.
It was easier to shed your guard before a stranger than a person who know you too well.
.....
Author Note: The story is set in a fictional world. It's a beautiful island country surrounded by the ocean. The political system there is more or less similar to that of Britain. Langues spoken there are : English, Italian but mainly Sicilian and Greek.