A sticky sweet liquid came running down my throat.
My eyes quivered slightly open. I squinted, blinking my eyes as I saw a golden beak and bright round eyes staring at me.
Isn't this the Adarna bird?
I narrowed my eyes, and as I stared more, realisation slowly hit me.
The saliva from inside its beak dripped right into my mouth. My eyes widened as I choke, coughing and gagging as I scooted away.
"Shit," I cursed as I moved further away. "Bloody shit."
I look around me. I'm still in the forest, and the night sky still hasn't ceased raining. I checked myself and found that the few buttons on my sleeve shirt are open; displaying a vertical scar in the middle of my chest. My uniform is tattered and drench, sticking with mud and stained with blood.
Pula came to my side nuzzling comfortingly near me. I prop myself up on my elbows as I weakly sat up.
Alexandra grin brightly at me. "Good lass, you scared me to hell…" the red haired woman mumbled, heaving a sigh of relief; she held the Adarna bird walking near me.
"Bloody hell, please don't get that bird near me, I beseech you, professor," I said in horror as I scooted further away.
The Adarna bird harrump and said, "How ungrateful!"
Alexandra furrowed her brows. "Lass, don't be ungrateful to the Adarna bird, she saved your life," said the red haired woman walking to me. "Come now and apologise."
I sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry…" I said.
"You're forgiven," the Adarna bird replied generously, raising its golden beak.
"Well, now that your wounds have closed, we need to go back now to the academy, the Adarna bird still needs proper treatment, and you as well need to rest properly," Alexandra said as she helped me stand up.
I nodded and took Pula in my arms.
However, as soon as I stood up, I fell backwards and my body dropped to the mud. The world around me spins in circles as I feel my whole body heats up burning.
"Lass!"
Alexandra ran to me, putting the Adarna bird beside me. After that, she placed her palm on my forehead.
"Dear heavens, you're burning up!" Alexandra yelled worriedly; her inner eyebrows were pulled up together in anxiety.
A ringing sound came to my ears. It grew loudly as my body became hotter and hotter. Like I'm being boiled and cooked alive.
The ground beneath me shook as I heard a loud boom of cracklings, and afterwards, a loud whistling ringing echoed in my ears as the wind howled aggressively.
"Oh no! Her mana is in chaos!" The Adarna bird cried next to me.
My eyelids slowly became heavy, and before darkness devoured me, I heard a loud dark noise ringing to my ears, then everything went black again.
A vast blackness surrounded me as I felt myself being submerged to something similar to a body of water.
I tried to move but found myself paralysed; like I'm being restricted to move. I feel an unknown pressure weighing down on me as I found myself drowning deeply to somewhere more dark.
I tried to move over and over again but failed. Something unknown is pulling me down and restricting me to move.
Something or somewhere within me…a voice keeps telling me to just succumb to this darkness and change.
I'm scared. Change is like this body of darkness. It's unknown and it makes me feel uncertain of what will happen to me.
What should I do?
The face of my family on earth came to mind, but slowly, their faces dissipated. Slowly…Pula, Alexandra, Penelope, Cliopatra, Faye, Emilia, Granny, Lory, and Kendra appeared in mind.
Why am I imagining these people at a time like this?
Pula, Alexandra, and granny might make me understand. Pula is my only family after transmigrating. Professor is my benefactor and my teacher. Granny is kind, and the first who ever showed me kindness after transmigrating.
However, Penelope brought me nothing but danger. Cliopatra is annoying who would end friendship over a cute rabbit. Faye is a stranger to me, even if she is the protagonist's friend, she is nothing but a stranger to me. While Lory is someone who might hunt and kill me someday according to the original story.
And Kendra…she is the protagonist. Nothing more and nothing less. However, among everyone, I feel a lot closer to her. Probably because I know who Kendra is because I followed her story in the book. Nevertheless, Kendra is also a stranger, but I do want to help her reach a happy ending, because I know she deserves it. That's all and nothing else.
Everyone else is not important, but I do hope they, no, all of us would have a peaceful life.
Even so, why am I imagining their faces? Why is it their faces I'm seeing instead of my family or friends on earth?
Why? Why? Why? I repeatedly asked myself. Like I'm going crazy.
The realisation hit me. I'm already changing. Slowly; the world, the environment, the people, and all of it is changing me. My family on earth was slowly being replaced by the people in this world. I feel like I'm betraying them for having important people here.
Some part of me has already considered that I'm Nasrin Urduja, and some part of me rejects it. A part of me is slowly adapting into this world, and a part of me denies it.
What or who am I?
This question chokes my whole being. I feel like the more I stay drowning in this darkness; the more I doubt what I should be or who I should be. This darkness is forcing me to face reality that I am no doubt changing slowly.
That truth is killing my heart as I felt like I betrayed earth and everyone I know there.
'I'm sorry…' I prayed to myself hoping that it would reach my family, and I hope they would forgive me.
I don't know if I could see them again, but I want them to know that they would forever remain in my heart, and I will fight as hard as I can not to change who I am or how they raised me.
Still, I feel grief like I lost a part of me. Like a part of me has died and was slowly being replaced.
I can't tell what specifically, but I could tell somehow that I'm no longer the same. Something is slowly happening to me.
What is happening?
I don't know, but I'm certain of something, I don't want to be here drowning in darkness. I refuse to change. I don't want to change.
'Someone…anyone…' I cried out alone in the dark as I slowly felt myself losing who and what I am.
Suddenly, I heard a buzzing sound on my ears as a sweet and smokey delicate floral scent of lavender entered my nostril. The scent calmed me instantly, and all of my worries went away.
"Shh, all will be well, sweetheart..."
An exquisite alluring voice whispered to my ears. It sounded like a soft whisper of an angel.
Light appeared before me as I felt an invisible hand grabbing me out of the darkness.
An angel's hand came to save me, and slowly, the hand pulled me from drowning into the darkness, afterwards, I woke up with a soft smooth hand holding my left hand.
I glance at the person beside me.
Soft long platinum wavy hair and ocean blue eyes are what welcome my eyes. Her luscious lips bloom into a smile of relief.
Slowly, my mouth opened as I softly uttered her name. "Kendra..."