'Wow.' Her jaw dropped while her eyes darted around the room. 'It's so beautiful,' her expression slowly brightened but she was instantly dragged out of her thoughts by two gasps and her eyes landed on the bed.
A middle-aged woman was laying on the bed with a towel splayed on her forehead and she was speechlessly staring back at her with wide eyes.
'That is Jack's mother' she thought. then her eyes landed on the other woman who was sitting on the bedside and had the same kind of expression as the other woman.
'Isn't she the head maid that loves fainting?' Clara frowned and wondered why their reaction is this Big. She's not a ghost.
Breathing in deeply again, she plastered on a wide smile and sauntered toward the women.
"Hello, Auntie... My name's Clara." She introduced herself softly then continued, seeing that the women were still not out of their shock.
Clearing her throat, she continued. "I'm so sorry for playing the ghost's prank... don't worry, there is no ghost in the mansion... See?" She slowly sat down on the bedside and held the woman's hands.
By then, Jack's mother had already sat up on the bed with a jerk. "It is her... It is really her," the woman whispered in a daze with tears streaming down her face as she stared down at the girl's hands which were holding hers." It is really Sophia," she repeated and the head maid nodded while sobbing also.
"Huh?" Clara frowned and glanced between the two women perplexedly. Who is Sophia? Is it true that Jack's mother had mental illness just like she had overhead the servants saying. But why is the head maid also crying?
She quickly shook her head with a small smile then cleared her throat again. "No Auntie... My name is Clara, not Sophia and I'm Jack's friend, your daughter-in-law's sister," She explained slowly and sighed inside. Feeling bad that such a beautiful woman could develop mental illness.
Jack's mother shook her head frantically and instantly wrapped her arms around the girl. "No, you're really Sophia... You're Sophia." She shook her head again then glanced at the head maid. "See? It's Sophia she had really come back."
"Yes, Yes... It is her." The head maid sobbed loudly and also hugged Clara from behind.
'Oh my God. What have I gotten into!?" Clara's eyes widened as she tried to wriggle out of their tight embrace while her thoughts shouted danger.
Sensing her discomfort, the women released her, and Jack's mother held her hands again, also sobbing loudly. "Sophia, I'm really sorry... please forgive me... Where is Jeffery? Did you come together?"
"I... I'm so sorry. I don't know the people you're talking about." Clara sighed exasperatedly and felt she would have a nervous breakdown any moment from now.
The woman stilled while her forehead settled in a frown. "Y...You're not Sophia?" she asked hesitantly and Clara nodded frantically as her expression brightened.
"Yes, Yes... My name Is Clara, not Sophia," she replied with a sigh of relief.
Jack's mother stared at her face as if trying to memorize her features. "You're right... Sophia and Jeffery are both dead." She slowly nodded while trying to convince herself.
"Yes, Auntie... and the dead does not come back... Okay?" Clara smiled while thanking God in her head.
Jack's mother nodded again as her expression brightened then turned to the maid who also had on an exciting look.
"Argh!" Clara gasped as the woman suddenly hugged her again.
" Then You're my Pearl... You're really my Pearl." Her sobs intensified as she hugged the girl tightly. "My poor Pearl... You really did look like your mother... I'm so sorry Pearl... I'm sorry."
Clara felt like bursting into tears as she sighed in frustration. She was finally happy that the woman had come back to her senses, not expecting that she'll actually compare her to an object. How does she look like a pearl now for goodness sake?
"Yes... She's really Pearl... This is incredible." She heard the head maid sobbed again and sighed helplessly.
'I have to get out of here... Alive' she chanted inside her head and wanted to wriggle out of the woman's embrace when she suddenly heard the door open and sighed in relief, thinking that it was Jack that had returned.
"Lisa?... don't scare the girl." Jack's father walked inside the room with a sigh while staring at the girl's back as she was hugged tightly by his wife.
The woman shook her head frantically after releasing the girl. "No, it is my Pearl. look at her." She anxiously turned Clara around to face the man.
Clara felt her head would burst at any moment and she stared at the man with a helpless expression while begging him with her eyes to help her out. However, in the next second, she watched as the teacup which was in the man's hand dropped down and shattered on the floor.
Her heart thumped rapidly, staring at the man's dumbfounded expression then she heard Jack's mother continued. "James, see? It is really her... She had come back... My Pearl had grown up. She's really beautiful, just like her mother..."
Jack's father got out of his trance and he quickly nodded in agreement then shook his head with a frown. This couldn't be. The girl really did looks like his dead brother-in-law's wife. And even though he had only seen her once, he could easily recognize her.
How could this be?
He slowly walked forward toward the girl and carefully examined her features.
Clara clutched tightly to her bag and slowly cowered back. What is wrong with these people? Just as she was about to sprang up and run out of the room, the man continued.
"Lisa, there are at least seven people who look exactly alike in this world... She isn't Pearl, don't you remember that we buried her together," Jack's father explained patiently and sighed deeply. There are really wonders in this world.
"Yes, Auntie... Maybe I just looked like her," Clara said with a grin after smiling gratefully at the man.