"Oh, you're finally awake, my child."
That voice... It can't be.
I sat up and turned around, and there he was. The person I never knew I could meet again.
He smiled. "It's good to see you again, Chesah. How are you feeling?"
I can't help but snivel at the sight of him. It's him. It's my grandfather.
"I don't know what to feel, Grandpa. Are you... real?"
I attempted to touch him and started sobbing when I knew he was in front of me.
I hugged him tight and said in my quivering voice, "I'm sorry for not attending your funeral. I'm sorry if I ran away without visiting your grave and for being a bad granddaughter."
He caressed my hair and gently said, "You don't have to apologize for anything, dear. You've been through so much—and I should be the one to apologize for lacking as a grandfather."
"I should've noticed right away that your mother was abusing you in such a brutal way. As your grandfather, I should've paid more attention when you kept insisting on staying by my side when you were still a child," He said as he looked at me with so much regret.
I smiled. "You don't need to apologize to me, Grandpa. Our times together were enough for me to temporarily leave my mother's grasp. I enjoyed every moment, and I regret that I couldn't spend your last moment together."
"But what is this place? Is this the afterlife?" I asked while wiping my tears.
"Not yet. This place is called Paradiso. It's a place for people who leave the world with regret. They won't proceed to the heavens unless they do something about their regrets." He stopped for a moment.
He grabbed my hands. "The only regret I had was not being able to spend more time with you, my precious granddaughter. Although this was unexpected, I have no regrets now that I'm talking with you like this. But you—"
He stood up, turning his back on me. "You're not meant to be here."
I also stood up, wondering what he was saying. "What do you mean, Grandpa? I died."
He shook his head. "No. You weren't supposed to die. It's not your time yet."
His words confused me. How does he know that? Why does he keep insisting that I shouldn't have died back there?
"But grandpa—" I stopped asking when I saw people with white and majestic wings approaching us.
Grandpa touched my forehead with his index finger. "It was nice talking to you for a while, Chesah. But now, you need to go back."
He slightly pushed my forehead, and I slowly fell into the abyss.
I can't scream, and I can't open my mouth either.
Before completely falling into the dark abyss, I heard him whisper.
"Don't lose hope, and just be yourself. A mysterious world awaits you, my child."
I kept falling until darkness engulfed my surroundings, and the blood-curdling shadows slowly pulled my body as it got heavy. Why did my grandfather push me into this scary place? I thought he was delighted to see me again.
I can hear people's screams like they are being tortured. Why am I hearing this? I covered my ears as the riots were getting louder and louder.
"Stop, stop!" I don't want to hear anymore. Where am I going?
I forced my eyes shut and tightly covered my ears, hoping this nightmare would end soon.
*****
"Ugh..."
After all of that, how did I manage to stay alive?
But my body hurts like hell! It's like big needles are being pierced all over my body! Now that I think about it, a car hit me. No wonder I feel like I'm dying again with this cruciating pain.
I gently opened my eyes, and I saw a dark-colored ceiling. Wait a second, am I not in a hospital?
"Mom! She's awake!" I heard a tiny voice say.
Why is there a child here? Did they just let a child into this room?
I can hear footsteps running towards me. I can't move my head, afraid that even the slightest movement from my neck will be the death of me. Even lifting an arm is enough for me to be writhing in pain.
"You're finally awake! Are you in any discomfort?" asked the woman who arrived.
I can't see her face clearly because I can only see a blurriness in my peripheral vision. But even though I couldn't see her face, I knew I never met her before. I can distinguish someone by their footsteps, breathing, stature, and voice since I developed this skill to survive and avoid anyone I don't want to interact with.
"Uh..mm."
My voice isn't coming out! What did I go through for my body to be in this state? I know a car hit me by accident, but I didn't expect it to be this critical! Aside from that, I'm with people with whom I have never interacted.
I'm in an unknown place—or worse, someone else's house! And I can't even do anything about it. Don't tell me that Vincent just left me on the road—no, he's not that much of an asshole, right?
"Mama, big sister is not talking. Is she dead?"
This kid... I'm not dead!
"No, Beau. Big sister is in pain, so she can't talk for now. Can you please grab me a towel and a bin with cold water? Can you do that for me?"
"Okay!"
After the kid left, I felt the woman touch my forehead.
"I apologize if it's impudent of me to touch a noble lady's forehead without permission, but it's the only way for me to know if you still have a fever," she said worriedly. "When we found Milady, you were in such a horrendous state that we didn't expect you to live even if we asked a healer to treat you."
Wait—what? What is she talking about? The way she talks is already unbelievable enough, but what she's talking about is what concerns the heck out of me! They asked a 'healer' to treat me... unbelievable.
Did Vincent admit me to a mental hospital instead?
"Your fever has gone down—that's a good sign."
I can hear little footsteps running around and splashes of water.
"Thank you, Beau," the woman said sweetly.
This can't be a mental hospital. But where am I? Where is Vincent? I'm not even in a state where I can walk or speak! Am I even in the Philippines right now? One thing is for sure: this is not a regular occurrence.
"Mama, is big sister going to get better?"
"Yes. The healer said two days ago that big sister will get better after three weeks if treated daily."
I am getting treated by a quack, and I'm not even surprised. They found me two days ago, so it's a miracle that I regained consciousness this fast. I wouldn't have imagined being alive if it weren't for my grandfather. He did say that it wasn't my time to die yet, which confuses me the most.
These strange incidents keep happening to me, and I'm so confused. Am I dreaming? Is Vincent playing a prank to get back at me for running away? Ugh, this is giving me a headache.
I shouldn't bother stressing about it if I can't do anything alone. I'll wait for my injuries to heal; I can get some information about my situation while I'm at it.
While the woman and the child conversed at the side of my bed, I heard a knock outside the room.
"That must be the healer." She paused for a moment. "Milady, please let the healer treat you. He can be trusted, so rest assured."
Does it seem like I have any choice? Let me see this quack healer, or whatever they are called.
"Good day to you, milady. I'm an advanced Healer from the Dukedom. If you feel uncomfortable, please don't hesitate to blink twice."
He sounded like a professional doctor from how he talked, and based on the quality and tone of his voice, he's not that old.
He held my hand. "I'll start now, milady."
Again, they talk like they're in some play in a Medieval period! I can't believe I'm playing along with this.
"Please accept the treatment since it will be more effective if your body doesn't reject the mana flow," he advised calmly.
Upon holding my hand with his palm, I feel a strange warmth flowing into my system.