The precise sound of a heart rate calculator machine with the sound of clashing scalpels and the cold touch. This was the composition of a sophisticated sophia, where she was the best surgeon in the city. After a full day of standing at the operating table and saving precious lives, she went tiredly home.
As soon as she entered, she hurried to the kitchen where she smelled the aroma of her favorite food. Her family was gathered at the table, waiting for her to start eating. A faint smile appeared on her lips, but it quickly vanished when she heard her brother's complaint, "Hurry up, I'm hungry, turtle."
Sophia responded with a hint of irritation, "Start eating. I didn't ask you to wait for me."
But things didn't stop there. Her brother started mumbling words that only he understood. "What did you say?" she raised her head and gave him a cold look.
"I didn't say anything."
Sophia was about to say something, but it seemed that the mother sensed there might be a fight between her two adult children. So, she looked at her with a glare. Sophia swallowed what she was going to say, and the annoying brother smiled triumphantly.
Amidst the meal, the mother began endlessly complaining about her daughter and how she hadn't married even at the age of 37, while her brother mocked her and called her a spinster, despite the fact that he was also unmarried and behaved like a teenager at the age of 35.
Sophia got annoyed and started talking about how no one in this world is worthy of being her husband, and how all men in the world are scoundrels.
The mother got upset, and the brother laughed as if it were a comedic play, unaware that he himself was also acting according to his sister's definition of men.
Meanwhile, the father consoled her and promised that he would never leave her alone.
After dinner, Sophia went to her room after forcing her brother to do the dishes. She picked up her phone and began reading the third volume of a novel called "Hareem," which had caught her attention because there was a character with the same name as hers.
However, with each chapter she read, her expression grew uglier, and she couldn't continue reading. She angrily threw her phone onto the bed, started cursing the past and future generations of the author and the protagonist of the novel.
The character with the same name as hers died in the most horrific way at the hands of the protagonist, after he had killed her husband. She had been reading the novel for the sake of these two characters, not the protagonist, she already lost interest in him after reading the novel's description.
She closed her eyes, with thousands of curses in her mind for the author and the protagonist if she ever met them,
and then she fell into a deep sleep.
She didn't know how much time had passed until she opened her eyes and looked around expectantly. However, her eyes quickly dimmed when she realized she was still in the same room, in the old Eastern style.
"It was a dream, again."
Feeling bewildered, hopeless, and alone, she didn't even know why she was here. In fact, as a person from the 21st century and a veteran of transition novels, she knew she had moved into the "Hareem" novel she had read. Yet, she couldn't accept it, especially knowing that she wouldn't be able to see her family again.
Lost in her thoughts, she heard the creak of the door without bothering to look at who entered. She said, "Leave."
Her eyes were already sore from crying, and her condition was worsened by the presence of the small servant girl who came every morning to urge her to get ready and leave the room for something to eat or a stroll.
"Madam, please, even if you don't want to go out, just eat something. You haven't eaten for days."
Sophia responded angrily, "Don't you understand? Are you stupid? I've told you repeatedly, I don't want to see any of you."
Silence finally prevailed, and as Sophia waited for the sound of the door closing, she heard the servant girl pleading, "Please, madam. The prince has returned from his journey. Seeing him might make you feel a bit better."
There was no response from Sophia, and the servant girl thought she might be considering the suggestion. Slowly, she approached, fearing to upset her again, only to have a porcelain vase thrown at her face.
"Don't you understand? I've told you over and over, I'm not your lady, I'm not... cough, cough." Sophia began coughing, and suddenly she felt a terrible pain in her chest. Blood started flowing from her nose onto her white nightgown, creating a horrifying scene.
The servant froze, especially at the terrifying sight of her lady. Her eyes were red, swollen from tears, her skin pale, and blood covered her from every angle.
Worried, the servant girl moved closer to check on her condition, but she stopped when she heard Sophia's trembling voice, "Please, leave."
The servant girl pressed her lower lip and said, "Yes, madam," before leaving her alone in the dark room.
Once she was sure the servant had left, Sophia sighed and examined her body. "No hope, at least five months, at most ten. Even if a miracle happens, I'll die within a year." She was a physician herself, well aware of her own medical condition. Having read the novel before, she knew the fate of this character, "Sophia," all too well—the same character with the tragic and dreadful ending she had read about.