[I don't know]
Priyanka looked at those words, trying to contain the trembling in her hands.
Asha's wrist was wrapped in a bandage, but aside from that, her skin seemed clean, without any visible harm.
But Priyanka knew this wasn't true.
Asha hadn't had a single wound since the first time they met. Her body healed everything without leaving a single scar.
As her doctor, Priyanka knew that even the wound on her wrist would heal soon—almost as if by magic.
But things like magic don't exist in this world.
Asha had been a mystery since the first time they met. She didn't appear on any of the security cameras and had been found in a dangerous state.
She was cautious around people, whether adults or kids.
Most of her problems, even those involving her physical functions, originated from mental issues.
This level of trauma wasn't something that could be explained by simple domestic abuse.
What reassured Priyanka of these thoughts was Asha's choice of words.
If she had cut herself intentionally, Asha wouldn't have made excuses to cover it. She would've said it directly.
She claimed it was an experiment—a regeneration test.
Such a delicate choice of words for a child to say.
Even though Asha was very smart for her age, she rarely used complex words in her speech. Most of her communication consisted of simple, shortened words.
But what was even stranger was the subject of her experimentation and the process itself.
Initially, Priyanka thought Asha was a case of parental abuse, but her case wasn't that simple. The regeneration of her body and her peculiar eyes didn't match that of a common person.
It was to the point that natural genetics couldn't explain it.
A crazy thought Priyanka had previously denied started to make sense.
That Asha was the result of some experimental test by a powerful organization.
Nothing else could explain it.
Maybe Asha's appearance at the hospital was the result of her trying to escape from that place, but in the process, she had to endure immense pain.
The combination of the torture she suffered at the hands of cruel experiments and her dangerous attempts to escape resulted in the Asha Priyanka knew.
But if that was the case, why would such an organization leave Asha alone?
This wasn't hard to figure out. Priyanka could think of two strong reasons.
The first, and most obvious, was her amnesia. Asha didn't remember anything about her past, which meant she wasn't a threat to the organization.
The second reason was that maybe Asha was already considered dead.
When Asha was found, her heart wasn't beating. The organization probably had many ways to ensure that test subjects couldn't escape alive.
Maybe even Asha's amnesia was part of that assurance.
But what they didn't expect was that Priyanka would treat her in time.
An unpredictable miracle.
It was thanks to Priyanka's quick reactions that Asha now had a second chance to live peacefully.
Priyanka looked at Asha, who stared innocently at her, seemingly unconcerned about the severe wound on her wrist.
Priyanka pulled her small body into her arms. She couldn't even imagine everything Asha had endured to be here, but the mere thought was already terrifying.
"It must have been hard."
Her hug wasn't enough to heal all of Asha's wounds. Maybe nothing in this world was.
But it didn't make the hug any less heartfelt. It was the least Priyanka could do—as a mother and as a human being.
As her hug grew tighter, two small hands gently patted her back.
Feeling those soft, careful hands, Priyanka reaffirmed her determination once again.
That she would bring justice to this child. That she would fill her with all the love she had once been denied.
*
"There's nothing wrong with her," said the doctor examining Asha's arm, which bore a small wound on her wrist.
When Asha arrived at the hospital, her condition had already visibly improved. She just received some fluids and had her bandages changed.
The only reason they stayed there so long was that Priyanka scheduled several appointments after the incident.
Because of this, Asha had to undergo multiple check-ups, but all the results pointed to the same conclusion: there was nothing wrong with her body.
Since her physical health was fine, Priyanka scheduled psychological evaluations. However, because these were done on a scheduled basis, they couldn't be carried out as quickly as the medical tests.
Ultimately, the Maheswarans had to return home sometime after arriving at the hospital.
Priyanka looked visibly shaken by the incident. Her expression remained cold and indifferent throughout the process.
Doug and Priyanka had been talking privately since they got back. Asha didn't even want to imagine the content of that conversation.
She only hoped that everything could go back to normal the next day.
But before the next day could even arrive, her hopes had already been shattered.
The worst possible situation was unfolding before her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Does it hurt?"
Connie bombarded her with questions, touching every inch of her body, her usual shyness nowhere to be seen.
It seemed the sight had been too much for her to handle, and as a result, Connie started paying more attention to Asha.
For Asha, who wanted to keep a low profile, this situation felt like a life-or-death crisis.
[I'm fine.]
"Are you really okay?"
No matter how she answered, the cycle remained the same.
Connie looked at her like a terminally ill patient who might take her own life at any moment.
It seemed that any answer she gave only made Connie more worried, so Asha decided to remain quiet until she calmed down.
However, Connie's expression seemed to worsen even more thanks to this silence.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
'?'
Asha looked at Connie with clear confusion in her eyes.
What was she even talking about?
"If I hadn't gone out alone, you wouldn't have had to wait for me so long... Even though Mom told me to be careful, I messed up."
Tears streamed down her face as she spoke. It was all so sudden that Asha could only stare in shock.
"I'm not cut out to be a big sister." she said with difficulty as if something was stuck in her throat. "It seems like nothing I do works, whether at home or at school."
The sound of sobs echoed through the silent house.
Connie, who always seemed like a quiet and relatively composed child, was now in tears, clinging to her.
[...]
Asha looked at Connie, question marks floating above her head.
She couldn't understand how the current situation had anything to do with Connie.
From start to finish, everything that had happened was a result of her own careless actions. But Connie didn't seem to think the same.
Asha watched Connie crouched, hiding her tear-streaked face.
She tried writing reassuring words for Connie, but Connie wasn't in a state where she could read them.
So Asha decided to try a different approach.
She reached out her hand hesitantly and gently stroked Connie's head.
To be honest, Asha wasn't good at consoling people. Even if she weren't mute and could speak perfectly, she wouldn't know what to say to calm Connie down.
The original Connie wasn't this shy, introverted girl. She used to throw herself into adventures with Steven as if she didn't care about her life. But sometimes, Asha forgot that this Connie hadn't started her character growth yet.
More than the Connie from the original, she was like a lost child who overthought everything.
It seemed that if she was left alone like this, she'd break even before her story could truly begin.
The act of stroking her head wasn't out of pity but a strategic action to secure a brighter future.
After rationalizing her actions, Asha's strokes became steady, just like Connie's breathing.
This was the first time Asha had touched Connie. In her mind, it was an exception to the rule.
But something Asha hadn't considered was that, like a diet, once you start making exceptions, those exceptions can eventually become the rule.
*
Author note
This chapter had more scenes, one of them was even from Doug's perspective at work. But since many of them didn't add anything to the plot, I ended up excluding them. In the end I decided to keep only the best scenes I wrote during the week. I hope you like them.
Sorry for the delay again. I was putting so much pressure on writing a chapter every 3 days that I ended up self-sabotaging myself by writing for long hours and then procrastinating on it. I changed my strategy to write 1200 characters a day. I used that to write this chapter over the last few days and it seems to have worked.
See you next week.