Chapter 5: 'We' are one

Sarah Codache

Plants were dancing as I passed through the aisle that leads some foot away towards the crystalline lake. An iridescent light shined in the land, passing through small openings uncovered by tall trees' leaves. A flock of birds was singing in chorus surrounding the whole forest, and children running with their parents chasing behind them, barefooted. Their clothes were far way different from the ones I used to see. Plus, their hairstyle was the same as a chignon.

I stopped walking when one of these children bumped into my shoulders. The child looked at me with cold-lilac eyes. 

My forehead wrinkled, and my eyes widened when I couldn't hear anything she was saying. All I can do was staring at her ecstatic face while her mouth was moving. Afterward, she smiled, then left me without any idea of what was going on. 

I followed where she goes. She was enjoying the surrounding ambiance, which gave a chance for me to be unnoticed.

As I went to a straight path following the mysterious child dressed in pure white, butterflies kept disturbing my sight. They flew in front of my vision repeatedly. I divulged a loud gasp while trying to eradicate them away using my hands. 

Upon arriving, I failed to follow where the child goes. She has just gone right away. But, I stilled when I saw a large crowd with the same clothes, doing different businesses right beside the lake. At this time, I did not mind about that child any more; my brain was preoccupied with the people and the stunning nature I saw! The lake was surrounded by bushes, with latex-textured flowers ranged from colors found in the rainbow.  

I decided to went nearer to that body of water. I carefully kneeled and stretched my arms towards the lake to feel nature even more. I washed my face and glanced at my reflection. Suddenly, the lake turned dull. Because of my surprise, I stood and wandered my sight around. Children were screaming, and parents were howling with poverty. All the people around me experienced a change in the environment's ambiance. 

The sky became slate. The plants died. 

And the birds? Butterflies? 

They disappeared. 

"Sarah, help us..." A voice of a female child whispered into my ears. I looked around to find that voice, but I only spotted my own fist at my right with marks; a scratch of baby nails. 

"-Please, darling, wake up!" A nervous voice woke me up. The face of my mother welcomed my sight, and her trembling eyes approached mine. 

"Oh...glad you're awake..." She thanked, felt a sigh of relief. 

My eyes chirped around me. I noticed that I was not on my bed. The walls were painted white. I can even smell the cold fragrance of medicine sprinkling on my nose, 

Where am I?

I glanced at my sister, who was standing on the left side beside me. She wiped her eyes while it was blinking fast. Her face etched and looked blissful. 

I felt a little ache in my hand, so I raised it carefully until I saw scratches. I was astonished. I became bug-eyed and went quizzical. Why has this seemed familiar to me? Is this the one I saw a while ago?

I tried to remember my memory, but there were only blurry figures I see. I have a weird feeling that I saw the same wound in my life, but I couldn't just remember when. All I knew was, it felt familiar and fresh.

And because I cannot take all the questions in my head anymore, I called mom, who was busy talking with the doctor outside. My mom didn't hear my call, so my sister came to her for me. Immediately, my mom approached me with wide eyes that I haven't seen before. Her face was even more delighted. I wonder what my sister told her before going in.

"Can you repeat what you said, please?" My mom begged with glinting eyes. I glanced at my sister, whose face was waiting for my response.

With ditch eyebrows, I was wondering what was the two of them thinking. 

I looked at my mother in the eyes and smiled at her as my response. Both of them sighed. They looked devastated. Neglecting their responses, I showed them the back of my hand. My mom's eyes were shocked and worried with her mouth hanged open. 

"What happened to this? There's no way for you to get this!" She whined, holding my hand.

My sister looked at me. "Probably, she hurt herself. She won't feel hurt anyway." She inserted. Then she faced mom once again. "It doesn't matter to her. Stop worrying!" She huffed.

My mom did not mind to counter my sister. About an hour later, the doctor came to our room. My mom was not here, and my sister was tasked to look for me. She was sleeping, so the doctor excused her for a while.

"Ugh! Mom! It was the perfect time to sleep, especially that it's raining. I wonder if I could have enough sleep, huh?" She pondered while fixing her hair. Her eyes were half-opened, trying to be awake. 

The doctor coughed to catch her attention. 

When my sister saw him, she immediately stood up and straightened her back. Her eyes were as opposite as they were a while ago.

"Oh-ah..." She panicked. "I am sorry-"

"I apologize." The doctor cut off her words. On the flip side, my sister expressed a load of emotions that I cannot figure out. 

The two of them were talking about medical stuff about me. Later on, he signed a paper and handed it over to my sister. He asked her to buy what's written on that paper. Afterward, my sister left.

When the doors shut, the doctor went near to me. He sat beside the bed, glanced at the bunch of paper he was bringing before looking at me. 

His eyes approached mine; it looked a bit similar to the one I saw the last time. I also noticed that inside his white uniform, he was wearing a leathered clothing. 

"Hi Sarah, how are you?" He asked with a pleasant smile covering his face.

I smiled a bit in response. 

He moved the papers right over the table beside him. "I am Doctor Wake Louchette. Nice to see you waking up. Good job!" He praised with an enthusiastic voice.

I was getting confused. What's really happening? I don't understand.

"You accidentally slipped on the stairs in your home. You were unconscious while doing it." He answered. I looked at him with wide eyes. I was surprised. He knew what I was thinking?

"Your face said so." He added while lurking his eyes on his notes, writing something. 

I was full of thoughts at the time, but I didn't mind thinking about it too much since my head was aching even more if I did so. Instead, just like what I did to my mom, I showed the back of my hand to him. It has a little red, and it wasn't covered just like the other wounds have in my head. 

He stopped writing and noticed my hand. He grabbed it, holding it gently with fixed glazing eyes. 

"Wait, what? But I did not see this a while ago..." He bleated.

He grabbed his bag and get some aid for my wound. While doing so, he accidentally moved a part of my fingers where the injury was kind of thick. 

I exclaimed. He was slack-jawed and quickly made everything okay. But, I noticed that the rain's pottering suddenly changed from soft to loud in just a second. I guess he also saw it since he glared at the window with surprised eyes.

He slowly turned his head to me, looking into my eyes with emotions that I can't read, but I guess he was thinking so deep. He then focused his attention on the wound, and to my wonder, he pressed it a bit, enough for me to scream. 

My goodness, that was freaking painful! Ugh!

The rain became loud again, and as soon as the pain he made to my wound faded, the rain started to slow.