Chapter 5

After a while, the voices faded away. Elera could no longer hear their arguments anymore, as if they had moved further away. The distance between them grew. 

There was silence in the room again. The only sound in the room was the steady hum of machines and the sound of her heartbeat. 

Elera lay still on the bed, waiting, listening, and waiting. 

“I can’t hear sounds again, everywhere is so silent, the only thing keeping me entertained is the sound of these machines”. 

“I’m finally alone, but I don't feel relieved about this,” Elera can’t help but think to herself. 

Elera felt colder in the room. Her breathing was slower and more controlled. She can still feel the tension in her body.”

“Why do I feel I have been taken apart and put together again… I really need to find out what happened to me.” 

Elera moved her fingers again; her movement has improved, though the progress was slow, but at least she feels more in control of herself and her body a little.

Elera tries to focus again, to push past the heaviness in her limbs. She felt her fingers move against the surface of where she lay. 

“Yes, I’m doing it,” she can’t help but feel a little joy. “I’m no longer feeling trapped in my body.”

She tried to move her arms next, though it was harder than the fingers; she felt the muscles restricted and stiff. 

Elera felt a dull ache spread through her shoulders as she tried to move her arms again. “I just need to move it just a little more.” 

Elera put in more force, and her arms moved slightly against the surface. She put in more pressure until she was able to move the arms completely off the surface.

“That was a lot, I did it…” Elera felt her arms shake; she was barely able to hold it up for long. 

“This is more than enough for me.” Elera tries to steady her breathing, as she is on the sensation of what she just did. 

She feels more in control of herself and her body. Every other thing faded away. She moved her hand weakly to the side. It brushed through the curved surface that was beside her. 

It felt very smooth and cold. Elera adjusted her gaze to follow what she was touching. 

At first, everything looked blurry. She tried to focus again on the image that was reflecting. 

Elera froze. A face stirred back at her. “This is my face.”Elera stared at it for a while. 

Elera struggled to process what she was seeing. She tried to juggle her memory to see if she could remember anything. 

She saw slight differences; her skin was paler than before, and smoother also. Her hair was longer than she remembered; it fell loose around her. 

“I have not changed one bit, my features are still the same, but that’s not possible, if I have been asleep for twenty-five years, then how am I still the same?” 

The last question can’t help but plague Elera’s mind. 

Elera still couldn’t believe it was twenty-five years. She looked at herself for a long time, but she didn't see any lines on her face; there was no sign of aging at all on her face.

Elera stretched her hands weakly against the surface to confirm if what she was seeing was real. 

Her reflection didn’t change at all. It was as if she were stuck in her youth and never grew old at all. 

Elera feels tightness in her chest. She can’t place what the feeling is like. “I didn’t age a day…” 

Elera feels puzzled in her mind. This discovery makes her feel very uneasy. 

In a dark room far from the lab. Sounds of hurried footsteps, rushing to meet someone. The person stood in front of a dark. 

A cautious knock on the door. A voice came from inside the dark room 

“Subject E is not meant to be awake.”