29

It was a heavy topic for Helena, but what’s different about it is that for the first time, she was able to talk about her experience from the past with someone else who was willing to listen. And she knew that it wasn’t just a nightmare while she was asleep; it was also her nightmare when she was awake.

The call made her night a little bit more comfortable afterwards, and she was able to sleep so soundly. When tomorrow came, she was already looking forward to Louis’ promise that he would visit her and they would eat together.

She couldn’t come home to the mansion of the Montville yet because of her ongoing classes at the camp. Her subject in class A to determine her strength when it comes to close combat, was now the main highlight of her day. She listened carefully to the lesson while their coach was a woman this time.

“The strength of a person cannot be measured by gender, because there are women like me who are stronger than a man. I could pin five men down in just close combat and even ten of them as long as I would put my whole attention to their body language, find an opening to their attacks, and look for their weaknesses during their body movement,” the instructor explained.

Helena was so amused that one of the top fighters who is a class A is none other than a woman. It gave her the motivation that if the woman in front of her could do it, for sure, she could as well.

“Have you ever been defeated by a man, ma’am?” one of the students asked.

“Well, I have…” She smiled.

“Who? He must be super strong.”

“Not at all. But he didn’t defeat me through a physical fight. I could defeat him through it if he challenged me one-on-one. But I didn’t know that he would attack me emotionally. I fell for him. He used my feelings as my own weakness to defeat me,” she smiled sarcastically.

They were so shocked that it added hype to the room, becoming loud while the boys were even cheering and the girls were booing.

“A weakness can come not just in physical but also in emotional. So train both and discipline yourself. Because not all of your opponents could come from your enemies; sometimes they would come from those people we least expected. Those people we love,” the instructor said.

Helena’s heart pinched at the words because she knew she could relate to it. And how sad that she wasn’t just betrayed by one, but all of the people whom she loves.

“In order to defeat your opponent, read them like a book. Always be vigilant. Those people who could face you while stabbing you in the back could also stab you in the front, so always be alert,” the instructor lectured while walking back and forth as they listened.

“Now, for your activity, you need to choose one to be your partner,” the instructor said.

Every person immediately chose their partner. And since Helena was friends with Rina, Alice, and Mica, Rina and Alice were paired while Mica and Helena chose each other.

“In your first activity, I want you to perform a self-defense step to defeat your opponent. This would be done on the field, and it should be five minutes long.”

After the first subject from class A, when Miss Bridget entered, everyone passed their notes to the front while Miss Bridget looked at Helena meaningfully as she smiled and took her paper. Knowing that she had given her a different questionnaire and seeing that she still managed to get the right answer mesmerized her.

Helena is gifted. That’s what was on Miss Bridget’s mind while she was looking at her notes, and when her lecture started, she felt like even Helena could already join her as an instructor because she could easily decipher the words and she could find a solution to the formulas given so easily.

“For your first activity, I want you to choose a partner.”

And just like their partners in class A, they all decided to choose those who were close to them to be their partners again.

“Alright. Now, class, I have a question.” She leaned against the front of the table while she looked at them seriously as everyone listened. “Do you think a class C could win against the classes A and B when it comes to close combat?”

Everyone was suddenly nodding, unlike Helena, who was trying to analyze the situation. She pictured three opponents.

“Are they the same in size and age, ma’am?” Helena asked.

Miss Bridget smiled that she had considered thinking about it.

“Well, that would be unpredictable. But let’s say, in this scene, class C has a small frame compared to class A. But class B is much faster in movement than both class A and C. Meanwhile, class C has both of their weapons…minus her skill to fight.”

It became such a critical situation to everyone that they started analyzing it seriously. Miss Bridget was more focused on Helena, who looked like analyzing the situation too.

“Where are they fighting, ma’am?” Helena asked.

“Does an environment contribute to their fight?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Let’s say the Class A opponent has the right muscles who could fight in close combat and who could defeat the two opponents, but he has a phobia of tight spaces. It would not just contribute to his physical action, but it would also lessen his strength because he is clouded by his own fear. And it could also happen to Class B, who might have a weakness in the dark, and he couldn’t use his weapons because of fear. Meanwhile, the opponents but he has a phobia of tight spaces. It would not just contribute to his physical action, but it would also lessen his strength because he is clouded by his own fear. And it could also happen to Class B, who might have a weakness in the dark, and he couldn’t use his weapons because of fear. Meanwhile, the opponent, but if he has no phobias, with his small frame and the right weapons he has, he could use it to outsmart them.”

Miss Bridget smiled. “That’s a nice analysis, Miss Asher. But what if the class C has the phobia instead? Let us say he has a fear of the darkness, and he couldn’t concentrate. The Class C are considered the weapon themselves because of their ability to analyze the situation and find an opening to attack their opponents, but if their phobia strikes, it would also lessen their ability to think, which would put them into a tight spot. Do you think he could still outsmart his opponents?”

The students looked at Helena now, as they were curious about what she would answer. And to Helena, it felt like a mirror—that it was she who was in the woods—the same scenario, and she was being chased by her own weakness. Her mind went blank; she could not even think of an opening for an escape or even for an attack on her opponent. Because she knew she was still caged by the darkness of her past.

And Miss Bridget, seeing her freeze for a while, made her determine that despite her fast-thinking analysis, she has a weakness herself. She has a phobia.

“Class, having weaknesses is a common ground that anyone can have. But that doesn’t mean that it will lessen our strength to get away from those we think we couldn’t escape. We all have dark pasts, but we must also put in our minds that we can seek our own light in every darkness instead of being consumed by it. It’s hard, yes, but facing your fears and fighting back is already a sign that we have finally outgrown our own weakness.” Miss Bridget smiled heartily.

Helena’s worry and the fear that was looming in her were slowly wiped away by the encouraging words by Miss Bridget. She smiled a little and nodded, as if it were for her past self as Alana and as Helena; she had already sought the light in his darkness, and all she had to do right now was face her fear and withstand it.

“You seem so smart in analysis, Helena,” her friends, which are the girls, complimented as soon as it was their break time and they were waiting for their next subject, which is their class B.

“Not at all. I am not even sure if I could still function in real fights because I have a lot of weaknesses too,” she chuckled while they were sitting on the bench, eating an ice cream, and watching some of the students pass by.

“Well, it was the truth. Back in the day, when I got into a situation where I knew I would die right there and then, I realized that our brain would not function right away because of our fear. It wasn’t easy to outsmart something that makes you go blank, you know,” Alice said while licking her own ice cream.

“How about you, Helena? What was the reason why you got into five years of coma? We don’t know that,” Mica asked.

Helena started thinking about it too. Clearly, she has really no idea about Helena at all. Maybe the reason why no one is questioning her about why she is acting so different compared to the old Helena is that she lost her memories. But she wonders what really happened to Helena to be that way.

“I really don’t know. My parents don’t talk about things that would trigger me since I could barely remember my memories.”

“That’s so sad. You don’t know whether it’s an accident or someone really attacked you,” Rina commented.