Chapter 3

"Thank you for saving my life." She tells me while I am cleaning her wounds in her arms.

"That's fine. What is your story?" I ask referring to the incident that just happened. It reminds me of the thirteen-year-old me trying to escape from General Thud of the Aqua Edis. 

"I stole their money." 

Her honest and straightforward answer fascinates me. 

"That must be a large amount." I glare at her before I continue cleaning her wounds. "These need to be stitched. About six to eight stitches." I point to the two-deep wounds.

"I needed money for my son. He is in the hospital right now." 

She didn't seem to care about her wounds, stitches, and anything. Her tears flow down on her pretty face. I see deep sorrow and pain in her eyes. She continues to tell her story. 

"I took million from Zubah's syndicate and now they are hunting me. I managed to hide my son in the hospital with the help of my friend. And maybe, he is now undergoing his heart surgery. It's okay if I die now, but my son needs to live. I know Zubah's syndicate will be going after him too. I am afraid of what they might do if they find him." She burst into tears.

I don't know exactly how to feel. I remember the night I lost my own family. It still pains me. So, I take a deep sigh and start stitching. I point the needle into her flesh and look at her again before continuing.

"I don't have numbing cream, it might hurt but it will be tolerable." 

She nods. Her lips are trembling. I start what needs to be done. I glare at her once more and see her grimacing as the needle pierces her skin. Her face now reminds me of Sherika, my youngest sister. I used to clean her wound too and she would always show a grimace of pain even if it's just a tiny wound. She's the best actress, ever. Unconsciously, my lips form a smile as I try to remember my younger sister.

"Are you happy that I'm hurt?"  The woman asks while refraining to shout a cry out of pain. I didn't know that my smile annoys her. 

"What?" I furrowed my brows not understanding what she's meaning by that.

"You are smiling." She almost gasps for air due to the pain of the in-and-out movement of the needle through her flesh. 

"Oh that, sorry. I just remembered something." I say shifting into my usual blank facial expression.

 Silence takes place between us. 

"Would you mind if I ask you something?" She asks, breaking the silence, with hesitation. 

"Go ahead," I say without looking at her. My hands are still doing the stitching.

"W-What are you? I mean, those claws and your eyes." 

She almost stutters as she asks me those things. I don't know if I'll answer her. Then, I decide not to. 

"I'll have to put bandage here," I say as I cut the surgical thread.

. 

. 

.

The woman whom I have later known to be Catherine, stayed with me for three more days 'til she was fully recovered. And today, she is leaving my place.

"Thank you so much for giving me shelter, Ms. Brown." She thanked me one last time.

"I trust you to keep my secret, Catherine." I remind her of her promise of keeping a secret from what she witnessed three days ago.

"Your secret is safe with me." She smiles and bids me goodbye. 

The moment she turned to go, left a hole in my heart. The last time that I felt this way was ten years ago. A memory flashed back in my mind.

"This is the only way for you to live, Lady Amara." He says in a husky voice.

"What about you Marcus?" My tears start pooling. 

"Don't worry about me, my Lady. I am honored to die for you."

He vowed his head, placed his right hand with palm facing his chest, and respectfully bent forward in front of me.

I don't understand why he is calling me that. Lady Amara. I am not Lady Amara and I don't know if I will ever pass to be called a Lady. It is a term used in referring to women in higher ranks…and I am just a daughter of fruit vendors. I am Akira. I am nothing. 

"But…"

He stops me from saying more things. We can hear the sound of running horses and the loud shouting of Thud's men approaching us.

"They are coming. Go now, Lady Amara. Save yourself." His pleading eyes stare hard against mine.

Marcus turns his back at me before I could even speak another word. My heart feels like being squeezed as this man takes his leave. I can't imagine how he's going to fight with them, alone. But even with me on his side will be no match to the hundred monstrous men of Aqua Edìs. I know there's only one thing I could do this time as Marcus suggests, and that is to escape. Without another thought, I run towards the glimmering lights that open into the other dimension. This is the passage into the human world.