Chapter 15: Deceived (2)
But the girl is completely out of my sight. I couldn't believe it and look at the old man on the bed. "Grandpa." I tried to hold his hand but I wasn’t able to hold him but air. "Grandpa, I'm sorry." I went closer to the bed. I know it's just one of my memory but I want him to see me, I want to hold him, I want him to hear me. "Grandpa, this is me, Shia. I have returned grandpa, I went back to you."
A tear started to fall to on my face. Until series of tears gradually falling. "Shia." The old man continued to say. "Shia." The breathing of the old man slowly faded from my ears. He slowly closed his eyes. I kneeled on the side of the bed and tried holding his face. "Grandpa." My forehead on my palm. "Sorry." I don't understand what I feel. I don't know what is happening. Why do these memories come back? I need to get out. How do I get out of here?
"You need to save him first, please!"
I turned to the voice I heard. I was shocked to see the surrounding. I'm not in the room. I'm in a different place. I watched the white and clean walls, I heard the strong rain outside. I stood in front of a door.
"I don't know if he can still make it tomorrow. Please save him first."
I looked at the girl outside. She was very wet from the rain from her hair down to her muddy shoes. Even her shabby coat is soaked wet. She looked dirty. So that's why they didn't let her in, in the white and clean building.
"Miss, I'm sorry." a woman wearing a gray coat spoke. She has a pale skin and looks like she is not from the town. She is inside the building while talking to the girl outside. "I need to heal first the one who called me here."
"But—"
"Miss, it's better if you leave." the guard said holding a black umbrella. A black car is also parked in front of the white building.
"I'm begging you please." the drenched girl plead. She is about to approach the woman but the guard blocks her.
"Do you know who you are dealing with if we'll do what you want?" he said in an irritated tone. "Do you want us to be in trouble here?!
The healer watched her. "I'm really sorry." she apologizes in a sad tone. "I want to help you. But I need to heal the chairman first. He is the one who called me."
The guard assisted the healer to enter the vehicle with the umbrella. When she is completely inside, she looked again for the last time to the girl who is standing in the rain before the guard closes the door. The car immediately leaves on the rocky road. The girl watches the leaving car while wiping the mud that caught in her arm. Under the rain, she didn't know if it's tears or rain flowing on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Miss, it just works." the guard said before returning inside the building. But the last thing he said stopped the girl's tears. "Just a little headache and they immediately called a healer, so much for the rich people."
The girl continued to stare blankly at the empty street. She didn't know how many minutes she is under the rain and just staring at the vehicles that pass. From a short distance, she saw a luxurious light in a portion of the town where the ruler of the city lives and his families and other important people.
"FUCK YOU." she whispered under the rain. "FUCK ALL OF YOU." That happened two years ago. When all the beautiful thing disappeared from me and replaced it with the reality. The first month of the year, the old woman who raised me died because of an illness. When I thought that was the most painful that could happen, her husband followed her. I treated them more than real grandparents. They became my parents. They are the only thing I have. But in an instant, they were gone, the same time I lost my belief to the people here in this town.
I approached the girl who is under the rain. I can't even see straightly her face. There is too much pain and hatred and blankness— but the anger is the one I don't want to see the most. Because from that day, the hatred she feels didn't fade. The surrounding spin again. It's happening again. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to feel what will happen next. Until I heard a very familiar voice. "Shia, so you're just here."
I quickly opened my eyes to see his face again. Just as I expected, he is in front of me, smiling at me. His familiar smile gave me a sudden wave of comfort and the feel of being home and safe. Lucas.
I approach him and is about to hug him when I realize this is an illusion—IT HIT ME. An Illusion. This is all an illusion. I suddenly went away from Lucas. I shouldn't stay in this place. I shouldn't feel these feelings. The first rule of illusion, don't get sucked in. Don't let it move you. Because when you became one with the person in the memory, you won't be able to go back.
"I've been looking for you, you know?"
I watch Lucas. He leans on the railings of a bridge where a girl is sitting. "What are you looking below?"
"Am I going to die if I jump from here?" the girl asked him. I know I need to get out from this illusion. But is it stupidity if I want to go back in this moment? I want to see Lucas face. I really want to see him.
Lucas didn't answer. He is just watching the girl. "Shia, I'm sorry if I'm not with you that time."
The girl laughs weakly. A laugh with no enthusiasm. "If you were there, will things change?"
"I know, it won't," Lucas answered. "But I am not there for you when you need a company. When you need a shoulder to cry on."
The girl started to stand from the railings. She tightly holds from the opposite pole before she let go and balance her body to stand alone, She closes her eyes and feels the cold air on her face. "I don't need anyone."
"Shia," Lucas said still in a calm voice. "Let's go back."
The girl laughs again. The strong wind was sending her long messy hair in chaos. "Go back?" she asked. "Where?"
Lucas tensed a bit when he felt that the girl is about to jump. But she didn't jump but just walk on the thin railings. Her arms are spreading both sides as she stepped slowly yet carelessly in the railings. "I don't have a thing return to, Lucas."
"Us. Me"
The girl turned to him. Confusion can be seen in her eyes and her brow furrowed. "Don't stay here, Shia," Lucas said. "You need to get out."
The confusion of the girl increased. She is now staring at Lucas with a confused expression on her face. What is he saying?
"Shia, fight for it. You are sinking deeper. You are under an illusion." Illusion? Who am I? Is he kidding me? I watched the bottom of the bridge where I was standing. How deep is it? If I jump will I die?
"Shia, YOU ARE becoming your memory. You can't stay here! You need to wake up!"
***
New cover for Titan Academy
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