Book II Episode 70 - Bound Reality 2 ‘‘Grandmother”

One reason why Euria was able to pinpoint the reason behind Eugene’s nightmare accurately was that every time her grandmother visited them at the Veria estate, one way or another Eugene would have a bad body reaction. And yesterday was the day her grandmother arrived.

Unconsciously Eugene would always dream about her deepest memories when Moniqua’s mother visited. And this was because Moniqua’s mother looked like a replica of her former grandmother who subjected her to torture for a decade of her life. Not only did this person have the same appearance, but she also has the same ‘personality’ as the one in her former world. The persona she showed publicly….

One week.

This ‘grandmother’ of hers will have to, unfortunately, stay here at the Veria estate for one week.

How will she be able to hold the urges to attack this ‘grandmother’ of hers for the remaining week? Just one glance at that face and personality was enough to quicken her heartbeat. How she wishes she could disfigure that face and hear her scream in agony.

However, this was just Eugene’s deepest thoughts and something she might never be able to commit to. One glance at Moniqua and this urge would calm down. Like someone pouring iced water on her body spitting out lava. But this is only a temporary measure because when lava meets water, water boils and eventually evaporates, hence her thoughts still run.

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Getting ready and heading downstairs, the smell of delicious food wafted over to the twins as soon as they were led through a big door that led them into the dining room.

“Good morning everyone!” Euria’s cheerful voice echoed throughout the dining room, greeting everyone who has since taken their respective seats for breakfast. Towards Euria’s bright morning shout, everyone gently smiled at her welcoming her to a new bright day.

Sitting at the head of the dining table was Levis, besides him to the right was Moniqua, Aernest, and Moniqua’s mother. To the left were Louis and Ramon, with 2 empty seats after Ramon’s seats.

Unlike Euria, Eugene only gave her mandatory morning greetings once she sat at her respective place. Naturally sitting beside Ramon, she didn’t have to look over but the person sitting directly in front of her was… someone she didn’t want to see. Ever.

This arrangement, without using her brainpower, was Moniqua’s work. The proper arrangement between seatings would be Moniqua and Moniqua’s mother opposite of each other, followed by Louis and Ramon opposite of each other. Aernest and Eugene, with Euria being on Eugene’s side.

Pretending like nothing ever happened, Eugene prepared to silently eat her breakfast as per usual only to stop short. Chills running down her spine at the sight of the table. Her usual breakfast consisting of her morning calcium-milk, one slice of bread, 2 slices of bacon, and 1 fried egg was replaced with authentic Chinese dishes.

These weren't just any dishes, but dishes that were only known to her family in her previous life. The way the dishes were plated specifically was something only her family did. Rice porridge with 10 rose-shaped cucumbers at the edge of each bowl and 30 side dishes was her former family’s daily breakfast.

What are the coincidences of this?

Eugene couldn’t help but pause in disgust. Blinking her eyes to calm her uneasy heart, she with great difficulty picked her chopsticks up and began to silently eat. Here habits from her former world show as she only ate her rice porridge and pickled radish. Out of the 30 dishes, pickled radish was something she was only allowed to eat as her side, her main being rice porridge with salt seasoning. Occasionally if her grandmother was in a good mood, she was allowed to eat eggs.

‘Endure it for now’ Eugene blankly ate. Using a spoon to scoop up porridge and chopsticks to pick up pickled radish she carefully chewed and swallowed bit by bit.

It wasn’t until Eugene could swallow a bit easier that she realized everyone was staring at both her and Euria with confusion on their faces. Putting her cutlery down, she sipped on her warm soy milk and sat up completely straight.

‘What is wrong now?’ Eugene wondered, putting her cup down. Following everyone’s gazes, she came across Euria wolfing down on her food. Braised beef, braised duck, braised ribs, every species of animal landed perfectly in Euria’s mouth.

When the word perfectly came across Eugene’s mind, only then did she realize she made a huge blunder. This is supposed to be the first time she ate oriental food! And what cutlery did she use that people, especially children struggle with?

‘Chopsticks!’ Eugene facepalmed herself in her mind. She used to eat food with chopsticks every day but that was before arriving here! The expression everyone had wasn’t one of confusion but one of suspicion! Her thoughts were too occupied with the food in front of her to think about what object she was using to eat her food with!

What should she say? Eugene felt a bit nervous at this point. ‘Wait.’ She paused. Looking over at Euria again. ‘Why can she...?’ Eugene watched as Euria stuffed meat after meat into her mouth using a wooden chopstick.

Noticing a burning gaze beside her, Euria curiously but naturally returned Eugene’s gaze. But before Euria could question Eugene, a male voice spoke out.

“Where did you learn how to use a chopstick.”

There it was. The question.

Towards Louis who asked the question, Eugene could only stay silent, pinching her index finger with her thumb. What excuse can she give him?

“Hmmm” Euria hummed before Eugene could think of anything. “From those picture books, mother gave us!” Euria cheerfully replied! Not waiting to hear other people’s reply she returned to snacking on the ribs marinated in dark soy sauce.

‘Oh! There was that!’ Eugene blinked at Euria. They got pictured children’s books the last time Moniqua’s mother visited.

“But as expected! The food is just like how they described in the books! So full with flavors!” Euria grinned happily, using her chopsticks to skillfully debone meat from the bone before putting it on Eugene’s bowl. “Try it, sister!”

Nodding that whatever Euria said was right, she picked up the meat Euria skillfully deboned and ate it without hesitation.

“......” Bland. Unlike Euria who has been eating nonstop, Eugene thought that the meat tasted like it had no seasoning. The only thing she could taste was the sweetness from dark soy sauce and that was it.

Contrary to her expectations, this tasted nothing like what she expected. She could remember her young self praying before going to bed to eat a piece of a rib the next day for breakfast but that never happened. Although the smell was familiar and reminded her of the ribs she never could eat, the taste was quite disappointing.

‘Did it tasted like this?’ Eugene couldn’t help but wonder. Her previous world has MSG which was born through intense scientific research, therefore it might be possible that the food there didn’t taste like what she just ate.

“As expected of my sisters, you can use chopsticks just by reading a picture book!” Another voice spoke out. This voice, although aged, still retained some childishness to it; Ramon, the 2nd child oldest of the Veria siblings.

During the past almost 3 years, the children grew up by a ton. Both physically and mentally which naturally comes with age. Louis and Ramon became taller and slightly bigger, because of their muscles slightly maturing here and there. Aernest, Eugene, and Euria too grew bigger and taller. Eugene grew up to Aernest’s height and was currently the same height as him; Euria was 4 cm shorter than the two.

This Aernest and Euria disliked. Aernest hated the fact that his two older brothers would constantly laugh at him, calling him the younger brother of Eugene whilst Euria disliked the reality that she and her sister were no longer the same! Height wise, and … weight wise.

Another difference Eugene had that Aernest and Euria deeply disliked was Eugene’s voice! For one reason or the other, Eugene’s voice was lower and deeper than them. ‘Why!’ Were their thoughts whenever Eugene spoke! ‘What made her so different!’

Eugene didn’t know their thoughts but if she did she would tell them that it was because she ate healthily and was more mature than the both of them.

Without touching any other side dishes besides radish, Eugene quickly finished her breakfast. Putting her cutlery down and wiping her mouth carefully, she sat still. Indicating that she was done.

“You’re done?” Moniqua, who has been watching Eugene from the beginning, spoke. Eugene looked at her and nodded.“Yes.” She replied.

Euria softly nudged her on her side.“Eat more!” Without a glance at the food in front of her, Eugene shook her head, “I’m alright”. Anymore, and food would most likely come back up from her digestive tract.

“That’s a pity” Moniqua eyebrows softly creased. “Your grandmother since dawn prepared all these dishes especially for you.” She said.

Without taking a glance at her Moniqua, Eugene shook her head. She could, after all, hear a bit of teasing in Moniqua’s voice.

From Moniqua’s mother sitting in front of her, to the one week stay, Eugene could tell that Moniqua and Levis noticed that she didn’t like Moniqua’s mother all that much which was why they were trying to do something about it. Well, her feelings are quite obvious because she was especially cold whenever she saw Moniqua's mother.

A hint to Eugene’s dislike was when Eugene first saw Moniqua’s mother who visited her when she was born. Back then, Eugene was emotionally overwhelmed and cried for the first time, even fainting in the process. There were also many other hints but this week was probably a confirmation week and a big hurdle that she will have to get through.

Breathing out, Eugene sighed. ‘It’s a miracle I haven’t strangled your mother to death.’ She thought, ignoring Moniqua’s teasing.

Eugene sat up straight and waited for everyone to finish their breakfast so that she could return to her room. Without having anything like food to distract her from the women before her, Eugene could only endure by clenching her fists tight. For the first time feeling the need to just stand up and leave.

She could endure the food, so she could wait. ‘After this period, you can just avoid her Eugene.’ Unclenching her fists, she calmed down. It was because she was breaking out of her Alexithymia condition bit by bit that she has these repulsive emotions to stab the woman in front of her. This, she was incredibly surprised by! This urge was one she never had in her previous life even before she got out of that hell hole. However, in this life, even just a reminder that the person in front of her existed brought a tightness to her chest; An intense emotion called hatred.

This brought her thinking that instead of being Alexithymic, she was turning into a psychopath. The thought of wanting to subject this grandmother of hers to the torture she experienced in her previous life was one that brings her a slight joy. It was ridiculous that she wanted to see the person in front of her look at her in agony whilst knowing full well that the person in front of her never did anything to her. Yet.

‘Really ridiculous.’ Eugene shook her head. When it comes to her grandmother, her feelings would sometimes outweigh her logic and this was something she couldn’t control. However, when she thought about her current life and what would happen if her feelings took complete control over her, she hesitated. After all, this would most likely completely change the relationship she has with everyone in this room.

“Today, you children should head to town with your grandmother and explore the capital. Is this alright?” Moniqua spoke, glancing at everyone who replied, lingering her gaze on the twins who didn’t reply.

To Moniqua’s question, Euria looked at Eugene who was staring at the table, not knowing what to do. Frowning her eyebrows to think, she then replied. “Okay!”

She thought Eugene’s silence was yes and gave her mother the okay. Nevertheless, even if Eugene disliked going out to the capital with her grandmother she was sure that Eugene would say yes.

Nodding to Euria’s answer Moniqua hesitated. “Is that alright Eugeneia?” She asked. She was already guilty that she only let the children know that her mother was going to stay for a week just yesterday. Why? Because she wanted to know Eugene’s deepest thoughts and know how far this dislike for her mother goes. If it was to the point of unbearable, she would make sure the two would never meet again, until Eugene herself was alright with it.

Not hearing Eugene’s reply, Moniqua's heart started to beat fast. “Eugeneia?” Moniqua repeated. Silence only replying to her.

At this point, the atmosphere around the dining table went from warm to cold in a split second. It wasn’t only Moniqua and Levis who noticed Eugene’s behavior but everyone sitting around the table did.

Glancing over at Moniqua, Euria silently nudged Eugene who didn’t reply, noticing something was wrong. “Sister” She quietly whispered. “Neia?” Euria looked at Eugene silently sitting as if she was in deep thought; slowly breathing without even blinking.

“Eugene.”