Something shone brightly against my eyelid, causing my eye to open.

Probably due to the bit of comfort I felt, or maybe the exhaustion, I slept well. My body was refreshed and my spirit was reinvigorated. My eye was a bit moist and the side of my head felt itchy, but it was manageable.

A thought crossed my head as I chuckled to myself. ‘Too much liveliness for someone who can’t get up.’

Sighing, I allowed myself to be distracted by the window. The sun shone through the window, surrounded by a few clouds here and there. A smile spread across my face as I enjoyed watching the clouds while thinking about yesterday. Sounds of chirping birds entered my ears, followed by a gasp.

A lot happened yesterday, didn’t it — Wait, who was that? Who’s there? The gasp took a while to register, but when it did, hair stood on my body.

My eye gleamed, and I could feel my blood boiling. The gasp came from my left, rendering me unable to look at who it was.

“Dad! He’s awake! Come fast!” a shrill shout rang out from my left, soon followed by sounds of hurried footsteps filling the air.

From the pitch, it seemed to be a young girl.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to prop myself up. Unable to bear the weight, my arms gave out. With a loud thud, my left cheek kissed the ground as I fell off the bed, landing on my side.

My body screamed in agony but the shout about to escape my mouth got caught in my throat, as not a sound leaked from my mouth.

“Ah!” a shrill scream echoed from somewhere. Following a series of footsteps, two small hands began pulling on my hand to pull me up.

Who? Another person? No, it sounded similar to the one who made the gasp before. She should be the same girl. Maybe she can help — Ouch, stop it. Ow… It hurts…

Unfortunately, the help was less than ideal, as it was doing more harm than worth. I could feel something wet dripping from the area I was being held from, giving a feeling similar to the sweaty one from yesterday.

What’s happening? What’s this thing all over my hand?

Before long, another shrill scream echoed out, followed by a thud behind me.

Wh-what happened? What was that sound? Where did that girl go?

A few moments later, following the sound of more footsteps, a woman’s voice sounded out, “Amelia! Zack!”

A moment of surprise later, she spoke, “Samuel, pick up Amelia and lay her on the couch.”

Amelia? Who? The girl from before? And Zack? Another person in the room? Were there two people? No, there’s the woman who is speaking as well. So, three? And Samuel? How many people are there? Where are they coming from? A lot of questions filled my head with no one to ask from.

An “Okay, Mom” sounded out, this time the voice of a boy.

A moment later, two slender arms lifted me from my legs and back, in a bridal carry position. Partly from the panic and partly from fear of falling down, I shut my eye as tight as a clam.

Ahh! Don’t drop me! Someone save me! Before long, my back contacted a familiar soft surface as they put me down from where I fell. Ah! Ah! I’m safe!

“Now about all this blood…” a melodious yet somewhat familiar feeling voice entered my ears from my left.

My stiff body relaxed a little. As soon as my brain relaxed a little, the words she spoke registered. Blood? Whose blood? What is she talking about… Wait a second, does it mean… the thing on my hands is blood? Where did it come — no way, is it my blood?

My breathing grew labored as panic tightened its grip around my heart.

“Aria, is everything fine here?” A man’s voice rang throughout the room. Although somewhat feeble, his voice gave me a familiar feeling, pacifying my turbulent heart. The next instant, he asked, “What happened to Amelia and… and… all this blood? What the heck happened here?”

The woman sighed as she said, “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. For now, check on him and redo his bandages. I’ll clean up and take a check on Amelia.”

Following the sounds of footsteps, she probably left the room. After a few faint creaking noises, a man appeared in my sight.

His long, unkempt chestnut hair covered a good part of his face. From within his hair, his two piercing yellow eyes stared at the world in front of him. Although his face appeared lively, an air of rot seemed to surround him. Black bags lined the region below his eyes. Beneath them, one could see his slightly sunk-in cheeks. His complexion, although pale as a sheet of paper, couldn’t lessen the sense of elegance and a boundless dignity permeating out of his every pore.

This man… seems like I have seen him somewhere… but where… and why does he look like a gust of wind would blow him off his shoes? Is he ill or something?

As he raised his arm, I could see a bony arm approach my own. His arm touched mine as his warmth comforted me a little. From the elevation he was at, he was probably sitting in a chair or something like that.

“Zack, how are you doing?” he asked, staring at me intently.

‘Who’s Zack?’ I wanted to ask, but I broke down into coughs.

With brows knitted together, he helped me up as he brought a cup of water to my lips. Every drop of water which seeped down my throat made me feel as if I was born anew. The water gave me a sense of warmth as it flowed down my throat, washing the pain away. After a few sips of water, he stopped as he put the glass away.

Hey! Where are you taking it? I want more water!

My gaze followed the cup with a longing as I stared at the cup intently. His creased brows relaxed before lifting after a while as he looked at me.

As if reading my thoughts, he said, “If you want more water, wait for a few minutes. There’s plenty. Usually, we shouldn’t give a lot of water to a thirsty man at the start or it can have adverse-effects on the person drinking. So I’ll give it to you slowly so you can adjust to it.”

I nodded in response, somewhat getting where he came from. Even then, my gaze lingered on the cup for a good while before moving away.

Nodding, the man asked, “Alright, so I guess now you should be somewhat able to speak, right?“

Ah yeah, he asked me something. But who’s this Zack fellow? I remember him being in the room earlier.

After taking a deep breath, I asked, “Who… is… Zack…?”

To my surprise, my throat, which previously had next to no ability to speak, could form meaningful words.

Was that water some kind of medicine? No wonder it felt so good. I want more.

“What do you mean?” he asked as he gave me a meaningful look. “It’s you, isn’t it? Are you trying to play a prank?”

My brows furrowed as I stared at him with a questioning look.

The light in the man’s eyes dimmed in response to my expression. He looked at me, before looking down at the ground as his hand clutched at the handle of his wheelchair. His nails were turning pale while his arm trembled. I lifted my head to look at his face, only to find it expressionless. My heart trembled as I stared at him.

He… he doesn’t look good.

Why does he look so sad all of a sudden? And who is he? In that instant, all the questions I had suppressed earlier echoed through my mind. My mind was collapsing as unease flooded me.

Where am I? Why am I here? Why am I injured? What happened to me? I… I… I… Just who…

And a question slipped out of my mouth. “Who… Who am I?”