EMPIRE OF LUST

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

I woke up again and this time, my eyelids weren't glued to each other. They opened the instant I pushed them apart, but the luminousness of the outside world made me shut them immediately.

Too bright!

After a while, I was determined to open my eyes again.

I shouldn't be stalling, especially when I'm curious about what lies beyond this darkness. I've been in it for too long.

I opened my eyes again and squinted them, so I didn't get blinded by the light.

Nevertheless, there wasn't any bright light ahead of me. Rather, there was a large suspended ceiling and several light lamps hanging from it.

I felt the weight of something around my face and my eyes rolled down to see what it was.

My entire face was covered with a soft material, except my eyes, and a line was connected from the bottle hanging above my bed to my left wrist. I tried to pull myself up from the soft mattress, but I couldn't.

It was as if my entire body, from my shoulder to beyond, were asleep and insensitive to my consciousness.

I was still contemplating how to get my body up from bed when I heard the sound of the door opening and I deflected my attention to the door, to see an unfamiliar man staring at me in astonishment.

"Heaven..." He called in disbelief and I frowned.

I've heard that name somewhere before, but I couldn't remember where.

Is that my name?

The man rushed towards me, looking excited, like I was some long-lost treasure he'd found.

The man wrapped me in his embrace, careful enough not to squish me or the bandage around my head.

"My daughter's back." He sobbed, cradling my head against his chest, as he sat on the bed.

I couldn't recognize the man, but I didn't push him off.

But why could I not recognize him, since he was my papa?

How could I not recognize my papa?

What happened to me?

He slowly let go of me, after kissing the bandage on my face.

The man got up from bed and left, promising to return with the doctor in a minute.

I could only nod and watched him as he left, closing the door behind him.

The man returned a while later and behind him was another man in a white coat and a lady in blue scrubs.

I don't recognize any of them. The man who said he was my papa was beaming with a smile, urging the man in white to come to meet me.

"You see, doctor, she's fully awake. My Heaven is awake."

The man in a white coat walked towards me and stopped beside my bed, pulling out the Y-shaped instrument he'd hung around his neck.

"How're you doing, Heaven?" He asked me,

"Nod if you understand what I'm saying and shake your head if you don't." He demonstrated and I nodded.

I understand what he's saying, but what I'm puzzled about is what happened to me and why don't I remember anything.

I couldn't speak because of the bandage that was wrapped around my face.

"That's good. We all need you to be fine to ascertain our progress."

He tugged my dress slowly and placed one end of the instrument against my bare chest, while I watched him confoundedly.

He took away the instrument from my chest and reached for my head and peeked into my eyes.

"Perfect." He announced as he pulled away from me and my supposed papa smiled, saying something to the lady. She was smiling too.

They were all smiling, except me.

"I'll cal Dr. Reuben and tell him of your progress, then we can take off the wrap and reveal her face." He explained to my supposed papa, but his entire attention was on me and not what the man in a white coat was saying to him.

Eventually, everyone left the room, leaving me to rest. My supposed papa said he was going to bring my brother and promised to be back before I knew it.

It was still surreal to me. I had a papa and a brother. I didn't even ask if he were older or younger, but for some unknown reason, I hoped he was older than me, even though I hadn't seen him yet.

After stressing my fragile brain on several hypothetical assumptions about who I was, what happened to me, and why I don't remember anything from my past, I decided to give it a rest and return to the darkness.

I opened my eyes to the rustling noise and I deflected my attention to the direction it was coming from.

There was a young boy seated on the gray couch and he was rummaging through his backpack for something.

Who's he and how did he get in here?

Where's my supposed papa?

Suddenly, the boy stopped what he was doing and tilted his head to my form. Our gazes intersected.

I felt a weird notion ripple from within my frail body and I looked away immediately. His eyes were darker than the darkness I'd just escaped from, and it was frightening.

In my little mind, I deduced hate from his glare and I kept my eyes away, but he wasn't done staring.

I could feel his gaze on my body, lurking as a predator would do over prey, and it made me anxious and afraid.

Where's my supposed papa?

The door was pushed open instantaneously and I deflected my attention to the door. Seeing my supposed papa enter the room, with the man in white from earlier and two other men, I was relieved.

I stole a glance at the young boy and he'd returned his attention to whatever he was looking for in his backpack.

The men drew closer to me, looking down at me like I had something interesting on my face. Except that I do.

"Heaven darling, we are going to remove the cast on your face now." My supposed papa said to me and the man in white nodded affirmatively,

"Yes Heaven, it's time for your face to reveal."

I managed a smile, staring at them.

I need to see what I look like. Maybe after then, I can ask what happened to me and how I got to this place. Plus, why don't I remember anything?

While the bandage was removed from my face, my supposed papa asked me to close my eyes and I heard him say to someone called Killian, to bring the mirror, so his sister can see her face.

I wanted to open my eyes, but another voice told me not to.

I impatiently waited, until I could feel no more of the soft material on my face and I pushed my eyelids open.

My eyes jammed my reflection in the mirror. Immediately, my eyes opened and I was stunned.

My face was beautiful, no doubt, but something about it didn't align with my childish instincts.

I looked in the mirror at my supposed papa and he had tears in his eyes, staring at me with an emotion-filled face.

I looked away from my papa to the person beside him and it was the boy from earlier, unlike my papa. His face was stone cold, showing no emotions at all.

Was he a young boy, or some adult trapped in a child's body?

Everyone around me was happy and their faces showed it, except both of us.

I was confused and it showed from my expression, while his only showed indifference and hatred, which I believe were directed at me.

"Heaven, do you remember anything from before?" My supposed papa asked me and I shook my head with perplexity.

He stole a glance at the doctor and turned to me,

"I'm your papa, Luke and this," he turned to the boy beside him, "this is your big brother, Killian." The boy did not attempt to reciprocate the weak smile I gave him after Papa introduced us.

"You were in an accident and it was so ghastly, you lost your mama in it," Papa explained to me,

"It is a miracle you're alive now, Heaven. You've been in a coma for a very very long time."

An accident? I was involved in an accident and my mama died.

I tried to think back if I could remember anything, but inside my head, it was nothing but darkness.

One week later, I was discharged from the hospital. The doctors conducted some tests and exams on me before I was declared fit to go home.

I was excited about returning home, after hearing so many interesting stories about our home from my papa.

When my papa returned to the hospital that day, I was all ready to leave. Not that I didn't like the hospital; everyone there was very nice to me, including the cleaners and the nurses who came to check my vitals every time, but I was eager to go home.

Papa said all my friends and schoolmates were waiting for me to join them at school and everyone at home was also waiting for me to return.

By everyone, I know it was everyone except my brother, Killian. Since my face reveals, I've never seen him again and I hope not to see him again.

He hates me and I'm scared of him. I just wish he wasn't my brother in the first place.

After all my possessions were packed, a tall man came inside my room to carry my bags to the car.

"This is Miles Freeman and he's one of the drivers at home." Papa introduced the tall man to me,

"Happy to see you kicking, Ms. Heaven," Miles said to me and I nodded, mouthing thanks to him.

I said one last goodbye to the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, before finally going to our car, where Mr. Freeman was waiting for me and Papa.

During the drive home, I was euphoric and excited, taking an interest in everything in the outside world.

The tall buildings, the vast blue sky, the countless cars we drove past, and the tall green trees.

Even the fresh air and the flying birds in the sky, intrigued my childish mind too.

Having no memories of these things, it felt like it was my first time witnessing them.

Our car came to a halt in front of a giant iron wrought gate and after a few seconds, it opened automatically.

Our car drove in, through the gate, and finally came to a stop in front of a gigantic imposing mansion.

"Welcome home, Heaven," Papa said to me, as I stared awestruck at the magnificence of the building.