5 Keleidoscope

She was in limbo – wafting for God knew how long.

It was like she was entombed in an infinite abyss, without a hint of ever getting out.

Was this the Elysium field? Or was this Tartarus, she wondered.

Regardless of where she was did not matter, however. She knew she had succumbed. Where she ended up in the afterlife was of no importance.

Whether her eyes closed or opened, only darkness abound. Without a care, she remained suspended, as the waves of time and space engulfed her, and she drifted off to sleep.

The next time she became aware, there were small dots of colors on the horizon. She had no idea what they were. But as moments passed, the tiny dots of colors became bigger and bigger until she realized what they were.

They were shards of memories spiraling towards her. Each shard containing moments she had kept in her heart.

A shard went past – it was one when she was still a child learning the basics of etiquette in the castle. Another went past – one with her first learning how to ride the horse. Then another one when she had learned archery and how to handle the sword. Then another memory – and another, and another…

Her life story went past her one by one, relieving long-buried memories. Then she saw them – Lucius, Rubic, Sven, Midas, and Horgall. She relived their first meeting until their last…

An unmarked shallow grave by the forest – a lonely resting place for her brothers.

Her tears fell, and the droplets plunged into the darkness which caused it to ripple like a pool of water.

Technically, her memories should have ended when she fell into the pool and perished – except, it did not.

More shards of memories appeared, and she frowned. As the fragments went past, her eyes widened upon realizing that these memories were not hers although a girl who looked like her was in them.

It was that girl! It was the girl who stared back at her from the water.

As splinters of reminiscences came to her, they became her own, engraving the events in her mind. But she wasn't pleased.

In these memories, the girl who looked like her was …a shrew.

There was no other word that came to her mind. She was argumentative, nagging, and ill-tempered – and her memories were full of foolishness. However, it seemed she was not completely hopeless.

How so?

Because in spite of all the evil machinations she seemed to have a penchant on, the girl had more or less done them to gain attention. Unfortunately, the person who did give her "notice" was a bad one – ergo the many cringe-worthy things she did in her life.

It was as if she was watching a sidekick of a white flower, becoming a great antagonist herself who was foolish enough to take the fall to cover for the wrong people. Alas! This girl had taken more than she could chew.

But, at least in the end, when it was already a matter of life and death involved, she had somewhat woken up from her foolishness and sacrificed herself.

Alinea frowned. Foolish lass.

The piece of memory showed the girl's friend had tampered with her metal carriage, but the foolish girl decided to still use it and caused an accident. But unlike Alinea, even though her eyes were devoid of hope, the girl had welcomed her demise surprisingly with a genuine smile.

Foolish lass.

The last shard of memory's finished. All had gone into Alinea's mind, taking each and every piece of remembrance as her own. She couldn't understand the essence of this, but she didn't delve into it further.

Darkness came again, and she was ready to sleep once more. But before she could, a dot of light appeared on the horizon, and she was seduced into waiting for it to come, wondering if she would be immersed into another kaleidoscope of memories.

But no…

The dot of light became bigger and bigger, spiraling towards her so fast with a vengeance, it was blinding until it devoured her whole being with a BANG.

"Urgh…"

Tired. Heavy. Painful.

These three emotions rang true to her at this very moment. She was no longer floating endlessly in the void.

"Urgh…"

She groaned as her lashes fluttered open. It was a great feat for her lids seemed to be very heavy. She tried to move her limbs as well but found that it was more impossible compared to opening her eyes.

She felt heavy and battered. But she was too stubborn to accept defeat this time around. With a battle cry that escaped her lips as a small groan, she finally opened her eyes only to close them fast again.

The light that welcomed her was too glaring; she had to attempt opening her eyes several times to get used to it. When she did manage to open her eyes, it took time for her vision to focus.

As soon as she could see decently, she was dumbfounded.

What was this white room filled with bizarre types of machinery? She realized several contraptions were also attached to her.

Hospital.

The word suddenly popped into her mind. She had no idea what this strange hospital was, but something told her it's a place for the sick, like an infirmary.

"W-what?"

Still slightly muddled, she attempted to lift herself up, but nausea and a blinding headache assailed her when she did. She had no choice but to lie back down.

But, it seemed she was not alone in this chamber. As soon as she spoke, she heard rustling sounds from the side, as someone clamored to his feet to come to her.

"Ara, are you awake? Ara?" An unfamiliar masculine voice tinged with worry reverberated into the small chamber, and she turned to see a familiar handsome young man hovering over her.

Where had she seen him before? She wondered, just as memories flashed in her head and her eyes widened in alarm.

"Aki…" she called out his name, and the young man immediately took her hand, a smile stretching his lips as he gave her a squeeze.

"It's Big Bro Aki, but it's okay for today. As long as you're awake," Aki said as he shifted on his feet. "Wait, let me call the doctor first to check you up. You've been sleeping a while," he added as he left leaving her confused.

This man was Suzuki Aki, the older brother of the girl whose memories she had seen.

What was he doing here? No, wait…

She looked at the room again, her gaze finally locked at the reflection from the smooth metal surface of one of the machines.

"Huh?" She couldn't believe it. The reflection she saw was not of hers but of someone else.

Suzuki Ara.