47 Stranger!
When Nana Aida regains her consciousness, she was already lying on Adam's bed.
There's a stranger peeking at her face...
Bewildered, she saw a worried look on his face.
"W-who are you?" Nana Aida asked the stranger in a small trembling voice.
The guy grinned...showing even white teeth.
"Nana Aida, it's me, Adam!" he said in a casual tone.
He continues grinning.
...
...
Nana Aida gasped, her mouth open wide...she was stunned! "No! Y-you can't be Adam, s-seriously?" she stammered while shaking her head several times.
The stranger looming at her--entirely had a different face, so different from the ugly Adam she knows. This guy standing in front of her is absolutely handsome and good looking!
"W-where is that m-monster earlier?" she looked inside the room in a panic.
Adam frowned...
"There's no monster Nana. The one you saw earlier is me, am just covered with mud all over my body after clawing out of my grave last night, I was covered with mud. I directly came here into my room and slept with my muddy clothes on due to tiredness. While you were unconscious earlier I took my shower right away so as not to scare you further," he explained while laughing.
The jolly smile continued to glow on his face. It's like a burst of sunshine flowing out of from his twinkling eyes.
"Now you see me with my new look, this is me, the real me! The old and ugly Adam is gone, finally!" he laughed in glee. "I'm free at last from the curse!" he exclaimed in happiness.
Perplexed, Nana Aida can only continue staring at Adam's face in total awe.
Although she's feeling happy that he's alive, she still has a big nagging doubt growing in her mind-- if he is indeed telling the truth or just bluffing.
"Tell me what is the name of my two youngest children?" she considers testing him.
"Easy peasy...the name of your youngest children...Ivy and Nathan," he smiled.
Nana Aida's jaws drop.
"What is the name of your Mother and Father?"
"My father and mother's name is Antone and Margaret they are the King and Queen of vampires."
"...and your brother's and sister's name?" she continued quizzing him.
"Prince Zain and Princess Abigail," he answered right away without batting an eyelash.
Nana Aida stared at his face in pure amazement. And now with the final question. "Who is your girlfriend? What is the name of your girlfriend?"
The stranger fell in silence...
...
He scratched his head as if puzzled by the older woman's question.
Nana Aida continues to stare at his face and see the growing confusion plastered on his handsome face, her heart skip a beat.
His eyebrows rose. "Do I have a girlfriend? Strange--I can't remember her?"
Nana Aida felt a growing unease in her heart, she frowned at him. "You forgot about-Jessy? Impossible!"
The stranger in front of her shook his head several times.
"If you can't remember, Jessy, then you are not the real Adam! You are an impostor!"
Nana Aida stood up and motioned the stranger to follow her.
She walks towards Jess' room. She opened the door and walk inside the room towards the table near the window. She opened the drawer and picks up a picture frame, a smiling faces of Jessy and Adam can be seen in the frame, she handed it to the stranger.
The guy holds the picture frame and stared at the two smiling faces in the photo.
"That is Jessy!" Nana Aida pointed her finger on Jess' face.
He held the picture between two hands and stared at the girl's face.
"She is beautiful," he murmured in a casual tone.
Nana Aida sighed. "Y-you remember her now?"
He shook his head. "No. I still don't remember her. But I don't mind having her as my girlfriend," he grinned.
"Whaa-t, are you having selective amnesia? You remember everyone but not the love of your life?" she said in an exasperated voice.
"Nana, please, believe me, I'm really Adam. As for Jessy, I don't really remember her," he said in a serious face.
Nana Aida breathed deeply, clearly annoyed. "Seriously, If you are indeed the real Adam, there is something wrong with your head!"
She quickly walks towards the door of the room...
"Nana, where are you going?"
"Am going to call the Police or the guards to arrest you. You are trespassing! You are an impostor!"
The stranger whined. "Oh, come on Nana! You still doubted me?"
The older woman stared at the stranger's face, hesitating...
"Before you call the police or the guards, can you please cook some food for me? My stomach is grumbling, I have not eaten anything yet for the last few days."
"You have forgotten your blood box in your room? There still five bags of blood in there to satisfy your thirst," she said.
"Nana, am no longer a vampire, am human now. I'm craving for human food, not human blood," he said.
She sighed. She doesn't know if she is happy or sad. Part of her desperately wanted to believe that the stranger standing in front of her is Adam and that he finally come back to life. But he--forgotten Jessy-- it's something she can't accept and believe quite easily.
"Fine...," she relented.
Nana Aida exited the room and went downstairs and cooked some pork stew in the kitchen in a hurry.
A few moments later...
She went upstairs to tell him that the food was already cooked and prepared in the dining table.
She found him still rooted on the same spot where she left him earlier, holding the picture frame with his hands as if the mere picture mesmerized him.
"The food is ready. You can now eat in the dining room," said Nana Aida.
He gave back the picture frame to Nana Aida.
She put it back inside the drawer.
The stranger walks down on the staircase with Nana Aida following him. He entered the dining room and sat down on Adam's chair and starts eating his foods in silence.
Nana Aida continues examining his face and mannerism. Trying to compare him to the old Adam. Overall, he does act, talk and walk like the old Adam, no difference at all, except his face. She was used to seeing the ugly Adam every day, she had forgotten that he was cursed starting at the age of five years old, the ugliness she kept seeing before was not really his real face. If she has to believe him, what she had seen right now is his real face without the curse.
After he's done eating, he praised the older woman's cooking skill. "Nana, thank you very much for the delicious food. It's my first time eating human food and it tastes really good!" he smiled at her.
Nana Aida smiled a little in response.
He stood up and headed to the kitchen area, he walks towards the door, then he proceeds to walk outside right into the path that leads to Jess' rose garden.
Nana Aida followed him in silence.
He stopped right in front of the grave with a gloomy expression on his face.
He glanced at Nana Aida. "Do you still have a doubt regarding with my identity, Nana?"
She nodded. "I do."
"Fine...later tonight I will prove to you that I'm really Adam," he said. He turned around and headed to the swing area and sat down right into Adam's favorite spot.
Nana Aida let out a deep sigh.
She walked back to the kitchen and cleaned the dishes. She will wait for tonight for more evidence before finally acknowledging to herself that he is indeed the real Adam. For now, she keeps her skepticism on high alert.
...
Later that night...
The clock already strikes at 8:00 PM in the evening.
They already had eaten their dinner. As usual, the stranger eats the foods that Nana Aida has prepared with great enthusiasm.
The guy even helps Nana Aida cleaned the table just like what Adam usually do numerous times in the past.
After the kitchen was already cleaned...
"Please bring a flashlight with you, Nana. See you at the grave," he said. He walks out of the kitchen door.
A few moments later...
Nana Aida stood beside Adam in front of the grave with her flashlight ready. There is no moon in the sky tonight so the surrounding area where the grave is located was enveloped in darkness.
"Now witness what am going to do-Nana," he said.
The guy waved both his hands up in the air and the soil of the surface of the grave began parting apart as if somebody is digging the soil with invincible hands. The pile of soil was now mounting on both sides of the grave. Until the surface of the coffin can finally be seen from above.
Nana Aida cleared her throat in anticipation...she was more interested with the content of the coffin than that of his display of magical prowess.
When the coffin was already cleared from the remaining soil, the stranger waved his hand again and the lid of the coffin suddenly opened wide for Nana Aida to see.
She immediately pressed the button of the flashlight and points it towards the coffin...
...
The coffin is empty!
Nana Aida immediately hugged Adam, her happiness is overflowing. "My child, you are back! You are indeed the real Adam!"
Adam hugged Nana as well and kissed her forehead.
Nana Aida let go of Adam and wipe the tears of happiness from her eyes.
Adam waved his hands again, the lid of the coffin starts closing in, and the soil was pouring back down into the grave in rapid succession until they can no longer see the surface of the coffin.
After the grave was finally covered with soil, they entered the mansion and retired for the night.
Nana Aida sleep soundly in her room for the first time in the last six days. But before she sleeps that night she fervently prayed to God that Adam will finally remember Jessy when he wakes up the next day.
While Adam stayed wide awake for the rest of the night in his room.
