3 C H A P T E R T W O

Who is that girl staring back at me?

~*~

Lyma opened her eyes and found herself in a strange room. The bed she was lying on was large and white, and the walls were painted a pale yellow. The only light came from a few small lamps on the walls and a large window that let in the moonlight. It is already deep into the night which meant she had overslept and missed dinner.

Lyma sat up and look around. It's dimly-lit but she can still see most of the parts of the room. She moves towards the left side edge of the bed and stood up. The room is divided into two sections. The first part is where Lyma is, the bed chamber, it has the queen-sized bed on the center and two large windows on the sides. There is a single door on the right-side wall and a small coffee table and divan on the left side. Facing the bed chamber is the second part which is separated by a thin white veil that overlaps in the center. She walked towards the veil. She was surprised that the two parts does not only is separated by the veil but three-stepped stairs. Which makes the first part, bedchamber, elevated than the second part which is some kind of a small receiving area with an office table.

Lyma walked down the steps and looked around the room. On the left side was a double door, which she thought was the entrance to the room. Three or four steps away from the door was a small receiving area with two long navy-blue sofas facing each other and a gold-rimmed glass table between them. On the right side was a large brown wooden table, like a president's office desk, parallel to the door. Behind the desk was a wall-mounted bookshelf. On the wall facing her, behind the first sofa, were a series of large glass-door cabinets that held a variety of objects, such as stones and gems, colored liquids in jars, and a few framed preserved flowers. It looked like a collection. Lyma wondered for a moment if the book had mentioned Pandora having a hobby of collecting things.

Lyma could not remember anything about Pandora's hobbies, except that she enjoyed going to the garden and taking care of the rose flower beds.

Lyma walked over to the door and opened it a crack. She peered out into a long hallway that was lit by small wall-mounted lamps. At the end of the hallway was a large window, and on the right side was a corner wall. Lyma was about to close the door and go back inside when another door opened on the same side as hers, near the corner wall.

Lyma was startled by the small voice. She turned around and saw a young girl standing in the doorway. The girl was holding an oil-lit lamp in her right hand and was walking towards Lyma.

"Your Highness?" the girl asked. "Do you need something?"

Lyma could hear the grogginess in the girl's voice. It sounded like she had just woken up.

"I just woke up," Lyma said.

"Then you must be famished," Lily said. "I shall inform the kitchen to prepare you something. Please do wait inside your room for now. We shall bring you your food as soon as possible."

Lyma wanted to argue that she was not hungry, but Lily was already on her way down the hallway.

"That girl moves fast!" Lyma thought. "I just blinked and she was already a few steps away."

Lyma watched Lily go, then she turned and walked back into her room. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Lyma went back inside and sat on one of the sofas in her room. She leaned back and stared off into space. She thought about what was happening to her.

The serenity of the moment allowed Lyma to relax and let her thoughts flow freely. She thought back to the very start of everything. 'I can remember having the attack. The scrutinizing pain in my chest. The struggle to breathe.' She thought.

"I died." She mumbles. She could still remember her death as if it were happening all over again. She could feel the pain in her chest, the struggle to breathe, the fear of dying. She could hear the sound of her own heart beating, getting slower and slower until it finally stopped.

Lyma died alone. She had no one to comfort her, no one to hold her hand, no one to tell her that everything was going to be okay. She died a lonely death.

"If I just died with them that night." She whispered. Her mind wandered back to the time of the accident with her parents.

It was a fine chilly night. The sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. Lyma was sitting in the back seat of their white sedan car with her parents. They were singing along to the familiar music from the car's stereo. It was the music that haunted her for several weeks after the accident.

Lyma was holding her favorite toy, a white bunny, which she received on her ninth birthday. It was a medium-sized stuffed toy that Lyma could hug from time to time. It wore a two-piece outfit, a dark blue crop top and a golden yellow ball skirt, and a red ribbon on its head. She named it Snow.

Lyma was busy playing with Snow when suddenly a bright, blinding light made her look up. The next thing she knew, she was upside down and smoke was everywhere. It was hard to breathe and her vision was hazy. She could only see a little bit through the beam of light ahead. She could see Snow below her, its white fur now covered in dark dust and flecks of blood. And because of the beam of light, she could not see her parents.

She tried to call for them. She called for help. But no one answered her. And no one did even after. Her parents were killed instantly. She was the only survivor. She was badly injured and spent several weeks in the hospital. She was traumatized by the experience and would never forget the night she lost her parents.

A soft knock brought Lyma back and she just noticed the stream of tears on her face. She wiped the tears from her face and saw Lily enter the room with a food cart.

"Dinner's here, Your Highness," Lily said, placing the covered food on the table in front of Lyma. "We've prepared a light dinner since it's already quite late. I hope it is to your liking, Your Highness." She opened the food covers and then adjusted the oil lamps in the room to their full capacity.

"I'll be leaving now. If you need anything, just ring the bell, Your Highness." Lily placed a gold bell on the table and then left the room.

Lyma was alone again. She stared at the food in front of her. It looked like a bunch of leaves and vegetables, and she didn't know what it was called or how it tasted.

"I'm not really that hungry," she thought. "But there's no harm in eating something that was prepared just for me. Oh well!" She took a bite.

The food was surprisingly delicious. It was a simple dish of steamed vegetables and rice, but it was cooked perfectly and the flavors were fresh and vibrant. Lyma ate quickly, savoring every bite.

When she was finished, she felt satisfied and content. She had forgotten all about her troubles for a while, and she was grateful to Lily for preparing such a delicious meal.

Lyma rang the bell to let Lily know that she was finished, and Lily came back into the room to clear the dishes.

"Is there anything that I can be of help, Your Highness?" Lily inquired.

Lyma look over at the girl in front of her. She wanted to confirm if, in fact, she is Pandora's personal attendant. "Lily." She called.

"Yes, Your Highness?" Lily answered, expectant of Lyma's response.

Lyma on the other hand is conflicted about the fact that the person in front of her is Lily, Pandora's personal attendant. This just mean that she is in fact transmigrated inside a book.

"No. Nothing. Thank you for the dinner, Lily," Lyma said. "It was delicious."

"You're welcome, Your Highness." Lily said. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I shall wake you up in the morning. I shall be leaving now." Lily bowed to her and then left the room. Lyma was alone again.

Now in full light, Lyma could see the entire room clearly. The walls were painted a bright yellow, and the pillars were a deep blue. The cabinets that had puzzled her earlier were made of a reddish wood with gold trim around the glass doors. The chair behind the desk was red with gold designs on the headrest and the arms. Overall, the room was decorated in a bold and vibrant color scheme of yellow, gold, blue, and red. Lyma smiled to herself. These were her favorite colors.

'Did I really go inside a book? How would that have happened?' Lyma massaged her temples as she tried to make sense of what was happening.

After a minute of racking her brain for an answer to her confusion, Lyma once again took a look around the room and noticed the cabinets. Lyma approached one of them, the ones with the preserved flowers. She could only identify a few of the flowers inside, like daisies, sunflowers, and mostly roses. There were also some other flowers that were familiar to her, but she had forgotten their names. There were quite a few flowers in red and white that she was not familiar with. Lyma was admiring the flowers in the cabinet when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw her reflection in the glass. It was not a clear reflection, but it was reflective enough for her to see something in particular.

'My eyes!' She screamed internally. Lyma blinked a couple of times and tried to stare harder at her reflection. But nothing changed, she did not see wrong. Her eyes are different. Or should we say it's normal. She no longer has the same set of heterochromia eyes.

She remembered how she had always been proud of her heterochromia, how she had thought it made her unique. But now, she felt different. She felt like she was missing a part of herself.

Lyma spun around and looked around the room, trying to spot a single mirror. But there was none! The room did not have a mirror!

"This is impossible," she thought. "Who would have a room without a single mirror in it? Maybe it's just somewhere not easily visible."

She walked back inside the bedchamber and looked. She opened the bedside drawers. "Even a compact mirror?!"

She was already reaching the peak of her frustration level when she noticed the door on the side. She had not noticed it before, but it was definitely there now.

Lyma slowly walked towards the door and grabbed the handle. She turned the knob and pushed the door open, revealing a small, dimly-lit room. The only light came from a single oil lamp beside the door frame and so Lyma reached for it to adjust the light. She then found what she was looking for.

She walked over to the mirror and gasped as she saw her reflection. "Who...?!"

Eyes wide, she gapes at the reflection in the large mirror in front of her. 'Is that me?!'

Lyma stared at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes wide with shock. She didn't recognize the person looking back at her. She did not only have different eyes but a whole different body! From head to toe, it's different. Originally, she has a long wavy hair but now she has longer black straight hair. The length almost touches her buttocks. Her eyebrows become broader and darker. And of course, her eyes, they no longer are green and blue but hazel colored eyes. Her nose is thinner and sharper. Her lips, from having thin upper lip and full lower lip that is almost the shape of an apple to wider and heart shaped lips. Her face structure is also visibly different. Her jawline is more prominent. And the mole! The mole on her neck is no longer there. In replace are the moles on her lower right eye and her chin. Her skin is also paler than before.

"I look totally different." She breathes as she looks over her reflection again. She reached up and touched her face, as if to make sure that it was real.

Tears started to stream stream down her face as she tries to let everything sink in. She stared at her reflection, mainly on the color of her eyes. It was her favorite part of her appearance and now it's gone. "I'm no longer me. "She uttered. "That girl on the mirror is not Lyma. I'm not her anymore. This place. This body. This appearance. They're all Pandora's. And right now, she's me. I am her. I am Pandora."

Right after Lyma said those words, she felt a strange sensation inside her. It felt like something was unlocking, something was freeing. She felt a sense of lightness, as if she could fly.

Then, she saw a light coming from the mirror. It was a bright, white light, and it was coming from her reflection's chest. The light grew brighter and brighter, until it was almost blinding. Lyma instinctively raised her arms to shield her eyes.

The light enveloped her, and she felt a warmth that was so intense, it was almost painful. It felt like the sun was shining down on her, and she felt herself relaxing to the point of sleepiness. Her eyelids drooped, and she fell to the floor with a thud.

The light from the mirror disappeared, and the room returned to normal. Just then, a mysterious silver object came out of the mirror and made its way to Pandora's left ring finger. It knotted itself around her finger and disappeared, leaving a small shimmer of light.

The windows in the room opened, and a light breeze entered. The door to the small room where Pandora was lying creaked open, and the breeze went in. It instantly coated Pandora's body, lifting her into the air. The breeze guided her body towards her bed and gently placed her down. As if its task was already accomplished, the breeze exited the room through the windows. The windows then closed, and it was as if nothing had happened.

'System Notification: Body Adjustment Measures in progress. Post Memory Removal in progress. Pre-Reincarnation World Data Modification in progress.'

(Edited)