Chapter 2: New life

The swirling mist of Miguel Reyes' consciousness was pulled up from the depths by a tender touch, specifically the feel of a damp cloth wiping his forehead. A sweet floral smell danced through his nose and along his nerves, pulling him out of oblivion. He slowly opened his eyelids, and his blue eyes began taking in the world around him.

The first thing he saw was a gilded ceiling. The second was a beautiful girl dazzling enough that he could see her with perfect clarity despite his bleary vision. He wanted to reach up and wipe the sleep from his eyes, but he couldn't; his arms felt as if they had been strapped to his sides.

The girl met his gaze, her eyes soft and blue as sapphire. She smiled down at him, her lips full and pink, her cheeks dimpled. Her skin was creamy white with a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and her eyes were ringed with thick lashes that fluttered closed as she sighed softly.

She was dressed in a mainly ornate white dress, an outfit that gave off the impression of a princess. She gently wiped his forehead with a damp cloth.

"Oh…!"

Their eyes locked.

"You're awake? Oh, thank goodness."

As she spoke, a relieved smile spread across her youthful face.

She was lovely, and her silver hair cascaded down her back, dancing in the flickering light of the hearth. His eyes wandered to the rest of her. She had a slender neck and a slim figure with the curves of her body accentuated by her white dress.

"She's beautiful," he thought.

But more importantly, who was she anyway? She wasn't anyone he recognized. And also, what was he doing…wherever it was he was? Why was he lying down? And why does this place look regal? His memories were all jumbled up.

"Uhm…where am…? Agh..!"

But when he tried to sit up and voice his confusion, a sharp, burning pain ran through his entire body, as if his bones were being reborn. His body was hot, and he felt like he was on fire.

"Oh! You mustn't! You're badly injured. You need to rest!"

"Badly injured?" Miguel realized something that made him remember what happened to him.

He was on his way home when a truck suddenly appeared from the next sharp turn. He tried to avoid colliding with it but ended up in futility. He fell off the cliff, and that was the last thing he could remember.

The moment he remembered, Miguel immediately ignored the pain burning through his body, wrenched himself up, and firmly grabbed the girl's slim shoulders.

"Uhm…where am I? Where is this place?"

He had to ask; the place around him didn't look like a hospital, and the girl attending him didn't look like a doctor. And most importantly, after falling off a cliff with the force and speed of the car, it happened too fast, but he was certain that no human being would survive that crash.

Initially, the girl had been confused by the man who had yelled at her. She couldn't understand why. But she quickly gave him a soft smile to set his heart at ease.

"Don't worry, Alfonso. You're in the palace, in your room. I'm just here visiting you to see your condition…" She twirled a strand of her hair while she answered him. She continued in a softer tone this time. "Though... I've been visiting you here ever since the tragic accident."

"My residence…?" Miguel released her from his tightened grasp as he widened his eyes and studied the room he was in.

This was surely not his residence. It didn't even resemble the interior design of the house he originally knew. A plush Baroque bedroom, marbled walls, gilded ceiling, and a colossal mahogany four-poster bed. This was certainly not his place, as he was a man of simplicity. And everything around the room radiated lavishness, which was not his style. With those sensory details, Miguel deduced that this was not his room.

That's not all; the girl beside him addressed him as a brother. Does he have a sibling? As far as he can tell from his photographic memory, there's none. After all, he's the only child in his family.

"Uhm…what are you talking about? I'm not your…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Miguel suddenly felt a sharp pain inside his skull, as if it was being drilled from both sides.

"Brother?!"

The girl watching over him saw him wincing in pain. With a worried look, she reached her hand out and caressed his back concerningly.

"Brother…are you okay? Do you want me to call the doctor?"

Miguel didn't answer, more like he couldn't. The agonizing pain tormenting his head prevented him from giving a response.

With both hands clutched at his temples, Miguel endured the pain for what seemed like an eternity.

"Argh…"

Within those moments, Miguel began to notice something messing up his memories.

They were fragments that slowly pieced themselves together, trying to make sense.

They were memories, but not his own, but from a prince named Alfonso.

The huge flood of information sent Miguel into a panic, and everything he could see before him revealed one thing. He's not Miguel anymore; he is Alfonso.

"Brother? Brother?" The girl called out to him, worried, but to him, she was just a stranger. Or she should have been, but for some reason, it felt like he loved her.

The love felt gross and alien. It wasn't his own. He couldn't manage to obediently accept the girl in front of him was his sister. As his repulsion and love pitted against each other, the woman named Beatriz kept calling out, "brother."

"…Beatriz."

When he looked up at this girl he had never met before in his life and called her by her name, Miguel ceased being Miguel and became Alfonso.

"Are you okay, dear brother? You look like you have a headache."

Miguel couldn't still grasp what was going on with him; he had never felt this strange before. He died from a car accident and then woke up in another person's body? He fell back onto the luxurious bed and then shut his eyes to temporarily shut off all visual stimulation.

"My head still hurts. I want to rest more."

"Are you sure, dear brother? I was worried…it's been so long since…"

"It's fine. I'm tired, I want to sleep some more."

After he spoke, Beatriz seemed a bit sad but never stopped smiling and nodded.

"Okay, brother. I'll give you some more time to rest and will come back to visit again soon."

And with that, she stood up, placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, and walked out of the room.

Miguel touched the part where Beatriz's lips had landed, caught off guard by the sudden kiss on the forehead.

After the door closed, Miguel lay there for a moment and closed his eyes.

Under his breath, he muttered, "What's happening to me?"