Below and Under

Commonweal Private Hospital sat between an unknown book store and a Society-owned Children Hospital not too far off from the city's centre.

Several research projects had been carried out successfully with the aid of its topnotch equipment and staff.

It was one of the few hospitals licensed to carry out unconventional procedures.

The book store stood dull and inconspicuous when compared to the modern and high rising buildings in its environs.

It's true identity was in the fact that it had somehow remained untouched despite the times Hong City had been torn and pieced back together.

Was this however important?

Yael had managed to give a casual glance to its awkward roofing.

Perhaps it was.

For a soul out of its vessel, she was seemingly not bothered nor confused.

Quite unsettling.

The famous playwright, William Shakespeare had once said,

"The eyes are the window to your soul" , which of course couldn't apply to her current state.

Her ghostly eyes could be guessed to be a window to her innate nature.

Her gleaming orbs like a bottomless pit had unhappiness and gears turning with each passing thought.

A nurse who had been keenly observing the heart monitor of the patient in one of Commonweal's operating theatres, where a salpingostomy was being performed noticed a phenomenon.

The line on the heart monitor had gone flat for a second but was back to its high and low in the batting of an eyelid.

Salpingostomy, a procedure under ectopic pregnancy surgery involved removing a pregnancy that had begun developing outside of the uterus whilst retaining the the affected area mostly, the fallopian tube.

In the vast majority of cases, ectopic pregnancies occur within one of the fallopian tubes.

Pregnancies that grew outside of the uterus cannot develop normally or survive to viability. Ectopic pregnancy also can cause the organ it's developing in to break open (rupture), which can become a life-threatening emergency for the pregnant person.

The pregnant person wasn't too hard to guess, it was Yael.

Since it was a sight for the otherworldly, the medical staff didn't notice when a translucent version of the pregnant person had hovered near the window.

Besides her stood two other ghostly forms.

One was bathed in strong golden light.

What occurred was unknown.

The result was a soul had successfully occupied the anaesthetized body of Yael.

All in broad daylight.

....

Recovery Room 08, Commonweal Private Hospital

Her fists clenched and unclenched.

The deliberate digging of her nails left not only pain but also, prominent red marks on her soft palms.

Augustine Chu hadn't gone completely senile from old age and gave a name to the her current situation, life after death.

It was the only plausible answer.

She had died at a good age of 74 not only because of old age.

The melancholy associated with trying to be good person despite playing by the dirty rules of politics also played a huge role in pushing her to death.

Yet she was breathing and living.

The temperature in the room was normal.

Yael's slender body however visibly shivered.

Internally, it was Augustine but there wasn't anyone to tell the difference.

The memories and thoughts of the original Yael were slowly yet forcefully infiltrating Augustine's, it was accompanied by a severe pounding.

Once the pain receded, Augustine immediately knew that her initial thought was wrong.

She had transmigrated into the body of a young woman named Yael Elisabeth Mo.

Yael's life was unlike the usual transmigration plot that was rampant.

Yael's softly arched eyebrows furrowed as Augustine tried to make sense of the body she was occupying.

She played around Yael's memories that had been made available, picking apart the choices made and the manner of execution of actions.

After analysing everything, the tension between her brows relaxed.

Both she and the original owner of the body truly deserved each other.

Each despicable in their own might yet innocent in their own right.

Augustine decided to not think herself apart from the original Yael.

From now on, she was a 26 year old young lady from an affluent background.

Augustine lived a stereotypical hard life of girl child when she was younger, everything was reserved for her lazy brother and she had to give thanks for the scraps.

The thought of being young again left her mixed feelings.

Could she really be genuinely happy and fulfilled in this second chance at life?

Her eyelids remained shut.

With her thin lips curled into a frown, she marinaded in the memories and twisted mind of Yael.

Augustine Chu had been an a powerhouse and influence in the politics of Hong City and even The Famous Capital.

Her personal life had been in everlasting turmoil and chaos whilst she dwadled in the game of politics. Her desire for power left her a worldly and scheming woman.

Only when she resigned to the back seat of power did she see the world as what it was.

Vain.

Everything and everyone she sacrificed to climb to the top tormented her endlessly.

She couldn't bring herself to sympathize with how Yael had complicated her own life.

It was time.

The nurses came in after they'd estimated she would be awake.

According to standard, they troubled her to stand up and go on to use the toilet inorder to ease her bladder.

Augustine obediently did as told.

Her foot steps, small and cautious. She felt like a new born taking her first steps as she was used to being in a body which was stiff and fatigued.

....

Special Ward 02, Commonweal Private Hospital

The radiance of the sun had reduced, signifying the transition of day to night.

Yael hadn't stirred from her self induced rest.

The curtains were drawn close together, due to the nurses' consideration of the sunlight, thus, the ward could only slowly plunge into darkness as night approached.

The lamp beside the bed space lit up spontaneously.

Yael's upturned eyes narrowed immediately as she was startled out of her thoughts.

She was definitely not alone.

Augustine didn't feel any need to be alert.

Assassinations weren't a common thing for the person she was now.

This life was probably borrowed and if despite all her efforts, she still suffered and died again, so what?

Her body moved upwards, ignoring the sting that stemmed from her abdomen as she dared to seat up.

Feeling rather uncomfortable, she placed a pillow to cushion her back against the metal head board.

Whoever was in the ward was awfully silent.

"What is it?", her slightly hoarse voice came out.

Her finger lightly stroked her throat as she figured that she was badly dehydrated.

The sound of liquid pouring gave her a sense of tranquility, the sound of rushing waters gave.

It also pointed out how keen sighted the person was.

A glass of water came into her line of sight.

The lamp was stingy with how much light it provided, hence, Augustine couldn't properly see past her bed space.

Holding the glass of water was an elegant hand.

Each finger was slender with distinct knuckles. The nails were well kept but bordered between being dangerously long and just neat. It was simply sensual and beautiful.

Augustine had been a sucker for good-looking things. She attained an age where she couldn't have them yet she was undeterred.

Her current body also had pretty hands but she couldn't compare a man's hands to hers, could she?

What, however, truly struck Augustine was the symbolic wedding band on his ring finger.

It matched the one she was currently wearing, prompting her to make a bold guess.

Yael coughed in light amusement and took the glass with a poised smile.

The water left a cooling sensation as it flowed into her body.

With no need to be polite, she downed half the glass.

She set the glass on her lap lacing her hands around it,

"Aleksander Eli Mo, you didn't bother to visit me when I gave birth to our first child but when I killed the possibility of another child, you came skipping along"

"Is it that you are only attracted to me when I smell like death?"

Yael had a child. Yael was married. Realistically she was married to herself.

Augustine had been old for quite sometime, hence, she used a person's full name when scolding them.

Her words were delivered coldly.

The original owner's bitter resentment towards the man had been provoked by his presence. Augustine was more vocal about it than the original Yael could ever be.

Augustine had once seen the outstanding man Aleksander a decade before her death.

Whilst the rest of her body was aging, her eyes were strangely sharp.

He'd stood glaringly gorgeous, holding perfunctory conversation with about anyone who bothered to stop by for a chat.

Who knew...

The bed sunk, the additional weight of another person made the bed frame protest in a gentle squeak.

Yael leaned away from the source of warmth at her side.

She turned her head, only to make direct contact with a pair of striking sunken eyes.

She appreciated him with the gaze of that of the older generation.

Where was he when she was sent out alone on her first day of school?

He wasn't even thought of.

Observing his handsomeness closely irked her.

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath to placate herself. She lowered her head to take a sip from her glass.

Ignoring the jab, he questioned softly, "Why did you do it?", his baritone voice was low and his words were spoken in a slow purposeful manner.

It was only mentioned she'd wound up in the hospital.

Those who didn't know would think they had a good relationship, Yael blinked upon sensing this alongside, the tiredness that accompanied it.

His eyes seemed not too far from closing shut. The long lashes that framed his riveting eyes were meeting frequently, the man was thoroughly fighting sleep.

She decided to put him out of his misery, "I may owe your Mo family an explanation", her white teeth shone as she gave him a sarcastic smile, "You, however I certainly do not".

He sat up and adjusted the collar of his shirt.

Augustine appreciated his prominent Adam's apple with a discrete gaze.

The encounter ended abruptly because he immediately left. Oh.

Aleksander Mo seemed to be just as the original Yael remembered him.

However, the usual apathy and otherworldliness that created his disposition had been encompassed with tiredness.

Was it an effect of the heartless 'abortion' she had committed or something else?

His reaction made Augustine rethink her original reputation as a scheming woman several times over.

There was no way he could be so unreactive.

Well, he would only play a passive role in her plans for the future.

Alas, old habits died hard.

Subconsciously, she had started scheming and calculating everything and everyone.

Augustine noticed the pattern in her train of thought.

Her heart sank.