Chapter 13

I woke up feeling my hair getting tucked behind my ear. I tried to open my eyes but was still too tired to do so. I know that it was Yuho. The feeling of him patting my head softly while trying his best not to wake me up made me relax and I fell again into sleep. My heart is too happy and I do not know why. Was it because Yuho was with me? Is this how Junji feels? Or is this feeling mine? I do not know! I am too young to...

I suddenly shiver at the cold breeze of a tornado. It was coming to me. I tried to run away but couldn't. A painful force sucks me into the tornado making me dizzy and nauseous. Then a white light came above and poured down on me. It was so bright that I thought my eyes would get blind. Is this how my soul will die? Will I see heaven? Maybe my body died in my world. I hope mom and dad won't be too sad. That's the questions that came popping into my head. I just closed my eyes and accept my faith. I expect that it will burn me or I will feel some lightning struck to me but didn't. Nothing happened. The force that was pulling me inside the tornado disappeared and the cold wind... stopped. I slowly opened my eyes seeing myself in a hospital, still in a coma. I was on life support and my head had a lot of bandages.

"I am back!" Although I was surprised, I am still happy that I am now back to where I should be. I looked at myself. I look pale. I touched my face but my hand only passed through it.

The door opened and I found mom. Mom looks thinner and seems like she has not had enough sleep. She was wearing a simple loose white shirt and pants which she does not usually wear. Mom always loves to look the best every time she goes out but I think, she does not care about her appearance anymore. She holds a white paper bag that I do not know what was inside.

"Mom I am so sorry." My eyes felt teary looking at how mom changed. She walked and sat at the chair near me, put down the bag and hold my hand.

"Aliyah, mom is here." Wearing a small smile on her face but it is clearly obvious that she was very tired. She puts her hand inside the bag and pulled out a small box. She slowly opened it and a piece of small white chocolate cake with some dedication of Happy birthday, Aliyah was on it.

"Happy 16th birthday daughter. Here, I have your favorite cake. It is white chocolate. I hope you will wake up s.." Mom suddenly bursts into tears. I cannot take it. It breaks my heart to hear her cry like that. Like she was holding it for a long time.

It is my birthday? What day is it? How long have I been in a coma? I asked myself but could not answer my own questions. I do not remember my birthday which is weird. Is my... my memories fading away? No, that could not be happening.

Then into a thin air, someone appeared on the other side of the bed, she was wearing clothes like in Junji's time.

"Who are you?" I gazed at her and remembered, she was the girl in my dreams when memories of Junji came flooding to me.

"Junji... Why are you here?"

"I do not know. I was sucked by some force and here I am."

"Some force?" What brought me here was some kind of force too.

"Me too." I replied. " Why are we here then?"

She pulled her shoulders upward and shook her head.

"Is this you?" she asked while looking at the body that was lying on the bed.

"Yes."

"What happened to you?"

"Got involved in a car accident." I tried to sound not so sad but couldn't. It was too sad to remember and it pains me much.

"Junji, what about you? What happened to you?"

She glances at me with a frown on her face. I then realize how Junji looked, although I see her always because I am inside her body as a soul but her beauty is one of a kind. Her black hair was definitely smooth and was braided and bun. Her rosy skin looks so smooth up close complimenting her rosy small lips, pointy nose, and slanted eyes while wearing white with light pink colors of clothes. Clothes that I am using in her time. I was amused at how I found her astonishing beauty. How do I not even recognize these features of her while I am her body's soul? Idiot.

" I...I do not know actually. I cannot remember anything."

"Why... I mean, how can you not remember anything?"

It was strange. Why did she not remember unlike me who has still an intact memory? Or that's what I believe.

She just smiled forcibly and stared at me in the eyes. Her brown eyes look so sad since when I saw her here.

"It's just like that. Maybe, the universe is punishing me. Maybe I have committed a great sin, which is why it is like this. You know, I was envious... envious of you. You can still remember how you got into that kind of situation and even remembered how your parents looked, and everything. Not like me, I do not even know where I came from."

I cannot imagine how hard and helpless Junji might be. Being here in my situation going to another body with my memories still with me is already hard. What more if I wandered around the earth as a soul and not remembering anything like Junji? I was terrified even imagining myself in her position. I shook my head and dismissed the strong feeling and sympathy. It makes me want to cry and I am being emotional just by my imagination.

"I am sorry." I said while I looked down at my hand. I could not come up with anything to say other than that. But I do not believe that he was being punished. She was innocent. It was Xhanya who should be punished.

"No, no. It is okay" She said in a sweet voice while holding out her hand to try to stop me from being said. Then there is a moment of silence. We both do not know what to say to each other anymore. While we both stared at my body which was still in a coma, her eyes suddenly widen. She gasp for air and looked at me with a horrifying look.

"Aliyah" She said while her voice shakes.

I looked at her and saw her soul glitching like a hologram. Her image was getting distorted more and more every second and it is a creepy sight.

"Junji! What is happening to you?!" My thoughts got messy. Why is she like this? Is she gonna die? Is her body dying in her world? How about me, I would wander on earth like her when her body dies. My thoughts a while ago were coming true, I will now be a lost soul.

"Aliyah!" She reached out her hand to me wanting me to help. I run towards her and wanted to hug her but before I even reached her, she was already gone. She vanished. I was shocked. Tears come streaming down my face and I hold on to the bed while my legs shake and cannot almost stand. I tried struggling but to no avail. I just let myself sit on the floor while looking at where she vanished while shocked and my jaw dropped. It is selfish to think but... I thought about what will happen to me now since I believe Junji's body was already dead. Maybe Xhanya took the chance to kill her while I was not inside her body.

"Aliyah!" I heard mom call out my name. I looked at where she is, the other side of the bed. I used all my force to stand up and mom was looking at my body with tears and an unpainted smile on her face. Smile that I missed seeing. I wonder why she is smiling like that so I looked at my body. My feet involuntarily moved a few steps backward and my body stiffened.

"W-what is this?" I tried my best to say the words that were on my mind but my body was in total shock. I gathered myself together and took the courage to step forward and look up close. I am not dreaming am I? I am not really dreaming, right? How is it possible...

"Why am I awake?!" Confused, I look at my hands and I am still a ghost, half transparent.

"Why why WHY?" My voice is trembling and almost cracked as I shouted. Why am I still a ghost but my body was already awake?

"Aliyah!" Mom caressed my cheeks and smiled while tears of joy streamed down her face. Then she pushed the red button on the wall and the doctor and nurses came. The doctor was holding a small flashlight and check upon my eyes. The doctor then put the flashlight back in his pocket after nodding.

***

"Do you hear me?" The doctor asked.

Aliyah's body nodded in response.

"Do you remember her?" Aliyah looked at the woman wearing almost ragged clothes. But shook her head in response.

Aliyah's mom covered her mouth with both her hands but still, muffled sounds of her crying were still heard.

The doctor turned around and face Aliyah's mom while wearing a faint smile on his face.

"It is a miracle. We did not expect her to wake up this soon. But as we expect and told you, she will not remember anything. We still could not tell if it is temporary or... or permanent"

She then suddenly burst into tears and cried out loud as he run towards Aliyah and hug her tightly.

"After... a-after a year, you are finally back!" She said.

"Congratulations. We will be doing several test on her after a while. We will be back." The doctor said and they walked away.

***

"What!? That is not me! That's not me!" I protested while looking at the doctors and mom.

"Mom that is not me! Please explain to me what is happening! Someone! Anyone... tell me!" I cried while feeling my heart tighten as my heart beat race. My heart is aching so much. It is painful. Seeing myself wake up but without her real soul. Without me. I was tapping my chest as hard as possible believing that it could ease what I am feeling but couldn't. "That... that is not me." My voice cracked as I lost the energy that I have. I looked down at the floor and wished that I should just vanish like what happened to Junji. I wanted to die, wanted my soul to die and free myself from this pain.

"A year... I was in a coma for a year." I almost fainted trying to analyze what I heard but then tried to be tough just even for today.

"A...Aliyah." A voice trying hard to speak called out my name. I looked at where it is coming from and saw my body looking at me. Mom and everyone around were surprised.

"It is..." She gasped for air while looking so weak.

"It is me... Junji" Her words sound like whispers but they are loud enough for me to hear.

Mom grabbed her face and made her look at her.

"Daughter, you are Aliyah. You are Aliyah, what are you saying and who are you calling?" She shook Aliyah's head slightly trying to make sense of her.

"I am n-not"

Mom got a confused look on her face but shook her head. "You are Aliyah, you are my daughter and you are not someone else."

"I am..." She did not complete her sentence because mom put her finger on her lips to stop her from talking. "You should get your energy back. So you must rest okay?"

I stood where I am like I have been frozen. What happened? Why is Junji in my body? Why... How did she get there?

"Get out, I'm getting inside my body!" I yelled. Junji turned her head and stared at me with a teary look in her eyes.

"I, I can't" She said. Her voice cracked restraining her tears.

"Why!? Why can't you? You got there inside and do not even know how to go out?" I know it makes no sense. I also cannot go outside her body of my own will. I tried hundred times but could not. But still, my anger was boiling and at its highest peak. Why was she the one to get inside my body and why can't I!?

"Why...why!?" I yelled at the top of my lungs. My emotions, I cannot fight it anymore. I do not know who and how our souls got swapped inside our bodies. Did we do something wrong? Are we cursed? Are we sinners in our past lives? What is even our connection? I cried painfully while my body, with Junji's soul inside, looked at me with sympathy. I knew she also did not want this. Then I felt a force in my body. It feels like it was tearing me apart. I looked at Junji and she was shocked.

"You... are glit..." She could not continue what she was saying because Aliyah's body is

still weak but I caught up to what she meant. I am glitching, Just like her a while ago. Then everything became dark and I woke up catching my breath. I remembered myself looking at my body while glitching. I can sense that I was sweating a lot. I looked at my surroundings and found myself in Junji's room. Yuho was beside me shaking me lightly, I found myself in his arms holding me tightly.

"Junji, Junji can hear me?" His voice was so muffled I could not hear what he was saying clearly. I felt like I was drowned somewhere I do not know and I came back to life. I looked at him seeing his worried eyes.

"Junji... Junji say something." Little by little, I can already hear him. He wiped away my sweat with fabric and fixes my hair. I tried to sit up straight and he lend me a hand and helped me. I was silent for a moment. Is all I experience just a nightmare? No, it feels too real to be a dream. I wanted to believe it and I will believe it. Junji is now in my body. I must do something to swap us back to our real bodies.

"Are you alright?" Yuho asked.

I nodded in response. "I just had a nightmare."

"Are you sure you are alright? You are still trembling. Your hands are shaking." He took my hands and hold them tight. I was trembling. I did not even realize it.

"I... I am okay" I pulled my hand and placed it on my back.

"You should leave now, it is already late." I said to change the topic. What I have seen is already enough. I do not want to talk about it anymore.

"Yes, I am already leaving but I waited for you to wake up. But I'll come back later. Wait for me." He smiled faintly. I know he still looked worried but I think he sense that I do not want to talk about it anymore.

"Then, take care. And have a safe trip." I looked down. I do not want to feel his sadness over me. He holds my hand and kissed my knuckles softly, then leave the room and left me all alone.

Even though I was sad about what happened. I tried my best to make myself happy.

"At least I still have a body to stay. At least it is the opposite of what I thought in the hospital Junji's body was dead and I will wander around the earth." I chuckled faintly. I knew what I saw was real. Everything was impossible already so I should just believe at least that these dreams were true. I will find a way to go back to my body no matter what.