11

Alec's private suite is beautiful. It's so large! You can compare it with the castle of a very powerful modern-day king and queen.

It's exterior and interior couldn't be compared. They are both beautiful.

The private suite's exterior was an amazing site. It's snow white paint made anyone entering the premises feel at peace. Although it was coated with gold carvings in various patterns, it has its own way that it stands out magnificently. It has three pillars which are on each side of the house. The pillars are long and are spaced equally. They too had their own set of designs.

The dazzling white floor was breathtaking when I approached it. What really captivated me was what was in the middle of the spacious floor.

A drawing of a woman?

Yup, a very beautiful woman was drawn there. She looked pretty young and was in a kneeling position with her hands joined together as if offering something. She more or less looked like she was begging for something. Her eyes were closed and her head bowed as if to show how much of an underling she was that she couldn't even look at the person face-to-face.

The woman had beautiful pale glowing skin. Her long black hair was straight and because of her kneeling position, her hair touched the floor.

Some kind of rapunzel if you ask me.

She had a cute pointed nose which was pierced and had a small ring on it . Her lips were finely lined. Her eyebrows  had a beautiful carved arch and had two similar small rings on the eyebrow I could see.

Her probably long white dress looked cut short and ripped. Slightly burnt even.

Although she was beautiful, she still looked very...sad. Like life wasn't giving her exactly what she wanted.

Suddenly I wasn't being accompanied by anyone anymore. My environment was filled with fog apart from the area where the woman is.

Or was?

Where was she?

My question was answered when I saw her standing where the drawing once was. She looked a lot better in the form of a human.

As if on cue, the strange woman and I walked closer to each other. We literally mirrored each other's walking steps. We stopped when we were only some inches away. We put both of hands up, wanting to have at least our fingertips touch. I dont understand what's happening.

"Why?"

She only smiled as a response. Her smiled quickly died as she stared into my eyes as if figuring out something.

We stand like that for a while.

She pulls out an amulet from her neck. She opens it and a bright and swift frenzy of activities blind me. I closed my eyes because of the bright light but opened them when I saw a kaleidoscope of colours through my eyelids.

"Woah."

It was like a beautiful and bright hologram of the future or something.

It showed me the life of a young woman. She looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't place who exactly she looked like. She was a cute baby and when she grew up she looked a lot more adorable. The images showed me that she had three siblings; two boys and a girl. The girl received hateful stares from everyone she met, even if she just met them. School wasn't anything better. She didn't make any friends and when she graduated from the school, no one even noticed. She finally entered college and her unique Murphy's law followed her. No one liked her. She tried to make friends, but everyone pushed her away.  Something tragic happened to her and she got kidnapped. Her superior made her life a hell and one day he made her believe in Stockholm syndrome. She believed he wouldn't harm her ever again because they were now close. But she was wrong. She ended up living with her captor who treated her like a slave and everyday she would beg for freedom from him but never once did she look at him in the eye. She cut herself on multiple places and used her earrings as piercings as a symbol of her pain. If only life took a different toll on her, she wouldn't be like that. Ever.

The story seemed vaguely familiar. Like as if she were talking about...me.

I shook my head when I came to this realisation. Me? No way!

She still had the amulet open so I guessed what she had to show me hadn't finished.

I continue to look at the beautiful piece of jewelry.

The picture of the woman was burnt and a huge red 'x' came into sight. Like as if it were saying no to this future. I then saw the same woman in the place where she found herself in before; kneeling in the front of her captor. But something was different. This time, she looked at her captor face-to-face. When he denied her freedom again, she got up from her kneeling position looking determined. She shouted at her captor and he was puzzled at the fact she stood up to him. She wasn't afraid anymore.

Next, it showed me how she escaped from her bondage. She picked up the remaining pieces of her life from there on. She graduated from college with a new best friend who helped her all the way. She ended up getting married to someone who loved and cared for her. They had children and well- they lived happily ever after. The last image had something written in words.

It said;

Do not allow misfortunes blind your success. Everything happens for a reason . What changes whatever happens to you is you. Be brave and strong just like Ashley."

Ashley? So that's the name of the girl!

The images slowly died down and like a genie going back into its lamp, they got sucked back into the amulet.

I'm literally dumbfounded. The girl standing in my front is...Ashley.

Ashley giggled at me. She removed her hand from the position it once was in. I looked at her like I just saw a ghost.

Well I am.

This cannot be real.

Ashley made a shooing motion and waved at me as if saying farewell. She went back to stand in the middle; where the drawing of her was.

I waved back at her. My environment was also coming back to how it was before.

****

I come back to reality and notice I'm in a very beautiful room.

The bed I'm on is weirdly comfortable. I  look at the beautifully designed fabric used to dress the bed. It's red and gold with pretty but royal like embroidries.

How did I get here? I was outside just a second ago.

Someone enters the room.

"Ms West? Are you okay now?" The pretty woman in maids' clothing said.

"Kim," I corrected, "Please call me Kim."

She looked really shocked when I said that.

"Sorry ma'am but caretakers do not call the people the patients by their names." She said.

I'm honestly shocked.

Was she being serious right now?

"Uh, no. I'm not going to feel very comfortable if you're gonna be calling me 'Ms West'. Plus you're definitely no caretaker to me, you could be my friend!"

She looks at me in shock.

"Friend? Caretakers don't have-"

"Dude, you're not a caretaker to me. You're a new friend I just made!" I say, my cheerful spirit getting the better of me.

"But I have to ask a question first."

"Yes ma- I mean Kim."

"Do you hate me?"

"Hate you? Why should I?"

"Wait wait wait. Did your boss tell you anything about me?"

"Well yes. But seeing you now, there's just something that doesn't match with the way you look and the way he made you look."

"I'm actually very...shocked at your comment. All my life people hated me because of the lies my family told everyone. But I always see a reason to smile and go right back to live".

"Woah. Uh I mean..."

I giggle.

"You can be free with a friend! Although friends call each other by name and it seems you already know mine then...what's yours?"

"Oh, forgive my unfriendliness. I'm Dianne"

"Nice! That's an awesome name!"

"Thank you. No one's actually ever told me that."

"Well I did! And I meant it. So, what are or were you going to do?"

"Well I was checking on you because as the man leading you here was approaching the door, you just passed out. So they brought you here and requested that I look after you until you wake up."

"Oh."

"Yes. But it seems you're okay right?"

"Yeah yeah I'm fine."

"Good. So..."

"So, now we're gonna do what friends do!"

"What exactly do they do?"

"They have fun!"

And with that I through my pillow at her.

*********