Comfort. It is such a foreign feeling. All these years, never been in that kind of sensation. All this time, cages and steel platform with restrain were the only place of slumber. For more than fifteen years (didn’t know the exact number because she never count days), no one ever let her sleep so peacefully.
Yet right now, she laid on a comfortable bed. Soft, comfy mattress, with a thick blanket covering her.
Am I finally dead?
She opened her eyes. It was dark, but she knew she was in someone else’s room. A pretty neat room. On the right side of the bed, there were tall, wide windows covered with giant curtain. There was a little opening that showed the night view and comfy chair, angling a little to the window. On the left side, there was a nightstand with a stack of books and a pen. There was another comfy chair next to her bed. In front of her, there was a wide flat rectangular black box (what is that?) attached to the wall.
She was confused, didn’t know where she was. One thing for sure she was no longer in that underground laboratory. She could tell that this place is… nicer. Very much nicer. It was dark, which was the only same thing, but there were no crowds of people in white coat and strange living creatures roaming around. This place was quieter, in a… peaceful way.
Curiosity piqued her, she tried to get up, but she immediately fell back to the mattress. She blinked. She didn’t get what’s going on with her body. And in that moment she just realized her right eye was bound closed. What happened?
“Don’t move yet. You’re still recovering.”
An unfamiliar voice spoke. The girl turned her head to the side and found a short brown haired female with glasses. She was coming out from the other room, using a black sleeveless turtleneck and dark pants. She didn’t remember meeting her at the lab. She met her gaze for a second, but then she averted her eyes down, suddenly avoiding her stare. Those eyes were so cold that it sent chill through her spine just by looking at them.
“Even though you’ve been unconscious for two weeks, your body is still weak. Give it at least an hour to lay down while you’re awake,” the female with glasses said.
She nodded slowly. She didn’t know what happened to her, but maybe the female knew. So maybe it would be better to follow her.
The female with glasses sat down on the comfy chair beside her (everything in here is so comfy…), leaning back and taking a book from the nightstand and put it on her lap. The female tilted her head before saying, “Are you hungry? You must be hungry.”
As if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly. It was nothing to worry though, it was usual for her stomach to make that noise.
“I made sure you’re hydrated enough while you’re sleeping, but your body also need energy. I’ll make you something later,” the cold-eyed female continued.
The girl didn’t understand what the female was saying, but she kept quiet.
There was a brief silence before the female with glasses spoke again, “Do you have a name?”
She tilted her head a little on the pillow. Name? Is that a word those people usually called her? But then the female didn’t really know her in the first place if she asked about it? Maybe she wasn’t one of them. Or at least that what she was trying to understand.
She tried to answer. “C1-045.” Her throat felt funny, it was kind of itchy and dry.
The female knitted her eyebrows. She wondered if she gave the wrong answer.
“That’s not a name,” the female responded after a moment of delay. “That’s a mere code.”
Oh. She didn’t remember if she was called by any other name than that. They always called her that loudly, “C1” for short. They always screamed at her, calling her words like “You!”, “bitch”, “tool” and countless others. The female’s low voice sounded strange to her ears, yet... it’s not scary. Not bad. She didn’t look like she was going to do anything to her either. She didn’t resemble those people at all. She was so… strange.
“My name is Alexa Eirenne,” the brown haired female said. “You can call me Alex.”
“Alex…,” she tried the word on her tongue. The female’s name is so long and it sounded... really nice. And there was no any number in her name.
She heard Alex sighed. “I guess they don’t give you any. As expected of them,” she said while shaking her head. She only blinked as she didn’t get a clue what the female meant.
“I’ll give you one later. It’ll be much easier for me to call you.” Alex proceeded to open her book before she added again, “if that’s what you want.”
She blinked again. “Is my name… not good?”
Oh. She just asked a question. Probably she would ignore her or scowled at her or screamed at her. Those people always reacted that way whenever she asked a question, calling her names. She would make her angry, like those people.
But that thought immediately swept off when Alex answered, without taking her eyes off her book. “It’s not even a name to begin with. A name should be meaningful, a title for who you are.” Then she finally looked up. “Do you even know the meaning of that… name you were given?”
She looked down, didn’t know what to answer. They didn’t tell her anything. They only told her to obey. To keep her mouth shut, following every instruction. They only taught her some objects and basics like speaking their language, numbers and pictures. No more. This place was nothing like she was ever imagined about the outside world. She didn’t even know this kind of place exist.
When silence was the only answer, Alex spoke again, eyes back to her book. “Figured. No need to worry about anything. For now. I only allow you to rest for the time being.”
She kept quiet. She wondered why Alex didn’t make her to do anything but laying on the bed. On this comfy bed. She has so many questions, but she didn’t know how to ask. All of this… was so foreign. So strange. She was utterly confused. Like why Alex even allowed her to sleep on this comfy bed, why this place is very nice, was she the one who covered her with this nice warm thick blanket and what is that big black box thing hanging on the wall?
“I know you have many questions,” Alex said, speaking out the girl’s mind. She leaned more to the chair, propping her temple with her hand. “You can always ask. But I may not give all the answer, or ignore it. I will only respond if it’s necessary.”
Now that the permission to ask was given, she didn’t know where to start. She didn’t know what to ask first. It was all jumbled in her head. She didn’t know which questions were necessary to ask.
After several moments of thought, she decided she would ask the most thing that has been bothering her. “Where… am I?”
“In a hotel room,” Alex answered nonchalantly. “I don’t own a house. A nomad, to be precise.” She shrugged.
Hotel? What is that? The answer just made another question. “Not… in a lab?”
“No. That place is no more.”
“What… happened to it? What happened to… me?” She asked rather reluctantly.
“I destroyed it. I killed everyone there. You were almost died, so I had to save you.”
“Why?”
Alex was quiet at that, giving no words. She kept reading her book.
She stared down. She wondered why Alex saved her of all people, while murdered the others. If anything, she should be the one who died. Alex should have just left her there.
Because I just couldn’t stand it anymore.
But those people wouldn’t let her. They had to keep her alive for reasons she didn’t understand and kept injecting her with syringes, attaching tubes onto her body, made her to drink awful colored water, restraining her on a platform and feel utter pain. Until one day, her consciousness was taken away and she didn’t remember anything after.
So when Alex said she had to save her life, she didn’t understand one bit. Except if she was similar like them, it would be all make sense. Alex kept her and waited for the right time to do those things. Probably that’s why she told her to rest. Maybe she was with--
“No,” Alex suddenly halted her thoughts. The girl looked up, seemingly surprised. “I do not, and will not do anything to you. Do not mistaken me as one of them. Their purpose with you was over, they were going to left you die there. Be grateful that I decided to take you with me.”
“Why?”
Alex sighed. “I can’t give you the answer to that yet.”
She was quiet for a moment, still getting no clue. She thought that was the most important question of all, yet Alex didn’t want to answer it.
So she just left it at that. It wouldn’t matter much anyway. At least she said she wouldn’t do anything to her, so it brought her a feeling like… relief. Another foreign feeling.
She decided to ask another question. “What happened to my right eye?”
“That’s the very thing that almost make you dead. If you want to live, keep it tightly closed.”
She blinked. She wanted to ask why again, but probably she still wouldn’t answer. After all of those questions, she still has no clue of what exactly happened to her. She didn’t remember anything before… all of this. Before Alex.
“Who… are you?”
“Didn’t I tell you already?”
She kept staring.
Alex glanced up at the girl from the book, then sighed as she closed her book. “I will explain everything, but not now. You just need to rest. That’s all you need for now.”
The girl averted her eyes down. Hopefully Alex would really explain. Probably it would meant nothing to her, but at least it would made her in ease. Somehow.
But, does it really matter?
Alex stood up from her seat and put her book on the nightstand. “I’m going out for a bit. You may move now, but don’t step out of this room. Understand?”
She nodded.
“Good,” she said as she took her long coat and wore it. “Wait here,” she added before she opened the door and left.
Then it was all quiet again.
She still didn’t know what to think about this. She didn’t even know if she wanted this. She never asked to be saved in the first place.
So why did Alex take me with her?
She wondered, as she turned her head to see the view outside the window, if Alex really is different than those people. She didn’t know what to expect of her. That cold eyed female still didn’t say anything. She wondered why she decided to keep her, telling her to rest on this comfy bed. She wondered if Alex would say anything at all.
She tried to get up, supporting her body with her elbows, only to fell down again bouncily to the mattress. She blinked.
Maybe she did need to rest for now.
Yet right now, she laid on a comfortable bed. Soft, comfy mattress, with a thick blanket covering her.
Am I finally dead?
She opened her eyes. It was dark, but she knew she was in someone else’s room. A pretty neat room. On the right side of the bed, there were tall, wide windows covered with giant curtain. There was a little opening that showed the night view and comfy chair, angling a little to the window. On the left side, there was a nightstand with a stack of books and a pen. There was another comfy chair next to her bed. In front of her, there was a wide flat rectangular black box (what is that?) attached to the wall.
She was confused, didn’t know where she was. One thing for sure she was no longer in that underground laboratory. She could tell that this place is… nicer. Very much nicer. It was dark, which was the only same thing, but there were no crowds of people in white coat and strange living creatures roaming around. This place was quieter, in a… peaceful way.
Curiosity piqued her, she tried to get up, but she immediately fell back to the mattress. She blinked. She didn’t get what’s going on with her body. And in that moment she just realized her right eye was bound closed. What happened?
“Don’t move yet. You’re still recovering.”
An unfamiliar voice spoke. The girl turned her head to the side and found a short brown haired female with glasses. She was coming out from the other room, using a black sleeveless turtleneck and dark pants. She didn’t remember meeting her at the lab. She met her gaze for a second, but then she averted her eyes down, suddenly avoiding her stare. Those eyes were so cold that it sent chill through her spine just by looking at them.
“Even though you’ve been unconscious for two weeks, your body is still weak. Give it at least an hour to lay down while you’re awake,” the female with glasses said.
She nodded slowly. She didn’t know what happened to her, but maybe the female knew. So maybe it would be better to follow her.
The female with glasses sat down on the comfy chair beside her (everything in here is so comfy…), leaning back and taking a book from the nightstand and put it on her lap. The female tilted her head before saying, “Are you hungry? You must be hungry.”
As if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly. It was nothing to worry though, it was usual for her stomach to make that noise.
“I made sure you’re hydrated enough while you’re sleeping, but your body also need energy. I’ll make you something later,” the cold-eyed female continued.
The girl didn’t understand what the female was saying, but she kept quiet.
There was a brief silence before the female with glasses spoke again, “Do you have a name?”
She tilted her head a little on the pillow. Name? Is that a word those people usually called her? But then the female didn’t really know her in the first place if she asked about it? Maybe she wasn’t one of them. Or at least that what she was trying to understand.
She tried to answer. “C1-045.” Her throat felt funny, it was kind of itchy and dry.
The female knitted her eyebrows. She wondered if she gave the wrong answer.
“That’s not a name,” the female responded after a moment of delay. “That’s a mere code.”
Oh. She didn’t remember if she was called by any other name than that. They always called her that loudly, “C1” for short. They always screamed at her, calling her words like “You!”, “bitch”, “tool” and countless others. The female’s low voice sounded strange to her ears, yet... it’s not scary. Not bad. She didn’t look like she was going to do anything to her either. She didn’t resemble those people at all. She was so… strange.
“My name is Alexa Eirenne,” the brown haired female said. “You can call me Alex.”
“Alex…,” she tried the word on her tongue. The female’s name is so long and it sounded... really nice. And there was no any number in her name.
She heard Alex sighed. “I guess they don’t give you any. As expected of them,” she said while shaking her head. She only blinked as she didn’t get a clue what the female meant.
“I’ll give you one later. It’ll be much easier for me to call you.” Alex proceeded to open her book before she added again, “if that’s what you want.”
She blinked again. “Is my name… not good?”
Oh. She just asked a question. Probably she would ignore her or scowled at her or screamed at her. Those people always reacted that way whenever she asked a question, calling her names. She would make her angry, like those people.
But that thought immediately swept off when Alex answered, without taking her eyes off her book. “It’s not even a name to begin with. A name should be meaningful, a title for who you are.” Then she finally looked up. “Do you even know the meaning of that… name you were given?”
She looked down, didn’t know what to answer. They didn’t tell her anything. They only told her to obey. To keep her mouth shut, following every instruction. They only taught her some objects and basics like speaking their language, numbers and pictures. No more. This place was nothing like she was ever imagined about the outside world. She didn’t even know this kind of place exist.
When silence was the only answer, Alex spoke again, eyes back to her book. “Figured. No need to worry about anything. For now. I only allow you to rest for the time being.”
She kept quiet. She wondered why Alex didn’t make her to do anything but laying on the bed. On this comfy bed. She has so many questions, but she didn’t know how to ask. All of this… was so foreign. So strange. She was utterly confused. Like why Alex even allowed her to sleep on this comfy bed, why this place is very nice, was she the one who covered her with this nice warm thick blanket and what is that big black box thing hanging on the wall?
“I know you have many questions,” Alex said, speaking out the girl’s mind. She leaned more to the chair, propping her temple with her hand. “You can always ask. But I may not give all the answer, or ignore it. I will only respond if it’s necessary.”
Now that the permission to ask was given, she didn’t know where to start. She didn’t know what to ask first. It was all jumbled in her head. She didn’t know which questions were necessary to ask.
After several moments of thought, she decided she would ask the most thing that has been bothering her. “Where… am I?”
“In a hotel room,” Alex answered nonchalantly. “I don’t own a house. A nomad, to be precise.” She shrugged.
Hotel? What is that? The answer just made another question. “Not… in a lab?”
“No. That place is no more.”
“What… happened to it? What happened to… me?” She asked rather reluctantly.
“I destroyed it. I killed everyone there. You were almost died, so I had to save you.”
“Why?”
Alex was quiet at that, giving no words. She kept reading her book.
She stared down. She wondered why Alex saved her of all people, while murdered the others. If anything, she should be the one who died. Alex should have just left her there.
Because I just couldn’t stand it anymore.
But those people wouldn’t let her. They had to keep her alive for reasons she didn’t understand and kept injecting her with syringes, attaching tubes onto her body, made her to drink awful colored water, restraining her on a platform and feel utter pain. Until one day, her consciousness was taken away and she didn’t remember anything after.
So when Alex said she had to save her life, she didn’t understand one bit. Except if she was similar like them, it would be all make sense. Alex kept her and waited for the right time to do those things. Probably that’s why she told her to rest. Maybe she was with--
“No,” Alex suddenly halted her thoughts. The girl looked up, seemingly surprised. “I do not, and will not do anything to you. Do not mistaken me as one of them. Their purpose with you was over, they were going to left you die there. Be grateful that I decided to take you with me.”
“Why?”
Alex sighed. “I can’t give you the answer to that yet.”
She was quiet for a moment, still getting no clue. She thought that was the most important question of all, yet Alex didn’t want to answer it.
So she just left it at that. It wouldn’t matter much anyway. At least she said she wouldn’t do anything to her, so it brought her a feeling like… relief. Another foreign feeling.
She decided to ask another question. “What happened to my right eye?”
“That’s the very thing that almost make you dead. If you want to live, keep it tightly closed.”
She blinked. She wanted to ask why again, but probably she still wouldn’t answer. After all of those questions, she still has no clue of what exactly happened to her. She didn’t remember anything before… all of this. Before Alex.
“Who… are you?”
“Didn’t I tell you already?”
She kept staring.
Alex glanced up at the girl from the book, then sighed as she closed her book. “I will explain everything, but not now. You just need to rest. That’s all you need for now.”
The girl averted her eyes down. Hopefully Alex would really explain. Probably it would meant nothing to her, but at least it would made her in ease. Somehow.
But, does it really matter?
Alex stood up from her seat and put her book on the nightstand. “I’m going out for a bit. You may move now, but don’t step out of this room. Understand?”
She nodded.
“Good,” she said as she took her long coat and wore it. “Wait here,” she added before she opened the door and left.
Then it was all quiet again.
She still didn’t know what to think about this. She didn’t even know if she wanted this. She never asked to be saved in the first place.
So why did Alex take me with her?
She wondered, as she turned her head to see the view outside the window, if Alex really is different than those people. She didn’t know what to expect of her. That cold eyed female still didn’t say anything. She wondered why she decided to keep her, telling her to rest on this comfy bed. She wondered if Alex would say anything at all.
She tried to get up, supporting her body with her elbows, only to fell down again bouncily to the mattress. She blinked.
Maybe she did need to rest for now.
***
“Why are your eyes so cold?”
“I suppose that defines who I am.”
“But you’re not.”
“Why are your eyes so cold?”
“I suppose that defines who I am.”
“But you’re not.”