Lina opened her eyes but she couldn't see anything. She furiously rubbed her eyes but still, the result was the same.
"What is this place?" She looked at her surroundings and only found darkness all around her.
"The last thing I remember is entering my office so why am I here?" She wondered out loud however there was no one to answer her.
At a distance, she could see a source of light that was now slowly illuminating the area around it.
She took a step forward and moved ahead to explore this unknown place that she was in.
As soon as she took a step, her feet made a splashing sound and she looked down to see what she had stepped on.
"Huh? Did I step in a puddle?" She bent down to touch the strange liquid underneath her feet.
A viscous black liquid was smeared on her fingertips.
"What the fuck!?" She hurriedly wiped in on her clothes and moved away but unfortunately, that liquid was everywhere, not a single spot was dry.
Dark surroundings and the wet floor, that was all she could see.
She started walking towards the dim light in hopes of finding an escape from this damp nightmare that she was in right now.
As she kept moving forward she heard a loud screech and a massive *THUD*
Lina's body trembled when she heard the loud commotion and she turned around slowly towards the place where that sound had come from.
Her surroundings transformed as her eyes focused on what was visible now.
A beautiful garden lush with green grass and huge trees surrounding it.
But that beautiful view abruptly changed and Lina was now staring straight at the little car that was speeding towards her.
She instantly recognized the car that was rapidly getting closer. How could she forget the car that had made her fear every other car?
"That is…" She couldn't continue her words because if she did not move right this instant then that awful car would ram into her.
"Move! Dammit!" She cried out in anxiety.
Her feet were frozen to the ground and no matter how much strength she put in, they just wouldn't budge.
"No….!" She screamed and hunched down on her knees with her hands covering her head.
She was hoping that this weak attempt would miraculously save her in her moment of desperation.
*Screech*
*Bam*
She could hear the terrifying noise of the car being smashed but shockingly she felt no pain.
Opening her eyes, she first checked her body and found no traces of injury.
Just as she was about to rejoice, she heard a pitiful scream come from behind her.
"Save me!" The voice that she knew all too well screamed with all its might.
Lina turned around to see the wrecked car that had rammed into the trunk of a big tree.
The hood had popped open and the vehicle was not emitting a lot of smoke.
Lina's eyes watered as she rushed to the car, trying with all her might to open the door. But the door was stuck due to the impact of the crash.
The person inside was banging on the window in hopes of being saved.
The engine was slowly creating sparks and she knew that in no time it would catch on fire because that was exactly what had happened in the past.
This incident was the one dark and menacing nightmare that never seemed to fade away no matter how much time had passed.
She knelt on the floor and pressed her forehead on the window. Looking up, she came eye to eye with the person inside.
The hazel eyes with golden specks exactly the same as hers stared right into her eyes.
The big fat tears that rolled out of those eyes was proof of the desperation and fear that she had felt in that moment.
Fear of not being saved on time, fear of losing her life and the fear of never seeing her family again.
Things that an eight year old child should never face in her life.
As though her prayers of being rescued were answered by the heavens, she heard the sound of the window being smashed.
"Brother…" Lina looked up at the young boy who had courageously wrapped his shirt around his hand and was now climbing into the little car.
He pulled the frightened girl out from the window on the other side of where Lina stood.
"Brother.." Lina smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes.
She wanted to go around to see her past self shivering in the arms of her brother but before she could take another step, her surroundings faded and she was back in the dark space.
"Wait!" She stretched her hand out towards the two children but they had already disappeared.
Lina once again plopped on the wet floor and broke down.
The same anxiety and fear she had felt when she was a child were now enveloping her entire being.
She felt as though someone had punched the air out of her lungs.
Her chest started heaving and her surroundings became a blur as her eyes closed.
---
The next time Lina opened her eyes, she was inside a car.
Looking at who was sitting beside her, she smiled and jumped to hug them.
"Nana loves mommy more than daddy, I see!" Her mother hugged her back and cradled her in her arms.
"Nana loves daddy more right?"
She looked up when she heard her father's sulking voice.
"Of course-" She paused when she heard the childlike voice that had come out of her mouth.
She looked down and found her fingers to be tiny and pink. Just like what a little child would have.
After a moment of contemplation, she remembered what day it was.
"The day I had my first episode." She mumbled in a low voice as she recalled what would happen next.
At that exact second, her eyes rolled and she lost consciousness.
The little body had fainted but she could still see what was happening around her.
Her mother screamed and picked her up and her father hurriedly parked the car to check on her.
Moments later they were rushing towards the hospital and she watched the things that had happened while her old self was unconscious.
Diane weeping on Simon's shoulder and her brothers standing at a distance, trying to stay strong as they watched their little sister being hooked up to ventilators.
Lina shut her eyes because she couldn't take any more of their sad faces.
Sadness that she had caused.
But it looked like she wasn't lucky enough because the next scene was another one of her episodes.
Every time she closed her eyes, another one would appear and then another.
"Stop it! Please! Get me out of here!" She screamed and fell to the floor.
She drew her feet to her chest and sobbed while she lay on the stone-cold floor of just another hospital.
For a long time, she laid frozen on the floor with nothing else to do. Her body was now freezing and her heart rate lowered significantly.
"It was all my fault." She spoke through her ragged breath.
"If only I had not disobeyed them and secretly driven that stupid car!" Her tears began once again.
"Then this would never have happened." She closed her eyes and wished that she hadn't caused everyone around her so many problems.
"I'm sorry!" She whispered.
She was slowly giving up and could hear the beating of her heart slow down.
Her surroundings started to fade and she was back in the damp area.
The black viscous liquid started to build up and was slowly encircling Lina's body.
"GET UP!"
Lina's eyes opened when she heard a loud shout.
"I swear I will eat everything you own if you don't get up this instant!"
She weakly chuckled when she realized it was Wade who was yelling at her.
"And I will break up with Aya!" Stacy's choking voice was next.
"I will leak the photos of when you were fat on the internet!" Wayne threatened.
Hearing their voices, Lina struggled to fight the black liquid that was pulling her in.
"No! I want to meet my family again! This is not how Lina Yang will die!" She pushed herself off the ground and stood on her feet.
The moment she was up, there was a big flash of light that blinded her and she hurriedly closed her eyes to shield them.
---
Inside the hospital room, everyone stared at the figure on the bed.
The slight movement in her closed eyes brought such joy to their faces as though they had just won the lottery.
They rushed to surround her and stared at the pale face that had just opened her eyes.
Stacy carefully moved to support her when she saw that Lina was struggling to sit up.
"How are you feeling, kiddo?" Ace stretched his hand forward to touch Lina's face.
However, she moved away from his hand and stared at everyone in fear.
She coughed and then a hoarse voice came out of her mouth.
"Who are you?"