Chapter 85 - Amber

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Helen finished bathing and exited the bathroom already wearing fresh clothes. She went to the window and released a deep sigh. "Don't tell me that you come here to say goodbye?" she said.

Sighing, Amara nodded her head. "That is one thing and there's another thing..."

"What is it?" Helen asked gloomily.

"Regarding my cousin Amber that I brought in Portwell Mansion..."

"Yes, what about her?" Helen asked.

"Are you sure that you will provide her home and care until she dies?" Amara asked the question. "Because if you're not sure... then I'm going to find her a new home while I'm still alive," she said.

Helen nodded her head. "Of course, I will provide care and home for Amber, no need to worry about her. That is my pledge to you," Helen said in a sincere voice.

"Thank you so much, friend!" Amara said, feeling relieved.

"When is the ritual happening?" Helen asked.

"Tonight," Amara replied sadly.

"Whaaaat!? Why too soon!?" Helen protested.

"I already brought the sacrifice to our place and the Priestess will perform the ritual ceremony tonight," Amara answered.

"Ah, okay... can I watch the ritual?" Helen asked.

Amara shook her head. "No. It's a private event for my clan only. Outsider is not allowed to attend the ritual," she refused her friend's request politely.

Helen left Amara's side and sat on the edge of the bed. "Anything else before you pass away? Ask me anything, aside from providing home and life care for Amber."

"That's all. As long Amber is well taken care of then I can die in peace," Amara said. "Ah, one more thing... she must not be exposed outside because of her cursed look, she will get bullied and a lot of people will get frightened by her hideous look. The thing I feared the most is that people might call her a monster. People are judgmental sometimes, that can't be avoided..."

"Okay. I'll make sure that she will stay on the second floor only so that people won't have the chance to bully her," Helen said.

"One more thing... you know everything about Amber, please don't tell her who she is. I already erased her memory. Her brain is a clean slate as of this moment. She won't remember a thing about the cave, about Grandma Azere, Olga, and especially her boyfriend Rhett. Her new phase of life will start in Portwell Mansion," Amara said. "Please always be kind to her after I'm gone," she added.

'"Yes, I will!" Helen responded and released a deep sigh. "I'm going to miss you!" she said, teary-eyed.

"I'm going to miss you too!" Amara replied gloomily.

The women hugged each other for like eternity.

"How I wish when I open my eyes tomorrow, you're still alive!" Helen said, her heart was grieving for the wonderful and brave person who saved her life. "You're too young to die! I can't accept it!" she lamented.

"Me too! I had a hard time accepting my destiny in the past but now that my death is finally happening, I'm ready to face it. After the pain - an eternity of peace is waiting for me. My death is not that bad at all, as long I can save my entire clan from total extinction then my sacrifice is worth it," Amara said bravely.

"Alright, since it's your last day today, tell me what do you want to do or eat before you will leave my side forever. Let's do it together before our time runs out!" Helen said.

"I want to ride your favorite horses for two hours straight and eat my favorite dishes afterward!" Amara blurted excitedly.

"Great! Let's go to the kitchen and inform the cook to prepare your favorite dishes and then go to the stable and ride horses!" Helen said cheerfully, trying to make her voice sounds okay, but deep inside her heart is breaking into a million pieces for her friend's misfortune.

The women left the room and went downstairs to fulfill Amara's last wishes.

...

Back at the Portwell Mansion.

Cornelia was knitting on the chair beside the bed, waiting for Amber to wake up.

A few minutes later.

Amber's eyelids fluttered, her eyes opened wide, her gaze and landed at the middle-aged woman sitting on the chair, looking at her closely.

"My niece, you're finally awake!" Cornelia smiled.

Amber's eyes scanned the room. Why can't she remember anything? Who is this woman? she looked at her and asked, "Who are you?"

Cornelia smiled. "I'm your Aunt Cornelia! Your sister's mother," she replied.

"My mother? Where is my mother? And what is my name? Why I can't remember anything?" she bombarded the woman with lots of questions.

Cornelia sighed and cleared her throat. "You live in a village with your mother and father. One day you go fishing with them in the ocean. Big waves came and the boat capsized, knocking your parents dead, they drowned in the ocean. You hit your head on the boat and lose your memory, in short, you've got amnesia.

Thank God, a fisherman saw you floating unconscious in the ocean. He save your life and brought you back to the village. Your neighbors from the village sent me a letter, informing me about the accident, sadly your parent's bodies weren't found until now. So I took you from the village and brought you here to my workplace. The owner is kind enough to allow you to stay here on the second floor of the mansion..." she ended her narration.

"Ah... okay... what's my name, Aunt?"

"Your name is Amber Lopez," Cornelia replied. "Starting today, you will live here with me in this mansion and you will stay in this room, you can't go out without my permission. Do you understand child?"

Amber nodded her head.

Then her brows knitted together. "But why I can't leave my room? Why?" she asked, confused.

"Because of this..." Cornelia picked up the mirror from the table and handed it to her niece. "Look at yourself in the mirror..." she said.

Amber accepted the mirror and looked at herself. "Aaaaaaaaa!"

Her face drained of color due to fright after seeing a monster in the mirror.

Shocked to the core, her trembling hands dropped the mirror on the bed due to extreme surprise and fear. She slowly realized that the monster in the mirror was her!

She looked at the mirror on the bed, gathering strength and courage... she picked up the mirror and looked at her face again... caressing both cheeks gently, fresh tears rolled on her face.

Cornelia breathed deeply and rubbed Amber's back, consoling her. "Your face is the reason why you can't be seen by other people. They will get frightened by your face, they will think that you are a monster and they might hurt you. By locking you here inside the room, I can guarantee your safety. No one must see your face. Do you understand?"

Amber nods her head and began sobbing hard.

Cornelia fought the urge to cry, feeling sorry for the girl. There's nothing she can do to help the girl, she can only continue rubbing her back to comfort her.

Amber finally stopped crying. She wiped the tears from her face with the hem of her blouse. Then she glanced at the window. "Aunt, can I see the world outside through the window?" she asked.

"Sure! But do not remove the curtain fully, it will help hide your face," Cornelia replied. She stood up and opened the door of the bathroom. "This is the toilet, you can take a bath here and pee. It's different from the one we used in the village. Come here... I will teach you how to use the toilet bowl and the shower," she said.

Amber left the bed and followed her aunt inside the bathroom.

A few minutes later, they emerged from the bathroom.

"I will bring you food here in your room three times a day, I will padlock the door outside so that no one can enter this room and you can't leave also, this is to ensure your safety. I hope you understand," Cornelia said.

Amber nodded her head. "I understand, Aunt," she replied.

Cornelia went to the cabinet filled with books. "You see these books here... read them to pass your time," she said and went to the door. "And this switch here is for the light, you can turn it on and off," she said and demonstrated how the switch works.

Amber nodded her head.

"I'm going out now. I still have lots of things to do outside. See you later," Cornelia said.

"Aunt, wait... what's wrong with my face? Why my face is hideous to look at?" Amber asked.

"When your mother gives birth to you, your face is always been like that. Your mother told me that it's a curse because your father injured an immortal deer while hunting in the forest. The deer told your father that if his wife will bear a child one day, the baby will have an ugly face. It's a curse that you have to bear for the rest of your life," Cornelia explained.

Amber nods her head.

Cornelia opened the door and exited the room, locking it outside.

Fresh tears emerged in Amber's eyes. What a pathetic life she had!

Her parents are dead.

Her face is hideous.

She can't leave the room, she can only look at the window.

Torrents of tears flooded her face, she didn't bother to wipe them away.

The room was filled with her heartbreaking cries.

She cried and cried until no more tears to cry.

Done sobbing, she left the bed and went to the window.

She parted the curtain and looked outside. She saw endless raw of cacao plants and sugarcane as far as her eyes can see.

Seeing the outside world makes her feel better.

One hour later.

Getting tired of standing, she left the window and went to the bookshelf. She inspected the book titles, removed one book, and began reading it slowly.

She spent the rest of her waking time reading books and looking at the window once in a while.

Two hours later.

The room starts to darken as the evening finally arrived.

Amber left the bed and switch the light on. The light-flooded the entire room, she resumed reading.

A few minutes later, Cornelia arrived at the room, bringing Amber's meal, and left again, saying she will return later to get the dirty dishes.

Amber Lopez's life has just started....

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