Liu Juan snapped back towards the source of the shout.
But there was no one behind her.
'Strange.' Liu Juan thought.
She was familiar with that voice. She felt like she had heard that voice somewhere but where?
"Juan, what happened? Why did you stop?" Liu Ruolan asked as she saw Liu Juan had stopped walking.
"I think I heard someone's voice." Liu Juan said and looked back in hope to see someone but there was no one.
"No one is there. Come on, let's go. Mama and Papa must be waiting for us." Liu Ruolan urged and pulled her hand.
Liu Juan nodded and continued to walk ahead with Liu Ruolan.
"Juan, don't go there. Please come back."
"Did you hear that?" She asked Liu Ruolan.
"What?" Liu Ruolan confusedly looked at Liu Juan and then at the back where Liu Juan had been staring.
"That voice. I found it familiar. Somebody is calling me." Liu Juan said and wanted to walk around to see from where the voice was coming but Liu Ruolan didn't leave her hand.
"You are hallucinating again. How many times have I told you to stop thinking about strange things? Now come on. You are getting late, Juan. You don't want to destroy your surprise birthday party, do you? Your friends must have already arrived."
Friends?
Parents, birthdays, friends, and a surprise party were all alluring words that made Liu Juan forget about anything else and she wanted to go back to her home.
But then, she heard the voice again.
"Don't go, Liu Juan. That's not your home. Your home is with me. Come back, Juan."
A voice pleaded but Liu Juan didn't stop.
"Juan, stop. Don't go. Come back to me."
Now the voice seemed to be coming from her surroundings and then her sight caught the shadow of a silhouette.
"Someone is here, Big Sister." Liu Juan said and looked back.
Liu Ruolan looked towards the way where Liu Juan was staring into but she still found no one.
"Who? Where?" Liu Ruolan asked in confusion.
"There, big sister." Liu Juan pointed in the direction but Liu Ruolan still didn't find anyone.
"I don't see anyone there." Liu Ruolan said.
Liu Juan couldn't understand why she was seeing a shadow but Liu Ruolan couldn't until she heard the voice clarify.
"She can't see me because she is not really there." The shadow said.
Liu Juan wanted to see his face but she couldn't and his words were also confusing to her.
What did it mean that Liu Ruolan wasn't really there?
"Who are you? And why can't I see your face?" Liu Juan asked.
"Juan, who are you talking with?" Liu Ruolan asked after that.
Liu Juan looked at her but she didn't say anything but just continued to wait for the shadow's reply.
"You will see me once you come back. I am waiting for you. Don't leave me." The shadow answered her.
"Come back? Where? And who are you?"
"The person you love."
"Juan, whom are you talking with? Our parents are waiting for us. We have to celebrate your birthday. Come, let's go." Liu Ruolan said and pulled her again.
"Don't go, Juan. It is a lie. Don't leave, otherwise, you will never come back. Close your eyes and you will see everything clearly." The shadow said and then vanished into thin air. Suddenly, the sound of thunder echoed in the forest, and in the next second, raindrops were falling from the sky.
Liu Juan's clothes were drenched in the rain and when she looked up, Liu Ruolan was also gone.
"Big sister." Liu Juan called out.
However, she found no one around.
The sound of rain and thunder was echoing in the forest with the 'cluck' sound as she stepped on the muddy soil.
"Big sister...where are you?" Liu Juan called out to Liu Ruolan again and hastily looked around in search of Liu Ruolan but she got no reply except for her own shouts which echoed along with the sound of thunder.
Then that shadow's words got stuck in her mind.
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'Close your eyes and you will see everything clearly.'
She stopped walking and closed her eyes.
All of a sudden, the rain stopped falling.
Many memories flipped back in Liu Juan's mind with many faces of the people and she frowned in confusion and then she felt her body vanish from that forest.
'Clash'
To end up in a deep ocean as she had fallen into a deep ocean. Air bubbles were escaping from her mouth. She looked up at the sunlight on the surface of the ocean. The surface of the water was going far away from her as she was falling down and down until a hand came and pulled her up.
She gulped as if her breath had returned which had stopped in the water. Liu Juan's eyes shot open. Now, the surroundings were looking familiar to her.
'What happened to me?' She asked herself and before she could get an answer, she heard someone shouting.
"Why hasn't she woken up yet? Forty-eight hours are about to end. Don't tell me she is going to die like that. You told me that everything was right, then how did her condition turn out for the worse?"
"I didn't expect that her past had a deep wound on her mind. If I knew it, I wouldn't have suggested to her to recall everything."
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Just tell me when my wife will wake up?"
Liu Juan looked up towards the voices. Two people were arguing. The man's back was facing towards her but the woman was facing towards her whose stare fallen on her.
And the woman's eyes widened as she yelped happily. "Juan, you have woken up."
***