Amber's POV....
I was in a dream, wandering through an unknown forest. There, I saw a vivid scenery of trees. It was dawn, the sun's light hidden by the fogs. An echo, whispering in a clamor, foresaw an incoming smoke flowing like water from atop the forest. My brain was longing for my chemistry learning, wanting to identify the smoke. In that dream, I was doing a tagging challenge where I could utter their chemical names as far as I could remember. But hyperbolically, the smoke spoke to me directly, "Why do you necessarily use scientific terminologies—we're just smoke!"
Then... I woke up!
"What the heck!" I mentally shouted.
That dream seemed related to what we had argued about. Even in my dream, Mearko's words were still playing around...? Wait a minute... Where am I? What? Am I in a hospital?! How?? I remember I was in a buggy-train with him, then the blackout, and... the zombies! What happened...?
I can't remember...
I heard the door creak slowly, a bit curious. "Is anybody out there?"
Well, I heard a sound coming from the door. A woman dressed in a white polo, I mean, a girl wearing a white uniform. She was a nurse. Her face looked like she was in her 30s, but she was cute, and she seemed to be from an Asian country.
"Good morning, Ms. Amethyst Amber Victoria, I'm glad you're awake. Your friends and your boyfriend are on the balcony." She was smiling at me the whole time. "If the doctor arrives, I think you will be permitted to go home. But for now, I advise you not to make any extra activity that causes stress."
"I understand," I politely said. She had already removed the dextrose which contained C6H12O6. "Thanks," I said, flexing my palm.
"Uhm, excuse me, ma'am...May I know where exactly this hospital?" I asked her.
"This hospital?" She said while heading to the desk. "Well, you are in Wellbure specialist Hospital."
"Okay." I said in a thoughtful understanding.
She walked out of the room, and when she left, other people came in. This time, those people were very familiar.
It was Mom!
"Oh, Amber!" She cried. "My beautiful princess." Her name was Wincent Rose Victoria, and she was crying in front of me. She hugged me tightly as if she had missed me so much. "I was at home when your friends contacted me. I was so worried and panicking when I heard you were at the hospital and about what had happened to you. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Uhm... yes, don't worry about me. I'm okay," I said, but it made me think more about what really happened to me after the blackout. Oh well, my friends can tell me the exact scenario. I felt how worried my mother was just because I am her only daughter.
After her husband died in an airplane crash, she raised me with her simple jewelry shop. Sadly to say, my father died during my birthday, but before he died, he promised me that he would come on time. Tragically, the day he traveled, the airplane crashed, leaving no survivors. I cursed my birthday; I wished I never had a birthday that day.
Her simple jewelry shop became a well-known shop in town, with celebrities and other rich people visiting her for extraordinary jewelry designs. Until, she acquainted a man named Leonard De Vin, a businessman.
"Oh, Amber... We're so worried," Mr. De Vin said. "We rushed to the hospital right after your friends contacted your mother."
"Mr. De Vin, thank you for being a good partner to my mother." I was smiling at him.
Well, I can see that there's no problem with their relationship; they respect each other and help one another. Their relationship is almost 5 years old now, but I never felt any threat or bad intentions from Mr. De Vin. So I feel the same if my mother is happy with him.
"Oh, that..." Mr. De Vin looked to my mother with a smile. "Well, your mother is my life I will do my best to make her happy."
"Amber." My mother drew my attention. "I know it was too hasty to decide on matrimony. We know it was untimely to say this to you right now... but this is our chance to say it personally... do you agree to our marriage proposal?" My mother blushed in front of me, awaiting my permission. "We—"
"It's been five years since both of you have had a good relationship," I said. "And it is not a short-term relationship, after all."
My mom's eyes shone with hopeful anticipation for my golden "YES," and Mr. De Vin gently embraced her, slowly waiting for my approval. Their silence stretched, vast as a universe.
"Mom, if you're happy with Mr. De Vin, and he truly loves you... Then..." I said slowly and a bit eagerly. "Uhm... Yeah!" I declared. "But Mr. De Vin... Promise me that you will never hurt my mother."
"I will." He raised his right hand, but then I saw something on his hand when his sleeve slipped back, revealing a small part of a tattoo—either it was a tail or a claw. "I swear, I will love your mother and make her the happiest woman in the world."
"Thank you, Amber." My mom was so happy and even kissed me twice on my forehead. Then she hugged me tightly.
"Ahem!!!!" Anathea burst in. "What's going on here?" She was wondering and investigating the little celebration we had. We never perceived her presence when she opened the door. I am so glad that my best friend was okay and nothing had changed with her despite the blackout.
"Aneeee!" I called her, as if I had missed her. Well, I was worried. I had overthought that she was also experiencing the same thing as mine, and yet I still had no idea what had happened there after I lost consciousness.
"Amber...oh you're awake!" She was so full of energy. "My friend, you made me worried!" Her face was like a child on the verge of tears.
"Anathea contacted your mother immediately at 10 pm. And then we arrived here at 4 am. Thanks to your friend, Anathea," Mr. De Vin said. "If it wasn't for her, maybe we couldn't have arrived early."
"I really don't know what was going on during that time; all I know is to contact auntie... and I was panicking!" Anathea explained.
"Yea, I was at my desk checking my sketches when my phone suddenly rang. Then when I heard her panicking and reporting about Amber's situation... I was panicking too and cried out to Leonard, begging to go to a hospital as soon as possible!"
"Oh, auntie, I'm so sorry if I was too emotional when delivering the news to you," Anathea apologized.
"Well, it's okay. If I were in your situation, maybe I would also do the same thing," Mom said.
"How about the others?" I said, referring to Mearko and Anathea's boyfriend, Lucas. I looked around the room, but no other people were there.
"Mearko went to the doctor assigned to you, while my boyfriend is still on the balcony waiting for your recovery," Anathea replied.
"I think I am okay now," I said. I moved my joints and shook my body to show I'm okay.
"Are you really overcome by fear, my princess Amber?" My mother looked worried.
"I don't know exactly, but I can't remember what exactly happened after I blacked out. If it was just being overwhelmed by fear, I doubt it—it doesn't sound right. Well, Anathea knows me well regarding horror. I can feel the thrill but not to the point of losing my entire consciousness. Come to think—me? Becoming overwhelmed by fear—huh, that's ridiculous! We used to go on horror-themed trips back then, but it was kind of weird to have fainted from fear?"
"Well, if that's the case, only Mearko can tell about what happened, right?" Mom said.
"Yeah, Exactly!" Anathea agreed. "But, hours ago, I asked him about Amber's faint, but he only gave me a deep sigh... I don't know what's bothering him... He doesn't want to talk about it."
"I will talk to him; maybe he would open up to me," I said to them.
"Alright, besides, he is your boyfriend, and we hope that he would tell the truth; then we can help if there's a problem," Mr. De Vin said.
A doctor came in, and Mearko followed behind him. Even if I was still disappointed in him, I still saw his awesomeness. But after the blackout, I remembered his voice trying to fight with zombies. And then a needle— I guessed suddenly pierced my skin... but even though I was still fighting dizziness, I heard a strong punch. And someone carried me, but I couldn't feel my body... Though I was still fighting drowsiness, I couldn't speak.
These fragments of my memory were telling me that there was a ....
"Good morning, Ms. Victoria. I am Herbenth Dasu _____," the doctor said, introducing himself. "And good morning to all of you!"
"Well, Doc... Is there a problem with Amber's health?" Mom said.
"Amber's vital signs are normal, and I never found any health issue, but there is a possibility that she is allergic to or suffocated by a strong chemical substance... since her boyfriend said that he smelled a strong odor coming from the prosthetic zombies' costumes... that might be a reason why she fainted. Then, out of oxygen, Amber's boyfriend also told me the place was in a tunnel and zombies were crowding them at that time...."
"Well, that is true... zombies stink. I don't like their smell!" Anathea also commented. "And many zombies were prowling around... we couldn't move, and yeah... I almost suffocated there."
But as I saw, Mearko was a bit uneasy, while Anathea was different; she was still the friend I know, unlike him... I feel that Mearko has something bothering him. Are those fragments of my memory related to Mearko's silence?
"How is a chemist material became allergic to the chemical?" Mr. De Vin said seriously.
No! I am not allergic to chemical!
"Well, maybe it is a misunderstanding." I said trying to convince them. But their eyes were biting me. "Whether prosthetic or organics chemical that zombies uses, I think it would not be fatal." My memory triggered, a glitch on my mind suddenly fragmenting until I realized how exactly the scenario was.
"Maybe there might be something or somewhat...." I said but Mearko stopped me.
"Why don't we just think, she is safe. Those chemicals are just a lesson learn for her to stop pointing her nose to the horror house." Now he is trying to convince me not to go to the place where the only memory left of my father before he died. But, I see