She had fallen into a deep sleep. Gradually, the bright light became dim until she could not see anything but total darkness. She could see a light from a distance so she slowly walked towards it. She continued walking until she saw a narrow tunnel. At the portal of it, she saw a man in a black suit staring, reaching out his hand to her.
"Come and hold my hand"
She looked at the man, but his face was blurry.
"Who are you? where am I?", she asked.
'You're with me now, dashuri. This is my promise to you right?" the man answered.
Then the man began to whistle a song –the piece of her soul
"Ryle is it you? You are the man in my dreams!", she exclaimed.
"Yes, it's me dashuri, are you happy to see me?"
"Yes, Ryle.", she was about to hold his hand when a woman's voice echoed all over the place.
"No, don't come to him."
Suddenly, a man appeared and grabbed her hand. "No! don't go with him. Stay with me."
********
"Sweetie, are you okay?", Jareed asked her when she regained consciousness. He was been there sitting on the bed for two hours.
"Yes boo, I'm fine," she responded.
"I guess, you are hiding something from me, sweetie. What is it? Why are you emotional these days? Do you have already a boyfriend?", Jareed asked her with an intent look.
"I am not hiding anything boo. And I don't have a boyfriend", she responded.
Jareed just looked at her as if he was trying to analyze something.
"You know what, I read your FB posts, about loving someone. Who is that sweetie? I even commented on it", Jareed uttered.
She glanced at her brother trying to understand what he meant to say.
"So, you are Jungwon Kim, boo? I thought it was really Jungwon who sent me a friend request. Why did you use his name instead of yours?", she exclaimed.
"Because I don't want you to know that it's me. I wanted to read everything you have posted there because I am worried of you when you said you wanted to be a writer again. I just thought, why did you suddenly change your decision when you told me already, you don't want to go back into writing anymore. Now I know, because of someone else. Who is he?"
"And what's that post about a love that is just one-sided, so you have to let go of that person?" Jareed was throwing a lot of questions.
"It's nothing boo. It was just a post", she averted her gaze.
Jareed held her hand and lifted her chin for her to look at him.
"Sweetie, you know that I'm always here for you. I'm always here to listen to you whatever it is", Jareed uttered with a soft smile on his lips.
"For now, just relax, okay?" Jareed added. Then, he stood up and went out of the room.
JA just stared at her brother who was walking out of her room. She felt a little guilty because her brother was right in saying she was hiding something from him.
She reached for her cellphone and logged in to her Facebook account. She went to her messenger and read Zacky's messages.
"Dear, are you alright?"
"Please tell me you're alright"
"Tell me you're okay and I will not bother you anymore, I promise."
"I always listen to your song, every night"
"I'll be missing you a lot."
"I know I hurt you several times, and I don't deserve your forgiveness"
After reading all these messages, she heard she was already sobbing. She did not understand why she was so sensitive and vulnerable when it comes to Zacky. Sometimes, she was asking herself, who is Zacky in her life?
She wiped off her tears and went outside her room, but her brother was there standing outside.
"You're crying sweetie, what is it?" Jareed asked.
She could not anymore control herself, she hugged her brother and cried so hard.
"Okay, cry as much as you can sweetie", Jareed caressed her back.
After some time she felt better. So they went inside her room and seated on her bed. She cleared her throat and began telling everything to her brother.
"Boo, I'm sorry I lied to you. I did the mental telepathy again, I tried to travel so far, to read someone's mind. I thought it was impossible since I don't know him. Boo, I'm really sorry. A mysterious man, appeared in my dreams many times, and I was curious to know him because he was calling me 'dear'. And Zacky was calling me like that. So after I read his mind, I decided to make him the character of my story. I called him baby, and...", she paused for a while trying to catch her breath.
Jareed looked at her eyes.
"And, you are falling for him, but he doesn't feel the same for you?", Jareed lashed out.
"I don't know boo, because he said to me, he is not a man, so he cannot give me what I want. But he cares for me", her voice quavered.
"What? he is not a man? So it means she is a woman and yet you're seeing him as a man who fell in love with you? That's an illusion sweetie!", Jareed shouted in annoyance.
"I'm sorry boo, but it is only in the story," she explained.
She told her brother that Zacky is a writer on a certain platform and she followed him and read his works. And it was him, who inspired her to write.
"Are you sure, it's only in the story? So, why are you being emotional then?" Jareed asked throwing a cold gaze at her.
"And why of all people, you chose that person, to be the character of your own story?", Jareed asked curiously.
"Because, the same with me, he is also longing for someone to love him and care for him boo. And I want to love him in my story.", she explained.
"So since you're working on your own story, will you use real names then?" Jareed asked.
She shook her head and told her brother how she would name the characters in her story.
Jareed just nodded and gave a brittle smile. She knew that her brother was only giving her the benefit of the doubt and accepted everything she told to him.
"So if you're falling for him, does it mean you don't love Ryle anymore?" Jareed asked again.
"Ryle? I always loved him boo. He always had a special place in my heart. But he is not here anymore", she said softly while tears were seen from her eyes.
Jareed comforted her and pulled her a hug. Even if he could hardly understand the situation, he had to be open-minded because his sister has no one on her side but only him.
**********
JA was left alone in her room. She tried to grab her cellphone and logged in again to her Facebook account. When she opened her messenger, there were lots of messages from Zacky.
"Dear, are you alright?"
"Please tell me you're alright and I won't bother you anymore, I promise"
These were some of Zacky's messages. Others were being unsent, and she felt a little annoyed, so she asked him.
"Why did you unsend the messages? What is it that you don't want me to read?
"It's not yet time for you to read it," Zacky replied.
As their conversation went on, she noticed that Zacky was again becoming rude to her.
"Don't fall for me. I can't be what you want me to be"
"What if I'm done with my role? What happen when your story will be completed?"
"Of course, we will still be friends", she responded.
"I will give this account to my cousins because I want to focus on other reading platforms",
"So goodbye dear. Take care of yourself", Zacky's messages to her.
"So you're saying goodbye to me?" she responded while tears started to form in her eyes. She was feeling emotional again. Well, because she doesn't want to hear the word "goodbye".
"I just wish your story will be completed very soon so that I can be free. And you will also be free", he said.
After reading Zacky's messages, she felt she was losing again her breath. She was sweating and her hands became cold. She called for her Nanny, but no one came into her room.
Suddenly, someone stepped inside her room. It was her brother Jareed, who ran towards her and held her in his arms.
"Sweetie, what happened to you" Are you okay?", Jareed asked anxiously.
"Boo, why are you here? You supposed to be in the office", she mumbled in a soft voice.
"No more question sweetie, just relax okay?" Jareed replied, as he took a pillow and placed it on her back.
She felt dizzy and everything was spinning around. And she felt like she was losing her consciousness again.
"I'm setting you free baby", she uttered afterwards she fainted.
*********
JA finally regained her consciousness after two hours. She noticed she was not in her bedroom, but in a hospital bed. She looked around and saw her brother sitting on a couch.
"Boo?", she called him in a soft voice.
Jareed hurriedly approached her and clasped her hand.
"Sweetie, how are you? Are you okay?"
"Please, look for Zacky and ask him, if he is okay. I know he is worried of me, so please tell him that I am fine. Please boo...", she pleaded.
"I already chatted with him, and we already talked"
"What did he say to you boo?" she gasped.
"He is worried of you, and I can say he really cares for you. So please, get well very soon sweetie", Jareed responded, trying to avert his gaze.
She noticed his brother's eyes were puffy as if he was crying the whole time and did not get enough sleep. She felt there was something wrong and her brother was hiding something from her. Anyway, she would find out later, once she will be discharged from the hospital.