*knock knock*

“Come in,” I said with a voice lacking energy.

The door opened and Amber came into the room.

“You’re awake, How are you feeling,” she said as she awkwardly walked to the chair that was next to the bed.

“Don’t be so awkward.” I smiled. “I told you what the situation is, didn’t I?”

I was still feeling sick and as I was sitting on the edge of the bed I was struggling not to fall over.

Amber looked me in the eyes for a second and seemed to realize that even though they were different in a way from Zeph’s, there was something that was so perfectly similar.

I felt her stare in my eyes and got nervous. She must have felt the same as we both quickly looked somewhere else.

“So you– really are one and the same person on the inside?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah,” I replied quickly trying to keep my voice audible. “And to get to the point of this visit. You spoke in the living room downstairs to the right of the entrance with Zeph about how your parents were searching for something. Something they later revealed to be the Celestial Plane. They send you a message, which basically was a farewell note to their daughter. Sorry for your loss by the way. Sorry that I didn’t say that earlier.”

Amber’s eyes were wide open. Even though Zeph already told her about it and she seemed to believe it, she was still surprised. After regaining her composure she seemed to accept it rather quickly.

“Ok… this confirms it then, doesn’t it,” she says with a strange sense of relief. “It is still hard to wrap my head around but I can’t really deny what I just heard.” She stood up and looked out of the window that was behind her.

She chuckled. “That explains why Zeph didn’t leave the room when I was putting you in bed.” She kept smiling.

She has a nice smile. I thought to myself as I looked at her face in the reflection of the window.

I was now staring into the window but our eyes met and we both knew it. As we both looked away I felt my head spin and couldn’t keep myself upright anymore.

Falling backwards onto the bed Amber quickly reacted.

“Zephyria!” she called out. “Are you ok?”

“I wasn’t to begin with. But I guess sitting upright was a bit too much still.”

Amber helped me back into bed while she called for a servant to get me some water.

“I want you to keep an eye on her. If she has a request, do it,” she told the servants.

“yes lady Ikthiosh,” the servants replied in stereo.

“Zephyria, get some rest for now. If there is anything I can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask for me, ok?”

I nodded as she gave me a smile in return. Then the door closed and I was left alone in this big guest room.

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Why am I feeling so bad? Is it just a virus or something or is there more to it? Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Better just get some more rest I guess.

With those thoughts, I drifted back into a deep sleep.

—

The door opened and Amber returned to her seat.

“I believe you,” was the first thing she said as she got comfortable. ”It is still difficult to wrap my head around this but there is no reason for me to not believe you after…” She paused for a second trying to find a way to continue. “uhm… our conversation.”

I looked at her with a smile. “Don’t try to think about it too much. It won’t help me at all if you try to keep talking to us as if we are the same person. Please just see her as my sister, which she is, and me as separate people. That way you and I are less likely to make mistakes in the future.”

Amber nodded. “Ok. That will make it easier I guess.” She threw her hand in the air as she called out to a servant just outside the door.

“Bring us some tea, please.”

After the servant brought us some tea, we started talking about other things. We got to know each other a lot more and we all felt more at ease now that we knew we started to become friends with a shared deeper story that drove us forward.

Later that night Amber showed us a second guest room where Lucian and I would be sleeping. As we said our goodbyes for the night Amber went to her room and Lucian entered the guest room.

“You won’t be sleeping here, right?” Lucian said as he turned around with a comforting smile.

“Yeah, I rather stay with my sister, just in case.” Apparently, I had a very worried look as Lucian turned around and asked me to wait a minute. He started rummaging through his bag and he pulled out a potion and held it in front of me.

“I know you won’t get any sleep at this rate so use this on Zephyra. It is a potion that is often used to increase the ‘healing over time’ effect. But before we met I found that it also helps to increase the body's natural resistance against most sickness. Maybe it will help her recover faster or at least give her more energy to recover.”

I took the bottle from Lucian and grabbed his hand as he was about to pull it back.

“Thank you! You know I appreciate this a lot!” I was shaking his hand when he put his hand on top.

“Don’t worry. You saved me remember, this is not enough to repay that debt. Just get some sleep. Who knows what will happen tomorrow.” With that, Lucian let go and closed the door while I walked to my sister’s room.

The bed was big enough for 2 people, but first the potion. I tried to wake her by tapping her face. It has been a while since I was looking at my sister and not feeling anything from her side. For a moment it felt like we were separated. On one side it felt good but the dark realization that it was not real quickly took over again. After another few taps and a soft shake, I felt her sense reach me again and she slowly woke up.

She drank the potion and a faint green glow emanated from her body. This indicated that the potion took effect and we could feel that it was definitely working. Though still feeling sick, we felt some kind of support deep down.

“Now, time to get some more rest,” I said as I laid down next to her.

Now that Amber knows about us and she knows a possible location of the entrance to the Celestial plane, can I finally dream of my revenge?

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? or is it just a train heading our way? Ready to crash it all.

My mind kept spinning with different thoughts when something I hadn’t thought about in a long time popped up.

I wonder if Mom and Dad on Earth are still alive.

And how are my friends doing? They should be well into their careers.

Not that I can do anything from here though. But I do miss my family, friends, and my life in general.

Up until everything happened with my sister I was happy. Now it is all just living day to day, hoping for a miracle.

Will I ever get my revenge? What will it solve? Will I ever get my sister back? And what happens when I do? What then? What about Amber? What about Lucian? What will they do after? That is IF we survive it all? What will we…. what can I… what….

With my mind flying through an endless circle of questions, it eventually lost the energy to keep going and I drifted away.