“I feel so strange... Something is driving me crazy... that instinctive feeling... I feel... like I'm dreaming again... I don't see any nightmares anymore... Is this what it feels like to dream without those nightmares?... What... a wonderful feeling.”

Suddenly, Alice received a blow to her head and woke up startled to find her classmates laughing.

“What’s wrong with you, Alice? You’ve been sleeping a lot in class these days... Please avoid staying up late.”

“Uh... yes, ma’am.” Alice nodded.

‘In truth... I’m not used to this... since I haven’t been to a regular school in a while... when I was in the orphanage... after my uncle admitted me there due to his chronic illness... I wasn’t used to living there... we weren’t allowed to roam outside... so... we were taught in the orphanage... and the outside world was like a dream... all that... because of child abduction incidents.’

*****

“You’ve been sleeping a lot lately, Alice,” one of Alice’s friends said as they were having lunch in the cafeteria.

“Try to avoid this habit... Miss Ilya can’t stand this kind of behavior.”

“(Laughing) Okay... I’ll try to avoid staying up late... even though I don’t stay up late... sleeping has become easy, actually... I’m no longer afraid of seeing nightmares... in fact... I don’t see these nightmares anymore.’…”

*******

‘At first... I didn’t adjust to living with Eve’s parents... and even in school with my classmates... but now... I feel a sense of belonging... I think... it’s been a whole month... since I came back to this world...’

‘When I entered the orphanage... I felt a radical change in my life... I was seven at the time... I couldn’t talk to anyone... but some of my peers wanted to ease the pain for me... living in the orphanage became easy... I made many friends... we played together... everything became normal for me... until Eve came... she had just moved... she didn’t know her name... her family... the nanny told us that she was found in the forest... and she told us something about a train or something... but what I understood... is that she had suffered a radical change in her life... just like me... so... I wanted to ease her loneliness... I wanted to get closer to her... I wanted her to share her pain with me... so that we could understand each other... until she uttered her first pain... < Alice ... I feel incomplete... as if my soul has been split in half.>... I understood from her words... that she wanted to know the truth about herself... but this is difficult... considering her unknown past... I tried to help her... but... that Ferryman... took me away from her... and prevented me... from getting close to her again... until he kidnapped me.’ Alice thought about this as she headed towards the bus.

****

Alice knocked on the door, and Maria opened it for her.

“Oh... welcome back, sweetie.”

“Hello, Mom.”

“How was school?” Maria asked as she closed the door.

“It’s good... I guess,” Alice said as she took off her shoes.

“Okay... try to finish your homework quickly... because tomorrow... we’re going to the hospital.”

At that moment, Alice was shocked and jumped up, saying, “We’re going to the hospital? Huh... does that mean... we’re going to visit Eve?”

“Yes... of course.”

And at that moment, Alice went to Eve’s room to do her homework.

*****

Bill returned from work at ten o’clock in the evening, to find Maria washing the dishes.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Hey... welcome back,” Maria said, turning to him.

“Uh... where’s Alice?” Bill looked left and right.

“She’s in Eve’s room... sleeping... she finished her homework quickly... and now... she’s fast asleep.”

“That’s amazing... these days’ children... don’t usually have these qualities.”

“Alice is one of them... it’s just motivation... I told her we’re going to visit Eve tomorrow.”

“That makes sense... by the way... although she’s been here for a whole month... I still haven’t convinced myself to adopt her... don’t get me wrong, Maria... but... won’t anyone think this is strange... to adopt a child for the second time... and also... I don’t feel comfortable seeing her... she seems like a strange girl to me..."

“Bill... that’s a bit harsh.”

“I don’t mean her behavior... I mean... our first meeting with each other.”

“You mean... when she came to our house for the first time... actually... I admit that that was strange... but the next day... those tentacles didn’t come out... and a report was issued about that incident... I think... we weren’t conscious that day...”

“Despite that, Maria... I feel a strange feeling towards her.”

“I think insomnia is affecting you... I suffered a lot because of what happened recently... take some rest... you’ll feel better... I’m sure.”

“... I think... you’re right, Maria... I’ll go to sleep now,” Bill said as he went towards the room.

*****

‘... In fact... I feel this too,’ Maria thought to herself.

*****

Alice woke up from her sleep and looked left and right, she raised her hands and looked at them.

‘Hmm... I can’t bring out the decay anymore.’

******

Alice put on her new clothes, and the three of them left the house heading towards the taxi, to arrive at the hospital.

*******

The three entered the reception, Bill went to the receptionist.

“Hello.”

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Addis... or... what do we have here... is this your daughter too?”

“This is, in fact,” Maria.

“I’m Alice Addis... nice to meet you, sir.”

“And I’m also pleased to meet you, Alice... your daughter has good manners... Eve’s room is locked... the key holder will come to open the door for you.”

The receptionist turned around to find the key holder coming.

“Hey... he’s here... Mike come... Mr. and Mrs. Addis have arrived... open the door for them.”

******

“No need to shout... come on.”

******

At that time, Alice was looking at this employee.

‘According to what I saw... this is a friend of Eve’s fraudulent doctor... this is good... I think today is the day of payback.’ Alice thought to herself.

******

The key holder opened the door, and Alice entered first. She looked ahead to find a human lying on the bed, it was Eve’s hollow body. She approached him, to find various tubes connected to him.

Alice brought a chair and sat on it near her friend, she didn’t say a word.

The worker turned to the couple, saying, “Won’t you come in?”

“Uh... we’ll come in later,” Bill.

“This is what Alice wanted in the end... to see Eve.”

The receptionist turned to Alice and said, “Is she a close relative?”

“You can say that... Is the doctor here?” Bill.

“He’s working in another department today... but he won’t miss seeing you... his office isn’t far... (turned to Alice)... you come with me.”

“Wait... isn’t it okay for her to stay with Eve?” Maria.

“But…”

“Alice is a sensible girl... she won’t do anything.” Bill.

“It doesn’t matter if someone older stays with her... okay... I’ll call someone to stay with her.”

“I hope you don’t mind.”

“No problem.”

“We don’t mind.”

*****

As soon as the adults left, Alice looked left and right, she saw nothing to worry about.

‘This is my chance.’