Wonderland

V - Dawn

I continued to sink, deeper and deeper into this sea of black ink. It had been long since I lost track of time and my consciousness began to flicker. I couldn't smell anything, hear anything, speak anything... feel anything. I couldn't even move my body, lest the cold and fear would've made me shiver. The thick blackness wrapped me up until opening my eyes looked the same as having them closed.
All I could remember then were the endless sinking, and that it had gotten colder and colder, before eventually my consciousness ceased to flicker.

...

Beep... beep... beep...

The weird noise woke me up.
I still couldn't see very clearly; eyesight was still blurry, blinded by a light that seeped through the window beside me. I knew I was lying on a bed, with bandages wrapped around my wrists and neck. The whole room smelled like medicine. I tried to move my hand, but something kept it from moving freely. I tried to force my hand to move up, but stopped as my vision cleared a bit; an infusion tube ran from my hand to an infusion bag.
Dust particles formed lines as rays of sun penetrated the curtain. I sat myself up, struggling to do so with my frail hands. I was no longer wearing my dress, yet a dull green one piece.

As I stared blankly to the wall in front of me, it dawned;

I remembered everything.

My family.
The witch.
The soul.
The incident.

...

My name.

As my senses recovered, I looked around. Beside me was a modern-looking table, with several medicines, and two sheets of paper.

The first one I picked up was a medical diagnosis. I skimmed through the report;

[Based on the symptoms reported above, it was concluded that patient suffers from an extreme case of dissociative identity disorder, accompanied by psychosis, as well as a severe retrograde amnesia.]

"..."

I could do nothing but to give a bittersweet smile.

Another one was a letter, to which I recognised the handwriting the second I opened it, and I was glad I recognised. The letter contained most of the things happened during my amnesia, to remind me if I ever wake up. There was my name, and my mother's, written on the letter. I couldn't help but to tear up after I finished reading it. I closed the letter and stood up.

My legs were still shaking, but I was adamant to reach the mirror beside the window. I ran my shoulder along the wall, before gripping at the table below the mirror.
At first, I didn't dare to look at myself, scared—terrified that something else—or nothing, would appear. But I knew that I shouldn't be scared at anything upon looking up to the mirror;

A little girl greeted me, still sleepy with her ginger hair unkempt. My forehead was broad, as how I always remembered since my mum kept teasing me about it. My cheeks were round, and my mouth, small. My brother often pinched my cheeks when I was still a baby. Maybe it was because of him that they were still round. The birthmark was on the place I had always remembered; just a bit under my neck, to my left shoulder. I was sure that I was skinnier than before, but that would be obvious since I had been sleeping for days too many. I giggled sweetly as I remembered how mum scolded me for not eating enough.

I stroked my cheek, as if to make sure it was the real me that was reflected. From there, it gleamed;

A pair of shimmering eyes—a shining amber on my right, and a glittering sapphire on my left. It was so beautiful I gasped and shed a single tear, which glimmered as the sun on the window beside gave reflection.
I could stare at them for minutes—hours. This would be complicated to explain though, and I was sure my friends would never stop bothering me about it. The thought of it made me chuckle.

As much as I was fascinated, I was happy, for this served as both a reminder and a proof.

Reminder of the adventure I had in a faraway land.
Reminder of Mr. Toby's adventurous wind.
Reminder of Ms. Ange's caring warmth.
Reminder of the cold, malicious witch that I should stay away from.
Reminder to always embrace my other side; the sapphire soul that intertwined with mine.

Proof that I was and would never be invincible.
Proof that I can get hurt and feel pain.

Proof that I am a human.

I closed my eyes, joining both hands on my chest as I smiled contently.

After a while, I opened the curtain. The blinding light hurt my eyes for a bit, but after that, lay a garden covered in beautiful white snow. It was a morning in the winter, as snowflakes were still floating down. Immediately, I brushed my hands together, as the cold only went in after I saw the drops of white. I laughed about it.

Shortly after, a door opened behind me, followed by a gasp, a whimper—a sobbing of a tired, mature woman. My eyes widened as I swung to look behind, and I had never been so glad to recognise a person in front of me.
As I smiled and shed another tear;

"Good morning, mum."