Disclaimer:
I do not own Alice Academy. And yes, this story has been inspired by a book with my own imagination incorporated to it.
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Mission Part 08
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Natsume has been driving overnight again. He's tired, sleepy, and really tired. But he wouldn't stop the truck—not until they arrive at their destination. Stopping might cost them their life, for who knows? Someone might see them and recognize the sleeping lady with him. The long lost Alice Goddess.
Mikan's been asleep for long now. He doesn't mind. She needs her sleep anyway, and it might help her rest her mind and regain her memories. Tch, memories. Why is he the only one left with these sweet and painful recalls? And with that, he can't even get the answers he wanted to know from her.
A few more hours later and they entered the state of Texas. Somewhere very far from the main roads, a glorious ranch type estate welcomed them. He drove through the rocky earth driveway towards the wooden lodge-like house in the middle of some vast grassy plains. Michelle woke from her sleep because of the ragged motion of the truck against the rough surface of their land.
"Where are we?" she asked as she tried to see past the blinding sun rays.
"Rise and shine, mi amour," he said as he stopped at the front door of the house. "We're home."
With that, Mikan tried real hard to see her surroundings. She stepped outside the truck carefully. She saw endless plains and no nearby houses. A few trees from here and there. Some horses, cows, and other domestic animals roaming freely in the meadows. You won't hear anything but the wind's breeze, some animals mooing and birds chirping—no noisy traffic, no heavy mechanical churn of any equipment. A quiet piece of land away from the world—it seem that they've disconnected from all the danger and settled in a sunny, tranquil place. Home.
Wow, Michelle thought. Is there anything more peaceful?
"Pretty, huh?" he asked as he saw her take in the beauty of it. "Of course it is. We built it. And here, we're practically invisible to the whole world," Paulo informed her. "Roam freely as you want. Stumble here and there, mi vida, and you might feel some memories hunt you back."
"What do you mean invisible?"
"Well," Natsume started as he gets the gym bag from the truck. "You picked this place when we got married. A bright, sunny place. We bought it and made it into this—our safe harbor. No one can see nor enter this place except for us."
She was at awe. "Only us?"
"Hm, there are some exceptions. Our trusted friends."
And who are they? Mikan thought. Trusted. At this point in her life, even the people that she trusts the most are all strangers to her. Everyone in this world now, except from Natsume, is a stranger. And there's only Natsume to fill her in with everything. He's the only one she trusts now.
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After showering, and finally having some normal clothes on, Mikan wandered around the house. There's a spacious living room, a kitchen (that seems so alien to her), an entertainment room, a library, a control room (with all the weird wiring, computers, screens and everything), a pool, and about five rooms upstairs all having a their own majestic bathrooms and balconies with a great view of the estate. There's even a lake at the back side of the house, down a small hill.
She entered the largest room. Apparently, their room. A drawer table near the closet holds many frames, standing proud, as if saying to her 'we are your filed memories'. Photographs. Lots of them. There are some from their wedding. Some vacations. Some family and friends gathering… wow, she even encircled the whole world according to a cork board with a world map hanging on the wall.
There were so many Polaroid shots of she and he pinned on every possible space on the map. She's always smiling from ear to ear to the camera, evident of her radiant happiness as they capture that moment together from their latest destination spot. While her husband always does the same pose in every shot—arms around his wife, making it look that he's hugging his whole world, and planting a kiss on her hair. Yes, he did this on every pic, every place.
That touched her heart. We loved each other. We were happy. Mikan reached for a photo, pinned on Tokyo, Japan. Here, it's obvious that they were very much younger than today. They were wearing a black long-sleeved uniform with blue plaid skirt and pants. And with them, some other students posing enthusiastically for the camera. She recognized Ruca as one of them, holding hands with a short ebony-haired and purple-eyed girl. Middle school, she thought as a tear escaped her eyelids.
Natsume, who just entered the room looking for her, saw this. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he paced towards her and reached for her hand and waist for support.
She looked at him and cried more. "I know them," she said with a rough and tearful voice as she showed him the picture in hand. "I know that I know them! But really, I don't!"
He saw the pain and sadness in her eyes. God, this is not what he hoped for. Before he found her, all he thought about was how would they easily patch things up and go back to their normal lives, together. He didn't imagine how hard would that be, since their love was so strong, he believed it could defy anything. Well, that's the problem. Was. And now that she's got no background about herself, it's a lot more complicated than he expected.
"Shh, it's alright. Don't force yourself. Take it easy," he said as he tries to soothe her wife and pats her hair.
"I want to know who I was. What I was!"
Sigh. If there's really one thing Natsume couldn't take, it's his wife's cry. Seeing this big, fat salty tears run down her flushed cheeks. It just pains him a hundred and one times more the way it pains her. And the fact that he can't do anything about it, can't find the right words to stop it, makes him feel worse.
He hugged her and rests her head on his chest. "Calm down, it's fine. I was once that lost, like you now. But you,"—he raised her chin to look straight into her eyes—" you found me and saved me."
At that, Mikan's sobs abruptly stopped. Her lips formed a small gap and her eyes went blank. Something echoes in her head.
"It's okay baby. Daddy's gonna find and save us."
Her visions blur and her pulse rises again. It's as if something plays in her head, but she couldn't clearly make it out. It's as muddy and cloudy as the lake where she almost drowned.
"After this, daddy's gonna come and get us? I'll be able to see him now?" a little boy's voice asked.
"Yes, baby. We'll just have to believe he will, okay? Do you trust me and dad?"
"Yes, mommy."
And then, she fainted.
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Author's Note:
Thank you for reading!
I've had a lot of free time today so I managed to make a new chap. Kind of short again, but I don't want to bore you. What do you guys think?
Also, thank you for those who have subscribed to this story and as well to those who have listed it to their favorite stories. :] THANK YOU so much!
So, is it good? Or lousy? Reviews will be much appreciated!
I'm relying on my reader's comments to work on my story. :D
PS. I have re-read my story so far and noticed some typographical and grammatical errors. Sorry for those. I'll try to be better and much more careful next time.
