Chapter XII - Part I

The next few weeks were a blur. Andy remembered seeing Samuel sitting by her bed and being surprised she was laying in a real bed with pillows.

"This will help you get better," said Aggie giving her medicine.

There were also times she thought she was awake but was in fact still dreaming. It's as if life had moved on without her. She saw a young man with blue hair stroking her hair and smiling. Her mother was sitting in a chair and holding a baby. Andy was having trouble telling the difference between reality and delusion.

When she finally woke up, Andrew was sitting next to the bed holding a thick book with dark leather cover. He was wearing a soft blue robe that had a strong flowery scent and his long hair hung freely around his face.

"I never thought you cared for reading," she said.

Andrew lifted his head and smiled. "It's not really for me. I'm more of the muscular kind, you know."

"A joke!?" Andy was surprised. "Who died and gave you a sense of humor?"

Andrew's smile faded and Andy could feel her heart skip a beat. Oh no, she thought, someone had died.

"Oh, wow! You should have seen your face!" Andrew burst out in laughter.

Andy threw a pillow at him but he caught it with just one hand. "This is so not fair!" she screamed. The situation seemed so wrong but at the same time even too right. It was like they were kids again.

"So Grandpa is okay?" Andy asked.

"He is getting better. You wouldn't believe the stuff they have here. The food, the clothes and of course the medicine."

"I see you've found yourself something rather interesting to wear," Andy nodded towards his odd clothing.

"It is called a bath robe and it is usually worn after one leaves the bath," Andrew was trying to imitate some sort of posh accent.

Andy looked at her surroundings more carefully. Besides the soft bed with pillows, there was a lot of furniture in the room. It was all colorful and soft and clean. Everything looked expensive. The window had a view of the sea so they couldn't have been far from Sencor.

"Where are we?" she finally asked.

"We are in Carran. Apparently, you got hit by a log and your boyfriend carried you out of the city where we met with your other friends..."

"Boyfriend?"

"What would you call a boy who rescues your life and then sits by your bed every day and night?" Andrew asked and Andy could feel herself blushing.

"Just a helpful person with a conscience?" She suggested.

"If you say so," Andrew responded with a smirk and continued. "Anyway, Morgan and Mom had quite a reunion. Could have sworn there was something between them. And they brought us to this place which belongs to some friend of Hodge. A relative perhaps, I don't know, I wasn't listening to that closely. And now, here we are!"

He finished his conclusion with a big gesture as if he was trying to start flying.

"So we are free?" she asked not believing what an adventure she had missed out.

"Not exactly," he said with a grin. "But it wouldn't be fair to lay it all on you at once. Get some rest!"

"I've been resting for..." How long have I been out for?

"Two weeks and three days."

"I think it's enough resting," she said and forced herself to stand up. Her legs felt weak and her stomach was growling but she was up. Andrew put the book on her nightstand and followed her ready to catch her if she fell.

"It's a miracle! You can walk!" he yelled in fake surprise and giggled as if it had been the best joke ever. The lightness of the situation seemed fitting to the sun blazing in from the windows. And yet it felt so out of place. In her mind, she could still see the Andrew who was dull most of the time only breaking out of character once the woman she loved was executed. She walked out of the room to find a long corridor with doors on both sides. Once they reached the end, there was a big room with a fireplace. Her mother was sitting in one of the chairs wearing, not a bathrobe, but a long sleeveless dress. Her hair was braided and in her arms was a baby. So it wasn’t a dream, after all, she thought.

"Look who's awake," Andrew said earning their mother's attention. She gave the biggest smile Andy had ever seen on her face. The image almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Andy, dear!" Her mother rose and put the baby in a crib. She rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around her holding her tight. Andy responded feeling pieces in her heart falling to their right places.

It seemed others had heard them speaking because the room was already filling up with people. Samuel came in from the other room grinning like a lunatic. Aggie grabbed her from the side while Morgan chuckled in the corner. Even Grandpa was up and waving at her from the door. He looked younger and healthier than ever. It all seemed too good to be true. And when something feels that way, then it probably isn't true.

"She is waking up," someone whispered and Andy felt the lovely picture falling apart in front of her eyes. And she opened them, this time for real.

Samuel was there stirring something in a small bowl while a woman with light hair and gray eyes looked at her. She smiled though she looked tired. Her eyes were red and there were bags under them. Samuel didn't look much better.

"I'm glad you're awake finally, darling!" The woman said and removed the dry cloth from her forehead.

Andy tried to sit up but she wasn't as strong as she had been in her dream. The room looked nothing like the dream also. It was dark and messy. No one was wearing a bath robe. The woman helped her as she forced herself to sit.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"In Sencor, of course," the woman answered.