Trapped

Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

This is a matter of life and death situation.

»»—♡—««

“the sin both of

men and of angels,

was rendered possible

by the fact that

god gave us free will.”

― c.s. lewis

»»—♡—««

“Clear!”

My life flashed before my eyes.

I was aware of the saying that your whole life will flash right before your very eyes as you are on your brink of death. That was exactly what I was feeling right now. All those memories that you had deeply cherished; may it be a sad, painful, happy or unforgettable memory, all of those will eventually be presented to you right before you die. 

And that is how you will remember your whole journey. Like watching a movie from a big screen in which you can see the moments that you've shared with your loved ones. A film playing in front of your very eyes and everything you see will make you remember the exact feeling you have at that moment.

Everyone lived a good life, they say. As long as you've served your purpose. However, I'm quite unsure if I have already served my purpose since I couldn't see anything that I did that could be a big deal.

I don't think I have served my purpose yet.

So why am I seeing scenes of my life?

Why is my life currently flashing before my eyes?

“200 joules! Clear!”

I could see flashes of events in my life in just a short amount of time, invading my thoughts. Of all the memories that I have, I have chosen to focus on the happy ones. If I was dying right now, I wish to remember a very happy memory rather than a sad memory.

One thing that I could never forget was celebrating thanksgiving with my family as we have always been complete whenever that special occasion would be celebrated.

My mother, who loves baking, would bake tons of her specialty cakes, pies and muffins that would be gone on the same night as we savored every delicacy that she took her time to make. It had always been my mother’s dream to open a pastry shop for her hobby and passion. Ever since she was young and hadn't bare any child, her passion was to bake cookies and muffins. I'd remember the stories that she had shared with me about baking. Everything that is related to baking, she'd be very enthusiastic about it. Mother even shared her journey as a pastry chef to me. It had always been her dream. She had opened her shop not too long ago and the fact that a lot of people had adored her business not because she was nice or kind to most people, but also because her pastries were undeniably delicious. It was a success and I had never seen my mother so happy in her life. It was something that I had liked seeing. My mother is smiling as she bakes her specialty cakes, pies, cookies, and muffins for us.

My dad, who was never the 'house-dad' type, because he was too absorbed with our family business, had helped set up the table or do anything he could to help cook food for dinner time. You'd hear nothing of a complaint coming from his mouth. He wouldn't even dare to make someone else do it for him like he would usually demand. It is an important event and that is why he was willing to do it just by himself. He had done a lot of chores for this particular event. Especially the turkey, he had marinated and prepared stuffing for the turkey, and cooked it for nearly three hours. He had been tasked to cook the turkey for years now, and every time that we had tasted it; it was always flavorful and tasty. My dad would always have a big bright smile on his face whenever he would see us enjoying the turkey since it has been his pride and honor during thanksgiving.

My grandmother, who was too weak to even help with all the work had managed to offer some light help along the way but we had insisted for her to just rest for the time being while waiting for dinner to be served. She didn't even need to move a single inch as we could handle everything just by ourselves. We wanted her to be comfortable without the need of moving an inch.

My grandfather, who loved recording all of the important and special days in his life, had managed to record every process and every corner of our mansion. He even interviewed everyone, asking what they were doing and what gifts they were anticipating for later. The smiles never had left his face. He really does love taking videos of special events in our life as he could re-watch it whenever he likes to. That very action had become a hobby for him. Granddad even has cute and adorable videos of me and Maxwell when we were toddlers. He pretty much adored and loved both of us.

My sister, and I were busy cooking other foods for later. Our maids have a day off to celebrate thanksgiving with their families too so we were the one who were doing all the work. 

All of us loved it though. It was a form of bonding and hanging out that we had liked as we got our minds off of problems and issues that had been beating us.

Living in this world for twenty-three years was never easy. There were a lot of ups and downs that I had to get through in order to be where I was supposed to be standing proudly. It has been very difficult. Especially for someone like me. Life was a series of challenges and lessons that would constantly better a person. My journey was not yet done and I still have a long way to go and I didn’t want my life to end for such a ridiculous reason.

I still wanted to live.

“360 joules! Clear!”

A low gasp had escaped my mouth as I felt a mute electricity flow through my entire body. My eyes, albeit felt heavy, opened wide and I was immediately blinded with bright light.

There was a continuous high pitched ringing nearby, a sound that I mostly hear whenever someone was about to die. The sound had blared right into my ears and after a few seconds it had been replaced with a more gentle and rhythmical beeping tone.

“We got her back!” A distorted man’s voice had welcomed my ears. My eyes couldn’t distinguish him as I was still blinded with bright light hovering over my face.

“Check her vitals,” Another voice was heard, faint for my ears but enough for me to hear.

I wanted to ask them about what had happened and where the hell I was right now. However I didn’t have the voice nor the power to do so. I felt mute and incapable of doing so. Moreover, I wanted to move and see who these people were hovering over me but I couldn’t even move a single inch. I tried moving my legs and arms but to no avail, I couldn't. No matter how hard I try to move my head, I am immobilized.  

I just couldn’t feel my body.

Albeit having blurry visions, I caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar face staring back at me, holding a tablet as she wrote something on it. She had flashed a reassuring smile at me. “You’re going to be okay, Ms. Quinn.” Her voice was hopeful, as if she was certain that I indeed would be alright even though I couldn’t even move my body.

How can I be okay if my body is not responding to me? I wanted to ask her. However, I couldn’t even open my mouth to form words let alone ask her my current situation.

Without much of a choice, she had placed a small mask over my nose and mouth. It only took me a few inhales, when my eyelids began to feel heavy the more I fluttered them open. Then suddenly my mind went blank.

“You have to be strong, Chandria.” a female voice?

Despite the fatigue engulfing my body, I had managed to scan around, looking for the owner of the voice but I found none. With much force, I tried to remain my eyes open but even if I had managed to do so, my vision instantly blurred.

Who are you? I asked in my head, communicating with her. Hoping that she could hear me.

“Just stay alive for me, Chandy. For now, sleep.”

And I was pulled into a deep slumber, succumbing into the darkness.