It was seconds after midnight. Victoria’s glimpse of reality started to wane, it felt like she could vomit at any given moment. She was normally already fast asleep at this time in the night. The pain though was too unbearable to be bottled up.

Her hands softly crept their way to the red button. The button was almost gleaming in all its glory, waiting to be pushed. The girl managed to give a slight tap before collapsing on the ground.

Skull hitting the porcelain floor – the sound of it echoed the whole manor. It was now midnight. Victoria laid on the floor, breathless. She shut her eyes in vanquish, fighting the agonizing pain with ambition. An ambition that the pain would soon pass.

And it passed. Like butterflies in winter, it all came crashing down. The pain had subsided, only a trail of nothingness remained. The experience felt unnerving but relaxing at the same time. That was how the life of the only daughter of the prestigious Sy family came to an end.

“She’s dead!” Shout followed after shout. It shouldn’t have come off as a surprise to the maids. Plagued with a rare chronic disease that left all doctors in the nation confused, Victoria Sy was left with few years to live. However, the maids couldn’t help but wonder why such a young soul could leave the world too early.

Alexander Sy, her dearest mother, stood in uncertainty. “Check her pulse, quickly!” His wife, Emilia clutched into his shoulder, tearfully watching the turn of events. One maid did as instructed. The answer was as everyone knew. The girl, at the age of 15, had died.

Maybe it was the beauty of humans. Some live long, some die far too early.

In this case, her parents didn’t accept her death just yet. Of course not, she wouldn’t die and wither like everybody else. They had a plan. Alexander’s determined expression reaffirmed that fact.

"Get the stretcher and the car ready. We’ll be going to the doctor!”

As the maids came running about, one destination remained on his mind – the Chamberlain’s cryogenics institute.

"How was the surgery?” An unfamiliar voice. That was the first thing she’d heard. Her ears subconsciously perk up. What was happening?

Victoria remembers the torment, the hysteria, and the screaming. Death was knocking on her door, yet again. She’d been brought to the hospital, she guessed.

"It went perfect, I dare say. She won’t be remembering that event anytime soon.” Her eyes were almost open at this. This reminded her too much of the non-consensual surgical interventions she’s heard from a nurse.

They were scheming something evil – that was absolute. Have they injected something on her? Cracked a few pegs and she’s good as dead now? Those thoughts were all too much, all too powerful. It made her brain do a few jumping jacks, a twist and turn, and everything went poof.

Amidst the panic, there was new-found confidence in Victoria. Cowardice was a no-go in this situation, she’ll have to face these bygones head-on. When she opens her eyes though, there was no one to see. Only the white ceiling of her hospital room.

She swore that she heard two distinct voices just now. Where were they? It would not be physically possible to hide in such a short amount of time. No magic trick can do this.

As if on cue, the door opened revealing a nurse in a sophisticated fashion. The only indication of her profession printed on her white uniform in black bold letters. “Good morning miss, how are you feeling?”

Victoria tenses up. This was unlike any of her previous hospital experiences. “Pretty okay. Where are my parents? When can I see them?” She asks, thinking back to what had happened. They were surely worried sick by now.

“Any signs of dizziness or headaches?” The woman ignored her question. “You’ve been injected with antibiotics after your procedure, there may have been side effects like hallucinations.”

That struck an idea in her. Were the two voices hallucinations? Could they have been just a side effect from the antibiotics? “Hallelujah, I’ve gone bonkers,” Victoria whispers to herself.

“Did you say something, miss?” The nurse asks, almost like a sheriff to a suspect.

She sighs, reciting her questions like a mantra, “Where are my parents? What procedure did they do to me?” An ugly silence followed, her nurse unwilling to answer even one question.

Victoria frowns. Some confidential matters were occurring behind the scenes, one that she probably wasn’t allowed to know. Unfortunately for them, she doesn’t simply settle with unknowns.

“Lay off the poor girl Miss Lupton, she’s gone through so much,” A monotone voice appears. Victoria turns to look at the voice’s direction – a bearded man clad in a white lab coat. A doctor, she assumed.

The two start to speak in hushed voices, making sure to exclude her. It was a few minutes that he finally started to introduce himself. “I’m Canrad Moore, a scientist in Chamberlain’s cryogenics institute.”

Victoria fiddles with her hair, carefully picking her words. “Mr. Moore, do you mind explaining what happened?”

“Not,” Mr. Moore replies. “First and foremost, do you remember your death?” The girl flinched at this, confused and terrified.

She answers, “I remember almost dying, but not dying!” This was impossible, everything of her said that. She was still alive and well!

“You died in 2019, that is an undeniable fact,” says Mr. Moore, his expression unmoving – the perfect picture of a callous conman.

“You make it sound like I died long ago,” Victoria mutters, one of her eyebrows raised to emphasize her scrutiny.

Mr. Moore sighs, “Yes, it was a long time ago. 50 years to be exact.” If Victoria could see herself right now, it would behold an expression akin to a dying fish. She breathes in and out. This man must be a comedian, a very convincing comedian.

“I expect you’ve heard about cryonics,” The man pauses to look at her. “Freezing a person’s body after death to revive them in the near future. That was a hopeless feat 50 years ago.”

His expression was somber, Victoria notes. It was as if he was another galaxy right now, his body only a ghost of a shell talking to them. She started to believe his words.

“When you died, your parents brought you to Chamberlain’s cryogenics institute. You were frozen and kept until half a decade.” Mr. Moore continues, “Last week, September 18, 2069, you became the first person to be revived from the dead. You were announced alive, but in a coma.”

Victoria could only blink at this. Her comma would explain the grogginess she felt waking up. “I was the nurse assigned to you,” Miss Lupton starts. “You’ve been in a coma for a week, it’s a relief that you’ve finally woken up.”

“Me being in a comma would not account for surgery, wouldn’t it?” The voices still ring in her head – clawing at her consciousness.

“Of course not, that procedure was merely a distraction,” answers Miss Lupton.

“So no antibiotics?” Her question was answered with a nod. She frowns at this. Those voices couldn’t have been real. Either she was going crazy or it was the antibiotics’ fault. It went unquestioned that she was completely sane.

“Why…” She trails off. “Why was I not immediately informed of my situation after waking up?”

Mr. Moore answers, “The Chamberlain’s cryogenics institute instructed the hospital staff to hide the truth in fear you will lash out.” Victoria sighs at this, the world hasn’t changed ways even half a decade later.

“Fortunately, I managed to convince the higher-ups for me to speak to you,” The man shrugs. It strangely reminded Victoria of her dad – he was always visibly unchanged by everything.

Then it hit her. Are her parents even still alive? “How are my parents?” She hastily asks, panic painted on her face.

The two were silenced at this. Victoria was in despair at their reaction. They were dead, that was it.

“Your father… He killed himself 14 years ago. Your mother is still alive, however, although in a coma-“

“NO!” Victoria screams. The idea of it… It made her burst into tears. There was no way this was happening! She denies the thought – that his suicide was the result of her death. All alone was she in this world, and it was her fault.

A calming hand lays on her back, it was Mr. Moore’s. “I know this is a difficult thing for you to accept, but your father wouldn’t be happy seeing you cry.”

“SHUT UP!” She breathes in and out, “You don’t know what my father would’ve wanted!”

“But…”

Victoria glares daggers at him. A poor excuse of comfort his words were. She just wanted to cry, like the normal teenager she was. “Just leave me alone, no questions asked.”

“You have visitors miss,” Miss Lupton butts in.

“Just tell them to come at another time,” Victoria sighs. “Can I, a human being, catch a break for once?”

“It’s your brother and his wife.” Her face scrunches up in confusion. Victoria had no brother, she was the only child in their family!

Mr. Moore notices the change in her expression. “Your parents adopted a child shortly after your death,” explains him.

Victoria thinks hard about this. Should she let them in or not? Honestly, crying would be the preferable option. Finding out new things as early as possible would be the logical thing to do though. She couldn’t achieve anything by staying in bed all day.

“Fine, let them in,” She concedes defeat.

Mr. Moore smiles at this as Miss Lupton takes out her phone from her pocket. “Aren’t phones not allowed during work hours?” Victoria asks cautiously.

“I’m just updating your room information, visits from relatives are now allowed.” She peers at her phone. It viewed her patient profile, labeling her as patient W-0189.

There was a knock on the door. Miss Lupton puts back her phone, “It’s the Sy family.”

And the Sy family it was, the couple was already on the door. They looked like they came straight out of a dystopian film, to say the least. It made her concentrate more on their peculiar clothes than their faces.

“I’m your brother, Sebastian Sy, nice to meet you,” Her brother smiles at her. Victoria turns her focus to his face, a forced smile on her face. This was her adoptive brother she was talking to. Hostility would be improper.

“This is my wife, Evelyn Sy.” He turns to look at the gorgeous woman beside him. To say that he was lucky was an understatement.

“It’s uh… Nice to meet you too,” says Victoria. This meeting felt awkward – in fact too awkward that she’d like to disappear from the face of Earth anytime now. This man, although her brother by law, was a complete stranger to her.

Sebastian inquires, “How are things faring? I heard you just woke up.”

“It’s been fine,” She answers. A pause followed after that, both sides not knowing what to say to each other.

“I see… We’re looking forward to your discharge, I’ll be serving as your legal guardian.” He says the last sentence with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Victoria chuckles nervously, “Thank you, I’m looking forward to it too.”

“Even if we’re not really blood-related and all, I hope for us to get along with each other,” grins Sebastian. The girl merely repeated the same gesture, too tired to think of what to reply.

“I’m sure you’ll settle fine with our children, they’re a cheerful bunch.”

Mr. Moore notices her discomfort. “Miss Sy is feeling overwhelmed right now, I hope you’ll understand,” He smiles politely. Victoria stares at him – a man strangely too vigilant for her taste.

Evelyn seemed to agree, “I think we should leave her alone for the meantime dear, she’s still processing everything.”

It was the first time she’d heard the woman talked, and it made her feel strange. Victoria swore her voice seemed familiar, much like the first voice she’d heard waking up.