I stretch languidly, my arms reaching up to cover my yawn. My whole body tingles, but in a good way. Feeling completely at ease, I open my eyes to see a perfectly white ceiling adorned with a huge chandelier. Huh? Where am I?
I sharply sit upright. The room I'm in is huge and very feminine. The whole décor is pink and white. Every single piece of furniture looks expensive. 'Whose room am I in?' I wonder. I'm still confused when a sharp shrill pierces my head. I yell at the pain.
Feng Corporation.
Liang Feng.
Shen Rui.
Bo Qiang.
I…died.
I walk up to the full mirror at the side of the room and freeze when I look at my reflection. This isn't me. Xiao Yue had tiny eyes that seemed to be permanently squinted. Whoever this was had big, beautiful eyes. Not only that, they had gorgeous skin and such beautiful hair, not to mention the lips, so full and…
Three consecutive knocks snapped me out of my thoughts. Who could that be? What should I do? I stood stiffly, not sure whether to move or not.
"Darling?" the person from the other side called out. The person had such nice voice. Crisp and clear, perhaps melodic even. "Mei Ling?" the voice called out again.
Mei Ling. That's the name of the person, I realize.
"Darling, is everything okay? I heard you scream. Can I come in?" The person seems genuinely worried and I don't want to cause any trouble so I say, "Come in".
I'm stunned by my tiny, soft voice for a moment then the door opens. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen steps inside, a warm but slightly worried smile on her face. "Are you okay, darling?" she asks me. "I was on my way here and I heard you scream. Are you fine? Nightmares?" she continues.
Feeling uncomfortable I simply nod my head. She sighs sadly, "I've told you several times that you should visit the head physician or your brother, perhaps? They might be able to prescribe something for you," she says.
I nod once more. "You're worrying me, darling," she continues. I don't respond. She sighs, seeing I haven't said a word. "Alright then, everyone is downstairs, I wasn't sure whether you'd be up for family breakfast?" I shook my head quickly, she sighed at that again.
"Fine then, I won't pressure you. But you need to be more open with family," she continued. Out of nowhere, she pulled me in for a tight hug. I was shocked stiff. "Don't worry your dear mother all the time, okay?" she said, then turned and left.
I remained in that position for close to four minutes. Mother? Family? I have a family? I walked back to the mirror and stared at the girl that looked back at me. I began to recall images. Memories. Not like mine, not painful and loud but calm yet detailed memories.
Her name is Mei Ling. She's thirteen years old. The youngest child and only daughter of the emperor of the Ling Empire, Tian Ling and the Empress, Li Ling. She was raised delicately because of her status. She'd normally been a happy and carefree child but a kidnapping incident made her quiet, reserved and fearful. Her family missed who she was before but she'd only gotten worse with time.
I sighed, having received this newfound knowledge, I know what to do. This is what I've always wanted. A life with a family, people that love me. I'll be Mei Ling. A happy, carefree version that everyone loves. With that decision made, I sat and began to remember Mei Ling's life. No, my life.
I was sitting by my desk side, jotting in a notepad I found when I heard a knock on the door. I was startled for a bit but then I stood and answered the door. It was one of Mei Ling's…I mean my brothers, Zhen Ling.
Zhen Ling is the third child of the Emperor. His mother, Bai Xi, passed away four years ago due to a mysterious illness. It was so foreign that our great physician could not even diagnose her. It was because of his mom's death that Zhen Ling eventually worked hard to become the best medical practitioner in the whole empire.
People come from far and near to meet him but he's always busy because his ultimate goal is not healing the sick but to find a cure for the illness that claimed his mother.
"Sister!" he greeted with a warm smile. Despite my uncomfort, I smiled brightly as well. This seemed to throw Zhen Ling off. He looked at me weirdly for a minute then slowly asked, "The Empress said you weren't feeling well. Something about your nightmares?" Everyone acted like the kidnapping never happened to not hurt Mei Ling.
I smiled brightly, "Oh…that? I'm fine" I assured him. He looked confused as to why I was so happy. He hadn't seen me happy in years. I didn't want things to be like this though. Akward. So, I decided to try to get to know my brother. "I am hungry though," I said. "Hungry?" he repeated like he couldn't quite understand me. I nodded with another smile.
"Are you okay?" he asked me. I almost laughed. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" I replied. Then I took the initiative to come out and grab his hand. Zhen Ling seemed speechless. I smiled again, as if this was all perfectly normal. "Let's go find something to eat," I said.
Thirty minutes later, we were seated on the palace dining. The maids had prepared delicious meals and I ate heartedly as Zhen Ling animatedly narrated an incident at the hospital to me. He's a bit reserved but when you let him warm up to you-which I did-we easily got along.
"And then the old man says he and his wife have been trying to no avail for a baby but I don't know what to say to explain that they can't have a baby anymore," Zhen Ling says with a loud sigh. I'm laughing so hard that I might actually choke on my soup. Zhen Ling seems to realize it too because he stops talking and switches to big brother mode.
"Alright, alright, finish your food first," he says. I nod calmly and continue eating but I can feel his gaze on me the entire time. "I've missed this, Mei Mei," he whispers, still staring at me. "So have I, Zee," I reply sadly. I stand and cross over to him, then pull him in for a hug. He then grabs me so tightly but not tight enough that I can't breathe. "You won't change again, right?" he asks quietly. I hug him tighter, "Never again, Zee".