Discovering Summerland

Chapter 2

Calafiore
June 06, 2196

Takot ang unang bumalot sa'kin paggising ko. Naalala ko agad ang nangyari n'ong nakaraan, at hindi ko maiwasan na muling ipikit ang aking mga mata. Mirror. Execution. Drown. I'm frozen in where I lie, my heart racing in fear.

Nas'an na ba ako? Kung totoo ngang dinala na nila ako sa borderlines... hindi ba dapat hindi na ako nakakahinga ngayon? Hinawakan ko naman ang dibdib ko, at napansin ang paghinga ko. I still have my physical body and I didn't burn to ashes like others.

Torn between finally waking up or sleeping forever, thinking that every earlier memory was just a dream— or rather, a nightmare.

My eyes jolted open the moment someone spoke. A gruff voice that seemed so unfamiliar, and I immediately sit straight up just to make a defensive stance.

“You're finally awake,” the man said. His hair was pitch-black and it reached his brows, I think. Now that his head is bowed down, I could not take a good look of his eyes.

“Who are you?” tanong ko, at hindi pinahalata ang kaba sa boses ko. D'on lang din ako napansin ang paligid. He was seated on a velvet chaise longue with a round glass side table on his side. Hindi ko alam ngunit unang beses ko rin lang makakita ng gan'to. Only those who are in the fallen governance can afford this majestic luxury. The room is wonderful, undoubtedly. The curtains were designed with embroidery, wall designs that are surely carved by the greatest artists of Fall— if I am in the Fall.

Halos napigilan ko ang hininga ko nang mapansin ang matinding liwanag mula sa likod ng kurtina— that were also velvety. My skin felt burning, but it wasn't. It was just an initial psychological reaction because of the brightness of the light.

“Where am I?” I asked, once again. Napasulyap ulit ako sa lalaki at napansin na ang kaniyang mata. It was brown— alluring because it looked like it had a gleam of fire or light.

He took a deep breath before standing up towards the curtain, pulling it open and allowing the light to enter the room freely. Is this the sun? One of the myths I've read in books, the blinding light that gives brightness to the land. The one who has never reached Fall.

“Bakit ka nagtatago sa liwanag?” tanong n'ya at d'on ko lang napansin na nakataas na pala ang kamay ko at nakapikit ang aking mata. Slowly, I put it down, but still with my eyes squinted, unable to fully adjust to the sunlight.

“Please,” I pleaded. “Close.”

He glanced at me over his broad shoulders, then he nodded and smirked a little before finally closing the curtains again. Nagpamulsa s'ya at tiningnan ako na tila ba alam niya kung ano ako.

I was sure that I am in the land of Summer, and that I was able to cross the borderlines. 'Yan lang ang naiisip kong paliwanag sa mga nangyayari sa'kin, at alam kong hindi panaginip na nalunod ako.

“You're from the land of Fall,” he stated so casually that it seemed like it didn't surprise him. “Ako ang nakakita sa'yo sa may dagat. It just so happens that you landed near our house.”

“Who are you? Why do you keep me here?”

His eyes sharply pierced mine and a joke curled on his tongue, which seemed like it wasn't a joke. “Some would thank me first.”

Why would I? Ni hindi ko pa nga alam ang balak n'ya sa'kin. Pa'no kung patayin din pala n'ya ako? Mahirap na magtiwala ngayon— especially when I trusted that damn knight.

“I am Harden Lowell of House Calafiore, the leading family of Stradon, one of the five regions of Summer. Call me Lowell.”

Confusion hit me right from the beginning of the sentence. Lumapit s'ya sa'kin at naglahad ng kamay. Tinitigan ko lang 'yon at hindi inabot 'yon. Nilabanan ko ang lamig ng kaniyang tingin 'pagkat 'di ko mawari ang emosyon n'ya.

“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it while you were sleeping. You've been asleep for a week, and no harm was done.”

“Then, why do you keep me here?” I asked again.

Sa wakasa ay binaba n'ya ang kamay n'ya at muling umupo sa chaise longue. He took a sip of the cup of tea by his side, and I shivered when the memory of potion bowls flashed in my mind.

“Hindi mo ba ipapakilala ang sarili mo?”

“You already know that I am from the Fall,” I said. “What else would you like to know? I am not fond of speaking.”

“Neither am I. But your name, perhaps. I would like to know your name,” he said with an accent that I am unfamiliar of. I sense the sincerity in his words and actions, but there's an ulterior motive hidden beneath. I'm sure.

Tumikhim ako bago muling nagsalita. “Georgia. That is all you need to know.”

He nodded and averted his gaze, then he muttered my name very carefully. “Georgia... you would have to forget that name from now on.”

Napataas agad ang kilay ko. His fingers tapped the table as if it was a habit, then he looked at a particular side of the room. With curiosity, my gaze followed his and that was when I saw a painting or portrait of a young lady, probably as young as we are. She had wavy black hair and brown eyes like Harden's— one that gleamed with fire. Her skin, pale as mine, but her features were sharper and more cunning. She looked like a sly fox.

“She is Heidi Laquisha Calafiore, my late sister.”

Late? Does it mean... she's dead?

“You are in her room and my parents let you take her place— not just this place, but her place and position in this house and the royal Kingdom of Fall.”

My head snapped towards him, takang-taka pa rin sa kanyang mga sinasambit ngunit napansin ko na rin ang hinagpis sa kaniyang mga mata. “What do you mean?”

“I meant what I said. Besides, you wouldn't be able to survive in Summer with your identity as Georgia, someone from Fall. They would suspect you and kill you the instant they knew it.”

I cannot seem to form the words that I wanted to tell him. My head is full of doubts and uncertainty, and I couldn't comprehend everything yet.

“The House of Calafiore would lose its position in the Kingdom once they knew that my sister died because she sought darkness— it was a rebellious act and is against the law of Summer. Her physical form faded day by day, and the next thing I knew, she vanished the day before you came.”

“Ngunit... hindi ba't may nakakakilala sa mukha ng kapatid mo? I do not possess the same looks as she has.”

Umiling naman s'ya at muling sinagot ang tanong ko. “She was homeschooled and didn't attend any gatherings. Nanatili lamang siya rito sa bahay, at kung lumalabas man siya'y hindi niya pinapakilala ang sarili niya bilang Lady Heidi. Tsaka pa nakatakdang lumabas pagsapit ng pasukan. She would become eighteen, and she would make a debut to the society.”

“Saglit lang, bakit naman hindi siya maaaring magpakilala?”

He cleared his throat and shut his eyes before answering. “She is bethroted to the Crown Prince, and it is a must that the lady must stay pure and unknown until the day of her eighteenth birthday.”

“Not even the crown prince, Lucifuge Rofocale, knows her face.”

Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla akong nagkar'on ng kakaibang pakiramdam nang marinig ko ang pangalang 'yon. The name Lucifuge Rofocale suddenly felt nostalgic— but it is impossible since I am from the land of Fall, while he, in the land of Summer.

“It's a win-win situation for the both of us, Georgia. 'Yon nga lang kailangan mo talagang makisama,” Lowell added.

“Now, are you willing to survive and be Heidi Laquisha Calafiore?”

Discovering Summerland
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

Characters added:
Harden Lowell Calafiore by MisterUseGeek

Thank you for reading!