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Chapter 15

Khaiser opens his eyes slowly. One by one, his sense slowly wake up after he regains consciousness. He cannot feel anything touching his back, even though he is certain that he is lying down at the moment. Other people would instantly panic if they were in the situation, but not him. In fact, he does not feel anything at all. Both his mind and heart are completely empty and quiet. He feels like he is floating in an unknown empty space. A blinding white light is shining in front of him. It seems tiny at first, but gradually increases in size after a while. It is as if he is moving closer toward it with each passing second. He just stays still without showing any resistance as the light envelops and swallows him whole.

"Khaiser? Wake up, dear. It's morning." Nadya's soft voice together with gentle knocks on his bedroom door hit his eardrums in unison. Khaiser opens his eyes slowly for the second time to find himself lying on his bed, in his bedroom. No strange scenery this time. He wipes his face with the blanket before tossing it to the side, exposing himself. He changes his posture from lying down to sitting at the edge of his bed. His eyes are shut as his mind starts warming up, recalling the plan for today.

Feeling that his body is fully awake, Khaiser gets on his feet and approaches the window. He stretches his body a little as he walks. His hands reach for the curtain and slide it to the side, exposing the clear glass window and the outside world. The sunlight is barely present at the moment, making it still pretty dark outside but the weather is fine. Aside from that, nothing particularly interesting catches his attention. He leaves his room and steps to the bathroom to wash his face before continuing with his day.

***

"So, at what time do you plan to go to the town?" Lukas brings a piece of pancake that has been cut earlier into his mouth as he focuses on his son. Khaiser looks up at his father before moving his sight to his sisters. He stays silent for a moment, giving his sisters a space just in case they want to answer the question. He is fine with whatever time they decide.

"Uh, 9 o'clock?" An uncertain answer comes out of Marianne's mouth. The twin sisters look at each other as if they are discussing something, but no words come out of their mouths. The fact that they can communicate just fine by using telepathy shows how close they are as sisters, despite the amount of time they spent fighting and arguing with each other. Lukas nods a few times without saying anything before getting back to his breakfast.

"How about you? When will you go to visit your friend?" Julianne's turn to ask.

"Around the same time as yours." Nadya replies. She gazes at her husband but he is too fixated on his meal. He just nods his head, agrees with her answer.

"How are you going to go there?" The way Marianne asks shows that she is actually concerned about that matter. Khaiser also has been wondering about the same thing for quite a while now.

"Oh, don't worry about us. Our friend will pick us up here." Nadya smiles at her daughter. Marianne returns the smile, knowing that her concern has been answered before getting back to her meal.

***

Marianne straightens her outfit in front of the mirror. Her movement is swift, but she is still being careful. Her hair and face are the next to gain her attention after she is satisfied with her outfit. She brings her face closer to the mirror to get a better focus before putting on some light makeup and tidying her hair a little.

The sound of the bedroom door being opened breaks Marianne's focus on her image in the mirror. She turns to the door. The sight of her sister stepping into the room while wiping her hair and singing softly fills her eyes. Julianne stops singing almost immediately when her eyes meet with her sister's eyes. A wide grin is carved on her face.