Ambrosial

Prologue

If only I had lived in the past. Things were much simpler then.

If only...

Don't get me wrong, I loved my life. I had amazing parents and an older brother that loves, cherishes and protects me. A family that goes out of their way to ensure the best for you. My father is a famous engineer, while my mother is a lawyer. I had a wonderful life; a life that anyone would wish for. It's just that...

I didn't know how long I could last.

The life in university was getting increasingly stressful. Almost unbearable. It could even be described as hectic. When I enrolled in Oxford, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, it did occur to me that my life wouldn't be easy. But...I hadn't expected it to be that hard. This is only my first year, and I'm already struggling to make ends meet.

If only I had lived in the ancient times...

These were my last thoughts as I drifted into sleep, into the void of darkness that awaited me, welcoming me in open arms.

Previously...

Ugh, what should I do? I thought desperately, as I pored through the instructions for the project that I had to turn in the day after tomorrow. It didn't help that I was given a topic that I had absolutely no clue about. I groaned, for the umpteenth time in the short span of 5 minutes.

"You've been staring at the paper for 30 minutes straight. Not very productive, huh?" I warily glance to the side to see my brother, Francis, leaning on the doorframe of my room, a smirk pulling at his face. Seeing my tired expression, he chuckled before sauntering over to my table.

"Hmm, ancient Chinese..." Peering over my shoulder at what I was doing, he tapped his chin, deep in thought. I could clearly see the gears turning in his head.

He contemplated for a while before opening his mouth. "Why don't you search the internet? Surely there are topics you could write about," he suggests, glancing at me.

"I did," I mutter, slightly irritated, " but that didn't help. How am I supposed to know how life was like during those times? Besides, this is Chinese history, if you hadn't noticed."

Francis looked stumped for a moment before composing himself and crossed his hands over his chest. "Why did you even take Chinese Literature? You should've taken English Literature, like I did." Ugh there he goes again.

"Come on, it's not like it's bad or anything. It's just that I don't have a clue on how to write a whole essay on life during ancient times!" I grumbled, getting up from my seat and plopping down onto my bed. He followed me, sitting down.

"Aw, don't be like that. Maybe we can watch a movie? You know, those C-Dramas that are so popular? Maybe you could learn something from there," he proposed hopefully.

"No-" I began, but I was interrupted by an idea. Wait...Maybe it would work. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, would it? "Fine then, we'll go with your plan. But after that, you'll have to help me," I finally say.

"Then it's a deal," Francis agreed, flashing me a grin.

A few hours later...

To be honest, the drama show that we watched, 'My Journey to You' was great. We were only 2 episodes into it when I started falling in love with the whole show. It awakened a desire in me that I had never felt before. A desire to live in those times. A desire to experience what ancient people had experienced.

It left me pondering over more questions than I had before I started the show. What would it have been like if I had lived during those times?

Oh, how I wish I could be able to live there, to experience everything through different lens, I thought before my eyes started drooping.

I wasn't aware, but these were the thoughts that I would come to regret.