Summers' Purpose

Chapter 60

Lyssa delved deeply into her mind; this time completely willing to unravel what had been kept away from her for God knows how long. It felt like flipping through pages of a book, catching glimpses of who she was as she went through the pages several times. Her head was starting to hurt again and that's when she saw red creeping in at her peripherals.

"What are you doing?"

Lyssa immediately recognized the woman's voice and looked around for her.

"Do you remember? Do you see now, what they did to you?" The woman spoke again.

"How do you keep finding me? Who are you?" Lyssa replied as she frantically searched for the woman's whereabouts, only to be greeted by the now-familiar red fog.

"You will remember me soon enough. I'm trying my best to reach out to you, but you can make it easier for me. All you have to do is let me in. Come to me willingly, my love. I will never hurt you the same way. I promise."

Lyssa heard the desperation in the woman's words, but something she said was a clear warning to her. Let her in?

"Yes, baby. Let me in," the woman suddenly replied, as if she heard Lyssa's thoughts.

"No... I—I can't. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you can't?" The woman's voice became more agitated as she spoke. "It's me! I've been trying to get you back; don't you see it? Please, my love. Don't do this to me!"

"I'm sorry, I need to figure things out. It's so confusing, I—"

The red fog became heavier and started surrounding Lyssa, threatening to envelop her completely but was kept at bay by an invisible barrier of some sort. Lyssa didn't quite understand how that came to be but was silently thankful for it happening.

"Miláčik? What are you doing?" The woman's voice asked, clearly annoyed by now. "Are you pushing me away? Why are you doing this, don't you love me anymore? Let me in. Please."

Lyssa noticed how the woman's tone was sterner this time. She felt the pressure build in her head as the woman's voice continued to echo in the space, flipping between anger and pleading. Lyssa could feel a part of her yearning to reach out to the woman but she ultimately decided not to risk it.

Not now. Not yet. I'm so sorry, she thought before she struggled to push herself awake. She sat up in her bed, gasping for air as beads of sweat rolled down her skin. Lyssa felt unbelievably tired, feeling as if she was swimming against a current just to wake up. She looked around the room when she heard the light tapping of raindrops on the windows and focused on it to help herself calm down. She decided to get up and take a quick walk to collect her thoughts. She slipped on a hoodie and opened the room door slowly. Lyssa jumped at the sight of someone sitting by the wall at the side of her door. The person gasped, looking up at her in shock and Lyssa saw that it was Natasha.

"Y—Lyssa? What are you doing awake?" Natasha stood up quickly, brushing her pajama pants.

"Me? I was going to go for a walk. I couldn't sleep. What are you doing here, sitting on the floor?" Lyssa replied, still confused and stunned, not expecting Natasha there.

"A walk? In this weather?" Natasha asked suspiciously, an eyebrow raised.

Lyssa could sense some defensiveness from her, tilting her head in response as she wondered what was happening. "Yes. Not outside, just within the building. Maybe go to the kitchen and get a hot drink. You didn't answer my question."

Natasha cleared her throat, looking away quickly before she replied. "I guess I forgot you're here. And that you're actually sleeping in the room. That hasn't been the case for a long while, sorry."