The Mansion

Chapter 4

                The blinding light invaded my eyes, forcing them to open. It was blurry at first but then my vision began to clear.

                I was back in my wonderfully decorated bedroom, lying comfortably on my cozy bed. I put my palm on my forehead and waited for my conscious to come back to me. I tried very hard to let my memories pour back but my mind just appeared blank. I remembered about my fight with dad after meeting his new wife, Amara, but a piece of puzzle was missing after that. The more I thought about it, the more my head ached. I decided to let the mystery slip away for a while.

I cocked my head to the other side to see my dad sleeping uncomfortably on a chair. His reading glasses were hanging loosely down his pallor face and a book lay open in his lap. His hair was messed up and he looked worn out and stressed. He seemed as if he had spent the whole night taking care of me. My mingled feelings of anger and disappointment vanished and a smile spread across my face. Maybe he still cared for his own daughter after all.

Lazily, I rolled to the opposite side of the bed and got out. I immediately lost balance and fell to the floor, waking up my father. I cursed and tried to stand up on my feeble legs.

“Genessa? Genessa?” he mumbled my name sleepily.

                After he had finally entered into reality, he hurried towards me and helped me to get back on the soft bed. I sat down, unwillingly, feeling so frail and useless. I wondered what happened to me the day before that I got into this state. I lifted my eyes to look at dad.

“Are you alright?” he asked, anxiously.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied even though my arm was throbbing with pain. “What happened to me, dad?”

He looked at me, clearly surprised.

“We don’t know. Amara found you lying unconscious near an open window,” he told me, trying to make his tone level.

“Oh, Amara found me?” I asked. I knew I should appreciate it but I could not help but suspect why she was the one to find me. “I absolutely have no idea what happened to me. It’s like I’m having amnesia,”

“Don’t push yourself too far, dear. In time you’ll remember,”

“I hope so,”

There was an awkward silence between us. Dad yawned and stretched his arms. Guiltiness struck to me like a dagger. I angered at myself for being such a senseless and ignorant child. I foolishly decided on his character too fast without knowing him too much. Maybe just maybe deep within his heart he still had some remaining feelings for my mom. My mind immediately thought about the wedding photos that I had seen in the basement. I remembered them: they were standing hand in hand, both smiling enthusiastically. My mother was wearing a stunning long white wedding dress with laces around her waist. Her blonde hair was tied back neatly with a ribbon. Her purple eyes glittered and she looked so elegant. On the other hand, my father was looking just as dashing as my mother. He was wearing a black suit but his black hair was in a mess. His blue eyes could kill you if you look at them too long because they were too bright. It was a pity how this happy couple broke up. I sympathized them both.

“Amara,”            

                My dad’s soft voice smacked me back into reality. My eyes followed where he was looking at. There stood she stood, her hair tied into a loose pony, wearing a blue jacket over the black nightgown. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and I grimaced at her. A strange aura filled the room.

“I think you should rest now since you have work in a few hours,” she said in her typical British accent. “You must be exhausted after taking care of Nessie,”