Once Before

3 - Morning Glory

The first thing my mind identified as I regained my consciousness was how unusually bright - and therefore terribly blinding - the sun was, shining on my face and casting a glare upon my  eyes. 

As I reached out towards the bedside table, desperately trying to find my phone, my hand came in contact with a cold cylindrical object - before it toppled over and shattered into a million pieces on the floor, and not without a shrilling sound that echoed through the room.

A bark followed immediately after the  crashing sound, coming from below my bed.

"Otto, what in the world did I break?" I croaked, taking in my surrounding.

It was then when I realized that I was not in my bedroom, I wasn't even in my own home. 

I had absolutely no idea where I was.

"Otto where are we?" I hissed, sitting up from what must be the world's best pillow, half expecting the corgi to suddenly have the ability to answer me. 

Though it was far too early to be jumping into conclusions and throwing myself into a spiral of panic, I was able to deduce that I wasn't in some abandoned warehouse where I would probably not have walked out of alive - quite the contrary, I was instead laying in a very nice, well-furnished room. 

Just as I was about to jump out of bed, the door burst open, revealing a frantic looking lady dressed in the most unusual costume - she had on a full skirt and an apron, and her hair was tied neatly into an immaculate bun. Her eyes were wide with panic as she scanned the room, eventually landing on mine. It was apparent that she had not expected me to wake up, because the look on her face was that of someone who'd seen a ghost.

"M'am, you're awake!" She exclaimed, "Oh dear, please forgive my intrusion. You see, I was just walking down the hall when this awful sound came out of your bedchamber, and I feared that something might've happened to you! You must be famished!"

I knew it was my turn to speak up, but all my courtesy and awareness of social niceties were not in attendance that morning, because all I could do was stare back at her in both confusion and fear. 

"You are," She concluded after I had failed to reply her - my mind was working hard trying to figure out who she was and where I am. "Let me get you something from the kitchen, just stay put m'am, I'll be back immediately."

Just as quickly as she entered the room, she disappeared behind the double set of tall, white doors, closing it gently.

The towering ceiling under which I laid beneath was subtle in color, though its carved shape was anything but. It depicted a grand floral bouquet, washed in white and pasted onto the ceiling to be thoroughly enjoyed by whoever had the privilege to rest on the king sized bed - which happened to be me. 

If it wasn't for the extremely confusing situation, I might've enjoyed staying here.

But alas, I do the first thing one would do when they wake up with a heavy head and groggy legs, inside a strange - though beautiful - room after being unconscious for what felt like days. I jumped out of bed, careful as to not step on the glass which I had accidentally smashed a moment ago, and immediately head towards the door.

Otto tailed me as I slowly opened it, revealing a brightly lit corridor.

As it turned out, the bedroom was only a glimpse of this place's grandeur, for the corridor seemed to be even more lavish, with its huge portrait paintings adoring the paneled walls, marble-topped tables decorated with bouquet of colorful, bright flowers in fine china vases, and intricate thick carpeting which seemed to roll endlessly from one end of the corridor to the other. 

As the corridor seemed to be deprived of people, I braced myself and made my way out, barefoot and dressed in a loose linen gown which certainly did not belong to me.

The sound of Otto panting became loud enough that it echoed through the long corridor, bouncing off its walls. I found myself silently scolding him for trying to sabotage my escape plan.

"Otto, be quiet you're going to get both of us caught!" I whispered furiously at the canine, although all he did was huff some more.

The corridor seemed to have no end, with its  gallery walls of priceless paintings to the right and panels of glass window and tall drapery to the left. There was no warmth in the space - it felt more like being in a museum than a place where someone lives, which I wouldn't have realized had I not woken up in a bedroom. 

It left me wondering how a place so formal could feel so tender at the very same time - almost as it it was familiar. 

The end of the corridor finally came into view, splitting down to the left and right. My mind pondered for a second whether I should take the left or right, before deciding on right. I didn't get to walk any further before a tall figure appeared right in front of me just as I rounded the corner, causing my immediate reaction of yelping and jumping back to avoid a collision.

My heart skipped a beat as a pair of pale blue eyes met mine. 

In the midst of all the confusion, all the panic and fear, my heart seemed to find an intimate familiarity towards the man that now stood in front of me. 

The man whom I've never seen before, who's dressed just as unusually as the lady that came bursting through the door bedroom before, and whose brown hair glows like a halo against the sunlight coming from the window behind him. 

Although this man is a stranger, I felt everything but unfamiliarity towards him. It was as if his presence has made a home in my heart - giving it a sense of relief at the sight of him - and I suddenly felt sure that he was that someone I've been longing for all these times.  

"Clementine," He whispered breathlessly, before taking a step forward to close the distance between us, wrapping his arms around my shoulders as if his life depended on it. 

His embrace was that of which I knew was made for me, especially for me. It engulfed me into a feeling I knew I've felt before, wherever and whenever it may be.