CHAPTER 2 - Denial

I stayed up the next day.

And the next day and the next.

I don’t really know what to do really. It’s like I’m some kind of alien into this weird place. Good thing Luna is very understanding even though she’s excited to show me around and get to know more about the Wonder Place. But it’s just that I don’t feel like I want to explore yet into Wonder Place. I want to stay in some place where everything is normal and mine but into this big house that Luna gave to me – I felt like it wasn’t mine to begin with.

But at least I can cry and trash everything into this house. One of the perks here was that, once you trash everything – it’ll come back the next day brand new as ever. Great. That is why on my 3rd day here, I didn’t crashed the vase through the wall or flipped the whole table and smashed the tv screen.

Instead, I went to my modern style kitchen and I felt another feeling of loneliness inside of me. How ironic is that even here – I'm still lonely.

I looked around and it felt weird to be in a kitchen alone. I yearned for the sound of the footsteps of my dog, Aussie, the loudness of my sister, Caryll when she sings Taylor Swift songs especially that Lover Album of hers, the sound of the television in the living room as Dad watches the football and my mom who enjoy gardening in the backyard.

But now, it was deafening silence.

I opened my fridge to drink some water – all the crying from last night makes my throat dry. Imagine crying non-stop the whole day, I thought it was impossible.

As I was about to drink my water, a sudden force of scent plunge into my nose like a mixture of roses and frangipani. I dropped the glass of water and it shattered on the ground. I coughed as I crawl away from the broken glass and get the iPad that Luna gave to me last night but my bedroom was far away.

What’s happening to me? Am I dreaming?

Then I was falling. Falling through something dark and something cold. I tried to grab into something but it was all pitch black.

LUNA!

HELLO?!

ANYONE?!

While I was falling, I feel something buried in my chest and I felt like a jolt of pain straight into my heart and all of a sudden, I’m having trouble breathing.

And then I fell.

I opened my eyes and I’m in a wooden box.

Where am I?

“HELP!” I shouted, knocking on the front. I tried to look for some door or something but it seemed like it was locked on the outside.

“LET ME OUT!”

I clutched my head as my head began to spin. Echoes of murmurs, laughter and cries then the bawling of sadness was louder outside.

Tiny bits of falling particles fell and I heard something squeaking and then the box that I was in rattled and it was like I was in a coffin and they were putting me into my resting place.

“Now the family of Cecilia Andrews, please come forward” I heard the man said from the outside.

Mom? Dad? Caryll?

“Oh Cecilia…” I heard Mom’s voice.

“Mom? Mommy?! I’m here!” I shouted in the dark.

I kept on banging and pushing and do whatever it can for them to hear me but it was like I am nothing but a dead body to them. I shouted and kept on pushing the front wood but there’s no use.

Ashes to ashes…

“Daddy! I’m here! I’m here! Don’t let me go yet!”

Dust to dust…

“Caryll! Caryll! I’m still here!”

Then they all dropped the soil.

No! No! No!

“PLEASE STOP! LET ME OUT! I’M HERE! I’M HERE! HEY!” I shouted in the top of my lungs but they still continue.

I heard my mom crying and I could picture them above me as they looked down into my coffin. Mom clinging to Dad and my sister, Caryl crying silently beside them with red roses on their hands.

“We’ll see you soon…” I heard familiar voice from the outside.

John ?

And there, I cried while I begged them to notice me and hear me but I am just a dead body to them.

Banging and scratching my way out.

Please, help me.

I don’t want to die yet. I'm here… I'm here...

“In peace you’ll rest,” my dad whispered.

NO! NOT YET.

Ashes to ashes…

WAIT! LET ME OUT!

Dust to dust…

They were lowering me down and they starting to covered me in soil.

“I can’t breathe. Help. I can’t –“

Then everything went blank.

A sudden jolt of heat forced my eyes open and I blinked hard as my pupils dilate and then contract. And soon it my eyes adjusted and I was lying down in the circle roundabout. For a moment I felt myself tired from the shouting I did earlier but just like a second, it was gone.

“She’s waking up! Get a room, people! We need space please!” a concern voice of a man said.

Blurred images of people swam around me and I saw some of the men in their black uniform pushing other people back for some space.

I tried to get up but pair of arms stopped me.

“Whoa, stay down there.” he said calmly. His accent sounded like British.

I looked up and pair of brown eyes met mine and it only speaks one emotion with those eyes right now and it was fear.

His hand was in the back of my head – protecting me from the rocks and pebbles while his other hand raised up as he instructed the other people to make a room. There I realized that I was lying down in the pile of rocks and pebbles all around me while it seemed like he was carrying me into his arms.

He looked the same age as me but I couldn’t tell if my judgement is right due to his soothing matured voice and how he handles the crowd. He was wearing full clothing white tux that looks like he runaway from his own wedding and his hair was black clean cut. He got this soothing voice that makes everyone to calm down. I noticed that this man has a perfect chiseled jaw and those eyes – those chocolate brown eyes.

All of a sudden, I hugged the stranger so tightly that my soul depended on it.

“Oh my God,” I muttered, my voice was shaking in fear.

“Hey lady, are you hurt?” he asked as he brushes my hair out of my face. I noticed that his hand was warm. “Can you stand, yeah?”

“It was awful. It was awful…” I whispered, trying to cry but as usual, there’s no tears came out of my eyes.

“Okay, breathe…” he whispered calmly as combed my hair with his fingers. “Breathe…” Surprisingly, it calms me down.

From there, it was like we were the only one there and strangely, I don’t want to move at all. It seems like I was a magnet to his magnetic field and those eyes…There is something about his eyes and his face like I’ve seen him somewhere before, like I’ve known him for a very long time. Then I looked down to his lips and wonder instantly how his lips move if there is a chance that he could kiss me. Will his hands touch my face first or will it go straight to the curves of my body? Is he a nice and gentle man same as his voice?

He looked at me with the same wonder on his eyes and slowly, his thumb brushes lightly on the bottom of my lip. I was about to say something when one of the men by our left shouted, “How is that possible?” repeatedly and from there, other people started to ask bunch of questions about how I did it and where did I go. Other speculated to check if I am Maximillian Jones. Others disagree on that part.

The man broke away from my stare and talk the people who were crowding us.

“Please give us space first, mate” he begged the crowds.

I shook my head.

What the hell is happening? Seriously. I have a boyfriend.

I looked down and it occurred to me that we were lying down in the pile of rocks and broken tiles of non-other than the roundabouts structure of Wonder Place. How was that possible?

“What happened?” my voice cracked. I cleared my throat and looked around. All of the eyes were on me. I felt myself blush as I looked down and hide my face in my hair – like that would help me in this situation.

“You fell,” the guy said as he looked down at me with wonder in his eyes. His eyes were scorching chocolate brown eyes. I was mesmerized.

“What?”

He all of a sudden shook his head, “I’m sorry. I was about to cross the road when all of a sudden you appeared from above and fell. I tried to catch you but it was so fast.”

He looked up and so did I and the clouds that was ocean blue became like a vortex of grey clouds.

“How’s that possible? I was in my kitchen earlier and then I don’t know…” I muttered as I tried to get up.

He was about to say something when all of a sudden, I heard the voice of Luna.

“Out of my way! I’m her helper!” she said before entering the circle. “Cecilia! What happened?” she asked as she run my side. “Are you okay?”

I nodded as they both helped me to stand. I brushed the pebbles out of my shirt and pants and cling to Luna as she checked if I got hurt even though I’m fine.

“Stay put there. The guards of Wonder Place are on their way to escort you,” says one of the man who was wearing a black coat. I assumed he is one of the Guards here on Wonder Place.

“Oh no,” I heard Luna muttered in dismay.

“Escort us where?” I asked the man in the uniform.

“They will escort you to the Interrogation room.” He walked in our direction and pointed the man on my left, “You –“he pointed out to the guy who has brown eyes. “Come with me,”

“Whoa there mate, where are you taking me?” he asked. He looked down at me, concerned filled his eyes. I couldn’t help myself from being worried about the man with chocolate brown eyes.

“Your helper is looking for you. He asked me to come and get you” a man in the black coat said in a firm voice.

He raised both of his hands. “Okay, okay but -“

“There is no time. Come on,” The man in the black uniform informed him.

He walked away with the guy in the uniform and after a moment, murmurs started to filled the whole street as the group of men in black came into the scene. Next thing I knew, we were escorted by these men to this huge Victorian castle beside the train station.

The castle looked like one of the castles that I’ve seen in Europe – the only difference was that it was painted silver and gold around it and the huge gate in front of it were in form of glass. I admired the whole structure as we slowly walked there with 4 black coat mean cornered us like we were some kind of criminals.

All of a sudden, the glass gate opened widely and as I looked back, all of the people of the community looked back at us as we entered the castle. Their faces all filled with curiosity.

I guess I don’t need to participate in the activity here because obviously they already know me.

“What is this place?” I asked Luna who nervously clinging into my side.

“This is the Acidus Prodigium. This is an enchanted place where the guardians stays and a place to take a soul for questions or interrogations and other things.”

A chill went down to my body as we enter the place. I didn’t have a chance to view the whole castle as we enter due to the black coated men walked very fast but I noticed the golden walls and the high up ceiling. Other black coated men were placed on top of either side of the front castle and others too in some part of the place especially in the towers by each side.

The whole place was astonishing. We entered the main door of the castle and they lead us to the great room where it was so wide and so clean. From there, there were two separate stairs that lead to the second floor and there was a huge red carpet all around the whole castle.

For the first time ever, I’ll be walking in the red carpet and part of me wishes that I’ll be walking like a celebrity not someone who is dead and about to intterogated by who knows what.

The black coated men stopped from walking and turned to us.

“Luna Will, come with me.”

“Cecilia Andrews, follow us,”

I looked back at Luna, scared as they pulled me away from Luna’s grip. The black coated man who was dragging me put something in the back of my neck before leaving me in the foot of the stairs.

“What did you put in?” I asked as I tapped the back of my neck but I can only feel my soft skin. I swear I felt the needle inserted into me.

“First door to your right, there’s a room there. Once you enter inside, they can automatically hear your thoughts,” said the other black coated man in a monotone voice. “He is waiting for you. Go,”

I sighed as I walked up the stairs. Seriously this castle could beat up the Windsor Palace. I was about to turned to my right to go the room, from there, a long hallway with golden doors waiting for me. One of the doors were glowing so I think that was my door so I went inside.

“Welcome Cecilia Andrews.” A voice greeted me as I enter the room full of grass.

I looked around but all I could see is myself with all the mirrors of myself looking confused and scared. I noticed that there was a one plain table in the middle.

“Please take a seat,”

I walked to the middle and sat on the chair.

“Kindly relax and close your eyes. Your interrogation will begin in five…four…three…”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath trying to relax my nerves.

“One…”

As soon as the voice said one, I immediately felt a bit of pain in the back of my neck. I immediately opened my eyes and all of a sudden the glass turned into some kind of fields of different memories of mine from the day that I was born, way back in grade school to college and to the day that I died where the video kept on repeating of how I get the keys from the table over and over. Then in front of me, I saw the event that happened in my kitchen then shifted to the face of the man with chocolate brown eyes, looking down at me.

Then in another glass, there was a memory of someone else’s – saw how I fell from the above helplessly. The impact to the ground was hard that could probably break lot of my bones but then again, I’m already dead.

“Cecilia Andrews, list down the things you remember before you fell,” a voice asked me.

I frowned, “I was in my kitchen about to drink water,”

“Before that?”

“I was in my bedroom just woken up. That’s it.” I said. “Is there something wrong with me?”

He ignored my question, “And how did you went back on Earth?”

“I don’t know. All of a sudden I was back and I witnessed myself being –‘I paused as I remembered their voices and the dirt. “Buried,”

All of a sudden, a door burst opened and a pale albino man with eyes white as ice approached me. He was wearing a white suit and even his shoes were white. There was something in his presence that was so intimidating and at the same time mesmerizing – he was beautiful in an angelic way. If my best friend, Katie saw this guy, she would faint.

“Cecilia Andrews, welcome” he said in a distinct accent I can’t quite understand. “I am Gabriel, one of the guardians here in the Wonder Place.”

I nodded, feeling scared. What if they are going to banished me or turned me into a lost soul?

He raised his hand in a kind gesture, “Relax, young soul. We are not going to hurt you, banished you or turn you into a lost soul – only you can do that,” he paused, walking elegantly in front of the table pacing back and forth.

Oh right. He can read my mind.

“But it is peculiar because with your case, it seems like us guardians didn’t control the force that pulled you back to Earth. When a whole soul escaped the Wonder Place, it can no longer come back here in this sacred place.” He paced back and forth, his expression I can’t read, “Once the soul leaves the body, it automatically shifted to the Wonder Place so whatever happened down on Earth after you died, you cannot witness it or feel it. That is why you’re the rarest case we ever saw.”

“So what’s going to happen to me? Why did I experienced all that?” I asked, trying to forget the feeling of being claustrophobic inside the big box and how the soil drowning me. I could still smell in the back of my mind the roses and the dirt.

“For now, we don’t have an answer but we already have all the information we need with this case.” He smiled, “You can go now.”

All of a sudden, the room became a glass room again and all the fields of my memory disappeared. Gabriel tapped something into the back of my neck and a small blue circular button appeared into his hand. I touched again the back of my neck, looking for some pain or some scar but there’s none.

“We will contact you again if ever we need some questions. Luna is already downstairs waiting for you and the guards of the Wonder Place will escort you back to your house.”

I blushed as I remembered the commotion that happened earlier. I stood up, “Is it okay if they will not escort me? I mean – I’m thankful but I don’t think it’s necessary.”

He blinked, “Okay, I’ll see you around, Cecilia. You can go,”

I walked out of the room and sighed in relieved. Thank God that was –

Wait. Can I say “Thank God?” Now that any of it doesn’t exist?

I shook my head, I need to research more of this place because surely 23 years of learning bible, prayers and teachings about heaven and hell were already sculpted into my system. Imagine growing up in a very religious family where every meal we thank God and every Saturday we have to go to charities and on Sunday we go to church and then all of it were only 5% true.

Then I got an idea as I walked down the staircase and found, Luna who was sitting in one of the cream colored sofa bear the main door.

“Cecilia! Are you okay?” she asked, checking me from up to down for some injury or something. "Did they find anything?"

“I’m fine,” I assured her as we walked out of the castle. "And nope. But they're going to search for more info"

“I’m sorry, Cecilia! If only I was there! One of the helpers called me and come to the train station immediately. They told me that you fell,” she whispered.

I blushed, “I think there’s no need to whisper because I think all of the people here knows it,”

I stopped and turned around to see the majestic castle in its own style and wonder. Just wonder about everything – about the helpers, the guardians, the karma department, the whole Wonder Place and the questions of how and why I’m all of a sudden went back to Earth just for me to experience how they buried me.

Out of who knows how many souls here – why me? I’m only been like what – 5 days here and then all of a sudden this happen. Who knows what more will happen to me in the future.

I signed in relieved as we went out of the gate, good thing the people and the guards of Wonder Place were gone. But as soon as we stepped in front of the Community Center of Music – some of the people eyeing us from afar and some were staring at us. I looked down in the ground.

“Cecilia, don’t worry,” Luna cheered me up, “It will fade soon,”

“I hope so too. I just want to know why me?”

Luna sighed, “I’m sure the guardians are doing their best to search for the cause in all of this. But I have a theory about that,”

I stopped and looked at her. Her face filled with worry. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this to a soul but I don’t want other souls to hear it,”

“How about in my place? We can talk there,” I suggested.

She shook her head, “Thank you but us helpers aren’t allowed to inside your house. Only your soulmate is allowed.”

I roamed around the whole area and not far from us, there’s a bench near the small hills that we went earlier and nobody is hanging out there.

“What about there?” I asked, pointing at the brown bench.

She nodded and together sat down by the bench. The soft breeze behind us balances the humidity of this place and for a moment, I kind of like that feeling. The feeling of balance breeze.

“Okay so, I only have one theory about this and maybe it is the ancient curse,” she whispered.

“The what?”

“Ancient curse,” she turned to me, her face filled with fear, “You must promise me that whatever happens, don’t be fooled. Ancient curse is the most powerful and dangerous curse out there. The curse is the reason why bad things happened on Earth... The war, the killings, accidents and other things,”

“But how does that have anything to do with me?” I asked. “I’m only been here for like 4 days and I’m already a victim of it? What? Some old witch cursed me? I thought that only happens in a movie! And how is that possible if Wonder Place is so sacred?"

“It’s just a theory. That is why the Guardians and the Protector of the Wonder Place are doing their best to look for some answer to all of this and to stop the ancient curse,"

“Whoa,” I stopped her. “We have a protector here? What for?”

She hesitated for moment, “Okay. Remember what I told you about the on-going war between good and evil but this place doesn’t discriminate any soul? That regardless what the soul did on Earth – whether it killed someone or did some crime, he or she can still be put up here. Well, the Protector of this place is the one who checks on every soul especially if the soul did some bad things on Earth, to see if that soul changes or not – if that curse still lingers or attached to that soul,”

“But I’m not –“ I paused, “Okay, I’m not perfect but I’m not a bad person, Luna”

“I know that but it is just…” she paused as she try to choose the right word that fits into my situation, “Strange,”

I leaned my back in the bench. This information is way too much for me to handle. And I thought this place is the peaceful place of all. How ironic.

All of a sudden, Luna’s iPad beeped. We both looked down as she read the message from her iPad and after a second she squealed.

“He’s here!” she gladly said. “He’s here!”

I frowned, “Who?”

“Your soulmate!” she chuckled.

“Wait, what?”

She turned off her iPad as she held my hand and crossed the road. I noticed that we are going to the south side. I could see not far away from the city, the green fields and the change of weather.

“Where are we going?” I asked, trying to keep up with her and at the same time alarmed by what she said. Soulmate, my soul-ass. I don’t want to see him.

“To the Soulmate Department, of course!”