Adelaide gently opened her eyes. She was dazzled by the bright surgical lights in front of her.
“Where… am I?” Adelaide faintly whispered to herself. She looked around with her eyes half shut. “Everything feels wrong. It is too quiet here, and I am supposed to be home by now!”
She strained to stand up but was shocked to see multiple electrode wires attached to her body, connected to a defibrillator on the table. She also noticed surgical equipment beside and a scalpel full of blood too.
“Why are these attached to me?! What is happening? I am obviously alive and breathing!” She whimpered.
“I cannot go back home if I continue to rant here. I must find a way to get out of this room. My mom must be looking for me at this time.”
She removed the electrode wires attached to her body one by one. Afterward, Adelaide cautiously opened the door. She saw an empty corridor. She went out and wandered around.
“If only I knew this place would be this dark and lonely, I should have scrolled on my phone instead.” She wearily said. “By the way, where is my knapsack? I knew I was carrying it before I got here…” Suddenly she heard a soft creak in the distance.
…
“It does not seem too risky if I check that out, right? Perhaps my bag is in there too.” She quivered.
She strolled straight ahead to see. At the same time, the silence and cold gave her goosebumps. Then, she saw a laboratory. She entered this room without any hesitation.
“Hmm… Maybe I can find something useful here.” She said,
Everything she saw was all common laboratory equipment. She pondered for a moment. Then she saw a hospital map on the table. Shrieking with satisfaction, she picked it up, “Finally, I can now escape with the help of this map!”
But after she just saw it, a loud thud came from outside. She gets frightened. Knowing she has no time to read the map, she keeps it in her pockets and instantly hides underneath the table.
“I could hear footsteps… And I could see someone at the door.” She whispered in her mind.
She patiently waited. After a minute, she saw a man with a blue scrub suit wearing bloodstained surgical gloves entering the lab.
“Good heavens! Why is he covered in too much blood? And why does he seem to be looking for something? Or perhaps… Someone?” Said Adelaide’s voice above her.
The doctor did not remain too long and instantly disappeared into the shadows. Adelaide strained her eyes, peering into the gloom, but there was no more sign of the doctor.
Then Adelaide remembers the map she took. She opened it and read the map.
Adelaide scanned the location of the exit, but half of the map was torn and missing.
“Seriously? Whenever I need something, It does not appear.” She complained.
To her dismay, she came out, ignorant of her surroundings. She desperately looked for the missing map piece. She continued searching. But instead of finding the map, she saw a camcorder.
“Why would there be a camcorder inside a laboratory? Perhaps they film experiments and observations here…”
She heard pounding footsteps. Coincidentally, the doctor and Adelaide noticed each other. She looks away for a second… and peeks back again. He was still far from the lab.
“Is he approaching me? He is getting nearer; I need to run now.”
And during that exact moment, she also noticed the missing map piece in the open drawer. She quickly grabbed it and hurried to the door.
The doctor chased her through the corridors! Adelaide looked back while running and still saw him. She went straight ahead and did not stop. But no matter how she tried to run, the doctor was still after her.
“Can you please stop chasing me?! What did I ever do to you?” She cried. Suddenly she felt an ache in her chest.
“Enough with the drama, and stop running!” The doctor shouted.
“Leave me alone! I am supposed to be at home, not in this scary place!” She wailed.
Suddenly Adelaide saw an elevator closing ahead. Her face brightened up.
“Hey, Doc! Any last words before we separate our ways?”
…
The doctor did not say a word and continued chasing her.
She was only half a step near the elevator. But she diverted her way and went to the corner. The doctor got confused. He lost his balance. He tripped and went straight inside the elevator.
“S…serves you right… for ignoring me… Be trapped for the rest of your life!” She said while panting.
Running has exhausted her. She stood for a few moments, catching her breath. Then Adelaide saw a broken glass lying on the floor. She quickly snatched the glass and smashed the elevator switch to trap the doctor.
“You are such a clever maiden.” He smiled. “You are no ordinary young lady. I remember someone separated from me for a long time by looking at you.” He paused, looking into her hazel eyes.
Adelaide’s eyes dilated while staring at his eyes with discomfort and suspicion. She slowly walked to the elevator with raised eyebrows.
“To clarify, whoever that someone is, I am not her.” Then she paused for a second. “Seriously, what was your intention? Why were those electrode wires attached to me when I was in the operating room? Answer me!”
The doctor said nothing, and everything went automatically silent.
Adelaide looked at the camcorder she got a while back. She sat in the corner to watch the clip.
“Somehow, I was curious about the content of this camcorder.”
She turned on the camcorder and carefully watched the video.
“Let me introduce myself, I am Dr. Warren Miller, and today is the 25th of July. I would like to request a favor from whoever is watching this recording. If you know my estranged daughter, Adeline Miller, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would appreciate it more than you will ever know.”
Adelaide pondered for a moment.
“Whatever. Perhaps the reason behind you abducting me is you mistakenly thought that I was your daughter. I will ensure you will rot inside that elevator and never get out. Moreover, wretch your life! So do not expect that you can escape alive. Do not either expect that you will see your precious daughter ever again.” She impulsively said.
She kept the camcorder in her pockets and followed the map toward the exit.
…
“It was painful for me… I yearned for it, but I only feel wistful when I want our family to become one again.”
Adelaide instantly paused for a second. She looked back and saw him silently weeping in despair.
…
“Weeping is a normal response to pain, and I understand the hardships you have to go through. However, I could not trust you yet since I don’t even know you at all. Forgive me if I have to leave you there. Besides, I’m just protecting myself.” Adelaide sighed.
She escaped the uncanny building without any tension. The only thing she thought was to get out and go home safely.
She strolled to the police station and sought help since she could not remember anything. She was treated with hospitality by the guards who let her in. It was 6:30 am that day.
“I could not recall anything that happened before. All I know is I woke up inside a building along Aesthete Boulevard in this strange operating room. I also met this peculiar doctor who randomly abducted me out of nowhere.”
“We appreciate you reaching out to us regarding your concerns.” The police declared. “But before we organize and begin our investigation, would you mind telling us your name first?”
“I…” Adelaide paused while thinking. “I only remember my nickname. Please call me Adelaide.” She replied.
Then Adelaide heard a voice from outside the station all of a sudden.
“ADELINE MILLER!” said a woman rushing towards her. “Where have you been? You were gone the whole night, and I could not sleep thinking of you!”
Adelaide was puzzled. “Mom?” At the moment of her realization, she remembered her name now. She really is Adeline Miller. Then every memory popped up in her head.
Adelaide zoned out for a moment.
Cerise was about to hug her when Adelaide pushed her away. Cerise got jolted.
“You told me that my father was already deceased before I was born. Why did you have to lie to me?” Adelaide muttered under her breath.
“Huh? What lies are you talking about? Your father indeed was gone—”
“Gone? Then mind explaining this!” Adelaide dropped the camcorder hard on the table and played the video. Everyone looked at them as if they both made a public disturbance.
…
Cerise was drenched in sweat after watching the video.
“Adelaide… Please calm down and let me explain…”
“There is no time for your ridiculous explanations, Mom. How could you deceive me? I cannot believe I have lived my whole life in such pretense and lies!—”
“I did that so you won’t hold a grudge against your father! Moreover, not to experience the life of having a broken family. I did that to protect you, Adelaide!”
…
Everything went automatically silent.
…
“Wow… Protect me? More like depriving me of the right to know my father!” she yelled.
“Stop quarreling at once! This is a police station, not a place for such pointless arguments—”
“Hold on, sir. I must talk to my daughter properly. Then suddenly, Cerise noticed a scar stitched on Adelaide’s chest. She got worried.
“Adeline… What is that scar on your chest… What did he do to you?”
Adelaide gazed into her mother’s eyes with bewilderment. Afterward, she slowly touched her chest. She did not notice that scar before.
Cerise got filled with furious anger. She stood up from her chair and paused for a moment.
“Don’t he dare threaten my precious daughter with his wicked plans. We already talked about this, but he surely flared up my temper! Now I shall give him a taste of his own medicine…”
“Hold on, what wicked plans are you talking about?” Adelaide asked with confusion. “Were you even involved?—”
Cerise thereupon hurried to that building, leaving Adelaide behind.
“Mom, wait!—”
“Stay there, and do not follow me. The guards will keep you safe.”
Adelaide stamped her feet on the floor due to frustration. “We’re not yet finished talking, Mom.”
…
When Cerise was already in the hospital, she saw a control room.
“Knowing what truly happened last night is way more important for now, for the sake of my innocent daughter!”
She entered the room and inspected last night’s preview on the monitor screen. There she saw an incident wherein her daughter was hit by a car. She was shocked to see Miller go outside. It was a quiet night.
FLASHBACK/PREVIEW
“I am at fault, and I take full responsibility. Is the young lady fine?” The driver said.
…
“Her face looked familiar to me, I could feel a connection.” He paused, gazing into her heavenly hazel eyes. “H…h…h…however, she’s not breathing.” He timidly said.
Miller touched her chest, expecting a heart-thumping, but the heartbeats were vague.
“I need to rush her to the operating room. Would you like to follow?” Said Miller.
“Why would I refuse?” The driver answered.
While they were already in the operating room, Miller placed Adeline on the bed.
“I think she got struck with memory loss for a short period.” He told the driver.
Meanwhile, he noticed a school ID in her knapsack. He saw her identity.
He gulped. “So you are Adeline Miller indeed. I felt remorse and guilt since I left you and your mom. This is my chance to make it up to you, my dear daughter.”
Hearing this, the driver got suspicious of what the doctor had said.
Knowing that his daughter’s life was at stake, Warren thought of something unexpected. He slowly approached the driver and trapped him in the corner.
“I should be the one apologizing to you, sir. Please forgive me for what I shall do.”
Then Miller suddenly took out a scalpel in his pockets.
“Doc…? Stay away from me… I do not want any harm…”
Miller aggressively slit his chest.
“Please, sir! Have mercy!” He wailed while grieving in pain.
Miller took his heart and placed it on a clean tray. He ready his surgical equipment and started the heart transplant for Adeline.
PRESENT TIME
“Why did you save Adeline… I thought you did not care for us anymore. I owe to you my daughter’s life!” She wailed and fell to her knees. Then she heard a voice from ahead.
“Warren—?”
She stood up, ran along the corridors, and saw Warren locked inside an elevator.
“Warren! How did you get trapped inside?” Said Cerise while freeing Warren from that elevator.
“Adeline… Where is Adeline?” Warren asked in a frail voice. He had already lost his mind and went psychotic after Adelaide left him. He got haunted by hallucinations and mistakenly thought Cerise was the driver.
Cerise had opened the elevator door when Warren took out his scalpel and pointed it at her.
“You! What did you do to my daughter? This is your fault!” Cerise was jolted and trapped in the corner.
“You’re unbelievable. Warren, stop! It’s me, your wife. What are you doing—”
Again, Miller aggressively slit her chest while Cerise wailed in pain. Everything went Déjà Vu.
Adelaide came, but it was too late. Seeing his father execute her mother mercilessly, She screamed in agony. Her eyes turned dark and dreary. A hint of despair filled such pitiful hazel eyes.
“What have I done to my parents?” She whispered to herself.
“But I… I just love it! The resentment I harbored was gone when I saw their aggravating faces suffering from misery. For my mother, who kept the truth away from me, and for my father, who recklessly abandoned my family. They deserve to feel the indignation I have endured!”
The police arrived and brought Dr. Warren to a Psychiatric hospital, and Cerise was buried in the burial ground. The building was held into custody by the police officers and not a single person had the chance to enter that building ever since the incident. Although Adelaide hasn’t perceived the truth that she was saved, she was deceived by what she saw, especially with the scar on her chest. She still got the privilege to do anything she wanted in her life. However, her parents did not attain the justice they sought and coveted.
— It was too late. If only Cerise had the chance to say the truth to Adeline.
Even when you look at it from different angles, she made herself the villain of her story, a cruel and heartless version of herself wrought by trauma. But she’s just a teenage girl who knows nothing, uneducated and naive without her parent’s guidance. On her own, she won’t survive.
About the Author
Jeriah is a Grade-nine dedicated student who enjoys challenges and loves to engage in various curriculum activities in her school. She is in BUBOTS Intermediate Level.
Her interests include listening to music, watching movies, gazing at scenic views, road trips, and family outings. She also plays with her cat often.
Her favorite delicacies include chop suey, creamy bulalo, leche flan, coffee jelly, silog meals, and sisig meals.
Her primary career goal as of this moment is to become a doctor. Her favorite subject is science, most especially biology. Soon, she will take her family to places they long to visit, such as Switzerland, Japan, Italy, and Spain. She also dreams of building her own coffee shop once she finishes college.