35

Illiana

Lu? Mom? Suzy? Mrs Jung? Where am I?

I started to slowly open my eyes, the lights in the room were so bright. I looked around seeing my brother next to me holding his hands around mine, His head laid down on my arm and he breathed slowly, looking the opposite way of me. I blinked a couple of times. Seeing a tube led to my hand. Feeling the wires and tube in my nose. My nose felt like something itched, probably the nose tube thing. I slowly tried to move my fingers. I tried to move my hand and I felt Lu’s grip tighten around my hand. I could hear him mumble my name.

BEEP-BEEP. What was that beeping sound?

“Lu?” I whispered with some hesitation.

Lucas shot up and looked shocked. His face was pale, obivously he had been crying. He himself blinked a couple of times, not believing what he saw. I moved my free hand slowly towards him but very slowly because somehow I felt stiff.

“Lu? What’s wrong?” I heard him gasp for air. Why was he so shocked to see me?

“S—s-sis? You awake?” He hugged me so tightly, I coughed a couple of times because I couldn’t breath, than he let loose.

“What happened? Why am I connected to these tubes?” He opened his mouth, trying to say something but he couldn’t. I could see his eyes water, he was about to cry. “Lu?” I coughed again. Someone interrupted him when he was trying to find his voice.

“Illiana, dear, you woke up?, Lucas stop crying, for god sake, didn’t you learn anything in Congo.” He bit on his lip, like he’d done when we we’re in Congo and mother wouldn’t let him cry. I tried to sit up but I hadn’t much strength so I decided to keep on laying down.

“Mom?” My voice sounded groggy and croaked at the same time. My mother was here, she flew over from Burkina Faso? Why?  Why would she do that? I just left. And while we were leaving from Congo, she was set to go to Burkina Faso.

“Why are you here?”

“I took the earliest flight I could and flew over here. I’ll go tell the doctor your awake”

“Doctor?” I looked at my brother.

“Illiana, why did you go after that stupid cake? I asked you if you were alright.” Lucas suddenly spoke. He cried again, his tears looked lik a mix of happiness and sadness. “If I didn’t call him and asked to check up on you, who knows what would’ve have happened, you stupid stubborn sister.”

“Lucas, Stop crying, you’re a big boy, don’t embarrass yourself like that.” Mom still hadn’t left the room.

“Wait, Lu? What cake and who did you call?” I said in a husky voice, I had my fully attention on Lu, ignoring what my mother was telling him. Lucas was looking at me with his big teary eyes.

“Ky… our neighbour” He corrected himself.

“Who’s our neighbour, Lu? Wait, we don’t have neighbours who we talk to”

“I can’t tell you, I have to make a call.” He gave me that look, a stare not knowing if he misheard something but still Lucas ran outside. Suzy and her mother came in. Actually Suzy stormed in the room with her mother trailing behind.

“LI, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, Getting my cake with you feeling sick” Suzy came to my side and gave me an outburst. I thought she was going to slap me or something. Her face was like one who cried all night.

“Sick? Cake?”

Instead of slapping me she hugged me even more tightly than Lucas. "I'm so happy you're back."

“Suzy behave yourself.” Mrs. Jung said, Suzy stood up again. “Illiana-dear how are you feeling?” Hugging me harder than Suz, I coughed again.

“Mom, let go, and you told me to behave myself, look at you” Suzy said playfully, did she suddenly forgot yelled at me a few seconds ago. Mom finally went out and got the doctor.

Before the doctor came in. And Lucas came back in.

“Where am I?” I asked looking at Mrs Jung, Suzy, Lucas and my mother. I saw some paper hang on the wall. This is? This is all written in Korean.

“Li, come on, you know where you are.” Suzy smiled at me through her tearfilled eyes.

“No I don’t” Suzy’s expression changed drastically.

“Li, don’t play games, it’s not funny” Suzy looked at me with much disbelieve, she really thought I was playing games. I didn’t know where I was, I only just found I was in a hospital apparently and where they probably spoke Korean.

“Suz I’m not playing games here, Where am I?”

“Come on, you know you are in Seoul, stop playing” (Suzy)

“I’m - - I’m where? SEOUL, Like in South Korea SEOUL? Are you kidding me, don’t tell me I took the wrong plane home from Africa” Suddenly I gained some strength to sit up. But my head was a little dizzy due to my sudden movement. They all looked shocked and the exchanged looks. Did I say something wrong? It was true wasn’t it? I just was on the plane from Congo back home. This wasn’t home. My eyes darted over everyone. Everyone in the room stayed quiet.

“euhm sis?” I looked at Lucas, he was the one who dared to speak first “What do you remember? I mean what is the last thing you remember?”

I studied my brother's face, what was that for a stupid question? I turned around to see my mother's even more paler face.

“I just came back from Congo right, You waved us goodbye a few hours ago.” Some movement from Suzy, she gasped and held her hand in front of . In her eyes I saw she had this motion of sadness and disbelieve.

“Illiana, honey, how do I tell you this? You’ve been away for more than 7 months now” My mom answered carefully and so soft.

My mouth flew open “No, that’s not true, please, tell me that's not true.” I worriedly searched conformation in the others but everyone nodded it was true “But than what did I do all this time and why can’t I remember, what happened to me?” no one seemed to give me an answer. There was a phone going off.

Lucas searched his pockets and he took out a phone, since when did that little brat have a phone? He must’ve noticed my reaction.

“Later” he said hastily looking back at the caller ID and went outside again.

Mrs. Jung went to talk to the doctor cause my mother couldn’t speak Korean.
My mother came to my left side and took the hand with the tubes attached to it.

“You’re going to be alright.”
 

There was a lot of commotion in the hallway. Mrs. Jung, who came back in and stood in the door opening, looked at Suzy.

“Fine, I’ll deal with them, see you later Li.” Suzy said and left the room.

Lucas still hadn’t come back. yah, I really wanted to know why he wouldn’t tell me who our neighbour was.

The doctor came up to me and Mrs. Jung stood besides my mother she would be her translator.

“Miss Illiana, how are you feeling. I see you woke up half an hour ago. That’s good.” The doctor said looking over the monitor display. He signalled my mother and mrs Jung to move away, so he could remove the tubes.

“I’m feeling a little light-headed. What happened? Who brought me here?”

“You will feel a little light-headed for a couple of hours though, I can’t tell you who brought you in. We had to sign some confidential contract.” I sighed, why was everybody so secretive about who was with me. Even my little brother was keeping the secret. He never kept a secret not from me. He told me everything.

“miss Illiana, the good news is you can leave shortly, but you will feel weak for a few days. Is there someone who can be with you 24/7?”

“I’ll check with the company if Suzy can take a couple days off” What company? Her mother’s company, right?

I looked at my mother. Who bowed her head to the floor.

“I’m sorry dear, they need me in Kenya. I’m the head over there, you know how it goes.”

Sure I knew how it goes, still I feel disappointed that I became second place. I needed a real mother right now.

Lucas came in. “I have someone who can stay with her. Not all the time, but he could clear out a couple of schedules so he can be with her.” Lucas was grinning. Not his normal grin but a big wide grin to his ears.

“Who?” Mom, mrs Jung and I said in unionism. We looked at my brother.

“Next door neighbours.” He shrugged. Winking at me.

“I don’t trust them. For what I’ve seen them do, they kidnapped you once that’s already enough.” Mom said to Lucas.

“THEY WHAT? THEY KIDNAPPED YOU?” I raised my voice as far as I could raise it. The doctor sussed me, signalling me to keep calm.

“Mo-om, offcourse you can trust them and besides they’re really good guys and they didn’t kidnap me.”

“Okay, so have them set up a plan so they can switch with Suzy. I’m going to phone the company” Mrs Jung said.

Wait, what are they talking about? We don’t have friendly neighbours, we don’t even talk to neighbours, we have a big house with a garden and that was enough.
I was beginning to feel tired.

Why can’t I remember 7 months of my life. This wasn’t true, I must be dreaming. God how did I even loose 7 months? What happened?

“I feel tired” The doctor came to my side.

“You should rest for now. No more visitors.”