"rin... Erin, wake up, Erin..""Mmm, give me five more minutes."
Erin murmured in her half-asleep state. She was still tired, so her desire for sleep wasn"t fully satisfied.
"Wake up, or else you will be late for school!"
A familiar voice sounded near her. A voice she couldn"t hear in the last half a year. That voice startled her and she sat up on the bed. Her vision was still a bit blurry, but the silhouette in front of her was still familiar.
"Mother?"
"Yes, Erin, it"s me. You need to wake up. The school will start soon."
Her vision finally cleared, and Erin couldn"t believe her eyes. Her mother was smiling at her, with that gentle smile she always had. Erin rubbed her eyes, not believing what was in front of her, but after she looked again, there was no mistake. It was her mother.
"Are you fine, Erin? Is anything wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable?"
Her mother saw her in a daze and reached her hand to touch her forehead, checking for a fever. Those concerned eyes in front of Erin were something that she couldn"t bear to see. Her eyes got moist in a second and she hugged her with all her strength.
"Erin?! What"s wrong, Erin? Why are you crying?"
The panicked voice of her mother reached her ears, but she couldn"t suppress her emotions. Her whole body trembled while she was hugging her mother. The tears from her eyes couldn"t stop even if she wanted to stop crying. The warmth that she felt from the hug was real. Everything was so real that she just couldn"t stop herself.
"Don"t cry, I"m here! Don"t cry! Calm down, Erin. Tell me, did you have a nightmare?"
Her mother tried to calm her down, but a new wave of tears started rolling down her cheeks. She tightened her embrace and silently sobbed. There was no other sound around, only her quiet sobs echoed in the room. Finally, after about half an hour, the sobs stopped. She collected herself and stayed silent in the embrace of her mother, without any thoughts of moving out of it.
"Erin? Did you calm down already? If you don"t get up now, you will be late for school. You should hurry now."
"Mom, can I...not go today? Can I stay at home? Please?"
Erin finally separated from her mother, her face and clothes were in a mess, but she didn"t care about that. Her teary eyes looked at her mother, with hope in them. She watched her mother"s reaction and sure enough, her mother frowned upon her request.
"That can"t do. You need to go to school. If you start neglecting it, it won"t be good for your future."
Her mother"s stern expression was a bit scary, but Erin still summoned her courage. She wanted to be with her family today, she had to, or else she would lose her sanity.
"Mom, please! Only for today! I promise I will go to school tomorrow!"
"Erin.."
"Mom, please! I"m really scared now! Please, I don"t want to be separated from you! Can"t you do me this favor?"
Her mother wavered. She looked at Erin with probing eyes, but that teary and begging face was just too much for her. After a minute of silence, she finally sighed.
"Alright. Only for today. Tomorrow you will go to school. Go wash yourself up and change your clothes. The breakfast is ready."
Her mother got up from the bed and left the room. Erin extended her hand, trying to stop her, but at the end couldn"t reach her. She looked at her hand in shock. The hand was small and white like the snow. It was a slender hand of a child, or maybe a girl. That hand was familiar. It was the hand she used to see in the last half a year. What was going on here? Why was she still in a girl"s body?
She looked around in the room, but her shock only grew more. Everything in the room was for a girl. The pink bedsheets, the drawer, the curtains, everything. There was a huge mirror next to the drawer. Erin drew a big breath and stood up from the bed. Her legs almost crumbled. She barely reached the mirror and looked into it.
A girl with long, black hair and blue eyes greeted her. It was her body in the other world. She moved the hair that covered her ears and saw the pointy ears in the reflection. All the power in her body left her and she slumped on the ground. Why was it like this? Why was she still in this body?
The scene in front of her blurred. Tears started to gather in her eyes again. Was this a dream? Or reality? She wasn"t sure anymore. Everything looked real for her. The cold floor, the hug from before. Everything. But was that real? If it was real, why was she still a girl? What was the meaning of the pointy ears? Was she still a vampire? She wasn"t sure.
"Erin? Are you ready? We are waiting for you!"
She heard her mother"s voice once again. That brought her back to reality. Even if it wasn"t real, she had to go through it. She mustered her courage and stood up from the ground. With wavering steps, she walked to the bathroom. Even though her room was different, everything else in the hose was the same.
"Give me a few more minutes, I"m coming!" She answered, but her voice almost cracked from the emotions she was experiencing at the moment. She suppressed the sob that was about to come and straightened her posture.
"Even if it"s a dream, I want to experience it. If it"s not, hmm.."
She was still confused while washing her teeth. Though everything looked realistic, then what about the other world? What about Richard and the others? Was that real? Or just a dream? But if that was a dream, then what about her life on Earth before? Why was she now a girl?
Richard.. Even though she couldn"t understand why only thinking about him made her sad. Was he alive? What happened to him? What about the others? Did she die in that battle? She tried to remember the events, but some parts were a bit blurry. She wasn"t sure what happened in the end. That made her even more confused.
"No, I must not think about that. First, I need to know what is happening now. I need more information."
With a firm resolve, she finished her washing and came back to her room. She looked in a drawer and saw some clothes there. A shirt and a skirt. She picked them up and undressed from her pajamas. Within a minute, she was already dressed. Even though Anna helped her most of the time, she could dress without any help either. After half a year of living as a girl, she was already used to that.
Looking at the girl in the mirror, she sighed. Even though her eyes were a bit red from crying, she was still beautiful. Finally, she tidied up her hair and left the room.
After going down the stairs, she entered the living room. Not only her mother but her father and sister were also there. She felt her eyes getting hot again, but with great difficulty, she suppressed the tears.
"Good morning."
She managed to force a smile, albeit barely. The others turned to look at her. She could see the worry in her mother"s gaze, her father"s strict gaze and the amus.e.m.e.nt in her sister"s expression.
"Morning, Erin."
Only her sister answered. Her father nodded and her mother smiled. That was a normal reaction in this family. So far everything looked normal, only the fact that she was a girl now was different.
"Why are you still standing there? Sit down for breakfast. I still have to go to work after that."
Her father"s stern voice echoed in the room. She smiled and walked over to him. Before he could react, she hugged him from the side. His whole body became stiff, slightly startled from the sudden hug.
"What are you doing? Are you still a small child? Sit already, stop clinging on to me!"
Even though he said that his expression softened. He patted Erin"s head and urged her to sit properly.
"Hoo~, look what we have here~. Trying to act cute like a child? What, you want to be spoiled?"
Her sister teased her from the side, but Erin didn"t mind that at all. She only smiled at her. She really loved that sister of her. Even though her sister might be moody from time to time, she had always helped her in the past. Though, the constant teasing never stopped.
"HMPH! Boring."
Her sister finally lost interest. Even though she loved to tease Erin, she still loved her with all her heart. Seeing that Erin didn"t react to her teasing disappointed her a bit, but that was all.
"Alright, don"t tease your sister. Let"s eat now, or breakfast will get cold."
Her mother smiled and gave Erin a sandwich. There was a cup of juice as well. Erin hesitated for a moment. Could she eat this sandwich now, as she was like that? She wasn"t sure, but she had to try at least. With a bit of trepidation, she finally brought the sandwich to her mouth. Opening her mouth, she bit it. The outcome somehow relieved her but made her sad at the same time. She could eat a sandwich, and it was delicious.
While she was chewing on it, she didn"t realize that tears started to fall from her eyes again.
"Erin? Why are you crying?"
Her mother panicked and reached with her hand to wipe out the tears.
"I..."
Erin couldn"t finish her words. The tears just started again. She buried herself in her mother"s embrace without saying anything.
"What is wrong with that girl? What happened all of a sudden?"
She could hear her father from the side. Though she felt a bit embarra.s.sed from the sudden crying, she just couldn"t separate from her mother.
"I don"t know what happened. It seems like she had a nightmare."
"A nightmare? What did she dream about to cry like that?"
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"Father..."
Erin protested with a weak voice. She stood up and looked at her father with her puffy cheeks and teary eyes. Even though she was emotional and was crying now, how could he be like that?
"Pfft"
Her angry expression was a bit funny though. She heard a snicker from the side and looked in that direction, only to see her sister trying hard to suppress her laughter. She got even angrier. With firm steps, she started walking to her sister.
"E-Erin? Wait, Erin, I.."
Before her sister could make an excuse, she was hugged. Her whole body froze in place, not sure what to do. She could feel Erin"s trembling body. With a bit of a stiff movement, she finally hugged Erin back and didn"t say anything.
The room fell silent. Everyone was at a loss. Erin was still clinging on to her sister without any desire to leave her. Though it looked childish, she didn"t care. After around five minutes, she finally calmed down. The warmth from the hug was something she had missed a lot. She loved her sister. Though, her sister rarely hugged her before.
"Are you happy now?"
Her father"s voice reached her ears. Her whole body trembled at that moment. She wasn"t sure why, but she had a bad premonition about this. She stiffly turned her head to look at her father. He was smiling at her.
"Happy?"
She asked, a bit nervous. Why was she so nervous at the moment? Her father didn"t answer her. He stood up and came next to her. She could see her mother coming in her direction too. They both hugged her. She was almost suffocated from the sudden hugs but felt warm at the same time. Her heart melted at this moment.
"Yes, I"m happy." She said, a bright smile finally showing on her face.
"That"s good, then. Don"t worry about us. We are fine. You should focus on your life and look forward, not in the past."
Erin"s heart skipped a beat. What was he trying to say? Why was he saying that now?
"Erin, it"s time. You need to wake up. I know you miss us, we miss you too. You have to remember, live your life for the future, don"t think about the past. We are fine here, don"t worry. Now it"s time. Wake up."
Erin"s heart tightened from this speech. She felt pain. Was all of this just a dream? She just couldn"t accept that. Her vision started to darken and her senses left her little by little. She desperately tried to reach out to her family, to talk to them, but all was in vain. Everything became dark and she felt like suffocating.
"Erin, Erin, wake up, Erin!"
She opened her eyes. Everything was fuzzy in front of her. She felt the warmth around her and a strong hug enveloping her. She was in the embrace of someone. Though she was still confused, she still could feel the fast heartbeat of the other party and the warmth all around her.
"You are finally awake, phew~."
The voice next to her ear was so familiar. She couldn"t help herself but embrace the other person. Her hands tightened around him as the tears fell from her eyes.
"Calm down, Erin. Take a deep breath and calm down." Richard"s voice once more echoed. Her whole body trembled.
"Waaaah!"
Finally, she couldn"t bear it anymore and started hollering.