"If this is some elaborate prank, this is not funny." Ke said from the passenger seat. Lock looked into the rearview mirror and Sia patiently shook her head. Despite her hesitation, Lock had filled in Ke.
Lock snapped, "of course it is not."
"We really need to pay the rent by tomorrow." Ke said. Of the two men, this one was worrywart.
And so the back and forth continued until they were at the hospital.
Ke sighed when the car parked, "I really don't want to send the money back. Or else we won't be able to pay the rent. If we move back with Mum, she will not have space for others. Besides, those girls will feels awkward around us."
"What girls?" Sia asked.
Ke frowned but Lock gave him a superior look. Instead of answering her, Ke looked back, his meaty neck, not fully turning, "are you really not Aria?"
Sia shook her head. Ke gave her an ugly look, as if still suspecting an elaborate prank. "You look like Aria."
Sia felt slightly helpless, "you will see. What girls were you talking about?"
"Our mum is a special doctor. She works with NGOs to help girls who have been through… a tough time. Sometimes some of them end up staying with her temporarily."
The way he said, tough time, Sia could guess what he was talking about. No wonder, the doctor kept asking her and checking for signs. Sia's chest felt slightly heavy. The scars on Aria's body made her wonder. She looked down at herself. She had still to change out of the all black attire. Now, she had no desire to.
They made their way into the hospital, through the elevator and into the ward and finally found the private room with Aria in it.
Sia was prepared to see herself, but as soon as she opened the door, goosebumps rose on her body. Looking at herself was like being inside as dream- watching herself from other's perspective. Could two people be so identical? Unless…
Before the thought could fully form, Sia saw her own eyes raise up and reflect the complex emotions she was feeling. Surprise, unease, disorientation and finally, they looked down to the casing around her neck.
Sia saw the wound on the top of her head. The only silver lining in all this was that she wasn't confined in bed, like Aria.
Thinking of herself as Aria, suddenly made her pause.
Lock walked in from behind her, "is this the room?"
"Wow. The resemblance is uncanny. Are you sure you don't have a twin sister?" Lock asked her. Sia couldn't bring herself to say no. Instead Aria said sharply, "If there was, mom never told me."
Sia wondered if Aria was talking about her adoptive mother or real mother. Was Aria adopted like her or did she live with her real mother? Why had a woman given up on her. Unlike her body, Aria was well built and strong, with a healthier parlour, even a slight farmer's fan. She felt stronger in Aria's body. In comparison, she looked sickly. Aria must feel more sickly in her body.
Sia finally stepped closer to the bed and Aria's friends followed.
Silence was thicker than it had to be. Sia didn't know where to begin. Aria stared at her, curiously. Aria's expression were open; seeing them on her own face was disorienting. Sia could sense Aria's friends looking between them.
It was Mo who spoke up first, "Where are your parents? We should inform them."
Aria looked back at her friends and looked down at herself. "I had a mother. She passed away when I was 13. She never said anything about a sister."
The surety in Aria's words made her reassess. Maybe they were no sisters. Apart from their looks, not much was identical.
Sia looked up at Mohan who nodded once. Sia took a leap of courage, "I was adopted, so I can't be sure if I have a sister or not."
Aria opened her mouth to say something but didn't. Instead she leaned forward, pinching her eyes once, "well. We can always get a DNA test."
Sia smiled. If they were really sisters, they were far to different. And if they were, then why did her family only take one twin and not the other. Ke spoke up, "you should also get a genealogy test of the DNA test comes out negative. Sometimes unique genes can also make two people look similar if they share ancestors."
Before her mind could load more questions, the nurse opened the door and paused.
"The patient needs to sleep. Do not overwhelm her." she said to everyone before turning to the patient. "Ms. Sia. The doctor says they need to run some more tests. But we will do them later. Right now. It is time for your medicine.
Aria looked at Sia for a fleeting moment, before she asked the nurse, "can someone stay with me meanwhile?"
The nurse then turned to Mo. "We have also contacted the family, so someone should be here soon."
Sia stiffened. Family? If it was chairwoman or Ali, Aria would have a tough time. But she doubted they'd come even if she was dead. It would probably be her father or Kai that would come. The nurse changed the blood bag, fixed it with medicine and left, reminding them again to let the patient sleep.
Lock sat on Aria's other side and peered into her face. Sia saw her face pull into a frown before the woman smacked the top of Lock's head. Ke smiled widely, "this is Aria alright."
"I still can't believe it. We need to think of something. How can we reverse this? And if we can't, who is going to whose family?" Ke kept up a stream of questions. While Sia's mind raised a mile an hour, she looked at Mo instinctively. He was looking at Aria with an amused expression.
If she wasn't worried, she'd be amused too.
"You can sit in bed and talk to your family. Anyways, I have to be in the hospital for four to six weeks. I can't pretend for that long."
Sia shook her head, "it will be hard to feign the crown sitting on your head. You better meet them as me. We will have to be with each other's family until we can sort this out. My family doesn't visit me much. With Mo here, they will come even less. Moreover, what if the doctor wants to see me. You can go like this. I will have to go in your place."
Aria thought this over. Ke was already shaking his head, "Mom will notice something is amiss."
"We barely see mom once in every couple months." Aria shook her hand, still lost in thought, "I don't have a family, so you don't have to worry. I live with these guys. But if you live with your family…"
Mo interjected before Sia could answer, "The problem is not family. The problem is the guy who tried to kill Sia. He would know there are two of you. Whoever had him do this will know too."
Sia was thinking the same thing. The person who tried to do away with them both would soon receive the news of her. Not to mention, the person who must have given the order. Sia couldn't think of anyone but the chairwoman. While her life was on the line, so was Aria's is the chairwoman decided to do away with the witnesses. She would also know there are two of them. Sia's heart felt tighter. If Aria was her sister by any chance, she didn't want to take any risks.
"There is a solution…" Mohan trailed off and Aria supplied, "I could pretend to loose my memory when I am being you." Lock shook his head, "then she would have to do it too. It's won't work on mother. Think of the devil…"
Lock muttered showing his phone to Sia, then shaking his head and showing it to Aria. Aria shook her head and Lock cut the call. Aria said, "send her a message before she starts worrying."
Sia wasn't listening, she was thinking of a plan. Something that would keep them all safe.
"One way to be safe, for all of us, is to stick together." Sia began speaking. Mo listened attentively, as did Aria. Ke leaned forwards from the couch while Lock listened with eyes buried in his phone.
"Here the plan. One of should stay with Aria in the hospital at all times. I will try to stay for the most part, except for when my direct family comes over. This will do two things. Others will tell them that they saw a doppelganger but they themselves will not encounter me, so it will make, whoever tried to kill us nervous, but keep cautious. Stop them from approaching us. Aria, you pretend to loose your memory. They will ask you if I told you anything. So you say no."
Aria began shaking her head, "won't they come after you then?"
"Not if they never have a chance." Sia soothed her worried, "we will inform the police meanwhile."
She looked at Mo who gave a curt nod, "hired security and informed the police. They wanted to meet you when you woke up. Then this happened, so I never informed them that you woke up."
Mo said 'you' and looked between Aria and Sia, as if he himself didn't know who to address.
Aria leaned forward, pinching her eyes again, "I am not convinced."
Sia explained. "We need time to figure out what caused our bodies to switch and how to switch back. Meanwhile, we need to protect ourselves and not let your life be hindered. While we can protect you at the hospital, someone or the other can accompany me while I go about and be you. The police will want to talk to you. Tell them the truth but caution them about your lie, so they don't risk exposing you. They will comply as long as it doesn't hinder their investigation. I will be right there with you, so I can supply my side of the truth. The police doesn't have to known we are pretending to be each other."
Lock put his phone away and gave her a slow clap, "protection upon protection, upon protection."
Sia smiled, slightly happy to be praised by Lock. He had a pair of deep set eyes, which under normal circumstances would have been very attractive.
Mo nodded slowly, "It can solve a lot of problems. If you don't recognise people, it will serve as a protection. Police investigation will also be a protection blanket and then identity swap will also keep others vigilante if they cannot tell who is who."
Ke jumped in, "But what if you still can't change back in four weeks or catch the killer?"
"We move in together." Sia said. She didn't think anything could be sorted in four weeks. And a small part of her was looking forward to it. Her heart was set on getting closer to Aria, get closer to the only possibility of family she might have.
Aria was quick to squish that idea, "let's hope it doesn't come to that."
Sia smiled reassuringly, "we will cross that bridge when it comes."
Ke quickly got up and tapped his brother's shoulder. Lock gave up the spot to Ke, who quickly turned to Aria, "That reminds me. The landlord will kick us out of we don't pay rent. We will have to sleep at the gym. She can't possibly do that. And if someone is watching us at the hospital, she can't possibly go back to her place."
Sia shook her head, "I will stay here. If I leave, even with Mo here, it gives others opportunities to silence us. We will stick together for four weeks except when my family comes to visit."
Aria looked at Sia, then at Mo. "Why do you want your family to feel cautious? Why did someone try to kill you? Do you know who it is?"
Sia hesitated. Ke lips turned up with a quiver, "who wouldn't happen to have a dramatic family. Would you?"
"I have a suspect in mind but I can't be sure. My family is… complicated."
"And dangerous." Mo added.
Aria slowly leaned back in her raised bed. Lock went around to the other side and looked around the bed, "how do you lower this thing?"
Sia felt a small tinge in her heart. Lock had been very thoughtful ever since she woke up. And accepting this is was Aria, he took care of her readily. Ke was the same. Both the brothers were attentive at Aria like their own sister. Sia took a quick look at Lock. Since she was in Aria's body, she couldn't possibly make a move on him, could she? She pressed her lips together, surprised at her own unruly thoughts. Their lives were in danger, now was not the time to be attracted to someone. Mo picked up the remote and lowered the bed. Lock looked at Aria with a mock appreciative smile, "what luxury?"
Aria smiled back with equal appreciation and pride, as if showing off. Their easy chemistry was something Sia never had with one sibling she was close to. She never had friends like that. For a short moment she looked forward to living as Aria. Only for a short moment.
Then they turned to serious subjects. Aria said, "return that money. Make some deliveries for me and we will have this month's rent. Keep the house for one more month but don't live there. Just keep an eye on it and see if someone comes snooping around. Both of you sleep at the gym. It will be safer there. We might have to move anyway. We will do it next month. If push comes to shove, we can all move to my old house."
Sia wondered what job they were declining because of their current situation. She felt slightly bad. Before she could say anything, Kesh interjected, "already sent the money back."
Sia contemplated a moment longer before offering, "I have an apartment. My family knows about it but no one lives there. It might not be close to work for you guys but it will be safer than any other place. The building is also under the supervision of someone I trust, so there will be lesser worries."
She looked to Aria, "you can say, your friends are staying over."
Aria took a moment to realise she was Sia now, it would be her apartment. Sia smiled, "looking at myself and talking to you as myself makes me uneasy too."
Aria smiled back wordlessly. "Would it really be safer if we move in together?"
"Yes."
"I might not be able to pay for half the rent."
"What rent? I own the place. If you really want to pay, we can divide up chores and necessities," Sia felt slightly giddy with the possibility of such a future.
The whole reason she wanted to look into the insurance company was to look into her family. If there was a possibility that Aria was her sister, all her efforts had been paid off.
The first thing she wanted to do right here, right now was a DNA test but she didn't speak of it. If they did it at the hospital, it could be discovered. She needed time to think, to plan further.
"First things first. We should run a blood test." Lock said, perhaps his thoughts were in the same direction as hers.
Sia shook her head, "in a private pathology. Not in the hospital."
Lock never looked at her, eyes only on Aria, "safer that way. If her family is involved in this mess, it is better to do everything in shadows."
Mo's phone buzzed. He looked down at it and said "your father is coming and the driver is with him."
Color drained from Sia's face but Aria' expression suppressed her fears. Her expression sharpened, jaw tight, eyes full of hate, as she looked towards the door.