Chapter Seven
I stepped toward the bed with heavy strides, as if my feet were sinking into a mire of terror. There, my body lay stretched out weakly, wrapped in plastic tubes like transparent snakes, while the surrounding devices emitted a rhythmic hum and chirping that pounded in my head. I looked at my face.. "Elena's" face, which used to brim with life, had now become a canvas distorted by blue and purple bruises.
I extended "Adrian's" massive hand and gripped my pale, limp hand. Its coldness seeped into my veins, and I felt a violent shudder hit my back.
"Elena.. can you hear me?" I whispered, before the truth slapped me; I am calling myself! Then my breath froze in my chest for a moment of terrifying realization:
"If I am here.. then this means Adrian is a prisoner of that shattered body!"
I began to shake her shoulders lightly, my voice rising in agitation:
"Adrian! Wake up! Can you hear me?" But the body remained as still as a corpse, with nothing moving but the heart rate indicator on the screen.
"Who are you?"
The voice froze me in my place. I turned slowly, and my eyes fell upon my mother. She was standing at the door, her black hair disheveled, and her brown eyes drowned in a sea of exhaustion and pent-up tears.
I hadn't seen her for three months, and suddenly, I couldn't restrain my soul; I ran toward her and threw myself into her embrace, burying my face in her shoulder with all my strength, completely forgetting that to her, I was just a strange and suspicious man.
"Get away from me, you madman! You'll crush my bones!" she cried out in a choked voice as she tried to push my broad chest away from her.
I retreated immediately, and felt the sting of a rebellious tear that fell onto my cheek. I wiped it with the back of my hand quickly; for men in "Adrian's" world do not cry. "I'm sorry.. ma'am," I said, my voice trembling, "I was overcome with emotion by your daughter's condition."
She shot me a look filled with wonder and caution. "Do you know my daughter?"
"Yes.. she is my close friend," I swallowed my lump and continued: "How is she? When.. when will she open her eyes?"
She bowed her head, and a strand of hair fell over her sad face. "The doctors saved her from death by a miracle, but she has slipped into a deep coma.. and no one knows when she will wake up."
"A coma?" I gasped, feeling a sudden weakness in my knees that almost sent me to the ground.
"Yes.. and I am afraid," she whispered, looking toward the bed in terror, "afraid she will never return to me."
My stomach clenched tightly, and I felt the need to do anything to mend her brokenness. "Don't worry, Mrs. Valentina.. your daughter will wake up, I am sure."
I needed to utter these words, to touch a glimmer of hope that belonged to me.
She looked at me scrutinized, as if trying to explore my features. "Thank you, sir.. what is your name?"
"Adrian," I answered briefly.
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "I am honored to meet you, but.. how did you know I am her mother? And how do you know my name when we have never met before?"
I broke into a cold sweat, and my tongue felt heavy. "Elena.. she used to show me your pictures always, and tell me about you with much love."
"Really? Strange.." she muttered in bewilderment, "she spoke to me about you but never mentioned your name to me once.. are you two lovers?"
"No.. no," I said quickly, looking away from her, "we are just friends.. only friends."
The door opened and my father "Damian" entered; his face told a story of silent collapse, his features as withered as my mother's.
But as soon as his eyes fell on me, his facial muscles tensed and his gaze shifted from sadness to sharp suspicion.
"Damian.. this is our daughter's friend, his name is Adrian, he came to visit her," my mother said in a weak voice.
My father approached me, his steps heavy with tension, and extended his hand to shake mine with extreme caution. "Welcome, Mr. Adrian."
I shook his rough hand that had so often patted my head, and I felt a desire to cry as I said: "Thank you, Mr. Damian." But he pulled his hand away with lightning speed and stepped back a pace, eyeing me with strange looks that made me flustered.
Is he angry? I thought to myself, perhaps his mind is weaving stories about a strange man visiting his daughter at this hour, or imagining that I am the cause of her misery.
I cast a final look at my prostrate body; I wished I could touch "Elena's" palm once more, but the presence of my parents as a wall of protection made me retreat.
"I wish your daughter a speedy recovery.. and if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask me."
I remembered that I didn't know "Adrian's" number, so I extended the phone toward my mother with a pounding heart.
"Mrs. Valentina.. could you please record your number here?" She recorded the number with trembling fingers, then I excused myself and left, dragging my heavy steps, shattered from within as if I had left my soul behind that white door.
I returned to the palace and stood before the massive door in a state of loss. "Do you have a spare key? I forgot mine inside," I said to the guard, avoiding his eyes.
He brought the key, so I entered and sneaked up the stairs like a ghost fleeing a curse, and threw myself onto the luxurious bed that hadn't given me a shred of sleep all night.
With the first threads of dawn, I stood before the mirror. I was trying to grasp the idea that I am wearing a formal shirt and trousers drawn onto a man's body. "How handsome you are, Adrian," I muttered as I felt my sharp jaw, "I wonder if you felt me when I called you yesterday inside my shattered body."
I left the room, and the greatest challenge began; the house was a maze of marble and gold. I stood in the center of the lobby, not knowing which direction to take, for wandering around like a lost person would surely expose me.
I glimpsed the maids carrying plates redolent with delicious scents, so I followed them in silence.
When the maids saw me, they stopped suddenly as if struck by lightning, and said mechanically: "Good morning, Mr. Adrian."
"Good morning," I replied with an uncharacteristic kindness.
Their eyes widened in surprise at my gentleness, but they continued on their way, so I followed them through long corridors that screamed of my previous abject poverty.
We reached a giant glass wall overlooking the outside; the maid opened the door, and I stepped out behind them into a true "paradise."
Emerald green grass, an Olympic-sized pool shimmering under the sun, and a jacuzzi with steam rising from it.
And there, at a massive white table under the shade of the trees, sat Adrian's parents.. Sebastian and Diana Thorne.
My stomach clenched, and I felt a coldness coursing through my fingers; now the confrontation with the family who does not know their son has been replaced will begin.