394: HOLDING ON TO HOPE ARIEL’S POV Finally, Luke and I entered the mansion. The foyer’s familiar grandeur and opulent furnishings welcomed Us. “Welcome home, Luke,” I said softly, guiding him further into the expansive hallway. Luke’s gaze wandered, taking in the elegant surroundings with a mixture of awe and confusion. I could sense his struggle to reconcile the unfamiliar with the fragments of memory that danced just beyond his reach. But as we walked, a wave of warmth enveloped us as the familiar faces of the household staff greeted Luke with genuine delight. Their smiles were infectious, banishing the shadows of doubt that lingered in his eyes. Mariam emerged from the sitting room, her face lighting up as she caught sight of her nephew. “Luke, darling, you’re back!” she exclaimed, rushing forward to warmly embrace him. And then, as if on cue, Celine appeared at the top of the staircase, her expression a mixture of relief and longing. “Luke!” She went to hug him quickly, but Luke was just giving her a stupefied face. He kept on with the expression as he brought out, “Mom, you’re alive?” She gazed at him in confusion, and this was the part where I had to slap my face and say, ‘Oh my god.‘ “What is going on?” Luke inquired, demanding an answer from me or his mother. His eyes are not leaving mine. “My mother is dead. Why am I seeing her face around here?” Celine’s eyes went to mine, and she, too, was confused. The look she was giving me could tell that she wanted an explanation for this whole drama. “Ariel, what’s going on?” She queried. “Okay, calm down, people. There’s no need for any of us to argue around here,” I said, trying to diffuse the situation. “No one’s arguing here; we’re just asking questions,” Celine told me. “Ariel, I asked you something.“Can you please give me an answer to my question?” Luke inquired, staring at me. “Listen, Luke, you need to calm down.” “Calm down? How in the world do you expect me to act when I’m seeing my mother standing in front of me, who apparently is dead?” “Well, things are a little bit complicated.” I answered in a low tone, taking my eyes in another direction. 394 HOLDING ON TO HOPE 2/3 “Complicated? How?” Luke’s voice was starting to get high, and it was not good. “My mother died when I was seven years old. Why am I seeing her standing?” He paused immediately, holding his head, and I could notice something. “Luke? What’s wrong?” I asked, shifting closer to him. “Oh my… I don’t know, my head… hurts,” he responded, still fixing both of his hands around his head. Getting closer, I held both of his shoulders. “Let’s go upstairs. We’ll discuss all this later.” With that, I walked Luke to his room upstairs, not wanting to get things heated. He might just lose consciousness, stressing himself, and I wasn’t up for that. When I took him to his room, I could feel the tension diating off him like waves of heat. His confusion and frustration were clear, and I knew I needed to handle the situation delicately. “Come on, Luke, let’s get you settled,” I said softly, guiding him to sit on the edge of his bed. He complied, still rubbing his temples as if trying to ward off the pain that lingered in his head. “Take deep breaths, okay? In and out,” I coached gently, sitting beside him. He followed my lead, his breathing gradually evening out as he focused on the simple rhythm. “That’s it, just relax,” I encouraged, reassuringly touching his shoulder. I could sense the strain slowly melting away from Luke’s body as the minutes passed. The lines of strain on his face began to soften, replaced by a look of weary resignation. “Feeling better?” I asked softly, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. He nodded, albeit slightly, with his gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the walls of his room. “I’m sorry for snapping back there,” he murmured, his voice heavy with fatigue. “It’s okay, Luke. This is all a lot to process,” I reassured him, offering a sympathetic smile. He sighed, leaning back against the pillows with a weary sigh. “I just… I don’t understand any of this. How can my mom be here when she’s supposed to be gone?” “I know it’s hard to wrap your head around,” I began, choosing my words carefully. “But sometimes, things aren’t always what they seem.” He looked at me, a glimmer of hope flickering in his eyes. “Do you… do you know what’s going on?” I let out a deep sigh. “Well, there are a lot of things to talk about. But not right now; you’re still too weak for this. Not weak, though, but you know what I’m talking about.” He furrowed his brows at me, his cast dispelling the bewilderment. “I’m I tapped his shoulder forthwith. “You take care, hun. I’ll be right back.” rry, what now?” I stood up and left the room forthwith. After closing the door, I was suspended. This situation was about to spiral out of control. 394 HOLDING ON TO HOPE I treaded downstairs, and Celine was standing right there, crossing her arms like she was waiting for me. “Ariel,” she called my name, taking her back off the wall and getting And indeed, she was waiting for me. “Yes?” I uttered, looking at her. orvous. “Now, you have to tell me what happened back there,” she told me in a hushed tone. “You didn’t get a clue?” I asked in response, but my tone was still hushed. “What the…how am I supposed to get a clue?” “I don’t know; you got brains, right?” She gave me a cold stare forthwith. I had to compose myself, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. “Okay, the thing here is that Luke lost his memory.” “What?” Celine was brought out immediately. “How?” “We had an accident, remember? And it turns out that shit went ahead to mess with his brain.” “Oh my god, that is terrible.” “I know,” I stated, shaking my head. “Right now, we can’t put him through any stress. That’s why I quickly took him to his room. I knew something terrible was going to happen. You know, he’s going to start feeling some pain, and I don’t want anything like that to start happening.” “Okay, okay, I get it.” She cut me off. “Yeah, I know you do,” I muttered in annoyance. “So, what do we do now?” “We’ll just have to compose ourselves. We can’t afford to let anything bad happen to Luke,” I told her. Celine nodded, her expression softening with concern. “Right. We need to be there for him, no matter what.” “And we need to figure out how to handle this situation delicately. We have to be really careful.” Celine nodded, her brow furrowed with worry. “I just really need to ask: how do we help Luke remember without causing him more pain?” “That’s the crucial question,” I whispered, my mind buzzing with potential solutions. “For now, let’s focus on keeping him calm and comfortable. We’ll figure out the rést as we go. But just the happy moments, please.” “What about my presence?”
