Surrounded by an overwhelming emptiness, I found myself unable to move, devoid of any sensation of body or passage of time. Suddenly, a bright light pierced through the murky, cloudy expanse that engulfed me. Amidst this disorienting backdrop, an authoritative, deep voice rang out, startling me. "Hey! Wake up, you lazy piece of shit!"
A sharp, stinging pain shot through my stomach, and nausea overtook me, forcing me to vomit. Panic set in as I felt a constricting weight in my chest. My lungs were contracting. In a desperate bid for air, I gasped—a single breath of three seconds, followed by a series of rapid, sharp inhalations, each exhale punctuated by violent coughs.
As I struggled to regain my bearings, I attempted to move, only to realize that my hands and legs were bound. The darkness pressed in further as the blindfold obscured my vision, leaving me enveloped in uncertainty and fear.
"Hey! don't kill the - have a day before delivery," in a soft and charismatic tone.
"alright, guess I got - there!" with a big hardy laugh.
Barely able to staying awake fading in and out, catching snippets of this conversation between them, then darkness envelopes me. Then awakened with a hit to my head to find myself outside on the ground, still bounded only to hear a new voice, calm and stoic.
" why does he look like a corpse, you dug up?" with a disappointed tone..
"Oh, come on old man, he's still breathing, isn't he?" with a sarcastic high pitched tone.
"Alright then, here's the money. Quickly, throw the boy in the back before someone comes snooping around."
As time passed, I wake. "Augh my everything hurts".
" my sweet baby is back home," a woman's voice with a caring and sweet tone.
"Yes, my dearest, our boy is home," a man's voice said in a steady, low tone.
"Look madame his waking" Another woman's voice.
With a painful headache, then old memories come flooding back like a picture slide. One with me locked inside a cage feels cold, dark and with an atelic iron like smell.
The second and last one is in a chair with a locket on my arms and legs. It's humid with a little draft of air from behind, sweaty, and with extreme pain in my finger and toe nails, eyes barely open, my nose clogged, lungs hurt. Hard to breathe.
With a loud, sharp breath, my eyes shoot open. A bright light hits my eyes. I try to move my hand to cover the light to give me time to recalibrate my vision.
With a voice of calming, "please don't strain yourself, move slowly,"
Slowly getting my vision back, I see a middle-aged woman with light blue eyes on the verge of tears, long brown hair with white streaks, with a worried expression.
Then an older gentleman standing beside of her looking down at me with a serious expression, velvet red eyes filled with uncertainty and short ruby red hair with a morning shave.
I think it's this boy's memory and these people are supposedly my parents and If I'm not, what will happen to me? I didn't see any of them in my memory?
"Um, where am I?"
"You're back with us thats all that matters honey". With a sweet and gentle voice.
"Okay, my dear, let him have some space to get used to his surroundings." With a low and caring voice.
Come we must arrange a cerage back home.
As they walked to the door the woman look back with a caring and peaceful smile then closed the door.
"Right! Now that they left, young master, shall we get you ready to look around the estate? Get yourself used to your surrounding". Said the maid.
As I tried to stand, my legs buckle, and I plopped back down on the bed. The maid quickly shifted her body over to my left to prevent me from falling off.
"Please, young master, you mustn't stand too quickly. You're still. recovering please let me fetch you a wheelchair and a glass of water."
After getting me on the chair and water. she wheeled me through the hallway. It's decorated like a noble manor, panting with scenic views, and an older gentleman like an ancestor. As if she can read my mind.
"Those in the painting are your fathers, fathers." She said.
The one with the biggest portrait? That. She walked pasted me closer to the portrait and turned with a smile.
"Ah, yes, that's the founding father, the one that put everything on the line for this feature. Once a miner in the coal mines he struck a gold vain and pocketed some to sell and buy land. To think if he didn't buy the land when he did, who would have thought that his at the moment decision could look like this?."
"Hum? Did he start his own mineing operation."
Yes, but not only that he also started a saloon. Than the saloon became a cosino then one became one hundred spreading across this region.
" so, how many countries are out their."
Well, there are two empires and three kingdoms. First is the Blechan Empire to the southern region, second is the Aurelius confederation to the western region. Now for the Kingdoms, first is Estriera in the northwest where we are now, Ovilenaz on the eastern coast, and last is Felboveria, neighboring in the west.
The main estate is in the capital, Boransala, but that's a month's journey back. We are at the edge of the Kingdom of Estriera in a city Quelas.
"As in thought, we reach a double door that leads to the backyard if I were to guess not just a backyard more like a personal forest. With a mountain in the distance, a place to explore, but in due time."
Well, strolling around for about another hour, a butler comes to tell us it is time for lunch. Strolling though the hallway, there're candles lights in various places that light up the hallway, seems I'm in a middle-aged area.
Reaching the dining hall, everyone stopped to look at me, then a tall, muscular giant man stood to greet me.
"Hello young master, your family told me about your situation. I hope you think of us as your own family as well. Come sit, we were about to have breakfast."
As I faced the family, I asked for their names.
"Oh, right I'm Joseph... Joseph Venter. My wife as he looks at her."
"With a soft seductive voice, my name's Luna. Enter."
"As for my daughter's."
A cheerful, loud voice. "Hello my name's Jennifer!" With a smile and wave.
" She about your age, Artyom."
"Then a serious tone in the background. My name's Dorothy." With a little curtsy.
"That's my eldest. She's thirteen, about to turn fourteen next month."
Then, on cue, my parents come walking in my mother, the first to talk.
"Son, are you feeling better now? " while looking relieved and happy, about to hug me then stopped herself to not hurt me. Then my father finally talks with a soft and guilty facial expression for a moment, then to a happy smile, "we'll be going home soon about a week to let you recover before. departure it going to be a month on the road. So let's eat first, then talk later."
Our chef prepared a beef vegetable stew with two lof of bread and a glass of water to wash down the grease.
For a moment it was quiet then mother speaks." So Artyom do you remember us sense you were taken from us while you was only four years old and missing for four years.
I choked on my water then silence for two seconds then a sad trembling voice I dont know it's blurry and hard to remember but im really glad to be in the sun light and eating food than the tears and hope of finally leaving the hellhole I was in comes falling as I cried I don't know I'm sorry... I'm.. sorry...
"My dad clenched his fists to hold back his waterworks then with a trembling voice " that's enough you can tell us when you're ready with a big step, he hugs me and mom.
Now I feel embarrassed to cry in front of strangers? Or as I thought of strangers now, I don't know what to think these memories are mixing with me? Memories or his memories.