REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight-Chapter 67: Not my name.

Elara opened her eyes and found herself standing in a quiet garden. As she looked around in confusion. Her eyes landed on a little boy standing ahead of her, facing an easel.

He held a brush in hand and was painting on the canvas, not reacting to anything around him.

Nearby, two girls were also present. One was moving happily across the grasses without a clear direction while the other stood still, watching the boy painting with a warm gaze.

Elara’s gaze lingered on them. Something about the scene felt familiar, though she could not figure out how.

Then the girl who had been moving around suddenly stopped and turned to her. Their eyes met, and Elara froze immediately.

It was her. The same girl she had kept seeing in her dreams.

The girl gave a small calm smile as she stared at her unblinkingly.

At that moment, the surroundings began to shift, and the garden faded.

Elara now stood in a hallway.

A curtain hung to one side. Behind it was a small figure standing close to the wall. It was the boy she had seen painting in the garden earlier.

He stood quietly as if eavesdropping to the discussion going on in the room.

Elara remained where she was, watching him.

From inside the adjoining room, voices came out.

"I will not build everything I have... for a child that isn’t mine."

A pause followed, and not long, a woman’s voice answered softly. "Lower your voice."

"Then you shouldn’t have made a mistake you can’t erase." the man replied, snorting heavily.

There was another pause before the woman’s voice came again. "He is still part of this family."

"By name. Nothing more." the man replied...

The boy behind the curtain did not move. But his hands slowly tightened at his sides, absorbing everything without making any sound.

The man spoke up once more. "Don’t expect me to treat him like my heir."

After that was silence as the voices faded.

The space shifted again and Elara now stood at the base of a staircase.

At the top, that same boy stood facing forward. His face was obscured But Elara knew he was still the one.

Behind him was the little girl, she kept following closely, holding a small notepad in her hand.

As the boy began to walk up the stairs, she followed immediately. Her eyes stayed on him while she wrote something down in her notepad hurriedly.

She quickened her pace to keep up. Several times, she would reach out toward him, as if trying to get his attention or stop him. But each time, he will shrug her hand away without turning fully toward her.

At the top of the stairs, the boy suddenly stopped and turned around, his expression changing sharply. Before she could react, he had stretched his arms forward and pushed.

"Get away from me." he yelled, his voice edged with frustration.

The force was enough to throw her off balance. She fell immediately. Her body hit the stairs and rolled downward, her head knocking against the edges of the steps along the way.

Elara tried to move. She took a step forward in her mind, but her body would not respond. It felt as if she was fixed in place.

The girl continued to fall until she came to rest at the lower steps.

Then, another person entered the scene. It was the second girl from the garden. She saw the scene at once and her eyes widened. She let out a sharp scream and turned away quickly, running out of the space without hesitation.

The boy remained at the top of the stairs, unmoving.

Elara stood frozen below, still unable to act and fully process what had just happened.

Then the scene began to dissolve again. The staircase faded and the figures disappeared.

The girl appeared again, standing in front of Elara unharmed, as if none of what had just occurred had affected her.

Elara looked at her for a long moment then she opened her mouth. "Who are you?" she asked.

The girl tilted her head a bit, still smiling. But as usual, her lips never parted.

"Aurelia."

The word sank in Elara’s head and everything faded into darkness.

–

Ziva stood by the table in the ward, arranging the medicine bottles on it and checking the labels one after the other. She picked up a paper slip and stared at it for a long time, then she sighed, shaking her head.

’Ahh. This isn’t easy at all..’

She placed the paper down and reached over to adjust Elara’s blanket again. After that, she turned toward the sink, rinsing her hands slowly as she hummed a song under her breath.

The curtains shifted when a soft breeze blew. And then..

"Aurelia..." A faint voice sounded.

Ziva paused mid-motion, water still running over her fingers. She lifted her head a bit and glanced toward the window, her brows drawing together.

"...Did I just hear Aurelia?"

She turned off the tap and stared at the curtains as if its view had suddenly turned interesting. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself.

"It should be the wind, that makes sense" she said after drying her hands. She then stepped away from the sink and walked back toward the table, picking up a paper again as if nothing had happened. But just as she was about to read it, she froze. Several seconds passed and her eyes slowly widened. "...Wait. That voice."

The paper fell from her hand. She turned toward the bed and stood beside it, staring at Elara as if expecting her to suddenly sit up and confirm everything. But nothing changed. She laid there the same way she had for months.

Ziva swallowed hard and leaned forward, her face very close to Elara’s. "Did you just say something?" she asked with a soft voice, but there was still no response.

She narrowed her eyes a little as she looked around, suspicion creeping into it. This is a hospital ward, so of course many ’patients’ would have been here.

"If this is a ghost situation, I am not prepared." She muttered under her breath.

Then–

"...Aurelia..."

Ziva almost jumped out of her body as she turned to stare at the person on the bed with wide opened eyes. She jerked back a step, her leg hitting the chair behind her hard.

This time, there was no mistaking it. She had seen and heard it clearly.

"You—"

She muttered staring at Elara like she had just seen something unbelievable. "You’re awake?!"

She leaned forward again immediately, her eyes scanning every small movement on Elara’s face. "Say that again.. No don’t say that again. Say something else. Why are you saying Aurelia? That’s a country, not my n–"

She cut herself off, shaking her head. Then without wasting another second, she turned and rushed to the side of the bed, pressing the call button.

"Doctor! Doctor!, she’s awake!" She called out and moved back to Elara’s side instantly, as if afraid she might disappear if she looked away.

"You’ve been sleeping for three months. Three whole months. And the first thing you say is Aurelia. Not even my name? I’ve been here the whole time, don’t you know." She smiled gripping her hand gently. "You should at least say something useful."

Footsteps sounded outside almost immediately. The door opened and two nurses hurried in followed closely by a doctor.

"What happened?" the doctor asked, already reaching for Elara’s wrist.

"She spoke. She just said something." Ziva said quickly, stepping back a bit to give them space.

The doctor nodded, his attention already on Elara as he checked her pulse. "Miss Elara, can you hear me? If you can, try to open your eyes." He asked in a calm voice.

There was a small pause, then her eyelashes trembled slowly.

Ziva held her breath nervously as Elara’s eyes finally opened, though just a little. It looked unfocused, as if the light was too much.

The doctor didn’t waste time. "Can you hear me?" he repeated. "If you can understand, try to move your fingers."

After a moment, Elara’s fingers shifted a bit against the blanket.

"She moved, did you see that? She moved." Ziva said quickly, her voice filled with disbelief.

The doctor gave a small nod and continued, "Good. Very good. Do you know your name?"

There was a short silence before Elara’s lips parted again. "...Elara." She said dryly.

Ziva sucked in a deep breath, her eyes widening all over again as if hearing it for the first time. "She remembers," she whispered.

"Do you know where you are?" The doctor asked while Elara’s gaze shifted tiredly, before settling somewhere near the ceiling. "...Hospital."

"That’s good," the doctor said again. "You’ve been unconscious for some time. Do you remember what happened before this?"

"...Water." She replied quietly.

The doctor nodded with a smile. "You were found in the pool. Your body showed a strong panic response. Do you have a fear of deep water?"

Elara didn’t look at anyone as she answered.

"...Yes."

Ziva swallowed hard, her expression softening for a second before she quickly looked away.

The doctor made a few notes and then straightened up. "Alright. We’ll run a few more checks, but this is a very good sign. Try not to talk too much yet. Your body needs time."

Ziva nodded quickly, even though the words weren’t meant for her. As the nurses began to adjust the things around the bed, she moved closer to Elara, her eyes not leaving her face.

Then after a moment, she leaned a little closer and spoke in a quieter voice. "You really woke up...after all these time," she said, almost as if she still couldn’t believe it.

She paused, then added with a small pout.

"And your first word is not my name."