Chapter Sixty-Nine

I wake up in a room filled with light.

There's someone slapping my face gently. My vision is blurry at first, but as I blink it clears. I feel like throwing up as I move to a sitting position and my head is spinning.

My grandfather is peering at me, I see him first. The next person I see is Lia. I get dizzy again, and my nausea returns. I clamp my hand to my mouth and look for the nearest wastebasket. I heave until there's nothing left.

He's watching me with concern. He asks, "Would you like me to call a doctor?"

I ignore him. Lia is watching me with her arms crossed across her chest. Her eyes are cold, so cold that I don't recognize her. She doesn't say anything, so I do. I can't believe she's here. She looks so different. "Lia? You're alive? How are you alive?" She doesn't answer me right away. I look back and forth between her and my grandfather. I think I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming.

She then looks at me in the eyes and says, "I'm not Lia, not anymore. I go by Amalia now."