Chapter 3

I stared at the box on the highest compartment of the shelf. I just decided to clean my whole room and dispose things I can no longer use. I pulled a chair and placed it near the shelf. I took the box, and it's somewhat surprising that it's not that heavy. I was about to get down when I lost my balance.

“Ahh”

I shrieked. I closed my eyes and felt the box flew out of my hand. I landed on my buttocks, and it hurts like hell. I gently caressed it and opened my right eye.

I hissed. It hurts, especially when I stood up. It feels like my bones just got dislocated. I groaned when I saw how much of a mess that single stupidity has made. Everything that box contains is located everywhere in my room.

I picked up the piles of papers first and laughed when I realized that these are my test papers when I was still studying. And the fun fact is, those are the lowest scores I've got ever since.

I checked all my papers and teased myself about how idiotic I was. When I finished checking those papers,, I proceeded with the laminated photos. I can't believe I am this ugly and dirty when I was a kid. We also have a family photo when I was a toddler, I think it was taken in a park or somewhere in the countryside.

I flipped the album and my eyes squinted when I saw a picture of me in high school. I think it was our prom night. But I can't see any resemblance of me from that photo. Her skin is tanned and mine is almost as white as snow. She has this chinky brown eyes, while mine are rounded and green. Her hair's blonde and straight, I have a wavy obsidian hair. Her nose were pointed and big. Not only that, but her lips are too thin. She's quite short. She's the the opposite of me when we're talking about appearance.

I lost grip of the photo album. I gulped and stared at my shaking hands. I sat on the floor and took that photo out of the album. I flipped it and read whatever was written on it.

Raeya's prom night. I gulped several times.

She looks like mom, and she has the same eye color as dad. I tilted my head and put the album back inside the box. I lost interest. I started putting everything inside the box. I was about to seal when my eyes darted on an old newspaper leaning at the wall.

I picked it up. I stared at the girl on the picture wearing fancy clothes and smiling brightly. She looks exactly like… I gulped, and my hands trembled harder. She looks exactly like me.

Athijha Esmeray Alonzo-Saavedra, an international model and a well-known Architect, went missing after meeting an accident.

I felt a lump in my throat which I tried to swallow and prevented my tears from falling. I took the picture of the real owner of the name I am using.

“Athijha,” I mumbled.

'Remember me, baby,'

I slowly shook my head and went downstairs while clenching the newspaper.

My parents never let me read newspapers nor let me watch television. They never let me have any social media account. Never encourage me to make friends.

I sneaked into their room and turned the television on. My mouth agape open when the current news they were discussing was a picture of a lady in a crowd.

“…right, partner. Miss Athijha has gone missing for a year now. Let's hope that she's not a doppelgänger but the real one.” The reporter laughed.

“Argh, I miss seeing Miss Athijha on the magazines…”

All I could hear are my heartbeats. That was me. That photo was captured yesterday, when I was out to find a job. I bowed my head.

“Raeya!” A loud, muffled voice called my name. Or was it even mine?

I remained sitting on their bed silently, feeling numb, until the door swung open and revealed my parents.

I slowly lifted my head and looked at them with a dead eye. Horror is clearly written on their face.

“Rae, darling,” She called and let out a nervous smile. Her eyes darted on their television. “W-what are you doing here? Haha.”

"Who are you talking to?” I innocently asked with a smug smile plastered on my shaking lips.

“Raeya, show some respect to your mother.” Dad warned.

“Oh, are you even my parents?” I sarcastically retorted.

“Raeya!” Dad's voice echoed.

Tears fell out of my eyes uncontrollably. I sobbed and threw the newspaper together with Raeya's picture.

“Am I really your daughter? Is my name Raeya, or was it Athijha?” Mom's eyes watered. “Why? Why did you forbid me to read magazines, newspapers, or watch TV? Why did you lock me up in this house? Why?”

I let my body drop on the floor.

“We did that for you, for us,” Dad responded.

“You did that for you! My family's looking for me.”

“We saved your life!” Mom roared.

“You saved me to be your daughter's replacement? You saved to be Raeya! Why? Do I look like her?” I covered my face. “I had my life. I have a family and you both are too selfish to keep me away from my family, from my happiness.”

“You ungrateful brat! If we didn't save you from that car accident, you should be dead by now! You should be roasted and even your ashes will be everywhere!” Dad snapped.

“But you should have reported it to police!”

They fell in silence.

“You took advantage of me when I lost my memory and filled my mind with your daughter's memory. Why, huh? Where is she? Damn, she's dead.”

I received a slap.

“Is it wrong? Is it wrong if I can't accept that my daughter is dead? That even if it's been five years, I still long for her presence?”

“But you deprived me of being with my family. Just accept the fact that she's gone. Please, return me back to my life. Return me back to my family.”

“Do you really think your family cared about you?” She retorted with sarcasm. “Your husband didn't even look for you. The industry you've worked in was happy because according to them, you're the biggest bitch in the whole world. Your family announced that you went missing, but your issue got covered with a new showbiz controversy.”

I looked a her, puzzled.

“What?” Mom smiled in melancholia.

“Your sister got engaged with your husband.” My world crumbled like an asteroid just hit the Earth. “We saved you and don't want you to go back to your old fucked up life. We don't want you to experience what our daughter has gone through because of those greedy bastards.”

“I'll just… I'm sorry. I'll just go and freshen up.”

I ran. I ran away from them. I want to get away. I can't stop my tears from falling. I can't even clearly see my surroundings.