Nikki screamed aloud at some point, holding tight onto her head as though it was going to fall off her body. I grabbed her hands, serving as a companion to her in the process.
"Nikki, are you alright?" I asked, my voice quivering in panic as I saw her gritted in pain.
"I am fine!!" Nikki squinted as memories started to flicker in her mind like distant stars.
Elena, overseeing memory restoration, monitored the process with a furrowed brow. "Nikki, can you hear me? How are you feeling?"
"It is like pieces of a puzzle coming together, but some are still missing," Nikki pronounced.
"That's normal. Let the memories flow, and tell me what you see," Elena said, and focused on the process.
Suddenly, Nikki recovered her memory. But as soon as she recovered, she shouted. "You!!"
She pointed at Elena. Fears encompassed Elena as she noticed the strange attitude of Nikki. "Calm down, Nikki. Elena helped you to recover your memory!" I said to her calming her down.
Nikki stood up quickly and grabbed Elena by her neck. "You harmed me. You make me lose my memory!"
Elena was part of the figures the proprietor used some years ago to tamper with Nikki's memory. Nikki had recovered her memory and she could recognize Elena once again. I rushed to her to pull Elena out of her gasp but she hit my nose to bleed. I fell on the floor and grunted in pain.
"How dare you fight my Mum?" Troy rushed into the room as he noticed the chaos looming in the room, but Nikki made use of her fire ability to stop him.
"Can you calm down please?" I pleaded with Nikki and she let go of Elena.
"Where is my father, Alex?" Nikki asked, her voice tinged with a note of concern.
I took a deep breath, preparing to unwrap a piece of the complex narrative that had shaped our lives. "He has been arrested," I replied, my words burning her like a fueled fire.
Nikki's eyes widened, a ripple of shock passing through her features. "Arrested? But why?"
I explained things to her. I started talking about how she had fought Alex. Our father and had also been an instrument of evil to the school proprietor. I explained how our father suffered just because of her memory loss. I explained how our mum, Florida was abducted, and how I spent my childhood days serving as a slave in Aurora's Cabin.
"Yes, Nikki. She's telling the truth!" Elena said in a shaking voice.
I glanced at Elena, her expression carrying the pressure of a truth long kept.
"Nikki" I began, my voice measured, "there are layers of our past that have been concealed from us. Elena has been instrumental in revealing some of these hidden truths," I landed, passing the speech to Elena.
Elena stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Nikki's eyes.
"Nikki, there is something you need to know. A few years ago your life took an unexpected turn," Elena started.
Nikki's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Elena took a breath, preparing to unravel a revelation that would reshape Nikki's understanding of her identity.
"You and Amaya," she began, gesturing towards me, "you are twin sisters. There was a deliberate act that altered the course of both your lives. I played a part in that act," she landed, steepling her fingers together.
The room seemed to hold its breath as Elena continued, recounting the events that had transpired behind the veils of memory. "Years ago, circumstances led to a decision – a decision to swap the two of you. Amaya was born with unique abilities and was meant to be hidden from those who sought to exploit her gifts. And you, Nikki were meant to live a life free from those that haunted our past."
Nikki's eyes widened, disbelief etched across her face. "Swapped? But why?"
Elena's gaze softened with empathy. "There were threats, Nikki. The proprietor threatened me to swap you both to give you a chance at a life untangled from the webs of deception."
A heavy silence hung in the air as Nikki processed the revelation. The weight of a truth long veiled now rested on her shoulders, and the implications rippled through the room like echoes from the past.
"So, I am your twin sister, Amaya?" Bella whispered, her voice laced with astonishment.
Elena shook her head gently.
"Yes, Nikki. Amaya is your twin sister, and the bonds of blood and love connect you both."
I stepped forward, reaching for Nikki's hand. "Our paths may have been altered, but the love between us is real. We faced the shadows of our past together, and now we stand united in the truth."
Nikki's gaze shifted between us, her eyes reflecting a whirlwind of emotions. "The proprietor must pay the price of what he has done to my family."
We appreciated Elena for her efforts and kindness. However, she also appreciated the fact that without us she would be unable to reunite with her son, Troy. We left the room and returned to the vegetative pack where Douglas and my mum alongside my friends were fighting the school proprietor and his men.
We barged into the vegetative pack, a place where the smell of blood lurked around. The proprietor had been bathed in a pool of blood while Douglas's one arm had been wounded.
"I have remembered all that happened, proprietor. You made me lose my memory!" Nikki declared, her voice echoing through the metallic chamber.
The proprietor sneered in response. "Oh, bitch! Who made you remember?" His words dripped with arrogance.
Before Nikki or I could respond, the proprietor's gaze shifted, a flicker of recognition crossing his face. His eyes widened with disbelief as they landed on Elena, the woman he believed he had silenced some years ago.
"You? But I killed you years ago!" the proprietor exclaimed, his voice tinged with fear.
"You underestimated the resilience of those you thought you could control," she retorted, her gaze unwavering.
As the confrontation unfolded, Nikki and I approached our mother.