Chapter 9

**Acacia Point of View**

I held my head in my hands and sat down on the chair as another wave of dizziness hit me. For few moments, I couldn't understand anything around me.

My heart pounded like drums and my breathing got heavy. When another wave of dizziness hit before the previous did not subside yet, I had to hold the edge of the study table to keep myself from falling down.

"Oh God!" I breathed out and shook my head slightly to shake off the giddiness.

For over fifteen minutes, I couldn't dare move with the fear I would faint again. I felt so weak as if any possible energy stored in the depths of my body for dire uses has left me.

It was the kind of exhaustion that food or sleep cannot take it away. For a second there, through the haze of going unconscious, I thought something was feeding on my energy.

I know it's nonsense but somewhere, back in my mind, I felt it.

A force... sharing it and feeding on it just like I would do to my own body.

"I must be too fixated on creating plan models to get this tired. May be some fresh air can help." I slowly stood up, carefully, cautiously, not to trigger anything that might make dizzy again.

From the study room to my bedroom, I walked by the wall taking its support just in case not to fall down and break my neck.

One leg inside my room, I was already feeling better. Taking the glass of water from the nightstand with me, I sat on the chair by the window as I looked out at the beauty that this strange haunted island holds.

When cool air hit my face, I felt alive. Gulping down the water, I looked outside as I folded my hands over the windowsill. It's just minutes away from sunset and sunsets look beautiful here.

From my window, I can literally see everything on the island clearly. No pollution, no smoke weirdly because I still don't know where my meals were made.

While on one side the ocean is taking the sand with it, on the other side, the waves of the same ocean hit ferociously against the rocks.

It was absolutely gorgeous to watch it under the light of sunset.

A feast to eyes!

Laying my head on my hands on the windowsill, I closed my eyes and drifted in to sleep.

By the time I woke up, the sky last the last flicker of glow from the sunset and I realized I was only out for few minutes.

As expected, waft of food hit my nose; like always. The food is waiting for me on the tea table, like always. There's a jug of fresh juice of what fruit I don't know but it does help me with the little nausea and dizziness I feel, like always.

"How long am I going to be a prisoner here? With my current health, feels like something is not right." I talked to myself.

Well, I don't have anyone to talk to here and during these past few days of being the only person to be there for me, I realized how crazy I originally and how amplified it got after coming here.

I almost hated myself for being lazy bug in the past. I would give anything to be a busy bee now.

I picked up my fork and knife as I start eating while doing my talk show; like always. If I don't even talk that much, I would surely go insane beyond repair.

Sometimes, I read out times table out loud and sometimes I jotted down the countries and capitals. After I started sketching designs, I made an alter ego of myself as my own superior and discuss my design with myself.

Crazy, I know. But if I don't do that, I would've gone another kind of crazy.

It's like the creepiness of constant supply of my food and necessities are not weird anymore. At a point of time, I don't even feel anything.

As if I gave up on escaping this place or say, I gave on my life.

The scared cat in me matured over days here. Now, I think I can watch Insidious without shouting twenty times all through the movie.

Wiping away the hints of sauce from lips, I completed my dinner with a glass of juice. Once my stomach was full, I could feel energy sparkling through my body. I felt good and energized.

Throwing the napkin on the table, I walked out towards the study again to digest the food I had.

If only I could eat some ice cream now or better, in the midnight. I've been craving for ice cream in the nights from quite some days but seeing how old and ancient the food, kitchen and this castle is without any hint of electricity or appliances, I cannot be greedy.

Zoning out before the unfinished wood carvings, I decided to rather sketch than finish the carvings. Few more details and carvings, I will be done with my first model.

Cleaning the table from all the other objects, I laid out the large sheet of paper with ink bottle and a couple of quills. After learning how a quills works, I improvised a couple of quills so the sketches come out better.

The only solace I find here is one open window and a little sketching and designing. If I was in my prime health condition, I would've completed making miniature models of five or six of my designs.

The next morning, I woke up with a sweet scent hitting my nose. It has been a few days since I've been waking up with the scent.

At first I didn't know where it was coming from but one day I finally noticed it. On the vast garden surrounding the mansion, there was one such plant that started budding a few months ago.

What flower takes such long time to bloom?

Although the flower is still a young bud, the sweet scent already overwhelms me. I've never seen such plant or bud before. Although I don't know much about plants and flowers, this one is definitely not what you would find easily.

The scent itself is so sweet yet mild with hints of spice barely noticeable that sometimes looking at still young bud that was yet to blossom, I feel somewhat happy.

I don't know why but my heart aches with both happiness and pain, looking at the bud.

Sipping on hot chocolate, I continued to watch the sweet smelling bud as a smile snaked on my lips.

There is nothing to smile at here given the conditions I'm living in. But the flower bud sure makes me smile a little every day. As creepy as everything is, I cannot help but find small bit of hope as I see the flower bud.

As I finished drinking my hot chocolate, tears rolled down my eyes and I didn't even know I was tearing up and why.

Tears rolled down like a fall from my eyes as a sudden bout of anger and helplessness hit me. There wasn't even a reason for the sudden anger blooming inside me.

It was like a random switch, when on, it overwhelms with plethora of emotions. One moment I want to smile while the other I feel like crying over the same thing.

Why my emotions are on haywire, I don't know.

I never felt something like this before. Wait, I actually felt a similar but a lesser version of it on my periods before. But now that my menstrual cycle is disrupted and unhealthy, for what reason am I being a crazy person?

Does the flu that attacked me have something to do with it?

The more I think about it, I more insane everything is. The overdriven mood swings... what's the reason behind it?

I... Why?

Looking down at the slightly out stomach, the urge to cry strengthened. My hand slowly ran over my stomach when a hiccup left my mouth.

It's not possible.

No, what am I thinking?

How is it possible?

Did someone... No, I remember every second, day and night, after coming here and I was never touched. Heck I should've at least felt the pain of my broken barrier but nothing of such happened.

I'm a damn virgin!

But all the symptoms; even though I've been avoiding the possibility, is it...

Am I - Pregnant?

Touching my stomach again, my hand immediately flew to cover my mouth.

"Of course not. How can one be a virgin and pregnant? Impossible! Thyroid, maybe." I told myself.

"Yes, I'm not pregnant. I can't be." I assured myself but when I felt a hollow feeling in my stomach, I know I'm only fooling myself.

But how?

I - can't be pregnant and with whose child?

"God, this is absurd. There is no sense in what I'm thinking. The loneliness must be working badly on my brain."

"I'm - I can't be. Can I?"

**~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello Sweetie,

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