What Separates Me and You

"Mrs. Alvarez?"

Using all her might, Josephine struggled to open her eyes. However, she felt like her eyelids were full of lead. She was torn between dreams and reality.

Vaguely, she saw someone moving the woman off her. Suddenly, a blinding light pierced through her vision, causing her to instinctively shut her eyes to shield herself from its intensity.

When Josephine opened her eyes again, she saw Mrs. Larson's overjoyed face. "You're awake! I'll go get the doctor!"

Mrs. Larson rushed out happily, leaving Josephine in a momentary daze. She scanned her unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, another figure appeared in her vision.

Josephine tried to focus on the person before her, but everything remained blurry. She seemed to have double vision. She stared at the face, and gradually, the features and voice came together in her mind.

"Is something wrong? Have you lost your mind?" the person asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Josephine's eyelashes trembled. Finally, she pieced the person's voice and face together.

It was Seth.

Seeing her regain focus, Seth sat down beside her.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

Josephine blinked but didn't respond immediately. She felt her breath becoming shallow. Gradually, she lifted her hand to remove her respiratory mask.

Before she could react further, a group of medical staff rushed in and began examining her.

The doctor pulled Josephine's face as he examined her.

A few minutes later, the doctor said, "Everything is fine. Just get some more rest. It's just some minor injuries. It's nothing serious."

The doctor's words buzzed in Josephine's ears, and she couldn't quite comprehend their words.

All she could recall was the raging fire and the vivid blaze. She couldn't distinguish if it were a dream or a real-life experience, but it felt incredibly vivid.

Soon, the doctor removed the respiratory mask and machines connected to her body. Josephine felt a sense of relief.

Seth frowned and grabbed the doctor's arm, asking, "What happened to her? She appears completely out of her senses."

The doctor cast Josephine a glance and explained, "She had been unconscious for several days, so it's natural for her to feel disoriented upon waking up. She needs some time to adjust, and it's possible that the recent incident has left her shaken."

Seth remained skeptical and began to suspect Josephine might have truly lost her mind.

In fact, the doctor did mention that she might eventually lose her mental faculties or suffer cognitive impairments.

Now, Josephine was showing signs of cognitive impairments.

Seth extended his hand and waved it before her eyes. "Can you see me?"

Josephine blinked.

"It seems like her eyes are fine," the doctor commented.

"Who are you?"

"I am ..." Seth paused, his hand frozen in the air as he stared at Josephine in astonishment. "Did you just speak?"

Josephine stared back at him intently and weakly uttered a hum.

Seth slowly stood up from the chair and turned to look at Mrs. Larson.

Mrs. Larson was bewildered and shocked too.

"Why are you standing there? Go get the doctor!"

Mrs. Larson finally reacted and rushed to find the doctor before returning shortly after.

The doctor came back and examined Josephine again. Feeling annoyed, Josephine frowned. Why were these people touching her?

After the doctor examined Josephine, he said, "There's nothing wrong with her."

Seth responded, "She just spoke."

The doctor asked, "Is that a problem?"

"She..." The more Seth thought, the odder he felt. If Josephine had regained her memories, why didn't she remember him?"

If she hadn't recalled anything yet, why did she suddenly speak?

After all these years, she should have used sign language to communicate after waking up.

Furrowing his brow, Seth dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Alright, never mind."

The doctors dared not say much and hurriedly left the room with the medical staff.

Seth and Josephine stared at each other in the room.

Slowly, Seth sat back on the chair and sized Josephine up. "Who are you?"

Eyes fixed on him, Josephine pondered briefly and answered, "I'm Josephine."

Her voice was still hoarse due to her injured throat.

"How old are you?"

Josephine held out several fingers and said, "Five years old."

Seth fell silent.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Fire. A raging fire." Recalling the flames engulfing her, Josephine felt her body ache. Fear clouded her face.

Seth stared at her thoughtfully and seemed to have an inkling of what was going on.

"Your name is Josephine, and what are your parents' names?"

Josephine looked at Seth warily and puffed her cheeks. "I'm not telling you."

Her mother had warned her never to reveal family details to strangers.

Seth raised a brow and remarked, "It seems like you've remembered something."

Josephine recalled memories before the age of five, but everything that happened after she turned five remained blank. Though she had several adhesive bandages on her face, they didn't affect the beauty of her sparkling dark eyes.

Curiosity and caution filled her gaze, but she didn't seem nervous or afraid.

Seth knew that the little princess of the Vance family had returned.

At that moment, Lewis entered the room.

He appeared in a hurry as water droplets were still dripping from his suit and hair. He must have rushed here without using an umbrella.

Standing at the door, he observed Josephine, who had just woken up. His tense expression softened slightly.

After composing himself, Lewis walked over. He ignored Seth and approached Josephine. He stood there for a while, gazing down at her. Josephine stared at him too.

Suddenly, she spoke excitedly, "I remember you."

Upon hearing her speak, Lewis was stunned.

He instinctively looked at Seth. "What's going on?"

Seth shrugged. "You saw it yourself."

Josephine struggled to sit up from the bed and reached out to hold Lewis' hand. She looked at him earnestly. "You saved me."

Mrs. Larson had warned Lewis to be mentally prepared before he came. He thought something bad had happened to Josephine.

Now he understood what Mrs. Larson meant.

Before Lewis could speak, Josephine continued, "What do you want as a reward?"

Lewis was speechless.

Seth chucked softly on the side.

Since Seth had also noticed Josephine's latest development, Lewis must have also become aware of it. He frowned, "What kind of reward can you give me?" "I don't know. What do you want?" Josephine patted her chest. "I'm wealthy, you see."

"How wealthy?"

"Well..." Josephine looked puzzled. She seemed deeply absorbed in her thoughts. She only knew she was wealthy, but she had no idea how much money she had. Sitting beside her, Lewis sized her up several times.

He repeated the question that Seth had asked earlier.

Josephine grew a bit impatient. She lifted the blanket, wanting to get out of bed. "You guys are so annoying. You keep asking the same questions. I want to go home." Sitting on the edge of the bed, she put on her shoes and walked out of the ward without looking back.

The two men in the room watched her leave.

Not even a minute later, she returned with a mournful expression.

"Where is this?" Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt terrified.

"This is a hospital," Lewis replied.

"A hospital?" Josephine tilted her head and glanced around. "Where are my parents?"