When Vela opened her eyes, the world greeted her with a blank ceiling and the dim, amber glow of a single hanging lamp. Her forehead throbbed faintly, as if someone had pressed a cold stone against it. She lifted a hand to steady herself.
The moment she stirred, Ling, who had been sitting at her bedside, shot up like a startled bird."Vela! Thank the heavens, you're finally awake!"
Fu Gui, seated farther away with arms crossed tightly over his chest, only responded with a hard scowl. His voice was sharp enough to cut through the air."Do you still think you're a child? Jumping off heights every other day, claiming you're trying to train some… flying ability?"
His sigh was deep and cold."Do you ever think about the reputation of our noble family?"
Ling quickly grasped her husband's arm, tugging gently. "She just woke from fainting! Can't you speak a little less harshly?"
Fu Gui's jaw remained locked, his expression unsoftened."If we don't remind her, she will never understand. As our daughter, raised under the banner of a prestigious lineage, she must be well-mannered, well-taught—not someone who imagines ridiculous things like 'flight training' all day."
Vela blinked, confusion swirling in her eyes like fog. She rubbed her temples again."Vela…? That's my name? And you two… are my parents? Why don't I remember anything?"
Ling's heart lurched violently. It felt as if it might leap straight out of her chest.She hurried to call for the family doctor, clinging to the tiny hope that medical help might fix what she could not.
A woman in a white coat stepped into the room, her steps steady and calm. She carried a stethoscope and several small diagnostic tools. Her oval-shaped face and gray eyes radiated a quiet professionalism.
Seeing the cold sweat covering Vela's face, she approached with gentle caution."Don't be afraid. I'm a doctor. My name is C.C."
Vela looked at her blankly."Doctor… what is that?"
Fu Gui froze. Even their long-time family physician was a stranger to his daughter. For once, he swallowed his reprimands. Anything he said now might only worsen her distress.
C.C kept her tone soft and patient."A doctor's job is to care for those who feel unwell, whether due to illness or an accident."
Vela curled her fingers slowly—and only then realized she was holding something. A mask. A beautiful, glass-like dragon mask that shimmered faintly. The sight of it struck her with a nameless, wrenching familiarity.
And then came the tears—sudden, overflowing, unstoppable.She cried as if something precious had slipped through her fingers, as if loss itself had weight.
C.C sat at the edge of the bed, watching her with calm, understanding eyes."Can you tell me why you're crying?" she asked gently. "If I understand your feelings, I can help you better."
Vela's breath trembled. Her nose reddened, her cheeks flushed with feverish heat, but the tears would not stop.She reached out and clung to the doctor's wrist, almost pleading.
"I feel like… I've forgotten something extremely important. Not just things—people. So many important people. Can't you help me get everything back all at once?"
C.C let out a small, quiet sigh. It carried sympathy, not helplessness."I truly wish I could help you recover instantly. However, memory loss is different for everyone. Sometimes recovery is quick. Sometimes… it takes a long time."
She paused before continuing, choosing her words carefully."What I can promise is this: I'll stay by your side throughout your recovery. My team will help teach you anything you've lost—your daily habits, your routines, the skills you once possessed. You won't have to face this world feeling lost."
Vela slowly loosened her grip on the doctor's wrist. Hopelessness cast a long shadow over her features."What's the shortest recovery time? And the longest?"
C.C hesitated, but only for a moment. She refused to lie to her patient."Some regain their memories in a few months. Others might take a year… and some, even more than ten years."She added gently, "But a positive mindset truly helps speed things up."
The words struck Vela like cold winter rain.
Her shoulders slumped. The tears that had slowed suddenly fell again, drop after drop, soaking through her clothes."Ten years… it might take ten years?"
Her lips trembled, and her voice cracked like thin glass."And you still want me to… face it positively?"
The room went silent.
Ling covered her mouth, fighting back her own tears. Fu Gui's stern expression finally wavered, softened by a grief he didn't know how to express. Even the warm lamplight seemed to dim, as if mourning with them.
Vela clutched the dragon mask tightly to her chest.She didn't know why that mask mattered—but she could feel it. It was an anchor, a remnant of a forgotten world, a bridge to a past she longed to reclaim.
Yet all she had now… was emptiness.
And the terrifying possibility that this emptiness might last years—or a lifetime.